Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 25 April 2021

Sun Apr 25 07:27:48 CAT 2021

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 25 April 2021

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ü  Vebitcoin: Turkey arrests four people after cryptocurrency collapses

ü  After blazing U.S. stock rally, some warn of tougher market ahead

ü  Bitcoin tumbles below $50,000, other cryptos sink over Biden tax plans

ü  Investors doubt U.S. capital gains tax plan alone can derail market rally

ü  Volkswagen warns of worsening output hit from chip shortage -FT

ü  Apple to help workers get COVID-19 shots at its offices

ü  Kansas City Southern says it will talk with rival bidder CN; CP welcomes
regulatory ruling

ü  Porsche plans EV battery cells factory in southern Germany

ü  German prosecutors charge more VW managers in emissions scandal

ü  GM commits to doubling ad spending with Black-owned media

ü  EXCLUSIVE New York state pension fund backs activist nominees in Exxon
proxy fight

ü  Netflix's Reed Hastings exercised $612 mln from stock options in 2020

ü  Ethiopia's GERD Campaign Proves Effective - Egyptian Journalist

ü  Nigeria: Passengers Protest Against Ibom Air at Lagos Airport

ü  Nigeria: More Traffic Congestion Looms as Lagos Shuts Roads for Rehab

ü  Seychelles: Turkish Airlines Resumes Flights to Seychelles After a Year's
Absence

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Vebitcoin: Turkey arrests four people after cryptocurrency collapses

Turkish authorities say four people linked to the cryptocurrency platform
Vebitcoin have been arrested, accused of fraud.

Hours earlier, the company abruptly announced it had ceased operations,
citing financial strains.

Officials also launched an investigation and blocked the accounts of the
platform.

Earlier this week, a second Turkish platform, Thodex, shut down holding
investments from about 390,000 users.

Increasing numbers of people are opting to use cryptocurrencies in Turkey in
an attempt to protect their savings from a sharp decline in the value of the
local currency, the lira. But the Turkish cryptocurrency market is
unregulated.

Last week, Turkey said it would ban the use of cryptocurrencies to pay for
goods and services from 30 April.

Mehmet Nadir Yagci, a prosecutor in the south-western city of Mugla, said
the four arrested were administrators and personnel of the platform.

On Friday, Vebitcoin announced on its website it had stopped all activities
"in order to fulfil all regulations and claims". It was not immediately
clear how many people had been affected.

"Due to the recent developments in the crypto money industry, there was a
much higher density in our operations than expected. We would like to state
with regret that this situation has led us to a very difficult process," it
said.

Meanwhile, Turkey has issued an international arrest warrant for the Thodex
founder, Faruk Fatih Ozer, who reportedly fled to Albania with an alleged
$2bn (£1.4bn) from investors.

Police also arrested 62 people over alleged connections to Thodex. Mr Ozer
called the allegations against him "baseless" and said he was in Albania for
work meetings.

On Wednesday, Thodex posted a message saying it needed five days to handle
an unspecified outside investment before it suspended trading. An
investigation into the platform has been launched.BBC

After blazing U.S. stock rally, some warn of tougher market ahead

Some of Wall Street’s biggest names are predicting a pause in a rally that
has taken the S&P 500 (.SPX) to fresh records this year, leaving investors
trying to determine whether to lock in some of the breathtaking gains or
stay the course.

Among the most recent has been Goldman Sachs, whose analysts on Wednesday
said an expected second-quarter peak in U.S. growth could be tied to weaker
stock returns. Morgan Stanley earlier this week warned stocks would soon
face headwinds. Deutsche Bank this month called for a pullback of as much as
10% in the S&P 500 as growth decelerates, and BofA Global Research backed a
year-end target for the index about 8% below current levels.

A comparatively long period without a serious drop in stocks has also made
some investors uneasy. The S&P 500 has declined at least 5% every 177
calendar days, according to Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at
CFRA. The latest market advance has lasted 211 days without such a drop.

"I wouldn't be surprised to see some kind of pullback for no particular
reason other than people start to think maybe this is a little bit ahead of
itself," said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth.

The flurry of warnings present a conundrum for some investors. While many
would like to protect profits from the market's 85% run since last year's
pandemic low, pullbacks over the past year have been difficult to time and
followed by sharp rebounds, bolstering the case for holding on and buying
more when stocks dip.

The S&P's two significant declines since March 2020 have averaged a drop of
around 8%, lasting 12 days on the way down and taking 45 days to regain lost
ground, according to Stovall. In both cases, the market went on to new highs
weeks later, a pattern some have attributed to unprecedented monetary and
fiscal stimulus buoying investor confidence.

