Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 28 January 2021

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 28 January 2021

 


 

 

	
 


 

 


ü  Apple Christmas sales surge to $111bn amid pandemic

ü  British energy firm threatens to seize India government assets

ü  Tesla reports record deliveries but shares slide

ü  Gamestop: 'Failing' firm soars in value as amateurs buy stock

ü  UK car production tumbles to 'worst in a generation'

ü  Boeing 737 Max cleared to fly in UK and EU after crashes

ü  Asia shares unsettled by Wall St swoon, short seller squeeze

ü  Facebook scores earnings beat on holiday retail advertising; Apple
privacy changes loom

ü  Samsung Electronics sees solid chip demand, stronger phone sales in
first-quarter

ü  FedEx to relocate Hong Kong-based pilots to San Francisco to avoid
quarantine: memo

ü  South Africa: Govt Launches R1.2 Billion Tourism Equity Fund

ü  Mozambique: Special Economic Zone for Agribusiness Set Up

ü  Nigeria: Oil Host Communities Ask Govt to Scrap NDDC

ü  Lesotho: 45,000 Textile Jobs At Severe Risk

 

 


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Apple Christmas sales surge to $111bn amid pandemic

Apple sales have hit another record, as families loaded up on the firm's
latest phones, laptops and gadgets during the Christmas period.

 

Sales in the last three months of 2020 hit more than $111bn (£81bn) - up 21%
from the prior year.

 

The gains come as the pandemic pushes more activity online, fuelling demand
for new technology.

 

Apple now counts more than 1.65 billion active devices globally, including
more than 1 billion iPhones.

 

Apple's gains follow the release of its new iPhone 12 suite of phones, which
executives said had convinced a record number of people to switch to the
company or upgrade from older models.

 

The firm said growth in China - where the pandemic has already loosened its
grip on the economy - was particularly strong, helped in part by demand for
phones compatible with new 5G networks.

 

Sales in the firm's greater China region, which includes Hong Kong and
Taiwan, jumped 57%. In Europe, sales roles 17%, and they rose 11% in the
Americas.

 

"The products are doing very well all around the world," said Luca Maestri,
Apple's chief financial officer. "As we look ahead into the March quarter,
we've very optimistic."

 

Analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities said he thought the firm was just at
the beginning of a "super-cycle" as Apple devotees finally trade in old
phones, coinciding with upgrades to telecommunications networks.

 

"With 5G now in the cards and roughly 40% of its 'golden jewel' iPhone
installed base not upgrading their phones in the last 3.5 years, [Apple
chief Tim] Cook & Co have the stage set for a renaissance of growth," he
wrote.

 

Big Tech is having an exceptionally lucrative pandemic.

 

It's hard not to be wowed by some of these figures.

 

That Apple recorded more than $100bn in sales in just three months is simply
astonishing.

 

Facebook figures are also well up on where they were last year.

 

As other companies have struggled to survive, Big Tech has flourished.

 

There are other reasons for some of these incredible figures. Certainly it
seems iPhone enthusiasts were holding out for the new 5G enabled iPhone12.

 

But it's not just Apple and Facebook, all of the massive tech companies are
having a bumper year.

 

Covid-19 means people are spending more time indoors - buying things online,
watching things online and chatting online.

 

Perhaps then it's no surprise that these companies are posting record
breaking figures.

 

But others point to these figures as yet more evidence that Big Tech has
become too big to fail.

 

These figures are impressive. But they also attract the attention of
politicians who are increasingly asking difficult questions - like are these
tech mega companies operating in a market that is fair and with enough
competition?

 

Apple said profits in the quarter reached nearly $28.8bn, up 29% compared
with the same quarter last year.

 

The gains seen by technology firms like Apple contrast with losses hitting
many other economic sectors, as the virus restricts activity and keeps
shoppers at home.

 

Other tech firms, such as Microsoft and Facebook, have also enjoyed strong
growth.

 

Facebook on Wednesday said increased online shopping during the pandemic
helped lift ad revenue in the quarter by 30%.

 

The number of people active on its apps - which also include WhatsApp and
Instagram - also rose to 2.6 billion daily, up 15% compared to 2019.

 

It said ad spending could slow as the Covid crisis relaxes and shopper
appetite returns for services like travel rather than products.

 

It also warned that plans by Apple to change how it shares user data could
weigh on growth.--BBC

 

 

 

 

British energy firm threatens to seize India government assets

Cairn Energy has threatened to seize Indian government assets following a
$1.2bn (£880m) award from a long-running corporate tax case.

 

The UK-based energy firm was awarded damages by an international tribunal in
the high-profile dispute with the Indian government last month.

 

Cairn has started identifying assets it could seize if the Indian government
doesn't comply with the order.

 

Sources have said that these could include planes and ships.

 

The case was filed after income tax officials seized Cairn's 10% stake in
its Indian subsidiary.

 

In December the tribunal ruled unanimously that Delhi had violated the 2014
UK-India bilateral investment treaty.

 

It ordered Delhi to pay $1.2bn in damages, plus interest and costs, to
compensate Cairn for the shares as well as confiscated dividends.

 

But since the 582-page judgment was issued, Indian prime minister Narendra
Modi's government has given no indication about whether it intends to honour
the verdict, even though payment was due immediately.

 

Cairn has sent a letter to Indian government officials, seen by both Reuters
and the Financial Times, saying its shareholders "expect early resolution,
failing which they will expect Cairn to pursue the award in conformity with
its rights under the treaty".

 

"The award can be enforced against Indian assets in numerous jurisdictions
around the world for which the necessary preparations have been put in
place," the letter added.

 

Although the letter did not specify when assets might be seized, possible
targets could include those owned by public sector enterprises such as
state-owned Air India.

 

Cairn's battle with Indian authorities stems from a 2012 law that changed
the country's tax regime retrospectively.

 

In 2014 tax authorities cited the new law to claim unpaid dues stemming from
Cairn India's 2006 corporate reorganisation.

 

If it does happen, India would not be the first country to face seizure of
its international assets from an energy company.

 

In 2019, Venezuela was ordered by the World Bank to pay ConocoPhillips more
than $8bn to compensate for the 2007 expropriation of oil assets by the
country's late socialist leader Hugo Chavez.--BBC

 

 

 

 

Tesla reports record deliveries but shares slide

Tesla reported record deliveries in the fourth quarter, boosted by increased
demand for electric vehicles.

