Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 15 July 2021

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 15 July 2021

 


 

 


 <https://www.nedbank.co.zw/> 

 


 

 


ü  China's post-pandemic economic rebound loses steam

ü  Korindo: Korean palm oil giant stripped of sustainability status

ü  Mastercard: India stops payment service provider from issuing cards

ü  UK job vacancies climb past pre-pandemic levels

ü  Why the US is launching a $300 monthly child benefit

ü  US warns businesses over China's Xinjiang province

ü  John Lewis and Waitrose plan to cut 1,000 jobs

ü  Asian shares advance as China data better than feared

ü  China's economic recovery loses some steam, investors eye more policy
easing

ü  China's share of bitcoin mining slumped even before Beijing crackdown,
research shows

ü  Sydney Airport rejects $17 bln buyout proposal amid deal frenzy

ü  SoftBank Vision Fund invests $1.7 bln in S.Korean travel firm Yanolja

ü  Beyond Meat opens JD.com store amid China consumer caution on meat
substitutes

ü  Biggest U.S. banks smash profit estimates as economy revives

ü  Nigeria: FEC Approves N309 Billion for Road Contracts in Lagos, Kaduna,
Others

ü  Nigeria: Northern Group Asks Reps to Reject Planned Sale of Five Power
Plants

ü  West Africa: Factoring Offers an Alternative to Financing for SMEs -
Central Bank of West African States

ü  Mozambique: Standard Bank Hopes to 'Clarify' Allegations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

China's post-pandemic economic rebound loses steam

The Chinese economy's sharp rebound from the coronavirus pandemic has now
slowed, official figures show.

 

Gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 7.9% in the second quarter of 2021
compared to the same time last year.

 

That was less than half the rate seen in the previous quarter and missed
economists' forecasts of 8.1% growth.

 

GDP is one of the most important ways of showing how well, or badly, an
economy is doing.

 

It's a measure - or an attempt to measure - all the activity of companies,
governments and individuals in an economy.

 

Official figures for June also showed better-than-expected growth for retail
sales and industrial production.

 

"China's economy sustained a steady recovery with the production and demand
picking up," the NBS said in a statement.

 

However, the release went on to caution: "The epidemic continues to mutate
globally and external instabilities and uncertainties abound."

 

Economists have raised concerns about the recovery of the world's second
largest economy in recent months.

 

Record high prices for commodities, like iron ore and copper, helped to push
its factory inflation to the highest level in more than a decade.

 

The country has also seen supply chain disruptions as shipping firms have
been hit with backlogs, while shortages of energy also hampered factory
output.

 

In April, official figures showed that China's economy grew a record 18.3%
in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same quarter last year.

 

It was the biggest jump in GDP since China started keeping quarterly records
in 1992.

 

However, that expansion was also below expectations, after a Reuters poll of
economists predicted growth of 19%.

 

They were also heavily skewed, and less indicative of strong growth, as they
are compared to last year's huge economic contraction - China's economy
shrank 6.8% in the first quarter of 2020 due to nationwide lockdowns at the
peak of its Covid-19 outbreak.-BBC

 

 

 

Korindo: Korean palm oil giant stripped of sustainability status

A Korean palm oil giant has been rejected from the world's leading green
certification body in the wake of a BBC investigation.

 

The BBC had earlier found evidence that the Korindo group had been buying up
swathes of Asia's largest remaining rainforests in the remote Indonesian
province of Papua.

 

A visual analysis suggested that fires had then been deliberately set to
these forests, a clear violation of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

 

The regulator's tree logo - found on paper products throughout the UK and
Europe - is meant to tell consumers the product is sourced from ethical and
sustainable companies.

 

At the time of the BBC's investigation late last year, the FSC said they
would not expel Korindo but were working with the Korean company to address
social and environmental problems.

 

But now the green body says the relationship has "become untenable" and
Korindo's trademark licenses with FSC will be terminated from October.

 

"We were not able to verify improvements in Korindo's social and
environmental performance," Kim Carstensen, FSC international director
general said.

 

He said the decision would "give us clarity and a breath of fresh air while
Korindo continues its efforts to improve."

 

Korindo groups chief sustainability officer Kwangyul Peck said in a
statement that the company was "very shocked by the FSC decision."