"Since the bear market of March of last year, buying dips has been
handsomely rewarded," said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and
derivatives for Charles Schwab.

Since the lows of the Great Financial Crisis, the index has climbed 511%,
despite five drops of 10% or more and the 34% fall last March, offering
investors another argument for buying and holding.

Nevertheless, some are bracing for potential turbulence, reflecting concerns
ranging from rising COVID-19 cases, and worries that most of the economic
benefits from massive fiscal stimulus have already been priced in. On
Thursday, sources said the White House will propose nearly doubling capital
gains taxes for the wealthy. read more

Stocks were on track for a decline this week but the S&P 500 is still up 10%
in 2021. 

In options markets, the one-month moving average of open puts to open calls,
a measure of sentiment, is the most bearish in about a year, indicating
demand for protection against a decline in stocks.

Options data also show a drop in demand for upside positioning. The S&P's
two-month call skew, an options-based measure of investors' demand for
upside, has fallen sharply since early April.

"Investors are potentially seeing a lack of catalysts for another leg
higher," Susquehanna International Group's Chris Murphy said in a recent
note.

Next week, investors will be keeping a close eye on the Federal Reserve's
monetary policy meeting, as well as a speech by U.S. President Joe Biden to
Congress and earnings from companies such as Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and
Google-parent Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O).

One worry is the comparatively rich valuation of stocks, with the S&P 500
trading at 22.3 times forward earnings estimates, compared to a historic
average of 15.4 times, according to Refinitiv Datastream.

"The market is expensive, so we have been looking for stocks that still seem
to have upside," said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel in
Charlottesville, Virginia.

His firm sold some holdings in tech-related stocks such as Apple and Amazon
Inc (AMZN.O) in recent weeks, and bought shares of Prudential Financial
(PRU.N), energy company Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD.N) and homebuilder
Green Brick Partners (GRBK.O).

Still, the market has outperformed analysts' projections before. A Reuters
poll of strategists from May 2020 forecast the S&P 500 ending the year with
a marginal decline from that point. Instead, the index went on to rally
about 25%. A February 2019 poll projected a 3.8% S&P 500 rise for the rest
of that year, when it ended up rising some 15% more.

Even with the market's run, "you actually can find companies that are not
overly expensive right now," said Scott Schermerhorn, chief investment
officer at Granite Investment Advisors.

Sitting in cash, “you are going to make nothing,” he said.-The Thomson
Reuters Trust Principles.

Bitcoin tumbles below $50,000, other cryptos sink over Biden tax plans

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies posted sharp losses on Friday, onconcern
that U.S. President Joe Biden’s plan to raise capital gains taxes will curb
investments in digital assets.

News reports on Thursday said the Biden administration is planning a raft of
proposed changes to the U.S. tax code, including a plan to nearly double
taxes on capital gains to 39.6% for people earning more than $1 million.

Bitcoin, the biggest and most popular cryptocurrency , slumped to $47,555,
falling below the $50,000 mark for the first time since early March. It was
last down 4% at $49,667.

Smaller rivals Ether and XRP fell 3.5% and 6.7%, respectively, while
dogecoin, created as a joke for early crypto adopters and which had surged
about 8,000% this year prior to this latest setback, was down 20% at $0.21,
according to price and data tracker CoinGecko.

The tax plans jolted markets, prompting investors to book profits in stocks
and other risk assets, which have rallied massively on hopes of a solid
economic recovery.

"With a high growth rate in the bitcoin price, crypto holders that have
accrued gains will be subjected to this tax increment," said Nick Spanos,
founder at Bitcoin Center NYC. He sees bitcoin dropping further in the
coming days.

Bitcoin is on track for an 11.3% loss on the week, its worst weekly showing
since late February. On the year, however, it was still up 72%.

But while social media lit up with posts about the plan hurting
cryptocurrencies, and individual investors complaining about losses, some
traders and analysts said declines are likely to be temporary.

"I don't think Biden's taxes plans will have a big impact on bitcoin," said
Ruud Feltkamp, CEO at automated crypto trading bot Cryptohopper. "Bitcoin
has only gone up for a long time, it is only natural to see a consolidation.
Traders are simply cashing in on winnings."

Others also remained bullish on bitcoin's long term prospects, but noted it
might take time before prices start increasing again.

"Investors will see the price drop across the crypto market as an
opportunity to widen their portfolio by averaging up their investment outlay
and buying new altcoins," said Don Guo, chief executive officer at Broctagon
Fintech Group. He added that for bitcoin, investors will see it as an
opportunity to buy bitcoin at a lower price.