 

But its shares fell in after-hours trading after profit fell short of
analyst expectations.

 

While many car firms were hit hard in 2020 by the coronavirus pandemic,
Tesla bucked the trend.

 

Its shares surged nearly 700% over the year, making it the world's most
valuable carmaker.

 

Governments around the world have been "setting tougher targets for
switching to electric vehicles", helping to increase interest in Tesla, said
Rebecca Crook, chief growth officer at digital agency Somo.

 

"Tesla had an incredibly successful 2020, joining the likes of Amazon as the
unofficial 'winners' of a turbulent year," she said.

 

"It's been a challenging past 12 months for car manufacturers," she said.
"It's critical for Tesla to maintain this momentum because its success sends
optimism into the wider automotive industry."

 

Tesla, which is led by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, saw steady sales
and profitable quarters in 2020 as other car manufacturers were hit by the
effects of the Covid-19 crisis.

 

But the race is on in the car industry to develop electric vehicles to meet
emissions targets and challenge Tesla's market lead.

 

The company delivered 180,570 vehicles in the fourth quarter, a quarterly
record, even though it narrowly missed its overall 2020 goal of half a
million deliveries.

 

Net income, excluding share-based compensation payouts to Mr Musk, rose to
$903m (£660m) from $386m last year, falling short of average analyst
expectations for a $1.08bn quarterly profit.

 

This combined with a lack of a clear target for 2021 vehicle deliveries sent
shares down 4% in after-hours trade. Investors had hoped for a significant
increase over the company's 2020 delivery goal of half a million vehicles.

 

"Over a multi-year horizon, we expect to achieve 50% average annual growth
in vehicle deliveries. In some years we may grow faster, which we expect to
be the case in 2021," Tesla said in a statement.

 

Tesla 'will have to work harder'

But investor focus was "always going to be on profitability", which was
lower than the market had expected, said Nicholas Hyett, equity analyst at
Hargreaves Lansdown.

 

"We think that reflects the shift from premium Model S and X vehicles to
lower priced Model 3s and Model Ys," he said.

 

"Tesla will argue... as more vehicles are fed through production lines
profitability will improve. That's true, but it relies on global demand for
an ever-increasing number of Teslas."

 

The good news for Tesla is that electric vehicles have caught the public
imagination, said Mr Hyett, adding that Joe Biden's entrance to the White
House will probably mean more focus on electric vehicles.

 

"However, an increasingly competitive landscape means Tesla will have to
work harder in the future," he said.

 

At present Tesla is heavily reliant on selling carbon credits to rivals, but
as those rivals begin producing electric vehicles of their own, that demand
will fall, he added.--BBC

 

 

 

Gamestop: 'Failing' firm soars in value as amateurs buy stock

Shares in a US games company have soared more than 300% in the past week -
the result of a fight between private and professional investors.

 

Video games bricks-and-mortar retailer Gamestop is arguably something of a
relic in a world moving online.

 

But its share price soared another 120% in Wednesday trading in New York.

 

Analysts blame tech-savvy young day traders, who they say are taking on
hedge funds in a conflict with generational overtones.

 

And the phenomenon could be spreading to Europe, with several stocks subject
to unusual fluctuations in Wednesday trading.

 

It's a battle between Wall Street pros and upstart investors using social
media platforms such as Reddit, analysts say. And at the moment, the
upstarts have the upper hand.

 

It is, says Neil Wilson from markets.com, getting weird: "We are seeing some
serious funny business in some corners of the market."

 

"Will it end badly?" asks Thomas Hayes, managing director at Great Hill
Capital hedge fund. "Sure. We just don't know when."

 

What's driving up the Gamestop price? Certainly not any good news coming out
of the company. Gamestop - described as a "failing mall-based retailer" by
one professional investor - made a loss of $795m in 2019, and probably
several hundred more in 2020.

 

But that's not deterred an army of social media day traders, with access to
free and low-cost trading platforms such as Robinhood, and who probably have
a lot of time on their hands during lockdown. They've been swapping tips and
ramping up prices via Reddit's chat thread wallstreetbets.

 

Gamestop is not the only stock in their sights - Blackberry, AMC and Nokia
Oyjis are others - but is currently the battleground between the Goliaths
like hedge funds and big investors, and the Davids who make up Reddit's
private punters.

 

Key to what's going on is "shorting", where, say, a hedge fund borrows
shares in a company from other investors in the belief that the price of
stock is going to fall.

 

The hedge fund sells the shares on the markets at, for example, $10 each,
waits until they fall to $5, and buys them back. The borrowed shares are
returned to the original owner, and the hedge fund pockets a profit.

 

That's the somewhat simplistic theory, anyway.

 

$2bn losses

Gamestop is the most shorted stock on Wall Street, with some 30% of the
shares thought to be in the hands of hedge fund borrowers.

 

But Reddit's retail investors have embarked on a frenzy of share buying and
options trades, pushing up the price and putting a "short squeeze" on the
pros.

 

In this supercharged trading environment, the big Wall Street investors rush
back into the market to limit their losses, with the demand pushing up the
price still further.

 

One hedge fund, Melvin Capital Management, reportedly had to be bailed out
with more than $2bn to cover losses on some shares, including Gamestop,
while another short-seller, Citron Research, has also withdrawn from the
fray.

 

For many Reddit investors, it's not just about making money. They smell
blood.

 

Analyst Neil Wilson says that from reading the Reddit chat threads, the day
traders' battle with Wall Street is clearly personal.

 

"Among the many aspects of this story that are strange, what is so unusual
is the peculiar vigilante morality of the traders pumping the stock. They
seem hell-bent on taking on Wall Street, they seem to hate hedge funds and
threads are peppered with insults about 'boomer' money.

 

"It's a generational fight, redistributive and all about robbing the rich to
give to the millennial 'poor'."

 

But many big investors are refusing to budge and continue to hold their
Gamestop stock at rock-bottom prices. They believe the tide will turn on
Reddit's herd instinct and Gamestop shares will come back to earth.

 

"These are not normal times and while the [Reddit] thing is fascinating to
watch, I can't help but think that this is unlikely to end well for
someone," Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid said.

 

In the meantime, some European stocks appear to have been targeted in
similar fashion by day traders.

