Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 02 August 2021

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 02 August 2021

 


 

 


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ü  Banking giant HSBC sees first half profit more than double

ü  UK defence firm Meggitt bought by US giant

ü  Afterpay: Jack Dorsey's Square in Australia's biggest buyout

ü  Zoom settles US class action privacy lawsuit for $86m

ü  Beyond Meat boss backs tax on meat consumption

ü  Hollywood plans £700m film and TV studios in Hertfordshire

ü  Smaller firms hit by 'pingdemic' staff shortages

ü  Twitter's Dorsey leads $29 bln buyout of lending pioneer Afterpay

ü  Asian factory activity hit by rising costs, Delta variant

ü  HSBC profit more than doubles, loan-loss fears ebb as economies rebound

ü  Asian shares try to stabilise, China growth a worry

ü  Half full or half empty? Heineken doubles profit, warns on costs

ü  Goldman Sachs to raise pay for junior investment bankers - Business
Insider

ü  Nigeria: New CBN Forex Policy a Step in the Right Direction But...

ü  Nigeria: NNPC Sold N234bn Petroleum Products in March

ü  South Africa: SARS to Implement Tax Relief Measures

ü  Kenya: New Portal to Curb Academic Dishonesty

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

Banking giant HSBC sees first half profit more than double

Profits at banking giant HSBC more than doubled in the first half of the
year as it benefited from an economic rebound in Britain and Hong Kong.

 

Europe's biggest bank by assets saw pre-tax profit for the period rise to
$10.8bn (£7.8bn), compared to $4.3bn for the same time last year.

 

The UK-based bank said all regions had been profitable in the period.

 

The figures come as the global economy emerges from the impact of the
coronavirus pandemic.

 

"I'm pleased with the momentum generated around our growth and
transformation plans, with good delivery against all four pillars of our
strategy. In particular, we have taken firm steps to define the future of
our US and continental Europe businesses", said HSBC chief executive Noel
Quinn.

 

The lender highlighted that its UK bank had reported profit before tax of
more than $2.1bn in the period.

 

Boosted by the economic rebound in its two biggest markets, Britain and Hong
Kong, the bank reinstated dividend payments to shareholders.

 

It plans to pay an interim dividend of seven cents a share after the Bank of
England last month scrapped curbs on such pay-outs to investors.

 

HSBC boss to hot-desk as executive floor abolished

However, Laura Foll, manager of UK income funds at Janus Henderson
Investors, told the BBC that the key factor behind the rise in HSBC's
profits had been the lower-than-expected losses on loans during the
pandemic.

 

She said that last year most banks set aside money based on estimates of how
much they could potentially lose if loans went bad and its customers were
unable to repay them. In HSBC's case, it set aside $700m.

 

"In all cases, the banks are now rolling back on that number... and it is
that number that has boosted the profitability at HSBC more than any other
improvement."

 

Restructuring

HSBC said its restructuring programme remains on track after announcing in
February last year that it would shed 35,000 jobs as part of a plan to cut
$4.5bn of costs by 2022.

 

In February, HSBC had signalled a "pivot to Asia", outlining plans to invest
about $6bn in the region.

 

It said it would target wealth management and commercial banking to drive
"double-digit growth" and has singled out Asian markets such as Singapore,
China and Hong Kong. HSBC already generates the bulk of its revenues from
Asia.

 

In January, UK MPs accused HSBC - a Hong Kong founded bank - of "aiding and
abetting" China's crackdown in Hong Kong.

 

HSBC faced accusations of acting in a political manner and being too close
to the Chinese authorities after it emerged that the bank had frozen
accounts belonging to Hong Kong pro-democracy politician Ted Hui and members
of his family.

 

Appearing before the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr Quinn was told the bank
was turning a blind eye to the situation.

 

Mr Quinn mounted a robust defence of the bank, saying: "I can't cherry-pick
which laws to follow."-BBC

 

 

 

UK defence firm Meggitt bought by US giant

Defence and aerospace technology firm Meggitt has agreed to a £6.3bn
takeover by US company Parker-Hannifin.

 

Coventry-based Meggitt, which is listed on the FTSE 250 index, confirmed the
offer, which values the firm at 800p a share.

 

Meggitt employs more than 9,000 people at 39 manufacturing facilities and
regional offices worldwide.

 

Parker-Hannifin said it was "committed to being a responsible steward" of
Meggitt.

 

It said it was pleased that the deal had the full support of Meggitt's
board.

 

The price to be paid reflects a 70% premium on Meggitt's closing share price
on Friday, which was 469.1p.

 

"During our long-standing presence in the UK we have built great respect for
Meggitt, its heritage, and its place in British industry," said Tom
Williams, chairman and chief executive of Parker-Hannifin.

 

Sir Nigel Rudd, chairman of Meggitt, said: "Meggitt is one of the world's
foremost aerospace, defence and energy businesses, leading the market with a
strong portfolio of technology and manufacturing capabilities, and holding a
significant amount of intellectual property.

 

"Whilst Meggitt is currently pursuing a strong, standalone strategy which
will deliver value to shareholders over the long-term, Parker's offer
provides the opportunity to significantly accelerate and de-risk those
plans, while continuing to deliver for shareholders."-BBC

 

 

 

Afterpay: Jack Dorsey's Square in Australia's biggest buyout

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey's digital payments platform Square has agreed
to take over the Australian 'buy now, pay later' firm Afterpay.

 

The $29bn (A$39bn; £21bn) deal is set to be Australia's biggest-ever buyout.

 

The offer is a more than 30% premium to Afterpay's stock market closing
price on Friday.

 

The agreement will create an instalments payment giant as the industry sees
significant growth.

 

"Square and Afterpay have a shared purpose. We built our business to make
the financial system more fair, accessible, and inclusive, and Afterpay has
built a trusted brand aligned with those principles," Square co-founder and
chief executive Jack Dorsey said in a statement.

 

The Australian firm said its board has unanimously recommended the deal to
its shareholders, who are expected to own around 18.5% of the new company.

 

Founded in 2014 by Australians Nick Molnar and Anthony Eisen, Afterpay has
more than 16 million customers and is used by 100 million businesses around
the world.

 

Afterpay has been seen as a key indicator of the prospects for the niche
no-credit-checks online payments industry that jumped in popularity last
year as more users, especially young people, opted to pay in instalments for
everyday items during the coronavirus pandemic.

 

The agreement means that Afterpay will be able to expand more quickly in
America. Its latest annual figures showed sales in the US nearly tripled for
the period to $8.15bn.