 

He insists they were following all the steps of "an agreed roadmap of
improvements" and said despite their expulsion from the FSC "they remain
committed to sustainability and human rights."

 

'A violation of traditional and human rights'

Korindo controls more land in Papua than any other conglomerate. The company
has cleared nearly 60,000 hectares of forests inside its government-granted
concessions - an area the size of Chicago or Seoul.

 

A 2018 report by the FSC into the allegations against Korindo was never
published, after legal threats from the company, but the BBC obtained a
copy.

 

The report found "evidence beyond reasonable doubt" that Korindo's palm oil
operation destroyed 30,000 hectares of high conservation forest in breach of
FSC regulations and that the company was, "on the balance of probability 

supporting the violation of traditional and human rights for its own
benefit."

 

A visual investigation by the Forensic Architecture group at Goldsmiths
University in London and Greenpeace International, published in conjunction
with the BBC, also found evidence that indicated deliberate burning.

 

media captionWatch how the Forensic Architecture Group established what was
happening in Papua

Kiki Taufik, head of the Greenpeace Southeast Asia forest campaign said the
FSC decision was "better late than never" saying they had "finally come to
their senses".

 

But he said the Indonesian government continues to "grant companies like
Korindo forest concessions, allowing them to violate the rights of
indigenous people."

 

"It is crucial that buyers and certification bodies don't keep helping them
create a facade of sustainability and transparency," he said.

 

After the BBC's investigation last year, the Indonesian parliament had
launched an inquiry into Korindo's conduct - though the findings have not
been made public.

 

The Korindo group strongly denies starting any fires or involvement in any
human rights violations, saying it follows the law. They also insisted they
paid fair compensation to tribes.

 

Indonesia is the world's largest exporter of palm oil - found in everything
from shampoo to biscuits - and Papua is its newest frontier.

 

The rich forests in the remote province of Papua had until recently escaped
relatively untouched, but the government has rapidly opened the area up to
investors, vowing to bring prosperity to one of the poorest regions in the
country.

 

Vast areas of forest have been cleared to make way for row upon row of oil
palm trees.

 

Indonesia's palm oil exports were worth about $19bn (£14bn) last year,
according to data from Gapki, the nation's palm oil association.-BBC

 

 

 

Mastercard: India stops payment service provider from issuing cards

India's central bank has barred Mastercard indefinitely from issuing new
debit or credit cards to domestic customers.

 

The Reserve Bank of India has accused the company of violating data storage
laws.

 

The bank said Mastercard had not complied with rules requiring foreign card
networks to store data on Indian payments exclusively in India.

 

There has been no response from the global payments service provider.

 

Mastercard will be prohibited from issuing debit, credit or prepaid cards to
customers in India from 22 July.

 

The Reserve Bank's decision will not have any impact on Mastercard's
existing customers. 

 

The central bank said the payments service provider had violated a 2018
order directing payments data to be stored in India. This would allow the
regulator "unfettered supervisory access" to payment details.

 

"Notwithstanding (the) lapse of considerable time and adequate opportunities
being given, the entity (Mastercard) has been found to be non-compliant with
the directions of Storage Payment System Data," the RBI said in a
notification.

 

Last year, Mastercard accounted for 33% of all card payments in India,
according to London-based payments start-up PPRO quoted by AFP news agency.

 

In 2019, the firm announced an investment of a billion dollars over the next
five years as part of its expansion plans in India.

 

Earlier this year, American Express and Diners Club were blocked from
issuing new cards due to similar violations.

 

US-based payment service providers have lobbied aggressively against the
2018 directive, saying such a move would increase their costs of doing
business in India.

 

But India's central bank has not relented.-BBC

 

 

 

UK job vacancies climb past pre-pandemic levels

The number of job vacancies in the UK surpassed pre-pandemic levels in the
three months to June, new data shows.

 

The Office for National Statistics said there were 862,000 jobs on offer
between April and June, 77,500 higher than the first three months of 2020.

 

The ONS said the rise was driven by vacancies in hospitality and retailing.

 

The number of people on payrolls also grew, up 356,000 in June, in the
biggest rise since the start of the pandemic.

 

There was a sharp increase in payrolls in both the food and accommodation
sectors as more people returned to work following a further easing of Covid
restrictions in May that allowed the hospitality industry to reopen.