 

They include media company Pearson, which saw its share price surge nearly
14% in London trading on Wednesday, and German drugs firm Evotec, which rose
9.6% in Frankfurt.

 

Tears and headaches

In another surprise twist, the unprecedented rally was given a further boost
by Elon Musk.

 

The billionaire Tesla boss tweeted the word "Gamestonk", along with a link
to the Reddit message board that had been pumping the stock.

 

For its part, Reddit said it had not been contacted by the authorities over
the stock price movements.

 

"Reddit's site-wide policies prohibit posting illegal content or soliciting
or facilitating illegal transactions. We will review and co-operate with
valid law enforcement investigations or actions as needed," a spokeswoman
said.

 

The market turmoil has even come to the attention of new US President Joe
Biden, with the White House saying it is "monitoring the situation".

 

For stock market veterans, it's an example of the madness of speculative
trading that can only end in tears. And for regulators, it's a headache, as
they are the ones who should be cracking down on market manipulation.

 

Jacob Frenkel, a former lawyer at the Securities and Exchange Commission,
the main US financial regulator, said: "Such volatile trading fuelled by
opinions where there appears to be little corporate activity to justify the
price movement is exactly what SEC investigations are made of."

 

However, other experts believe Reddit's legion of investors represent a
generational shift in attitudes to money and use of new technology.

 

"I don't think this is a fad," said John Patrick Lee, a video game
investment expert at VanEck. "A retail trader will not lean on Wall Street
to manage their money and I definitely now see an antagonistic relationship
between the old guard [Wall Street] and individual traders who are on the
rise," he said.--BBC

 

 

 

 

UK car production tumbles to 'worst in a generation'

The number of new cars built in the UK last year fell by a third to just
under 921,000, the lowest total since 1984, latest industry figures reveal.

 

Output was 920,928 vehicles, a 29.3% fall on 2019, rounding off a "dreadful
year", Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders chief Mike Hawes said.

 

Pandemic-enforced plant closures and falling consumer demand meant the worst
output "in a generation", he said.

 

But he said the vaccine roll out and EU trade deal inspired optimism for
2021

 

Production for UK and export markets fell 30.4% and 29.1% respectively last
year. Eight in ten UK-built cars still head overseas, which Mr Hawes said
reinforced the importance of tariff-free trade with the EU.

 

The EU remained the UK's biggest export destination, taking a 53.5% share,
despite volumes falling 30.8% to 400,460 units.

 

In December, output was down 2.3% to 71,403 vehicles, with some
manufacturers, including Honda, affected by border closures and subsequent
component supply issues.

 

Shipments to the US, Japan and Australia last year all fell, down 33.7%,
21.6% and 21.8% respectively. Exports to China, however, ended the year up
2.3%, and those to South Korea and Taiwan also rose 3.6% and 16.7%
respectively as these nations travelled on different trajectories in dealing
with the pandemic.

 

Despite the gloom, the UK continued to roll out battery electric,
plug-hybrid and hybrid vehicles to buyers at home and around the world.
Combined production of these models rose to 18.8% of all cars made in
Britain, up from 14.8% a year before.

 

'Lowest ebb'

Mr Hawes said: "These figures, the worst in a generation, reflect the
devastating impact of the pandemic... The industry faces 2021 with more
optimism, however, with a vaccine being rolled out and clarity on how we
trade with Europe, which remains by far our biggest market.

 

"The immediate challenge is to adapt to the new conditions, to overcome the
additional customs burdens and regain our global competitiveness while
delivering zero emission transport."

 

Independent forecasts say UK car production will partly recover in 2021 to
one million, but Mr Hawes said much will depend on the continued impact of
the virus, the speed with which showrooms can reopen, and how quickly
manufacturers can come to terms with new trading arrangements with the EU,
which he described as "much more complicated".

 

He hoped the latest figures reflected the "lowest ebb" for the industry, but
added that significant investment would be needed to return to the figure of
1.7 million reported in 2016.--BBC

 

 

 

Boeing 737 Max cleared to fly in UK and EU after crashes

Boeing's 737 Max plane is safe to return to service in the UK and the
European Union, regulators have said.

 

It ends a 22-month flight ban for the jet, which followed two crashes which
caused 346 deaths.

 

The plane had already been cleared to resume flying in North America and
Brazil.

 

But this week a senior manager at Boeing's 737 plant in Seattle warned that
recertification had happened too quickly.

 

Regulators in the US and Europe insist their reviews have been thorough, and
that the 737 Max aircraft is now safe.

 

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (Easa), which regulates aviation
in 31 mainly EU countries, said it now had "every confidence" in the plane
following an independent review.

 

"But we will continue to monitor 737 Max operations closely as the aircraft
resumes service," said executive director Patrick Ky.

 

"In parallel, and at our insistence, Boeing has also committed to work to
enhance the aircraft still further in the medium term, in order to reach an
even higher level of safety."

 

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which oversees UK aviation now
Britain has left the EU, said the work to return the 737 Max to the skies
had been "the most extensive project of this kind".

 

It said it was in close contact with Tui, currently the only UK operator of
the aircraft, as it returned the plane to service.

 

"As part of this we will have full oversight of the airline's plans
including its pilot training programmes and implementation of the required
aircraft modifications."

 

Software issues

The 737 Max's first accident occurred in October 2018, when a Lion Air jet
came down in the sea off Indonesia.

 

The second involved an Ethiopian Airlines version that crashed shortly after
takeoff from Addis Ababa, just four months later.

 

Both have been attributed to flawed flight control software, which became
active at the wrong time and prompted the aircraft to go into a catastrophic
dive.

 

Graphic: How the MCAS system works

Easa said it had done a full investigation independent of Boeing or the US
Federal Aviation Administration and "without any economic or political
pressure".

 

As a result, it demanded software upgrades, electrical working rework,
maintenance checks, operations manual updates and crew training.

 

"We asked difficult questions until we got answers and pushed for solutions
which satisfied our exacting safety requirements," Mr Ky said.

 

The CAA said it had based its decision on information from Easa, the US
Federal Aviation Agency and Boeing, as well as "extensive engagement" with
airline operators and pilots.

 

It comes days after a report by Ed Pierson, a former Boeing manager, claimed
that regulators and investigators had largely ignored factors that may have
played a direct role in the accidents.

 

Mr Pierson said that further investigation of electrical issues and
production quality problems at the 737 factory in Seattle was badly needed.