 

At the same time Square announced second quarter earnings that showed gross
profit rose 91% to $1.14bn compared to the same period a year ago.

 

Afterpay shares were trading more than 20% higher in Monday's trade in
Sydney.

 

The huge popularity, swift uptake by users and relatively light-touch
regulation has led to rapid growth of the buy now, pay later industry.

 

In recent weeks there have been reports that technology giant Apple is
working on its own service that would allow shoppers to pay for purchases in
instalments.-BBC

 

 

 

Zoom settles US class action privacy lawsuit for $86m

Video-conferencing firm Zoom has agreed to pay $86m (£61.9m) to settle a
class action privacy lawsuit in the US.

 

The lawsuit alleged that Zoom had invaded the privacy of millions of users
by sharing personal data with Facebook, Google and LinkedIn.

 

It also accused Zoom of misstating that it offers end-to-end encryption and
for failing to prevent hackers from "zoombombing" sessions.

 

The firm denied any wrongdoing, but has agreed to boost its security
practices.

 

The preliminary settlement, which also includes a provision that Zoom will
give its staff specialised training in data handling and privacy, is still
subject to approval by US District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California.

 

A Zoom spokesman said: "The privacy and security of our users are top
priorities for Zoom, and we take seriously the trust our users place in us.

 

"We are proud of the advancements we have made to our platform, and look
forward to continuing to innovate with privacy and security at the
forefront."

 

The class-action lawsuit, filed in March 2020 in the US District Court in
the Northern District of California, is just one of several legal complaints
facing the US-based video-conferencing platform.

 

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Zoom Meetings paid subscribers
nationwide, as well as free users.

 

According to the plaintiff's lawyers, US Zoom subscribers generated $1.3bn
in revenues for the video-conferencing firm.

 

Should the proposed settlement be approved, subscribers included in the
class action would be eligible for 15% refunds on their subscriptions or
$25, whichever is larger, while others could receive up to $15.

 

The plaintiffs' lawyers also intend to seek $21.3m in legal fees from Zoom.

 

The video-conferencing firm had asked the court to dismiss the motion in
March.

 

However Judge Koh only granted the dismissal of part of the case pertaining
to invasion of privacy and negligence - she allowed the plaintiffs to
continue to pursue some claims relating to contracts.

 

Zoombombing and security concerns

The video-conferencing firm has long been criticised for its approach to its
security.

 

One key issue that has led to some companies choosing to stop using the
platform is the phenomena of "Zoombombing" incidents, where uninvited guests
crash meetings to cause problems.

 

According to the New York Times, in April last year a virtual Chipotle event
during the coronavirus lockdown was disrupted when a hacker entered and
broadcast pornography to hundreds of attendees.

 

Zoom has also come under fire for security flaws, including a vulnerability
that allowed an attacker to remove attendees from meetings, spoof messages
from users and hijack shared screens. Another saw Mac users forced into
calls without their knowledge.

 

On top of this, plaintiffs of the lawsuit accused the platform of
misrepresenting its encryption protocol - transport encryption - as
end-to-end encryption.

 

This means Zoom can access the video and audio of meetings, rather than the
meeting's participants being the only ones able to decrypt communications.

 

However, since April 2020, the BBC understands that Zoom has undertaken a
substantial amount of work to address security and privacy concerns through
app updates, including the introduction of end-to-end encryption and more
than 100 features related to privacy, safety and security.-BBC

 

 

 

Beyond Meat boss backs tax on meat consumption

The founder of the world's biggest plant-based meat firm says a tax on meat
could get people to cut their consumption of animal-based products.

 

Beyond Meat boss Ethan Brown told the BBC he is in favour of a "pigouvian
tax" on activities that create adverse side effects for society.

 

Taxing meat consumption could help emerging markets to invest on plant-based
protein instead, he stressed.

 

But critics argue that such a levy would raise the cost of living.

 

Mr Brown thinks that consumers are already starting to make the choice to
eat less meat.

 

"If you look at shopper data that we have, 93% of the people that are
putting the Beyond burger in their cart are also putting animal protein in,"
he said.

 

"That says we're getting more and more penetration into the broadest swath
of the market, which is people who are consuming animal protein, but again,
are hearing this information about their health or maybe hearing about
climate, or maybe uncomfortable with factory farming, they're deciding to
cut down on their consumption of animal-based products."

 

Getting prices down

Beyond Meat's products are made from ingredients such as peas and mung
beans, coloured with substances such as beetroot juice and apple extract.

 

Cost, as well as taste and texture are, according to Mr Brown, the three
elements his company has to get right, as plant-based meat can be much more
expensive than animal meat. But he thinks that over time prices will come
down.

 

image captionPlant-based meat is often more expensive, but Beyond Meat boss
Ethan Brown says this will change as the company scales and consumers become
more aware of alternatives to meat

He references the three-year global deal Beyond Meat signed in February with
McDonalds and Yum! Brands, the parent company of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco
Bell.

 

"As we scale, we'll begin to be able to underprice animal protein - if you
look at our facilities, and you look at the facilities of say, some of our
plant or animal-based competitors, right, we're still a very small company
[but] that's going to change.

 

"One of the reasons I was so focused on these deals with McDonald's and with
Yum is because I believe that's the route to [bringing] costs down and to
scaling and to being able to make these products accessible to every
consumer that wants them."

 

Animal meat prices rising

A tax on meat consumption would definitely be beneficial to companies such
as Beyond Meat because it would make their products cheaper in comparison,
says Rebecca Scheuneman, an equity analyst at US financial services firm
Morningstar.

 

How much of an advantage it would give "depends how significant the tax
would be", she told the BBC.

 

However, at the same time latest research from Morningstar shows the the
global meat market was worth $1.4bn (£1bn) last year and is growing.

 

Ms Scheuneman points out the price gap is already closing from both
directions: "Meat prices now have spiked up in the last couple of years [as]
disruption from the pandemic caused a lot of disruption and meat production
which caused higher prices.

 

"And I do think that given the limited resources of the earth, and an
increasing demand for meat, as emerging markets become wealthier, it is
likely that prices for traditional animal proteins will increase over time."

 

For consumers, pricing is an important factor. A recent survey of 3,000 US
consumers by Citi Bank found that 32% of people were put off of plant-based
meat by the cost, saying it was too expensive.

 

This is an improvement, compared to Citi's previous survey in August 2020,
when 38% of respondents said they found plant-based meat to be too costly -
a reflection of the fact that manufacturers have been trying to cut prices.

 

Beyond Meat's rival Impossible Foods, slashed prices by 20% earlier this
year.