Shares of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN.O) were up 0.5% at $294.86
in early afternoon U.S. trading. The public floatation of its shares on
April 14 had seen bitcoin prices rise to $65,000, before pulling back 25% in
the following days.

"The Coinbase listing – the ultimate poacher-turned-gamekeeper moment -
might have been the high watermark for bitcoin," said Neil Wilson, chief
market analyst at Markets.com.-The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Investors doubt U.S. capital gains tax plan alone can derail market rally

U.S. stocks rebounded on Friday from a day-earlier swoon as investors
digested the implications of a planned capital gains tax hike, with many
pointing to reasons why such a policy alone would be unlikely to threaten
the rally in equities.

The S&P 500 (.SPX) was up more than 1% in afternoon trading, recouping
losses from Thursday, when stocks fell after reports that President Joe
Biden would seek to nearly double the capital gains tax to 39.6% for wealthy
individuals.

That would be the highest tax rate on investment gains, mostly paid by the
wealthiest Americans, since the 1920s. The rate has not exceeded 33.8% in
the post-World War Two era.

But investors pointed to a broad range of reasons why the markets are likely
to take the proposal in stride, including the limited effect of such
proposals on equities in the past and expectations that any hike would be
much lower than anticipated.

Analysts at UBS Global Wealth Management found "no relationship"
historically between capital gains tax rate changes and stock market
performance.

"While we can't rule out some additional modest equity market volatility as
investors react to this proposal, we think it will be very short-lived," the
UBS analysts said in a report.

In the case of past capital gains tax hikes, the key to the market response
was the state of the broader economy, said Ryan Detrick, chief market
strategist at LPL Financial.

Six months hikes in 2013 and 1987 the S&P 500 was significantly higher,
while six months after hikes in 1976 and 1969, the index was lower, Detrick
noted. This time around, "the economy continues to bounce back faster than
anyone thinks" from the coronavirus pandemic, he said.

Economists at Goldman Sachs, meanwhile, predicted that a 28% rate "looks
most likely, in our view, as it is roughly halfway between the current rate
and Biden’s likely proposal".

Any hike would need to go through Congress, where Biden's Democratic Party
holds narrow majorities and is unlikely to win support from Republicans. It
could require the unanimous backing of Democrats in the Senate where each
party holds 50 seats.

In the six months ahead of the 2013 capital gains hike, investors pulled $38
billion out of U.S. equity funds and ETFs, according to an analysis of
Morningstar data by Matthew Miskin, co-chief investment strategist at John
Hancock Investment Management. Over the next six months, such funds saw $58
billion in inflows, according to Miskin, as the S&P 500 rose 18% over that
12-month period.

“It shows that investors likely turned over portfolios and potentially
missed out on an accelerating stock market and they probably would have been
better off just staying the course,” Miskin said.

This time, Miskin said, stocks "may be due for a pullback after such a
strong run, but this is not in our opinion a top risk to derail this
market."

Investors also said Biden had long telegraphed his plans, so many market
participants probably had already braced for them.

While the prospect of higher taxes may cause jitters, “the stock market has
probably priced it in,” Detrick said.-The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Volkswagen warns of worsening output hit from chip shortage -FT

Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) has warned managers to prepare for a bigger
production hit in the second quarter than the first due to a global chip
shortage, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.

"We are being told from the suppliers and within the Volkswagen Group that
we need to face considerable challenges in the second quarter, probably more
challenging than the first quarter," Wayne Griffiths, president of
Volkswagen's Spanish brand Seat, told the FT. https://on.ft.com/3gBddOE

Griffiths called the shortage the "biggest challenge" the company faces at
the moment.

He said production at Seat's Martorell plant outside Barcelona was currently
"hand to mouth", with the brand deciding what cars to build only after it
receives chips from suppliers, the report said.

Volkswagen has said it expects chip supply to remain tight in the coming
months, adding it could not provide visibility for the full year. read more

The company has been unable to build 100,000 cars due to the shortage, CEO
Herbert Diess said last month, adding the group would not be able to make up
for the shortfall in 2021. read more

"The situation has been exacerbated i.e. by the blizzards that have occurred
in Texas, as the large chip manufacturers based there had to stop or reduce
their production. For that reason further adjustments to production cannot
be ruled out", Volkswagen said in an emailed statement on Saturday.-The
Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Apple to help workers get COVID-19 shots at its offices

Apple Inc (AAPL.O) said on Friday that it is starting a program to help
employees get voluntary COVID-19 vaccinations at the iPhone maker's offices.