 

Company payrolls

Some regions of the UK saw payroll numbers rise past levels seen before
Covid forced the country into lockdown, including the North East, the North
West, the East Midlands and Northern Ireland.

 

However, the ONS said the number of payroll workers remained 206,000 below
pre-pandemic levels at 28.9 million.

 

"The labour market is continuing to recover, with the number of employees on
payroll up again strongly in June," said Darren Morgan, director of economic
statistics at the ONS.

 

"However, it is still over 200,000 down on pre-pandemic levels, while a
large number of workers remain on furlough."

 

The ONS also said that the unemployment rate was 4.8% between March and May.
Economists had expected it to hold at the 4.7% rate recorded in the three
months to April.

 

Commenting on the sharp rise in vacancies, Chris Gray, director at
recruitment firm Manpower UK, said: "I think what we're seeing is that we're
already in a tight labour market. Employers are already having to be very
creative.

 

"But some are also a little bit anxious, maybe desperate, and advertising
the same job more than once so, we've got to be mindful of some of those
inflated numbers."-BBC

 

 

 

Why the US is launching a $300 monthly child benefit

The US will start paying child benefits monthly for the first time - a
seismic shift for the country that has some of the highest rates of child
poverty in the developed world.

 

Monthly payments of up to $300 (£216) per child are due to start hitting
Americans' bank accounts on 15 July, running until the end of the year.

 

Some Democrats have praised the newly-expanded tax credit, saying a monthly
source of income is more reliable for families.

 

But anti-poverty advocates, who have pushed for a monthly benefit for years,
hope introducing such a programme temporarily will lay the groundwork for
longer-lasting change.

 

So how exactly does the tax credit work, and what impact is it expected to
have?

 

How does the monthly credit work?

The update to the child tax credit is part of the American Rescue Plan, a
$1.9tn economic relief package signed into law in March.

 

The bill increased the existing benefit for the 2021 tax year to a maximum
of $3,600 per child under the age of six, or $3,000 for those up to the age
of 17.

 

Under the expanded scheme, half of the credit will be paid directly to
parents in monthly instalments of up to $300 per child.

 

>From 15 July through to 15 December, deposits will be made monthly into
accounts on file with the US's Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Cheques or
debit cards may be issued in some instances.

 

The remaining amount can be claimed on 2021 tax returns, although families
can choose to opt out of the monthly payments and receive one lump sum later
instead.

 

The White House has said that about 90% of families will receive the benefit
automatically, although eligibility and the amount paid out is dependent on
income.

 

What was wrong with the old system?

Most developed countries, including the UK, have for decades offered some
form of monthly child allowance to offset the costs of having children.

 

Volunteers prepare food items that will be donated to those in need at
Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB) in Washington, DC, USA, 05 February 2021.

 

 

But the US, where fears that social welfare programmes discourage work have
a long political history, has relied on an annual tax credit to offset those
expenses.

 

First introduced in 1997, how much money a family gets depends on how much a
family makes - and therefore owes in tax - a design that critics say leaves
out those who need it most.

 

Research has previously found that roughly a third of children - who are
disproportionately poor, black or Hispanic - did not receive the full
benefit. About 10% were completely ineligible - the vast majority because
their families earned less than $2,500 a year.

 

"There's just a lot of kids that don't get the credit," says Katherine
Michelmore, a professor of public administration and international affairs
at Syracuse University's Maxwell School, who has studied the issue.

 

Under the new (temporary) child tax credit, the poorest families with no and
low incomes will qualify for the full amount this year, even if they don't
typically file tax returns.

 

What impact could the changes have?

According to the US Treasury Department and the IRS, the monthly payments
will go to about 39 million households.

 

Supporters on the left say expanding the benefit and making deposits more
frequent could cut the child poverty rate - which was roughly 15% before the
pandemic - by more than 40%, lifting four million children out of poverty.

 

 

They point to countries like Canada, where the introduction of a child
benefit prompted poverty to drop in the first years of the programme.

 

James Sullivan, economics professor at the University of Notre Dame, said
that families near the poverty line could see their income increase by more
than 25% in the second half of the year.