 

Citi's Wendy Nicholson said one reason why consumers were not going back to
be regular purchasers of plant-based meat was the higher price, so "this
does seem to be a real topic for the companies to address".

 

Focus on climate change

Ms Scheuneman says demand is clearly growing for plant-based meats: "It has
really been most popular with younger generations and it's really the
younger generations that have the most broad-based concern about our
environment."

 

The UK government's advisory body on climate change says that ministers
should be urging people to eat less meat in order to protect the climate.

 

However, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ruled out a tax on meat
consumption as a way to do this. A recent study from the University of
Bristol found the costs would outweigh the benefits to the climate.

 

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the
livestock industry accounts for about 14.5% of global greenhouse gas
emissions. Cutting those would help tackle climate change and Mr Brown says
plant-based meat has an important contribution to make.

 

He cites a study from the University of Michigan which he says found that
the Beyond burger uses 99% less water than an animal protein burger, emits
90% fewer missions in the production process that an animal protein burger,
uses 93% less land and about half the energy.

 

Mr Brown thinks these environmental benefits are important "particularly for
this younger generation, the ones that are flight shaming, and marching on
climate, because they're going to have to live in this environment".

 

"For a few dollars at the centre of your plate, you can communicate what
you're about, you don't have to go and buy that Tesla right away or some
other electric vehicle, you can start by just doing something really simple,
which is changing the protein at centre of your plate," he added.-BBC

 

 

 

Hollywood plans £700m film and TV studios in Hertfordshire

Plans for a £700m "world-class" film and TV studios facility in the UK have
been announced by a Hollywood studio.

 

The owners of Sunset Studios in Los Angeles and an investment firm have
bought a 91-acre site in Hertfordshire for £120m.

 

Subject to planning permission, the production centre would be built in
Broxbourne.

 

The government said it was "supporting" the development of such stage spaces
across the UK.

 

Oliver Dowden, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport,
said: "This new studio is yet another vote of confidence in the UK's booming
film and TV industry.

 

"Through the British Film Commission, we're supporting the development of
stage spaces like this across the UK - boosting the local economy and
backing our world-class creatives to make the next Bond blockbuster or
bingeworthy box set."

 

Mr Dowden is also the Conservative MP for the neighbouring Hertsmere
constituency, which includes Elstree Studios,

 

Los Angeles-based studio owner and operator Hudson Pacific has joined with
investment company Blackstone and they hoped to transform Broxbourne into a
hub for UK and international productions.

 

The companies anticipated it would "contribute £300m annually to the local
economy" and could create up to 4,500 jobs.

 

James Seppala, head of Blackstone Real Estate Europe, said the development
would "deliver a world-class studio facility that will help ensure that the
UK continues to be a premiere destination for content production globally".

 

It would be the first expansion of the Sunset Studios brand outside the
United States, which was home to film productions such as When Harry Met
Sally, Zoolander and La La Land.

 

Victor Coleman, chairman and chief executive of Hudson Pacific, said he was
looking forward to "working with Broxbourne Council to ensure the project
has a meaningful and positive impact on the local community".

 

Lewis Cocking, leader of Broxbourne Borough Council, said it was a
"fantastic opportunity" for the area.

 

"Creative industries are of strategic importance to us and the creation of
4,500 permanent new jobs and the associated boost to the local economy is
just what we need following the pandemic," he said.-BBC

 

 

Smaller firms hit by 'pingdemic' staff shortages

The coronavirus pandemic dealt a heavy blow to small businesses, which are
now feeling the knock-on effects of staff shortages.

 

Many small firms, not eligible for critical worker status, are struggling
with the affects of staff being told to isolate by the NHS Covid app.

 

This problem is exacerbated by existing staff shortages in sectors such as
hospitality, where industry bodies say one in five workers left during the
pandemic.

 

While larger businesses are more able to rely on a broader workforce,
smaller companies are being forced to close because of too many staff having
to isolate.

 

Employees no longer on furlough are suffering from this loss in earnings.
Calum O'Flynn, an assistant bar manager at London's Head + Tails pub in
Hampstead, lost out in tip money from having to isolate after being pinged.

 

"About 25% of my income comes from tips, so if you get pinged on a Thursday
or Friday, you're missing a huge amount - it could be two-thirds' rent for
most of us," he told the BBC.

 

In total, there are 12 staff at the venue and each typically makes between
£400 and £600 a month in tips. Calum was pinged early in the week, which
meant he didn't miss too many critical weekends when more service profit is
made.

 

"On one shift, three were pinged just before and then another while we were
working, which is so tough as we're not able to provide service as well as
we'd want, with half a team working twice as hard."

 

Calum was furloughed during the lockdowns, but says it doesn't cover the
loss of earnings from having to isolate now. The business reduced capacity
from 150 to 60 people, which has also meant a reduction in tips.

 

"It's a risk for me to go on holiday because I just don't know about whether
I can afford it- there's just no buffer zone now," he explained.

 

"We've had burnout and it's been really stressful, we're all just
exhausted," he said.

 

Seeking solutions

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, told
the BBC that NHS Test and Trace had been a "huge issue".

 

"Already pubs are closing or greatly reducing their opening hours due to
staff shortages caused by app pings - despite staff testing negative on
lateral flow tests," she said.

 

The industry body is urging the government to work with them to find a
"sensible solution" to the problem as 43% of pub staff are aged 18 to 25,
meaning a wait for their second vaccine shot.

 

>From 16 August, double-jabbed individuals and under-18s will no longer be
required to self-isolate if they have been in contact with someone with the
virus.

 

A government spokesman from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial
Strategy told the BBC it was working with the sector as the UK's
"world-leading vaccine roll-out continues to enable the safe re-opening of
the industry".

 

"While we recognise the issues faced by pubs and bars, self-isolation
remains an essential tool in our national efforts to reduce the spread of
Covid-19."

 

London-based restaurant and BBQ delivery service Cue Point has also
suffered, both from last-minute staff shortages and food wastage from
cancelled events.

 

"Staff retention is non-existent because of the app notifications - we've
had to employ friends last-minute," Cue Point's director, Mursal Saiq, told
the BBC.

 

"You just can't rely on having staff at the moment. Operationally it's
nearly impossible to run events right now."

 

The problem extends to hiring equipment, with booking windows reduced for
fridge vans and extra crockery cleaning costs.

 

The company also moved to nationwide online deliveries during lockdown, so
it still has a container of cardboard boxes, no longer needed now events are
their central focus again.