The company is working with drugstore chain Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc
(WBA.O) as its vendor and will open a website for its workers to sign up for
appointments, an Apple spokeswoman said.

Apple is one of the first large Silicon Valley companies to launch a program
to help workers get vaccinated.

Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE) earlier this month became the first big bank in
New York to say it would offer employees COVID-19 vaccinations at its
offices.

Last month, Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) started onsite vaccinations for
front-line employees, starting in Missouri, Nevada and Kansas.-The Thomson
Reuters Trust Principles.

Kansas City Southern says it will talk with rival bidder CN; CP welcomes
regulatory ruling

Canadian Pacific Railway (CP.TO) on Saturday welcomed a favorable regulatory
decision related to its proposed merger with Kansas City Southern (KSU.N),
on the same day that Kansas City said its board has determined that a
competing offer from Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) could be expected to
lead to a “superior proposal.”

Kansas City Southern said the board made its determination unanimously and
said it would open negotiations with Canadian National, although it remains
"bound by the terms of the CP merger agreement." It noted that its board
"has not determined" that the CN proposal "in fact constitutes a Company
Superior Proposal."

Canadian Pacific’s $25 billion cash-and-stock offer, at the time the deal
was announced in March, values Kansas City Southern at $275 per share.

Canadian National's rival cash-and-stock offer, made earlier this week,
values Kansas City Southern at $325 a share.

Canadian Pacific on Saturday touted a ruling by the U.S. Surface
Transportation Board, which oversees freight rail, that a waiver of stricter
rules governing mergers granted to Kansas City Southern in 2001 would be
applicable to a merger of Kansas City and Canadian Pacific.

The pre-2001 rule judges a proposed merger on whether it would adversely
affect competition. Under the rule introduced in 2001, rail merger
applicants must demonstrate that a proposed tie-up would be in the public
interest. Kansas City Southern had been granted the waiver based on its
small size.

The STB on Friday confirmed that the waiver it granted to Kansas City
Southern in 2001 is applicable to the proposed friendly combination of the
two companies.

Both companies expect the STB's review to be completed by the middle of
2022.

According to the regulator, the merger would result in the smallest Class I
railroad, based on U.S. operating revenues and also result in few
overlapping routes.

Following Canadian National’s rival $33.7 billion offer for Kansas City
Southern on Tuesday, CP said it would not raise its bid.

Canadian National Railway said in a statement on Saturday that it looked
forward to engaging with Kansas City to finalize a merger agreement and that
it welcomed the determination by Kansas City Southern's board.

Canadian Pacific, in a response, said the Kansas City Southern board was
simply meeting its obligations under the merger agreement with CP and
fulfilling its "fiduciary duty" to its shareholders by assessing the
Canadian National offer.-The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Porsche plans EV battery cells factory in southern Germany

Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) luxury sports car unit Porsche AG is speeding up
its e-mobility drive with plans for a German factory to manufacture battery
cells for electric vehicles, its chief executive officer told Frankfurter
Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

European car manufacturers, who mainly rely on battery suppliers in Asia,
are looking to reduce their dependence from abroad in light of a ramp-up in
e-cars production to meet tougher environmental rules in the European Union.

"Battery cells are a key technology for Germany's automobile industry which
we must also have in our own country," Oliver Blume told the newspaper in an
interview to be published on Sunday.

"Porsche wants to play a pioneering role in this," he said, adding that the
battery cell factory would be built in the Swabian town of Tuebingen.

Porsche will purchase EV batteries from its parent company Volkswagen which
plans to build half a dozen battery cell plants across Europe and expand
infrastructure for charging electric vehicles globally. read more

"But there will also be a segment for high-performance battery cells," Blume
said. "It's a Porsche domain. Just as we developed high-performance internal
combustion engines, we now want to be at the forefront of high-performance
batteries."-The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

German prosecutors charge more VW managers in emissions scandal

German prosecutors have charged 15 executives from Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE)
and a car supplier in connection with the diesel emissions scandal that
emerged in 2015, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office said on Saturday.

The suspects are accused of aiding and abetting fraud in combination with
tax evasion, indirect false certification and criminal advertising, said
Klaus Ziehe from the prosecutor's office in the northern city of
Braunschweig.

The scandal saw more than nine million vehicles of the VW, Audi, Seat and
Skoda brands sold to consumers with a so-called defeat device which helped
to circumvent environmental tests of diesel engines.

The prosecutor's office did not name any of the charged executives, who are
accused of bringing cars onto the market in a condition that was not
officially approved, meaning they were illegal and advertised misleadingly,
Ziehe said.

He added the indictment had now reached 1554 pages.