 

On Wednesday Naoise Connolly Ryan, whose husband Mick died in the Ethiopian
Airlines crash, said that the families of victims "still do not have a full
accounting of what happened and why".

 

"Ultimately we are more determined than ever to find out exactly what Boeing
knew about this dangerous aircraft, and hold them accountable for the deaths
of our loved ones."

 

Boeing has already agreed to pay $2.5bn (£1.8bn) to settle US criminal
charges that it hid information from safety officials about the design of
the planes.

 

The US Justice Department said the firm chose "profit over candour",
impeding oversight of the planes.

 

About $500m of that will go to families of the people killed in the
tragedies.

 

However, attorneys for the victims of the Ethiopian Airlines crash have said
the deal would not end their pending civil lawsuit against Boeing.

 

On Wednesday, Boeing posted a record $12bn annual loss after it delayed its
all-new 777X jet for the third time, incurring huge charges.

 

The coronavirus crisis has caused demand for the industry's largest
jetliners to fall, with airline customers shunning deliveries of planes due
international travel restrictions.

 

The 737 Max has already been cleared to fly in North America and Brazil -
now it has the go-ahead from European regulators as well.

 

It's a major step for Boeing - although with the current travel restrictions
in place, it's likely to be a while before the decision has much practical
effect.

 

But the controversy won't end there. Relatives of those who died in the
Ethiopian Airlines accident have made it clear they haven't heard enough to
be sure the aircraft - modified in accordance with regulators' wishes - is
truly safe.

 

And this week, a former senior manager at the 737 factory told the BBC why
he thought existing planes might still be carrying potentially dangerous
manufacturing defects.

 

That may explain why Easa has also chosen to publish a report setting out
the detailed reasoning behind its decision.

 

Ultimately, the 737 Max may we'll have decades of successful service ahead
of it. But for the moment, winning back passenger confidence will be a
formidable challenge.--BBC

 

 

 

Asia shares unsettled by Wall St swoon, short seller squeeze

SYDNEY/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Asian shares slid on Thursday while the
safe-haven dollar rallied as a sudden sell-off on Wall Street and delays
with coronavirus vaccines shook investor optimism about an early recovery
for the global economy.

 

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.2%, with
valuations looking stretched given the index had risen more than 6% just
this month.

 

Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.3%, its sharpest drop since October, and Chinese blue
chips 1.5%. South Korea eased 0.9% led by losses in Samsung after it
reported earnings.

 

Even the tech darlings were not immune with Facebook down despite reporting
earnings well above expectations. Apple Inc also handily beat forecasts, yet
its shares lost 3% after the bell.

 

There was a hint of resilience in Asia as U.S. stock futures pared steep
early losses, leaving Eminis for the S&P 500 off 0.1% and NASDAQ futures
down 0.2%.

 

There was no obvious trigger for the rout, rather many seemed to have rushed
for the exits at the same moment in a market that had been priced for
perfection.

 

Dealers said highly leveraged investors were taking profits where they could
to cover losses elsewhere, leading to sharp falls in a lot of overcrowded
trades.

 

Some pointed a finger at retail investors who had forced a massive squeeze
on hedge funds with short positions in stocks such as GameStop.

 

GameStop and several other highly-bid stocks later retreated in extended
trade after Reddit briefly restricted access to its popular WallStreetBets
site.

 

“The Reddit army should prepare for stricter rules and regulation shortly,
which should kill the idea that what happened with GameStop will happen with
others,” said Edward Moya, a senior market analyst at OANDA.

 

MOOD SWINGS

The dogged optimism that vaccines would heal the global economy in just a
few months has been strained by the outbreak of new variants and problems
with the distribution of shots in the United states and Europe.

 

Dealers noted the market had also chosen to focus more on a downbeat
economic outlook from the Federal Reserve overnight than on its pledge of
continued policy support.

 

 

“The Fed’s acknowledgment of a slowdown in the pace of the recovery and
dependency on vaccine roll out are not new news, but it does provide equity
investors a bit of a reality check, pushing out the timing for recovery,”
said Rodrigo Catril, a senior FX strategist at NAB.

 

The sudden mood change saw Treasury 10-year yields drop 3 basis points
overnight to 1.01%, well off the recent peak at 1.187%.

 

The safe-haven U.S. dollar gained broadly, with its index up at 90.727 from
a January low of 89.206. The dollar firmed to 104.28 yen and away from the
week’s trough of 103.54.

 

The euro fell back to $1.2093 amid reports the European Central Bank felt
markets were under pricing the risk of more rate cuts.

 

Commodity linked currencies were hit by all the economic angst, with the
Australian and New Zealand dollars both shedding more than 1% overnight.

 

The bounce in the dollar kept gold prices soft around $1,836 an ounce.

 

Global demand concerns restrained oil prices despite a huge drop in U.S.
crude stocks. U.S. crude fell 24 cents to $52.61 a barrel, while Brent crude
futures dropped 26 cents to $55.55.

 

 

 

 

Facebook scores earnings beat on holiday retail advertising; Apple privacy
changes loom

(Reuters) - Facebook Inc soundly beat quarterly revenue estimates on
Wednesday after heavy holiday advertising by e-commerce retailers, but it
warned Apple’s impending privacy changes could hurt revenue by interfering
with ad targeting.

 

 

The world’s biggest social media company said it expected to face
“significant ad targeting headwinds in 2021.” Facebook forecast that Apple’s
update of its iPhone operating system to iOS 14 could start biting into
revenues as early as the end of the first quarter.

 

Shares were flat after hours following an initial drop.

 

The fourth-quarter results validated the company’s focus on making it easier
for retailers to sell products to Facebook users, who frequently were stuck
at home last year during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

For example, Facebook launched Facebook Pay and Facebook Shops which enable
consumers to click on ads and make purchases without leaving the company’s
apps, which also include Instagram and WhatsApp.

 

The company said the pandemic-driven surge in online commerce and shift in
consumer demand to products over services buoyed revenue growth, which has
been cooling steadily as its business matures.

 

Total revenue, which consists almost entirely of advertising sales, rose 33%
to $28.07 billion in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 from $21.08 billion a
year earlier.

 

Analysts on average estimated quarterly revenue of $26.44 billion, according
to IBES data from Refinitiv.

 

Net income came in at $11.22 billion, or $3.88 per share, compared with
$7.35 billion, or $2.56 per share, a year earlier.