 

Ms Saiq said the business had lost £10,000 in event cancellations since
reopening and an additional £15,000 from wasted food, because the smokery
means the meat has a short shelf-life.

 

"You end up having more than you need or less than you want, almost
constantly," she explained.

 

The business has four festivals booked this summer, which it expects to make
between £20,000 and £30,000 at, but Ms Saiq said she was worried about
losing staff last-minute.

 

The chief executive of UK Hospitality, Kate Nicholls, told the BBC the
"pingdemic" was endangering the critical summer trading period by "forcing
thousands of healthy workers to self-isolate and businesses to limit
services, cancel events or close altogether".

 

"The government should look to bring in a test-to-release scheme as soon as
possible. This will allow team members who are fully vaccinated to test
after a ping and, subject to a negative result, return to work," she said.

 

Those not fully vaccinated should be allowed to work after two negative
tess, she added.

 

Functions and weddings have also meant reduced waiting staff for Marco
Bosonotto, owner of With Fire catering, but as his firm uses agency waiters,
they have managed to find fill-ins at short notice.

 

"We've been lucky as our chefs and freelancers haven't had to isolate yet,"
he explained.

 

He said customers had been "really understanding". He has let them
reschedule within 12 months to alternative dates if too many guests are
pinged.

 

"We've lost a few thousand pounds since reopening, but it's not
catastrophic," he told the BBC.

 

"This week we had a corporate event cancel last minute, but they paid in
full and we could use the food elsewhere, but that's the rarest thing that
ever happens."

 

'Hung out to dry'

Amy Keyte co-owns White Radish Event Catering based in Cornwall. It
currently caters for between eight and 14 weddings a month, which is back to
pre-pandemic levels.

 

But she can lose up to £3,000 per wedding if guests get pinged before the
event.

 

"Numbers are typically dropping from 100 to 70 guests, so we'll often not
prepare the remainder, so the bride and groom can have the food the next
day," she told the BBC.

 

Depending on differing rules for each venue, Ms Keyte can get up to a week's
notice of fewer guests - or just 24 hours if they are testing the night
before the wedding.

 

"I think hospitality has been hung out to dry this year. It's been so
difficult with the rules," she said.

 

"It's nice to be back at work as long as nothing changes. We're getting back
to normal, but fingers crossed there's not another lockdown."-BBC

 

 

 

Twitter's Dorsey leads $29 bln buyout of lending pioneer Afterpay

(Reuters) - Square Inc (SQ.N), the payments firm of Twitter Inc (TWTR.N)
co-founder Jack Dorsey, will purchase buy now, pay later (BNPL) pioneer
Afterpay Ltd (APT.AX) for $29 billion, creating a global transactions giant
in the biggest buyout of an Australian firm.

 

The takeover underscores the popularity of a business model that has upended
consumer credit by charging merchants a fee to offer small point-of-sale
loans which their shoppers repay in interest-free instalments, bypassing
credit checks.

 

It also locks in a remarkable share-price run for Afterpay, whose stock
traded below A$10 in early 2020 and has since soared as the COVID-19
pandemic - and stimulus payments to a workforce stuck at home - saw a rapid
shift to shopping online.

 

The all-stock buyout would value the shares at A$126.21 ($92.65), the
companies said in a joint statement on Monday.

 

That means a payday of A$2.46 billion each for Afterpay's founders, Anthony
Eisen and Nick Molnar. China's Tencent Holdings Ltd (0700.HK), which paid
A$300 million for 5% of Afterpay in 2020, would pocket A$1.7 billion.

 

"Acquiring Afterpay is a 'proof of concept' moment for buy now, pay later,
at once validating the industry and creating a formidable new competitor for
Affirm Holdings Inc (AFRM.O), PayPal Holdings Inc (PYPL.O) and Klarna Inc,"
Truist Securities analysts said.

 

"We expect Square will invest heavily to integrate Afterpay and accelerate
organic revenue growth."

 

Afterpay shares jumped slightly higher than Square's indicative purchase
price in early trading before settling just below it at A$116.51 by mid
afternoon, up 20.55% and helping push the broader market up 1.4% (.AXJO).

 

 

"We built our business to make the financial system more fair, accessible,
and inclusive, and Afterpay has built a trusted brand aligned with those
principles," said Dorsey in the statement.

 

"Together we can better connect our ... ecosystems to deliver even more
compelling products and services for merchants and consumers, putting the
power back in their hands."

 

The Afterpay founders said the deal marked "an important recognition of the
Australian technology sector as homegrown innovation continues to be shared
more broadly throughout the world".

 

STOCK SURGE

 

The deal, which eclipses the previous record for a completed Australian
buyout - the $16 billion sale of Westfield's global shopping mall empire to
Unibail-Rodamco in 2018 - also pushed up shares of rival BNPL player Zip Co
Ltd (Z1P.AX), by 7.53%.

 

Afterpay also competes with unlisted Sweden-based Klarna Inc as well as new
offerings from U.S. veteran online payments provider PayPal Holdings Inc
(PYPL.O).

 

"Few other suitors are as well-suited as Square," said Wilsons Advisory and
Stockbroking analysts in a research note.

 

The Afterpay app is seen on the screen of a mobile phone in a picture
illustration taken August 2, 2021. REUTERS/Loren Elliott/Illustration

 

 

"With ... PayPal already achieving early success in their native BNPL, other
than major U.S. tech-titans (Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O), Apple Inc (AAPL.O))
lobbying an 11-th hour bid, we expect a competing proposal from a new party
to be low-risk."

 

Credit Suisse analysts said the tie-up seemed to be an "obvious fit" with
"strategic merit" based on cross-selling payment products, and agreed a
competing bid was unlikely.

 

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which would need to
approve the transaction, said it had just been notified of the plan and
"will consider it carefully once we see the details".

 

POPULARITY

 

Created in 2014, Afterpay has been the bellwether of the niche
no-credit-checks online payments sector that burst into the mainstream last
year as more people, especially youngsters, chose to pay in instalments for
everyday items during the pandemic.

 

BNPL firms lend shoppers instant funds, typically up to a few thousand
dollars, which can be paid off interest-free.

 

As they generally make money from merchant commission and late fees - and
not interest payments - they sidestep the legal definition of credit and
therefore credit laws.

 

That means BNPL providers are not required to run background checks on new
accounts, unlike credit card companies, and normally request just an
applicant's name, address and birth date. Critics say that makes the system
an easier fraud target.