The prosecutions were earlier reported by news agency Deutsche
Presse-Agentur (dpa).

A Volkswagen spokesman said a criminal investigation against the company was
dropped in 2018 after it paid a fine, adding that the company was not
involved in the upcoming trail against individual suspects.

"Against this background, we do not comment on the other charges that have
come to light...," the spokesman added.

Volkswagen said last month that it would claim damages from its former CEO
Martin Winterkorn and former Audi boss Rupert Stadler over the diesel
emissions scandal, which was discovered in 2015, as it looks to draw a line
under its biggest-ever crisis. read more

The trial of Winterkorn and the other managers has been postponed until
September due to the pandemic.-The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

GM commits to doubling ad spending with Black-owned media

General Motors Co (GM.N) will double its commitment to spending with
Black-owned media to 4% of its ad budget next year with a target of reaching
8% by 2025, the U.S. automaker said on Friday.

GM has come under criticism, including in full-page ads in several national
newspapers, from some Black media leaders for not advertising enough in
Black-owned media. GM said it will spend 2% of this year's budget in that
sector.

"This action plan will transform our engagement model with diverse media in
a sustainable way," GM Chief Marketing Officer Deborah Wahl said in a
statement.

"Over the course of several weeks, we met with many diverse-owned media
organizations. We are grateful for the transparency and spirit of
collaboration, which helped us frame this inclusive approach."

GM cut its advertising and promotional spending last year by about $1
billion to $2.7 billion, according to the Detroit company's annual report.

Wahl told Reuters earlier in April its spending would return to normal
levels following cuts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

GM also said on Friday it was allocating $50 million over 10 years to
support diverse marketing companies.

The company will hold a dedicated ad spending meeting on May 14 with
diverse-owned media leaders ahead of its general media spending event later
this month.

"I applaud GM for taking the results of their thoughtful and robust
discussions with a significant number of diverse media entities," said
Alfred Liggins, chief executive of Urban One, which operates media
properties targeting African Americans, in the same statement.-The Thomson
Reuters Trust Principles.

EXCLUSIVE New York state pension fund backs activist nominees in Exxon proxy
fight

New York state’s pension fund on Friday threw its support behind an activist
fund’s slate of nominees to Exxon Mobil Corp’s (XOM.N) board, heating up a
proxy fight for the company’s future.

The biggest U.S. oil producer Exxon and activist hedge fund Engine No. 1 are
battling over board seats following Exxon's historic net annual loss of
$22.4 billion for 2020. The fund has criticized the producer for
"significant underperformance" and a lagging approach to cleaner fuels.

The Exxon board "needs an overhaul," to better manage climate risks and
guide the company to a low carbon future, said N.Y. State Comptroller Thomas
DiNapoli.

The activist fund nominees include Gregory Goff and Anders Runevad, former
chief executives of oil refiner Andeavor and wind-turbine manufacturer
Vestas Wind Systems, respectively; Kaisa Hietala, former head of renewable
fuels at Finish refiner Neste; and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Energy
for efficiency and renewable energy, Alexander Karsner.

"We are excited to have a new slate of candidates to support," DiNapoli
said. "We are supporting Engine No 1’s slate of candidates because they
bring transformative industry experience to the table and hold out hope that
it is not too late to turn the tide at Exxon and improve its performance."

Exxon and Engine No. 1 did not respond to requests for comment.

Engine No. 1 also has won support from California State Teachers’ Retirement
System (CalSTRS), the second largest U.S. pension fund. Hedge fund D.E. Shaw
plans to vote with the company, according to people familiar with the
matter.

New York state pension funds overseen by DiNapoli also will vote in favor of
existing Exxon board members Kenneth Frazier and Ursula Burns and two of
three board members Exxon has added in recent months, activist investor
Jeffrey Ubben and former Comcast executive Michael Angelakis, but will
withhold votes on the remaining directors, it said.

It is not in favor of oil executive Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin, a
former CEO of Malaysian state energy firm Petronas, who Exxon also named to
the board this year.

The funds hold 8.14 million shares of Exxon, according to Refinitiv. The
fund has previously led shareholder proposals calling on Exxon to detail how
its business could be affected by climate change. It also has supported
proposals to split the CEO and chairman's roles at the oil producer.

Other votes this year will include favoring an independent board chair
again, additional climate lobbying disclosures and a report on how Exxon's
finances and business assumptions would be impacted by net zero scenarios.

The fight for board seats is costing Exxon at least $35 million more than
its typical proxy solicitation costs, with the largest U.S. oil producer
marshalling executives, TV appearances, social media and websites to rebut
the challenge, according to regulatory filings.