 

 

Monthly active users rose 12% to 2.80 billion, above the 2.75 billion
expected by analysts.

 

REDUCING POLITICAL CONTENT

While financially strong, Facebook has faced criticism about misinformation
and calls for violence on its platforms tied to the U.S. presidential
election, including the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6.

 

Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg told investors in a call that he
wanted to “turn down the temperature” of political conversations because
“people don’t want politics and fighting to take over their experience on
our services.”

 

An election-related moratorium on political-group recommendations to U.S.
users will become permanent and political content in the network’s newsfeed
will drop. These changes will not hurt Facebook’s financial outlook, he
said.

 

Zuckerberg also took aim at Apple Inc, which he said Facebook executives
increasingly view as the company’s biggest competitor, even though the
iPhone maker earns only a small fraction of its income from digital
advertising.

 

Apple’s business “depends more and more on gaining share in apps and
services,” said Zuckerberg, giving it “every incentive to use (its) dominant
platform position to interfere with how our apps and other apps work.”

 

Facebook has feuded with Apple for months over the iPhone maker’s plan to
limit app developers’ collection of user data from other apps. Facebook uses
the data to improve ad targeting.

 

 

The social network, which is facing U.S. antitrust lawsuits from both the
Federal Trade Commission and dozens of states, accuses Apple of behaving
anticompetitively.

 

Analysts said Facebook is less likely to suffer from Apple’s privacy updates
than other ad-supported companies that have less access to their own
first-party data.

 

“In the end, I don’t think Facebook will be impacted as much as others as
Facebook can provide workarounds for ad targeting,” said analyst Jonathan
Kees of Summit Insights Group.

 

 

 

Samsung Electronics sees solid chip demand, stronger phone sales in
first-quarter

SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Thursday forecast solid
demand for its chips in the current quarter and stronger mobile sales after
bringing forward the launch of its flagship Galaxy S smartphone to grab
market share.

 

The world’s top maker of memory chips warned, however, that a stronger
currency and costs related to new chip production would lead to a weaker
profit result, after posting a 26% jump in operating profit in the fourth
quarter.

 

Samsung shares fell 1.5% in early trade, despite announcing a one-time
special cash dividend of 10.7 trillion won ($9.60 billion) in addition to
its year-end dividend, on growing jitters about an equity market bubble.

 

Investors have pushed the stock up around 60% since September, partly on a
bullish outlook for its chip contract manufacturing business, due to chip
shortages and limited manufacturing capacity.

 

“Looking ahead, Samsung Electronics expects overall profit to weaken in the
first quarter of 2021,” the company said in a statement.

 

“For 2021, (Samsung) expects a recovery in overall global demand but
uncertainties persist over the possibility of recurring COVID-19 waves,” it
added.

 

The jump in operating profit in the October-December quarter came as strong
memory chip shipments and display profits offset a strong won, the cost of a
new chip production line, weaker memory chip prices, and a
quarter-on-quarter drop in smartphone shipments.

 

The South Korean currency rose about 7% against the dollar in the three
months to December. A stronger won erodes the value of overseas sales for
South Korean companies.

 

DRAM RECOVERY

While similar currency conditions are expected in the short-term, the market
for DRAM chips that go into devices is expected to recover during the first
half of 2021 from mobile and server clients’ demand, Samsung said.

 

“DRAM prices are expected to rise much higher than expected in Q1, as server
customers run out of inventory they stockpiled when COVID-19 first broke out
in first half of last year, and start buying again,” said Park Sung-soon, an
analyst at Cape Investment & Securities.

 

Samsung’s capital expenditure in 2020 reached 38.5 trillion won, including
32.9 trillion won on semiconductors. Investment in chip contract
manufacturing jumped as the company expanded a production facility. Memory
chips saw significant spending growth for capacity expansion and advanced
process, it said.

 

Samsung’s fourth-quarter operating profit rose to 9.05 trillion won ($8.17
billion), from 7.2 trillion won a year earlier, in line with the company’s
estimate earlier this month.

 

Revenue at the world’s top maker of memory chips and smartphones rose 3% to
61.6 trillion won. Net profit rose 26% to 6.6 trillion won.

 

Analysts said Samsung’s display unit reported higher-than-expected profits
in the December quarter as supplying panels for Apple’s new iPhone kept its
OLED production near 100% of capacity during the quarter.

 

Samsung announced a three-year shareholder return policy that will increase
regular dividend to an annual total of 9.8 trillion won for 2021-2023.

 

It will continue to pay out 50% of the free cash flow (FCF) generated in the
period, as in the previous three years.

 

 

 

FedEx to relocate Hong Kong-based pilots to San Francisco to avoid
quarantine: memo

(Reuters) - Freight carrier FedEx Corp will temporarily relocate its Hong
Kong-based pilots to San Francisco because it expects the Asian financial
capital to establish strict 14-day hotel quarantine requirements for crew,
it said in a memo to pilots.

 

The company said it did not think it was appropriate to subject Hong
Kong-based crew members to extended periods of isolation, preventing them
from seeing their families after finishing a trip.

 

“While we don’t know what the rule will state, when it will precisely take
effect, or how long it will last, we do not want unknowns to prevent us from
taking action on what we understand may likely occur,” FedEx System Chief
Pilot Robin Sebasco said in the memo seen by Reuters, which was first
reported by the South China Morning Post on Thursday.

 

FedEx did not respond immediately to a request for comment. The memo said
the company would cover hotel costs and out-of-pocket expenses for pilots
and their families in San Francisco, while continuing to pay their housing
allowances in Hong Kong.

 

However, a Hong Kong-based FedEx pilot said on condition of anonymity that
there were flaws in the plan. Many pilots have children in school in Hong
Kong, he said, and regardless, it will be difficult for families to live in
hotel rooms for weeks or months at a time.

 

Hong Kong’s biggest airline, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, on Monday warned
passenger capacity could fall by 60%, cargo capacity by 25% and cash burn
would rise if the new quarantine arrangements were put in place.

 

Cathay, in an internal memo seen by Reuters, requested volunteers among its
crew who could fly for three weeks, followed by 14 days of quarantine and 14
days free of duty, adding that it would be a temporary measure and that not
all of its flights would require such an operation.