 

The loose regulation, burgeoning popularity and quick uptake among users has
led to rapid growth in the sector, and has reportedly even driven Apple to
launch a service. read more

 

For Afterpay, the deal with Square delivers a large customer base in its
main target market, the United States, where its fiscal 2021 sales nearly
tripled to A$11.1 billion in constant currency terms.

 

The deal "looks close to a done deal, in the absence of a superior
proposal," said Ord Minnett analyst Phillip Chippindale, adding that it
"brings significant scale advantages, including to Square's Seller and Cash
app products."

 

Talks between the two companies began more than a year ago and Square was
confident there was no rival offer, said a person with direct knowledge of
the deal.

 

Afterpay shareholders will get 0.375 of Square class A stock for every
Afterpay share they own, implying a price of about A$126.21 per share based
on Square's Friday close, the companies said. The deal includes a break
clause worth A$385 million triggered by certain circumstances such as if
Square investors do not approve the takeover.

 

Square said it will undertake a secondary listing on the Australian
Securities Exchange to allow Afterpay shareholders to trade in shares via
CHESS depositary interests (CDIs).

 

Morgan Stanley advised Square on the deal, while Goldman Sachs and Highbury
Partnership consulted for Afterpay and its board.

 

($1 = 1.3622 Australian dollars)

 

 

 

Asian factory activity hit by rising costs, Delta variant

(Reuters) - Asia's factories hit a rough patch in July as rising input costs
and a new wave of coronavirus infections overshadowed solid global demand,
highlighting the fragile nature of the region's recovery.

 

Manufacturing activity rose in export powerhouses Japan and South Korea,
though firms suffered from supply chain disruptions and raw material
shortages that pushed up costs.

 

China's factory activity growth slipped sharply in July as demand contracted
for the first time in over a year, a private survey showed, broadly aligning
with an official survey released on Saturday showing a slowdown in activity.
read more

 

"Supply bottlenecks remain a constraint. But the PMIs suggest demand is
cooling too, taking the heat out of price gains and weighing on activity in
industry and construction," said Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China
economist at Capital Economics.

 

Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia saw factory activity shrink in July due to a
resurgence in infections and stricter COVID-19 restrictions, according to
private surveys.

 

The surveys highlight the divergence emerging across the global economy on
the pace of recovery from pandemic-induced strains, which led the
International Monetary Fund to downgrade this year's growth forecast for
emerging Asia. read more

 

"The risk is that growth scars linger for longer even if activity recovers
in the coming months," said Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asian Economics
Research at HSBC.

 

"Plus, cooling export momentum, far from a temporary blip, provides a hint
of what to expect in quarters to come," he said, adding that such
uncertainty over the outlook would prod Asian central banks to maintain
loose monetary policy.

 

China's Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to
50.3 in July from 51.3 in June, marking the lowest level in 15 months, as
rising costs clouded the outlook for the world's manufacturing hub.

 

The final au Jibun Bank Japan PMI rose to 53.0 in July from 52.4 in the
previous month, though manufacturers saw input prices rise at the fastest
pace since 2008. read more

 

Japan also faces a surge in Delta variant cases that has forced the
government to expand state of emergency curbs to wider areas through Aug.
31, casting a shadow over the Olympic Games and dashing hopes for a sharp
rebound in July-September growth.

 

South Korea's PMI stood at 53.0 in July, holding above the 50 mark
indicating an expansion in activity for the 10th straight month. But a
sub-index on input prices rose at the second highest on record in a sign of
the strain firms are feeling from rising raw material costs. read more

 

Underscoring the pandemic's strain on emerging Asia, Indonesia's PMI plunged
to 40.1 in July from 53.5 in June.

 

Manufacturing activity also shrank in Vietnam and Malaysia, the PMI July
surveys showed.

 

While still grappling with infections, easing restrictions helped India's
factory activity bounced back in July as demand surged both at home and
abroad. read more

 

Once seen as a driver of global growth, Asian's emerging economies are
lagging their advanced peers in recovering from the pandemic's pain as
delays in vaccine rollouts hurt domestic demand and countries reliant on
tourism.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

HSBC profit more than doubles, loan-loss fears ebb as economies rebound

(Reuters) - HSBC Holdings (HSBA.L) beat forecasts on Monday with first-half
pretax profit that more than doubled from last year when it set aside $7
billion to cover pandemic-related bad loans.

 

Encouraged by an economic rebound in its two biggest markets of Hong Kong
and Britain, HSBC reinstated dividend payments, flagged higher payouts in
the future, and released $700 million that had been set aside as provisions.

 

Like rivals, Europe's biggest bank is benefiting from better-than-hoped for
resilience on the part of companies grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic.
That said, a decline in revenue underscored that HSBC still has longer-term
challenges ahead.

 

HSBC's pretax profit came in at $10.8 billion, higher than the $4.32 billion
logged in the same period a year earlier and a consensus estimate of $9.45
billion compiled by the bank.

 

Revenue fell 4% due to a low interest rate environment especially in Asia,
where it makes most of its money, and a weaker performance from its
investment bank compared to a strong first-half last year.

 

Growth is set to come from a renewed focus on fees from managing wealthy
customers' investments and shifting more of its investment banking resources
from Europe and the United States to Asia, Chief Executive Noel Quinn told
Reuters.

 

"We're still in the early days of the economic rebound, we need to see all
those numbers become the trend for the future, we are encouraged but there
is more still to go," he said.

 

Quinn said he did not expect any decline in investment appetite for China
after regulatory crackdowns have upended norms for the country's tech,
property and private tutoring sectors, leaving some international investors
bruised and uncertain. read more

 

 

"We see strong liquidity seeking investment opportunities in Hong Kong and
Asia," he said.

 

HSBC's shares rose 1.7% in London, outperforming a 1% gain in the benchmark
FTSE index (.FTSE). Its Hong Kong shares were up 1.1%.

 

INCOME SQUEEZE

 

Despite the headline profit surge, the earnings underlined that HSBC was,
unlike its competitors, failing to benefit from a frenzy in stock listings
and tech company fundraisings after opting not to join the current boom in
special purpose acquisition company (SPACs) listings.

 

 

"It has been a very conscious decision to stay away from SPACs because that
sector runs an elevated risk of litigation," Chief Financial Officer Ewen
Stevenson told Reuters.

 

Revenue for HSBC's investment bank slid 23% in the second quarter against
the same period a year ago at a time when U.S. banks and U.S.-focused rivals
such as Barclays (BARC.L) have seen strong performances. read more

 

The bank also saw pre-tax profit from Asia declining 5.9%, a drop Stevenson
said was "almost entirely driven by the reduction in interest rates". Both
longer and shorter term Hibors, the benchmark lending rates in Hong Kong,
were near 10-year lows for much of the quarter.