Engine No. 1 has a $30 million budget for the fight, according to regulatory
filings.

Exxon is also urging shareholders to reject proposals to split its chairman
and CEO roles, and block climate-related reports sought by other groups.

To blunt investor criticism, in recent months it has expanded its board,
pledged to increase low-carbon initiatives, improved climate disclosures and
said it would lower the intensity of its oilfield greenhouse gas emissions.

The virtual shareholder meeting is May 26.-The Thomson Reuters Trust
Principles.

Netflix's Reed Hastings exercised $612 mln from stock options in 2020

Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) co-Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings realized
$612.13 million from exercising his stock options in 2020, a year of bumper
subscription growth for the video-streaming giant.

The company, which crossed 200 million subscribers last year as people
sought entertainment from home during the COVID-19-imposed lockdowns, saw
its shares rise more than 67% in 2020.

Hastings purchased over 1.33 million Netflix shares last year in the
exercising of his stock options, according to a filing. Graphic link:
(https://tmsnrt.rs/3neR4Hn)

The price at which stock options can be exercised is set in an agreement.
The value of shares when the purchase is made could be varying.-The Thomson
Reuters Trust Principles.

Ethiopia's GERD Campaign Proves Effective - Egyptian Journalist

Addis Ababa — The reaffirmation of Ethiopia's commitment to Africa Union
(AU) mediation during the latest Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)
talks and its ongoing campaign to garner international supports have been
proved effective, said Osama Gaweesh, Editor-in-Chief of Egypt Watch.

In an opinion piece published at Middle East Monitor, Osama Gaweesh recently
said Ethiopia's position and its efforts in gathering the largest number of
domestic and foreign allies who believe in its narrative have been
successful in many ways.

" El-Sisi and his regime, meanwhile, have been carrying out ineffective
campaigns on social media, publishing videos that support the Egyptian
narrative, which was weakened considerably when El-Sisi signed the 2015
Declaration of Principles," Gaweesh added.

According to him, the main concern of the Egyptian negotiating team during
the latest Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) talks was to seal a new
dam operation agreement with Ethiopia rather than stopping the latter from
undertaking the second-round filling.

It is to be recalled that Ethiopia previously rejected Egyptian proposal to
jointly operate the dam was as a violation of its sovereignty.

Gaweesh said once he was invited by the Ethiopian Embassy in London to
attend a special seminar in which the foreign minister and two members of
the team negotiating with Egypt and Sudan spoke about Addis Ababa's view of
the Renaissance Dam dispute.

"I was surprised to see that the invitation was extended to nearly two
hundred people around the world who can be described as influential in
different fields and specializations. For two hours, the Ethiopians
communicated their views to journalists, politicians, researchers, water
experts, former diplomats, and ambassadors" he said.

According to him, what really shocking was not Ethiopia's defense of its
position, but the surprising Egyptian position that they talked about.
According to the Ethiopian narrative, the Sisi regime did not object to the
second filling of the reservoir and did not express any concerns about the
impact on Egypt's share of water from the River Nile or on the agricultural
sector in Egypt.

The main concern of the Egyptian negotiating team was, they insisted, to
sign a new agreement with Ethiopia regarding the operation of the dam, which
was rejected by Ethiopia as a violation of its sovereignty, Gaweesh
explained.

Recently, the president said that all options are possible if a drop of
Egypt's share of Nile water is compromised. Negotiations with Sudan over the
dam are ongoing, adding: "We respect the development plans in Ethiopia, but
without causing harm to Egypt."

He stressed that Egypt's position on the GERD project was honorable and
respected the Ethiopian people's desire to achieve development.

The Egyptian president asserted: "I said in Egypt that we value development,
provided that it does not affect the interests of Egypt. I did not change my
position. I did not withdraw what I said before. My position is still the
same, and I said this before parliament in Ethiopia. I did not change my
stance about respecting development plans in Ethiopia to improve the
conditions of the people, but it should not harm the interests of Egypt. I
think my words are clear."-Ethiopian Herald.

Nigeria: Passengers Protest Against Ibom Air at Lagos Airport

Lagos — Passengers on Friday protested against Ibom Air over alleged delay
of a scheduled flight to Enugu by the airline.

In a viral amateur video obtained by LEADERSHIP, the passengers were seen
shouting and hurling abusive words at the members of staff of the airline at
Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2 (MM2) counter.

However, Police officers in the aviation terminal were seen mediating
between the two parties.

Ibom Air, a local airline owned by Nigeria's largest oil-producing state
Akwa Ibom, was launched in the second quarter of 2019.