 

Many foreign airlines are already double-crewing their flights into Hong
Kong or stopping in cities like Bangkok or Tokyo to allow for quick
turnarounds and avoid testing and quarantine requirements.

 

 

 

South Africa: Govt Launches R1.2 Billion Tourism Equity Fund

Government on Tuesday launched the Tourism Equity Fund aimed at creating an
inclusive and growing tourism sector by supporting entrepreneurship and
investment on the supply side of the tourism sector.

 

Speaking at the virtual launch of the Tourism Equity Fund (TEF), President
Ramaphosa said many jobs in the tourism and associated sectors in the value
chain have been shed.

 

"As damaging as this pandemic has been, and continues to be, we can be
certain that as infections are brought under control and more areas of
economic activity resume, there will be a gradual recovery.

 

"The task before us now is to ensure that we do not simply return to
business as usual, but that we accelerate the pace towards achieving our
transformation goals," President Ramaphosa said.

 

According to President Ramaphosa, Tourism directly accounts for 2.9% of
South Africa's GDP and 8.6% indirectly. It supports about one-and-a-half
million direct and indirect jobs.

 

 

President Ramaphosa said South Africa's tourism base is significant and that
it is one of the world's most popular long-haul destinations.

 

"This is a sector that is labour-intensive and therefore has immense job
creation potential. It supports a vibrant and complex value chain. It
generates foreign direct investment and significant export earnings. It
stimulates and supports the development of small businesses," the President
said.

 

Inclusive tourism economy

 

President Ramaphosa explained that the Tourism Equity Fund is aligned with
the National Tourism Sector Strategy 2016-2026, which places significant
emphasis on a transformative and inclusive tourism economy.

 

"The Tourism Equity Fund is informed by the recognition that the
capital-intensive nature of the industry prevents many black-owned tourism
enterprises from growing and developing.

 

"By providing access to finance for black-owned commercially viable tourism
projects, the Tourism Equity Fund intends to address this challenge.

 

 

"As a combination of grant funding, concessionary loans and debt finance,
the Fund will cater to the specific needs of black-owned businesses to
acquire equity, invest in new developments or expand existing developments,"
President Ramaphosa said.

 

President Ramaphosa said the partnership between government, public entities
and commercial banks is a great example of the kind of collaboration that is
required as the country forge a path towards a sustainable economic
recovery.

 

"We are committed to ensuring that this Fund enables black business to
substantially benefit from the tourism economy, not to be roped in by
fronting companies, or to be marginal bystanders and small-scale suppliers
to larger tourism enterprises.

 

"Whether it is in a coastal town in the Eastern Cape or a wildlife-rich area
in the North West, it is our aim through this Fund to support black-owned
businesses to run profitable and sustainable enterprises, to employ local
people, to procure goods and services locally, and to make a real
contribution to our economy," President Ramaphosa said.

 

 

Debt finance and grant funding

 

In her opening remarks, Tourism Minister Mamoloko Kubayi-Ngubani said the
Tourism Equity Fund is a dedicated fund that will provide a combination of
debt finance and grant funding to facilitate equity acquisition as well as
new project development in the tourism sector by black entrepreneurs.

 

"The tourism sector in South Africa is largely private sector owned and
driven, and its contribution to the South African economy has grown
tremendously since the 1994 democratic breakthrough," Kubayi-Ngubani said.

 

Kubayi-Ngubani explained that during this three-year period, the Department
of Tourism will capitalise the fund with an amount of R540 million.

 

She said the funding from the department will be matched with a contribution
of R120 million from sefa and R594 million from commercial banks that will
be participating in the programme.

 

"This combination will put the value of the Tourism Equity Fund at just over
R1.2 billion," she said.

 

Kubayi-Ngubani said the private sector has done an excellent job in
developing and investing in the sector to turn the country's natural
endowments into economic assets for the country.

 

Stimulate new investments

 

"However, much remains to be done to stimulate new investments and to fully
exploit the potential that is still unexplored in our country's tourism
sector. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic that brought the tourism
sector to a grinding halt for most of last year and still continues today,
has reduced the number and diversity of tourism attractions," the Minister
said.

 

The Fund was established by the Department of Tourism in partnership with
the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (SEFA) as a new financial support
mechanism to stimulate investment and transformation in the Tourism sector.

 

The fund will offer a combination of debt finance and grant funding for
large capital investment projects in the tourism sector.

 

The South African Economic Reconstruction and Recovery plan identifies the
tourism sector as one of the key priority areas to revive the
economy.-SAnews.gov.za.

 

 

 

Mozambique: Special Economic Zone for Agribusiness Set Up

Maputo — The Mozambican government announced on Tuesday the creation of the
country's first special economic zone for agribusiness.

 

The "Limpopo agribusiness special economic zone" is located in the Limpopo
Development Corridor in the southern province of Gaza.

 

Speaking to reporters at the end of the weekly meeting of the Council of
Ministers (Cabinet), the government spokesperson, Inocencio Impissa, the
Deputy Minister of State Administration, said the purpose of the special
zone is to make incentives available "to transform the agro-ecological
potential of the region, to make viable the investments in infrastructures,
maximizing economic efficiency and social well-being".

He added that the special zone is being set up under the government's
flagship agricultural development programnme, "Sustenta". It will cover
7,297 square kilometres in the districts of Chokwe, Chibuto, Xai-Xai,
Limpopo, Chonguene and Guija. The area concerned is all under the influence
of the Chokwe and Lower Limpopo irrigation schemes.

 

The Chokwe irrigation scheme is the largest in Mozambique, but has never
lived up to the government's hopes that it would become the country's
granary.

 

Currently, these irrigation schemes, in theory, cover 17,000 hectares. Under
the "Special Zone" the irrigated area will be expanded to 32,000 hectares,
and the irrigation infrastructures will be modernized.

 

Other ambitious projects envisaged include expanding the area under rice
cultivation from 17,000 to 41,500 hectares, and setting up dairy produce
factories.

 

The government hopes that the tax incentives under the Special Zone will
attract investment to Limpopo Valley agribusiness. Small producers are to be
inserted into the commercial value chain through linkages with large scale
investors, and the contribution of agribusiness to the Gross Domestic
Product should greatly increase.

 

 

 

Nigeria: Oil Host Communities Ask Govt to Scrap NDDC

Abuja — Host communities in the nine oil-producing states have called for
the scrapping of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

 

This is just as the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre
Sylva, urged the host communities to accept the 2.5 per cent fund provided
in the revised Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), instead of insisting on 10 per
cent.