 

On a more positive note, HSBC said given the brighter outlook globally as
economies recover faster than expected from the pandemic, it expects credit
losses to be below its medium-term forecast of 0.3%-0.4% of its loans.

 

It said that for the year, it might be able to make a net release of funds
from earlier provisions rather than add to them, but it was hard to say
definitely due to the unknown impact of government support programmes,
vaccine rollouts and new strains of the virus.

 

The bank will keep share buybacks under review as an option to return excess
cash to shareholders, Stevenson told analysts, after earlier this year
ruling them out as an option. It also said it would move to within its
target payout range of 40-55% of reported earnings per share within 2021.

 

HSBC plans to pay an interim dividend of seven cents a share after the Bank
of England scrapped payout curbs last month. That compares with its interim
dividend of $0.31 per share in pre-pandemic 2019. read more

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Asian shares try to stabilise, China growth a worry

(Reuters) - Asian shares were seeking a modicum of stability on Monday as a
run of stellar U.S. corporate earnings put a floor under markets, though
Beijing's regulatory crackdown continued to reverberate amid disappointing
economic news.

 

China's woes were underlined by surveys showing factory activity slowing
sharply in July amid rising costs and extreme weather. read more

 

In contrast, Europe's economic recovery outpaced all expectations last
quarter, while U.S consumers spent with abandon in June as coronavirus
restrictions eased, a trend likely to ensure a strong payrolls report at the
end of this week.

 

"Surging company profits in the U.S. and lower bond yields are providing
support, and in any case the rising trend in shares is likely to remain in
place into next year as rising vaccination rates allow economic recovery to
continue," said Shane Oliver, chief investment strategist at AMP Capital.

 

About 89% of the nearly 300 recent U.S. earnings reports have beaten
analysts' profit estimates. Earnings are now expected to have climbed 89.8%
in the second quarter, versus forecasts of 65.4% at the start of July.

 

There was also the prospect of more fiscal stimulus ahead as U.S. senators
worked to finalise a sweeping $1 trillion infrastructure plan that could
pass this week. read more

 

The optimism was apparent on Wall Street with S&P 500 futures rising 0.5%
and Nasdaq futures 0.4%.

 

EUROSTOXX 50 futures added 0.3%, while FTSE futures gained 0.2%/

 

Asia has not fared so well, with China's crackdown on the tech and education
sectors hammering stocks, while the spread of the Delta variant of the
coronavirus in the region hit growth.

 

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS)
was last up 0.2%, having hit its low for the year so far last week.

 

Japan's Nikkei (.N225) bounced back 1.6%, but that was from its lowest since
January. Investors were anxiously watching Chinese blue chips (.CSI300)
which gained 0.9%, after shedding 5.5% last week.

 

"The 10-15 year period where foreign investors were allowed to participate
in the walled garden of Chinese high growth stocks was an aberration," said
BofA economist Ajay Kapur.

 

A shift in China's regulatory regime was underway that held implication well
beyong the tech sector, he said.

 

"Regulatory tightening in the world's second largest economy intended to
reduce inequality and make housing and goods more affordable is
deflationary, something that the many bond bears need to consider."

 

Equity valuations elsewhere have already been supported by a steady decline
in bond yields, with yields on U.S. 10-year notes falling for five weeks in
a row to reach 1.23%.

 

That drop combined with surprisingly strong EU economic data out on Friday
to lift the euro to $1.1866 , away from its July low of $1.1750.

 

The dollar has also drifted off to 109.67 yen , from its recent top of
110.58, but has support around 109.35. As a result, the dollar index has
eased to 92.110 , from a July peak of 93.194.

 

The drop in bond yields and the dollar gave gold a fillip last week but it
again faltered at resistance around $1,832 and was last trading flat at
$1,811 an ounce .

 

Oil prices eased on Monday as soft Chinese data undermined the outlook for
demand, though that follows four straight months of price gains.

 

Brent was last down $1.02 at $74.39 a barrel, while U.S. crude lost 91 cents
to $73.04.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Half full or half empty? Heineken doubles profit, warns on costs

(Reuters) - Dutch brewing giant Heineken (HEIN.AS) expects the COVID-19
pandemic to weigh on key Asian markets for the rest of the year and rising
costs to dent margins, it said after posting a better than expected doubling
of first-half earnings on Monday

 

Chief Executive Dolf van den Brink, who has been at the helm of the world's
second-largest brewer for a year, said the company was pleased with the
strong first half, but expressed caution, with results expected to remain
below pre-pandemic levels in 2021 as a whole.

 

"Unlike last year, we now see significant impact on the business in
southeast Asia," Van den Brink told Reuters in a telephone interview on
Monday, referring to the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

He said Vietnam, a top three market for Heineken, was a concern, with
lockdowns imposed in its strongholds in cities and the south of the country.
Elsewhere, the company's Malaysia brewery is shut and reduced tourism is
hitting Indonesian sales.

 

The maker of Europe's top-selling lager Heineken, Tiger and Sol, previously
forecast an improvement in market conditions in the second half of 2021,
depending on vaccine roll-outs.

 

Rising commodity costs, including for barley, sugar and aluminium for cans,
would start affecting Heineken in the second half of 2021 and would have a
"material effect" in 2022, when hedging contracts were no longer mitigating
the increases.

 

Marketing expenses would also be skewed towards the second half as bars
reopened.

 

Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI.BR), the world's largest brewer, last week
reported a surge in beer sales in the second quarter, but higher can and
transport costs curbed profits. read more

 

Heineken sold almost 10% more beer in the first half than a year ago and Van
den Brink said the company would seek to be "assertive" on pricing, having
achieved nearly 10% higher prices per hectolitre of beer in the Americas and
Africa/Middle East in the first half.

 

Its shares rose almost 2% in early trading before giving up most of the
gains to stand 0.5% higher at 98.74 euros by 0830 GMT.

 

Trevor Stirling, beverage analyst at Bernstein said he expected consensus
earnings estimates for this year to rise.

 

"The inflationary environment will be much higher next year. How much can
they recover in pricing?"

 

 

The company said more than half of the savings under its three-year plan to
save 2 billion euros and restore profit margins to pre-pandemic levels by
2023, partly through cutting 8,000 jobs, should be achieved by the end of
2021. read more

 

First-half operating profit before one-offs doubled to 1.63 billion euros
($1.93 billion), compared with the average forecast in a company-compiled
poll of 1.22 billion euros. ($1 = 0.8427 euros)

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Goldman Sachs to raise pay for junior investment bankers - Business Insider

(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) is raising salaries for its
junior employees in the investment bank division, Business Insider reported
on Sunday.