When contacted, the chief operating officer of the airline, George Uriesi,
said there wasn't a cancellation of the flight but the passengers arrived
late for their flight.

"There was absolutely no cancellation of any flight by Ibom Air. Those
passengers were late for their flight and arrived at the counter after
check-in time to Enugu had closed.

"This is a common occurrence at our counters. The flight in question
departed on time. The passengers were upset that check-in had closed when
they arrived," Uriesi added.-Leadership.

Nigeria: More Traffic Congestion Looms as Lagos Shuts Roads for Rehab

Following plans by Lagos State Government to shut two more major roads for
rehabilitation works, residents are obviously in for worsening traffic
congestion in parts of the state.

Already, several roads have been shut for rehabilitation which includes:
Lagos Badagry-Expressway, Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, part of Ikeja, around
Opebi link-Bridge, Ozumbs Nvadiwe road, Ahnadu Bello Road, both Victoria
Island, among others.

Meantime, as part of the ongoing reconstruction on Ikorodu Road, the state
government, on Friday, announced a planned diversion of traffic from the
Main Carriageway inbound Anthony from Monday, May 3, 2021, for four weeks.

Also, In line with the ongoing reconstruction works on Ketu-Mile 12 Section
of Lagos/Ikorodu Road, Lagos State Government has announced plans to divert
traffic from the Ojota underpass to the Demurin Junction on the Ikorodu
corridor from Monday, April 16, 2021, for a duration of four weeks.

In a statement by Commissioner for Transportation, Dr Frederic Oladeinde,
the diversion was necessary to address the lingering failure of the access
road at the Independence Tunnel, Maryland over the years.

He explained that the road needed to be fixed urgently to prevent further
deterioration of the section by expected rainfall in the coming season,
adding that the repairs will minimize congestion frequently experienced by
motorists along the corridor.

Oladeinde assured that alternative routes had been created and provided to
cater for motorists that ply the corridor regularly while construction would
be ongoing.

The commissioner, while giving further travel advisory, said, "Traffic from
Ibadan-Lagos Express can also go straight to Oworonshoki to connect Gbagada
and descend the ramp at Anthony axis to connect Ikorodu Road."

He added that the recently improved Maryland Junction will also be opened
temporarily during the duration of the construction period to accommodate
traffic coming from Ojota axis and Ikorodu; "a temporary traffic light will
be installed to manage the influx of vehicles taking the flyover towards
Surulere and Lagos Island.

"Alternatively, motorists will be diverted to a Contraflow on the Ojota
bound lane during peak hours to minimize the inconveniences during the
course of the repairs."

Road users coming from Ikeja, have been advised to use Mobolaji Bank Anthony
Way to link Maryland and access Ikorodu road inbound Surulere.

Oladeinde further stated that the state's Traffic Management Agency, LASTMA
would be fully on the ground to direct traffic. Signs and Traffic rules will
be strategically placed to guide vehicular movement during the stipulated
period.

He stated that the trial run of the traffic management would commence on
Tuesday, April 27, 2021, to test the aforementioned traffic diversion plan
ahead of the set date and make necessary adjustments where needed.

Also read: Lagos traffic team impounds 200 trucks, as gridlock persists
along Oshodi-Apapa expressway

Oladeinde, therefore, appealed to motorists that ply the corridor to endure
any likely inconvenience as the project is aimed at finding a lasting
solution to traffic congestion along the axis in line with efficient traffic
management and transportation policy of the state government.

Also, with the ongoing reconstruction works on Ketu- axis, Oladeinde said
the diversion became necessary to allow the contractor handling the project
to commence construction on the service lane inward Ikorodu from the Ojota
underpass to Demurin Junction.

Oladeinde revealed that it will necessitate the temporary closure of access
routes to Ketu during the duration of repair works, stressing that "this
section is vital to the flawless completion of the rehabilitation that has
been ongoing on Ikorodu Road over the past one year.

He said different alternative routes have been provided for road users to
utilize during the construction period.

"In addition the state Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA will be on the
ground to direct traffic for free vehicular movement," he stated

According to the statement, motorists coming from Iyana Oworonshoki axis
inward Ketu, Mile 12 and Ikorodu will be diverted to Alapere to make an exit
through Ajelogo Street and Mile 12 Underbridge or alternately use the
cloverleaf ramp to descend into the Maryland bound lane to access the ramp
back to the bridge and take another descent into the Ketu bound the main
carriageway.

"Traffic heading towards, Ketu, Mile12 and Ikorodu from Maryland/Ojota axis
will be able to access the main carriageway inward Ikorodu while vehicles
headed for the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway will equally have the exit ramp open
to access their desired destinations.