 

The National President of the Oil Host Communities (HOSTCOM), Chief Benjamin
Tams, said yesterday at the end of the two-day public hearing on the revised
2020 PIB that all the intervention agencies established by the federal
government for the development of oil host communities had not made much
impact on the development of the communities.

 

He cited the NDDC, which he described as a cesspool of corruption, as the
least impactful.

 

He said: "What government is supposed to add to the new PIB is scrapping of
NDDC and the establishment of Oil Host Communities Commission, which will in
practical terms, be very responsive to the development needs of the various
host communities."

 

 

Tams insisted that 2.5 per cent proposed in the new PIB is unacceptable to
the host communities.

 

He said: "What we want is 10 per cent equity remittance from the various oil
firms to respective host communities as proposed in the PIB considered in
the 7th National Assembly but not assented to.

 

"It is even very annoying that having reduced the 10 per cent to five per
cent in the last bill considered by the eighth National Assembly, it is
further slashed to 2.5 per cent in the current bill.

 

"This is not acceptable to us as host communities of the oil-producing
firms. The 10 per cent earlier proposed must be worked upon if the bill is
to be acceptable to the various communities bearing the brunt."

 

Tams, in an earlier presentation, had said that it would be absurd and
economically illogical to deprive "HostCom" the right to equity shareholding
in both the establishment of the NNPC Limited, the commission, the authority
and the boards.

 

 

The host communities added that "this quest to take over complete control of
all our national assets by a very unpatriotic few has to stop".

 

Sylva, however, said the 2.5 per cent proposed for the host communities in
the new bill is fair.

 

"I speak advisably as a member of the host community myself. If you have to
look at it properly, you will see that 10 per cent of profit is different
from 10 per cent of the operation cost from the various oil firms.

 

"Before now, you had the provision of 10 per cent of profit and profit means
that if I don't declare it, you don't have anything. I can decide to say 100
per cent of profit and not declare any profit, so you don't get anything.

 

"But in this case, it's 2.5 per cent of the OPEX. So, at the end of the
year, you look at your operating cost and take 2.5 per cent of that cost to
the budget of the next year. As far as we are concerned, we have made a very
fair proposal. Fair to the host communities, to the country and to the oil
companies," he stated.

 

He added that provisions made in the bill are just proposals before the
National Assembly and until they are passed before there can be an effective
discussion on them.-This Day.

 

 

 

Lesotho: 45,000 Textile Jobs At Severe Risk

With only about a week left, the United States government says it is
"disheartened" by Lesotho's failure to address its human trafficking
concerns.

 

This puts the country on the brink, with the real risk of losing billions of
maloti in funding under the second compact and about 45 000 textiles jobs
facing serious jeopardy.

 

The US had given Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro's government a 1 February
2021 deadline to address an array of human trafficking concerns failing
which Lesotho would lose out on a number of American aid and trade
instruments meant to help poor African countries.

With just about a week to that deadline, the US government says it is
disappointed at the lack of progress. It now seems likely that Lesotho will
not be able to address some of the concerns, which includes demands to
prosecute senior officials implicated in human trafficking, in such a short
period of time.

 

That will cause the country to lose out on the multi-billion maloti second
compact under the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) as well as
eligibility for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) on which the
entire local textiles sector is anchored. The AGOA law allows Lesotho to
export textile products to the US duty-free, making them highly competitive.
It was because of AGOA that mostly Taiwanese and Chinese entrepreneurs
descended on Lesotho in the 2000s to establish large apparel factories that
now employ about 45 000 Basotho. But the likelihood of this largest private
sector employer being shaken to its foundations is increasingly appearing
real.

 

 

The US discontent was expressed by its Ambassador to Lesotho, Rebecca
Gonzales, in an exclusive interview with the Lesotho Times yesterday. Ms
Gonzales said she was "disheartened that Lesotho's journey to the second MCC
compact has been derailed by such significant challenges that could have
been addressed years ago".

 

She said Lesotho also risked losing out on health funding under the US
President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) which has helped the
country make great strides towards containing the deadly HIV/AIDS pandemic.

 

In addition, the country will also lose out vital security sector assistance
programmes such as police and military trainings and exchanges which are
crucial to Lesotho's plans of implementing security sector reforms in line
with the 2016 recommendations of the Southern African Development Community
(SADC).

 

AGOA gives duty-free and quota-free access to the US market to eligible
sub-Saharan African countries including Lesotho. The legislation, which was
approved by the US Congress in May 2000, is meant to incentivise African
countries to open their economies and build free markets.

 

 

It was renewed for another 10 years in June 2015 as the AGOA Extension &
Enhancement Act and amended to allow the US to withdraw, suspend or limit
benefits if designated AGOA countries no longer complied with its
eligibility criteria.

 

The law mandates the American president to designate countries eligible to
benefit from the trade facility on an annual basis after undergoing a review
process. Among the main eligibility criteria for the facility are a
market-based economy, adherence to the rule of law, the implementation of
mechanisms to combat corruption and upholding of human rights.

 

The MCC was established by the US Congress in 2004 as a foreign aid agency
to help lead the fight against global poverty by working with selected
partner countries to identify requisite areas in need of funding support.

 

Before qualifying for compact funding, countries have to meet criteria
similar to that of AGOA.

 

Compacts are large, five-year grants for countries that pass the eligibility
criteria. Lesotho received its first five-year MCC compact worth US$362, 5
million (more than M3 billion) in July 2007.

 

Among other key projects, the US$362, 5 million funded the construction of
the Metolong Dam as well as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
(PEPFAR) to mitigate the negative economic impact of poor maternal health,
HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and other diseases.

 

In 2015, the MCC stalled in renewing the compact programme over rampant
human rights abuses under then Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili's
government.

 

The renewal and eligibility for the second compact was subsequently
reconsidered and confirmed by the MCC Board in December 2017 after the
ouster of the Mosisili coalition in the June 2017 elections and the advent
of former Prime Minister Thomas Thabane's second coalition government. The
Thabane coalition initially promised to address grave human rights concerns
of its predecessor before embarking on serious violations of its own.

 

The Thabane administration lasted until May 2020 when it was replaced by the
current Moeketsi Majoro-led coalition. The Thabane coalition was accused of
failing to tackle police brutality against citizens and overseeing rampant
corruption, among other vices.