 

The bank's second-year analysts will now make $125,000 in base compensation,
while first-year associates will earn $150,000, Business Insider reported,
citing two people familiar with the situation.

 

No formal announcement about the pay raise has been made and it was unclear
which other levels of employees at the investment banking division have also
been given salary increases, the report from the financial and business news
website said.

 

Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

 

Investment banks have raised pay for first- and second-year associates this
summer in an attempt to ease the strain on these workers and compensate them
more for their work supporting more senior staff in a year of unprecedented
deal making.

 

Citi Group (C.N), Morgan Stanley (MS.N), UBS Group AG (UBSG.S) and Deutsche
Bank AG have already increased pay for their first-year analysts to around
$100,000, a raise of about $15,000. read more

 

In February, a group of junior bankers in Goldman's investment bank told
senior management they were working nearly 100 hours a week and sleeping 5
hours a night to keep up with an over-the-top workload and "unrealistic
deadlines." Half of the group, which consisted of 13 first-year employees,
said they were likely to quit by summer unless conditions improved.

 

Goldman's Chief Executive Officer David Solomon has said the bank was
working to hire more associates to help with the workload, and vowed to
enforce the "Saturday rule," which prohibits employees from working between
9 p.m. Friday night and 9 a.m. on Sunday, except in certain circumstances.
read more

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

Nigeria: New CBN Forex Policy a Step in the Right Direction But...

Until recently, the Central Bank of Nigeria expended nearly half a billion
dollars every month in meeting the dollar demand of Nigerians through a
third-party platform: Bureau de Change operators. This is no longer
sustainable as the value of the local currency (naira) against the US dollar
has crashed by over 200 per cent within the space of roughly two years,
prompting the apex bank to look inward in search of a radical path to
redeeming the value of the naira.

 

The Bureau de Change agents are alleged to have played a key role in
fuelling this grim situation. Motivated by this, the apex bank, effective 27
July 2021, has decided to technically end the operation of Bureau de Change
in the country. Interestingly, this development is in tandem with one of the
recommendations I penned down in a March 2021 opinion piece for the Daily
Trust: disbanding the Bureau de Change as they have been operating under the
cloak of darkness, thereby facilitating illegal financial transactions. 

 

The ban is one of the long-awaited, best, and bravest policy moves by the
Central Bank in recent times. It is therefore worthy of commendation. The
move will likely yield two outcomes. First, it will vanquish existing
ill-driven political interest that has been thriving at the expense of the
local currency (the naira), and consequently the nation's economic progress.
Second, it will unleash a wave of economic benefits for most of the
population - ranging from raising the value of the naira, lowering
import-induced inflation to augmenting the country's external reserves as
the shortage of forex often leaves the local currency and the economy
unprotected when faced with negative blows in world oil prices.

The problem of price swings is demonstrated by the tight links between oil
prices and GDP per capita. For instance, the global oil price bust of the
late 1970s was followed by a long period of economic decline in Nigeria
which sent GDP per capita, a rough indicator of living standards, tumbling.
Following almost two decades of decline, the economy started to grow again,
by about 3 per cent per year. That growth coincided with a rise in world oil
prices. This implies that the country has seen no real economic progress
outside of whether oil happens to be more expensive.

 

Also, history is replete with undisputed facts on what happens to inflation
in Nigeria whenever there is depreciation in the value of the currency
triggered by falling global oil prices and the shortage of external reserves
to pay for imports. For instance, exchange rate and inflation in the
country, since the past decade, have been moving in the same direction such
that they were both at their peaks by January 2017, 18.72% and 493.28,
respectively.

Worthy of note, "inflation hurts the poor rather than the rich as the rich
are better able to protect themselves against, or benefit from, the effects
of inflation than the poor." The poor, the pensioners and public servants
with incomes and wages not indexed to price changes are always at the
receiving end of inflation. Therefore, the stability of the exchange rate
will, potentially, indirectly benefit the poor in the long run as it will
play a significant role in taming the ravaging effects of inflation on the
welfare of low- and fixed-income earners.

 

One, it is one thing to design and launch a policy and it is entirely
another to successfully execute the policy. Closing the forex window for
Bureau de Change is a necessary condition but not a sufficient one in
shielding the currency from speculative attacks and utter collapse.

 

While this policy excites those wishing the country well, it is bad news for
those who have been profiting from the business that has, for decades,
ripped the country's fragile financial system. There is no question that
vested interests will rise in an attempt to reverse, quash, or at least
render the policy infective. But if at all, they can only do so through the
executive branch of the national government. At this juncture, it is crucial
to mention that the independence of the Central Bank is not only
indispensable in breaking the political influence link with the presidency,
ensuring the steadiness of the exchange rate, and lowering inflation but
essential to achieving the nation's economic stability.

 

Moreover, even if the Central Bank is staffed with the world's best
professors of monetary economics and Nobel Laureates, it will remain a blunt
institution in managing the economy unless it is utterly free from
ill-intentioned political interferences. A politics-dominated Central Bank
is often "forced to create money and renege on its commitment to price
stability as many economists agree that higher Central Bank independence
yields lower inflation."

 

Therefore, a certain degree of autonomy can shield the bank from any undue
political interference otherwise politicians (instead of trained central
bankers) will be the ones pulling switches and moving levers at the helm of
the bank. It is important to point out that a high turnover rate of central
bank governors - the rate at which central bank governors are replaced - is
a signal of low central bank independence.

 

The Central Bank must plug potential holes otherwise, as the bank transfers
dollars to commercial banks, some of the dollars will fall through the gaps
and find their way, through the underground economy, to Bureau de Change and
interested individuals. It is therefore not enough for the Central Bank to
end the supply of dollars to the Bureau de Change. One way to counter this
potential shortcoming is to criminalise the buying and selling of foreign
currencies in the country except through commercial banks and their
authorised outlets.

 

Finally, it is hoped that this ban will outlive the current political
dispensation and successive future governments of the country.-Daily Trust.

 

 

Nigeria: NNPC Sold N234bn Petroleum Products in March

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said its downstream
subsidiary, the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), sold N234.63
billion worth of petroleum products in March 2021.

 

It represented a 24.7 percent increase from the N188.15bn sales of white
products recorded in February.

 

This is contained in the March 2021 (68th edition) of the NNPC Monthly
Financial and Operations Report (MFOR), said a statement from the NNPC
spokesman, Dr. Kennie Obateru.