"Motorists can also use the exit ramp and make a U-turn at 7UP to use the
second exit on Ojota Bridge."

He, therefore, appealed to the resident, especially motorists that ply those
affected corridors to support the project, which aimed at finding a lasting
solution to the congestion in the metropolis in line with efficient traffic
management and transportation policy of the state government.-Vanguard.

Seychelles: Turkish Airlines Resumes Flights to Seychelles After a Year's
Absence

Turkish Airlines resumed regular flights between Istanbul and Seychelles on
Friday after a year's absence due to the pandemic.

Turkey's national airline ceased its scheduled flights to Seychelles in
March last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When the island nation
reopened its border on March 25 this year, the airline announced it will
resume services with two weekly flights on Tuesdays and Fridays.

The chief executive of the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB), Sherin Francis,
said that the resumption of flights by Turkey's national airline "is an
important milestone for Seychelles, as at the end of the day, for you to be
able to re-grow your tourism industry, you need airlines.

"They provide diversity in terms of connections and frequencies. For Turkish
Airlines, their strength is their ability to tap into Central and Eastern
Europe, as they have a lot of connections in these countries. These are the
markets producing for us right now. It will help us to build the business
further in a time where we know that we are still having a lot of
difficulties getting visitors from Western Europe," said Francis.

She added that at the moment, UAE, Israel and Russia are the strongest
markets.

The air transport officer of the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA)
Kurtis Lespoir, said the return of the airline is good news for Seychelles
and attests to collaborative efforts to restore confidence in the market.

"Before the Pandemic, we had predicted substantial growth by the airline in
the coming years, but that took very sharp damp as of March 2020. However,
the return of the airline today brings to us renewed hope that we will
eventually get back on track. Growth in traffic at the international airport
is expected with the resumption of Turkish' Airlines passenger flights for
the summer season and beyond," he said.

In a press release from STB, the general manager of Turkish Airlines for
Seychelles, Fatih Mehmet Kursun, said that he and his team are "very excited
to be returning to Seychelles after a long, mandatory break."

"Resuming our flights to the islands already had a huge impact on the
market. We are very pleased with the demand we have received from Central
and Eastern Europe so far," he continued.

In the absence of its regular flights during that one-year period, the
airline was conducting a series of ad-hoc cargo flights to the island nation
in the western Indian Ocean.

Turkish Airlines carried over 490,000 kg of inbound cargo to Seychelles and
about 108,000 kg of outbound cargo in 2020. In March this year, inbound
cargo recorded was over 15,000 kg with over 3,000 kg for outbound.

A Seychellois-owned company, EAST Services, also freighted Turkish Airlines
to bring a consignment of cargo to the country.

Since the re-opening of Seychelles' borders to commercial passenger flights
in March, five carriers - Emirates, Ethiopian Airlines, Qatar Airways,
Aeroflot, EL AL and Arkia Israeli airlines - are offering services together
with Air Seychelles which is operating regular international flights to
various points.-Seychelles News Agency.

Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

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INVESTORS DIARY 2021

Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

BAT

AGM

Cresta Lodge, Msasa

30/04/21 10am

Workers Day

01/05/21

FCB

AGM 

virtual

06/05/21 : 3pm

NMB

AGM

virtual

1205/21 :  3:30pm

Africa Day

25/05/21

Companies under Cautionary

ART

PPC

Dairibord

Starafrica

Fidelity

Turnall

Medtech

Zimre

Nampak Zimbabwe

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

DISCLAIMER: This report has been prepared by Bulls ‘n Bears, a division of
Faith Capital (Pvt) Ltd for general information purposes only and does not
constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or
subscribe for any securities. The information contained in this report has
been compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but no representation or
warranty is made or guarantee given as to its accuracy or completeness. All
opinions expressed and recommendations made are subject to change without
notice. Securities or financial instruments mentioned herein may not be
suitable for all investors. Securities of emerging and mid-size growth
companies typically involve a higher degree of risk and more volatility than
the securities of more established companies. Neither Faith Capital nor any
other member of Bulls ‘n Bears nor any other person, accepts any liability
whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this report or its
contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith. Recipients of this
report shall be solely responsible for making their own independent
investigation into the business, financial condition and future prospects of
any companies referred to in this report. Other  Indices quoted herein are
for guideline purposes only and sourced from third parties.

(c) 2021 Web: <http://www.bullszimbabwe.com>  www.bullszimbabwe.com Email:
<mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> info at bulls.co.zw Tel: +263 4 2927658 Cell: +263 77
344 1674

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