 

The Thabane government also dragged its feet on the multi-sector reforms
process. It even missed the May 2019 deadline set by SADC for the full
implementation of the constitutional and security sector reforms. All of
these issues were part of the eligibility criteria for the second MCC
compact.

 

In addition, the Thabane government was accused of paying lip service to
repeated warnings to address human trafficking concerns.

 

The US government defines human trafficking as "modern day slavery" which
involves the movement of persons locally and beyond a country's borders
against their will to get them into forced labour, involuntary servitude and
debt bondage.

 

Back in September 2020, Ms Gonzales revealed that due to its failure to deal
with human trafficking, Lesotho had been placed in Tier 3--the lowest tier
in the US State Department's Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report for 2020.

 

She warned at the time that Lesotho risked losing out on reselection to
continue developing a second MCC compact if the scourge of human trafficking
and other human rights concerns were not addressed by 1 February 2021.

 

As if the potential loss of the MCC compact is not disastrous enough, Ms
Gonzales yesterday warned that even AGOA benefits and other forms of
development assistance will be lost if the Majoro administration would not
have taken decisive steps to address human trafficking concerns by 1
February 2021.

 

"Let me be extremely frank: Lesotho's future is at stake," Ms Gonzales said
yesterday.

 

"For three years, I directly engaged with my counterparts at the highest
level of the Thabane government including ministers. For three years, the
Thabane government did not make significant progress preventing the
trafficking in persons, protecting victims or prosecuting perpetrators. Due
to the lack of action by the Thabane government, Lesotho was downgraded to
Tier 3 in early 2020 and remains at risk of losing future US development
assistance.

 

"US taxpayers are unwilling to support governments that do not act against
human trafficking. That is why the US Congress passed laws restricting US
development assistance to countries on Tier 3.

 

"Last year, I secured a one-time waiver for Lesotho from the president of
the United States. I wanted to avoid any reduction to US assistance so that
the Right Honorable Prime Minister Dr Moeketsi Majoro and his administration
would have time to show progress in combating human trafficking and address
other critical issues.

 

"It is worth emphasising that the waiver Lesotho received is not permanent.
The government must take action by 1 February 2021. If not, the restrictions
on US foreign assistance will come into force.

 

"I have spoken at length with the leadership of the MCC. They are adamant
that a second compact will not be signed until the government of Lesotho
gets off Tier 3. MCC has some amazing proposals for a second investment in
Lesotho--they are eager to make progress on a second compact. But it is
absolutely not going to happen in 2021 unless the government gets off Tier 3
and pursues the credible investigation of officials who are believed to be
complicit in human trafficking over the past several years," Ms Gonzales
said.

 

Asked if the US government felt the Majoro administration had not achieved
anything tangible towards addressing the human trafficking concerns, Ms
Gonzales said they were encouraged by the premier's end of year message last
month wherein he pointed to some government actions which included passing
an anti-trafficking bill as well as creating an Anti-trafficking and
Migrant's Control Division in the police force.

 

She, however, said these measures were not enough and "the United States is
still looking to see sustained action to enforce legislation and bolster
efforts to implement new initiatives to address the issues of human
trafficking in Lesotho".

 

She said her government was aware of widespread allegations against some
members of the current government. However, while some of the allegations
could be true and others false, it was still incumbent on the government to
ensure thorough investigations were conducted, the ambassador said.

 

Although Ms Gonzales did not mention any names, this could have been in
reference to recent allegations by a Home Affairs official that Deputy Prime
Minister Mathibeli Mokhothu and senior members of his Democratic Congress
(DC) party were involved in human trafficking activities alongside a
Pakistani national, Rana Qamar.

 

The allegations were made by an immigration officer, Mapeete Jonathan, in
her court application challenging her transfer from Moshoeshoe I Airport to
the head office of the immigration department in Maseru.

 

In her court papers filed last November, Ms Jonathan alleges that she is
being transferred as punishment for refusing to allow Mr Qamar to "traffick"
two Pakistanis into the country through the airport earlier this year.

 

She further alleges that she was reliably informed by a fellow immigration
officer that Mr Qamar, who is married to a Mosotho woman, is close to Mr
Mokhothu and other senior DC officials. Mr Qamar is alleged to have given
the DC six campaign vehicles during the last elections in 2017.

 

Mr Mokhothu vehemently denies the allegations. Ms Jonathan insists the
"donation" had given Mr Qamar leverage over the DC leadership to enable the
Pakistani to demand her transfer after she refused his two fellow Pakistani
travellers entry into the country in March 2020. The allegations resulted in
a public war of words between the DC and its coalition partner- Dr Majoro's
ABC. The two parties have since agreed to refrain from publicly accusing
each other and instead work together for the stability of the government.

 

Ms Gonzales also said trafficking allegations against officials were not
only a recent issue, suggesting there are old cases that have been
neglected. She emphasized the need for through probes ensuring that
"officials found complicit in any form of human trafficking must be held
accountable".

 

Outlining what the government ought to have achieved by the 1 February 2021
deadline, she said, "beyond the new legislation, Lesotho's law enforcement
agencies must continue their investigations into credible allegations of
official complicity in human smuggling and human trafficking".

 

"Let me emphasise the importance of the word 'credible'. In the last few
weeks, there have been many public accusations and counter accusations of
involvement in trafficking. Some are likely true; others may be false. I
urge the innocent to cooperate fully with law enforcement so that they can
be exonerated. And I urge Lesotho's law enforcement to spare no effort to
identify the guilty so that they can be punished to the full extent of the
law. Official complicity in human trafficking is the worst form of
corruption -- using one's high office to profit from buying and selling
humans is outright appalling.

 

"There is time for Lesotho to meet the February 1 deadline. If the
government takes all these actions, up to and including making substantive
progress in its investigations of credible allegations of official
complicity in human trafficking then perhaps the country may see an upgrade
from Tier 3," Ms Gonzales said.

 

But for any arrests and prosecutions to be made within that short period,
considering the long delays characteristic of Lesotho's criminal justice
system, appears practically impossible, leaving the country on the brink.

 

The US is Lesotho's largest bilateral donor. Any loss of American aid will
have far-reaching consequences on local development programmes.-Lesotho
Times.

 

 

 

 


 


 


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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> 

 


 

 


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