 

>From March 2020 to March 2021, NNPC gotN2.129 trillion from product sale;
petrol brought 99.24% or N2.113tr of the total sales.

PPMC sold and distributed 1.75bn litres of white products which was lower
than 1.4bn litres sold in February. Out of this, petrol or Premium Motor
Spirit (PMS) was the highest with diesel (Automotive Gas Oil, AGO), having a
slight volume.

 

>From March 2020 to March 2021, the firm sold 17.374bn litres of white
products with PMS having 17.265bn litres or 99.37%.

 

NNPC said 222.74bn cubic feet (bcf) of natural gas was produced in March,
translating to an average daily production of 7,183.33 million standard
cubic feet per day (mmscfd).

 

Production from Joint Ventures (JVs), Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs)
and NPDC contributed about 63.23%, 19.78% and 63.99% respectively to the
total national gas production.

 

Out of the 210.55bcf supplied in March, 138.38bcf was commercialized
(45.42bcf domestic market and 92.96bcf for export market).

 

This translates to 1,465.42mmscfd of gas supplied to the domestic market and
2,998.26mmscfd supplied to the export market.

 

It said 63.18% of the average daily gas produced was commercialized while
the balance of 36.82% was re-injected, used as upstream fuel gas or flared.

 

It said 844mmscfd gas was supplied to gas-fired power plants in March to
generate about 3,530 megawatts (MW), higher than 825mmscfd (for 3,580MW)
supplied in February.-Daily Trust.

 

 

 

South Africa: SARS to Implement Tax Relief Measures

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) will implement tax relief measures
in response to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic and recent civil unrest.

 

At the weekend, the revenue collector said the relief measures, which were
announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa a week ago, are to assist affected
and tax compliant businesses to recover and ensure livelihoods for their
employees.

 

"SARS will implement these tax relief measures because compliant taxpayers
have paid their fair share of tax, making it possible for government to
provide such a temporary safety net in a time of extreme difficulty," SARS
said in a statement.

SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter said the first quarter of the current
financial year had exceeded expectations and had outperformed revenue
collections for the same period over the past three years.

 

He reiterated SARS's commitment to providing clarity and certainty to
taxpayers so that they fulfil their legal obligations effortlessly and pay
what is due. SARS, he said, will endeavour at all times to "make it easy and
seamless for taxpayers when they transact with the organisation".

 

However, Kieswetter warned that SARS has the capability to "detect and it
make it costly for those that are determined to be non-compliant with their
legal obligations and engage in criminal malfeasance through fraudulent
means against the organisation."

 

"The use of big data, artificial intelligence and the latest technology
enables SARS to offer digital services to protect taxpayers and staff during
the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and further buttresses SARS efforts in
delivering on our mandate," he said.

Measures to be implemented include the extension of the expanded Employment
Tax Incentive age eligibility and the amount that can be claimed, which is
aimed at supporting employment in the most vulnerable sections of the labour
market.

 

This will apply for a period of four months and will come into operation on
1 August 2021 and end on 30 November 2021.

 

The payment of employees' tax liabilities of compliant small to medium sized
businesses deferral will be extended between 1 August and October 2021.

 

"Tax compliant businesses with a gross income of up to R100 million will be
allowed to delay 35% of their Pay-As- You Earn (PAYE) liabilities over the
next three months, without penalties or interest.

 

"[There will be a] deferral of excise duties on alcoholic beverages of up to
three months by tax compliant licensees in the alcohol sector, on
application setting out the circumstances justifying a deferral," SARS
said.-SAnews.gov.za.

 

 

 

Kenya: New Portal to Curb Academic Dishonesty

The pace to rid the country of fake certificates is quickly gathering
momentum with 74 public universities registering to list their graduates in
a central database that will lock out academic cheats.

 

The registration exercise by the institutions to be considered as
Qualifications Awarding Institutions will close on September 30.

 

The universities are expected to register the qualifications they award,
followed by registration of the graduates on the Kenya National Learner's
Records Database by December 1 this year. The database will display all
records of graduates from primary school to university level.

Speaking during a consultative meeting with the Auditor General, Nancy
Gathungu, on July 22, the Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA)
chair, Dr Kilemi Mwiria, explained that the authority intends to ensure that
people seeking employment have genuine academic documents.

 

"It's important that institutions fast track the process for compliance and
progression of the country agenda in advancing development with the correct
human resource with genuine papers in an effort to restore integrity for all
holders of public and private offices," said Dr Mwiria.

 

Present genuine papers

 

"We should work on a memorandum of understanding on how best we can work
together," Ms Gathungu added, and advised job applicants to present genuine
papers, warning that action will be taken against those in employment who
will be found in possession of fake papers.

 

"We don't want people who are not qualified to be working as doctors,
policemen and on areas of intelligence because if the documents are not
genuine, it indicates that they were acquired for a purpose to sabotage the
system," said Ms Gathungu.

"What KNQA is doing is of national and security interest, so we need a
memorandum of understanding. Once it is in place, my office will seek the
help of KNQA in vetting job applicants," she added.

 

The authority will employ a multi layered approach set in place to reduce
opportunities and access points for hackers to ensure that only authorised
users are authenticated to access the data. A portal will also be opened for
members of the public to verify their qualifications. In case of mismatch or
any other form of discrepancy, such cases may be reported to the
institutions, which will have the rights to correct such anomalies.

 

The authority noted that institutions in rural areas that have no
electricity or internet connectivity will also benefit as 'Rural
Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation and Ministry of ICT intend
to connect electricity to all learning institutions, and the connection of
all learning institutions to the national fiber grid.

 

Fake academic documents

 

As the institutions start sending in their data, the authority says it has
put mechanisms in place to ensure data verification and integrity.

 

A recent report from KNQA reveals that one in every three Kenyans holds fake
academic documents.

 

On July 8, Abdalla Mohamed, a candidate who had been shortlisted for a
commissioner's job at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission
was forced to withdraw from the interviews after the Kenya Methodist
University disowned his degree.

 

Early this year, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, which started a
crackdown on fake certificate holders in formal jobs, has indicated that
they will partner with the KNQA to uncover the fraudsters.-Nation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


 


Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

 

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INVESTORS DIARY 2021

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


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
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companies typically involve a higher degree of risk and more volatility than
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any companies referred to in this report. Other  Indices quoted herein are
for guideline purposes only and sourced from third parties.

 


 

 


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<mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> info at bulls.co.zw Tel: +263 4 2927658 Cell: +263 77
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