 

"Such families tend to spend additional resources on necessities such as
food, housing (i.e. paying back rent), and clothing," he said, adding that
any additional income could also provide the cash to make a down payment on
bigger-ticket items, such as cars, that may typically be out of reach.

 

US conservatives that put forward their own proposals for a monthly child
allowance, such as Senator Mitt Romney, described it as a family-friendly
policy - and defence against America's falling birth rate, which has hit a
record low.

 

That is in part "because too many young adults think having and raising kids
is too expensive", says Brad Wilcox, senior fellow at the Institute for
Family Studies, pointing to rapid increases in child-related expenses like
education.

 

Is it likely to be extended?

Lawmakers have periodically expanded the child tax credit in the past.

 

President Biden is keen to extend these latest changes through to 2025.
Other Democrats would like to see them made permanent.

 

Despite that, critics have pointed out that the changes are set to cost the
government more than $110bn this year.

 

Experts have also warned that increased consumer spending could lead to
higher prices in the shops.

 

"Given the massive amount of prior stimulus, coupled with an opening
economy, I do expect a large amount of this to be spent," says Cedarville
University economics professor Jeffrey Haymond.

 

"This may be a worthwhile social goal to help families with child expenses,
but it should have been coupled with reductions in spending elsewhere as the
economy is not currently in need of additional stimulus - what it needs is
for workers to go back to work."

 

To extend the changes for another four years, law-makers would need to pass
the American Families Plan, which also includes investments in pre-school
and recruiting more teachers.

 

How does this compare globally?

Megan Curran, a research at Columbia University's Center on Poverty and
Social Policy, says the monthly benefit brings the US in line with global
norms.

 

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks with House Democratic leaders and chairs of
House committees working on coronavirus disease (COVID-19) aid legislation
during a meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S.,
February 5, 2021.

 

 

The UK, for example, offers monthly payments of as much as £84.60 for the
first child, and £56 for those after, with benefits starting to phase out at
incomes of £50,000.

 

In Canada, the allowance can be as high as C$563.75 (£321; $443) monthly for
children under the age of six and up to C$475.66 (£271.27; $374.19) for
children under 18, but start shrinking at incomes of C$30,000.

 

Other countries provide payments regardless of income, such as Ireland,
where the monthly stipend is E140 (£122.80; $169.30) per child.

 

But Ms Curran cautions that the US, which routinely ranks near the bottom
when it comes to family support policies, still lags behind in other ways,
such as parental leave and childcare.

 

"The child allowance is not a silver bullet," she says. "It does a lot of
the heavy lifting ... It can help meet the cost of children's needs and make
sure that it smoothes some of these costs from month-to-month, but there are
many other pieces of the puzzle that the US needs to address."-BBC

 

 

US warns businesses over China's Xinjiang province

The US has issued a tough new warning to companies about doing business in
China's Xinjiang province.

 

American firms that still have supply chain and investment ties in the
region were told they "could run a high risk of violating US law."

 

Washington cited evidence of genocide and other human rights abuses in
Xinjiang.

 

China has denied previous allegations that the region's Uyghur population
has been subjected to human rights abuses.

 

The Xinjiang Supply Chain Business Advisory was published jointly by the
State Department, Treasury, Commerce, Homeland Security, Labor and the
Office of the US Trade Representative.

 

"Businesses and individuals that do not exit supply chains, ventures, and/or
investments connected to Xinjiang could run a high risk of violating US
law," said the updated advisory, which was first released in July last year.

 

In a press statement, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the document
noted that the Chinese "government is perpetrating genocide and crimes
against humanity in Xinjiang".

 

The announcement comes as Western governments harden their stance over
companies operating in the north-western region of China.

 

On Friday, the Biden administration added 14 Chinese firms and other
entities to its economic blacklist over alleged human rights abuses and
surveillance in Xinjiang.

 

Earlier this month, French authorities opened a "crimes against humanity"
probe into four fashion brands.

 

Uniqlo, Zara-owner Inditex and French textile firm SMCP deny the claims,
while Skechers declined to comment.

 

The move came after complaints from the European Uyghur Institute and other
pressure groups that the retailers were profiting from the use of forced
labour.

 

The Xinjiang region produces 85% of China's cotton and accounts for about a
fifth of global supplies.

 

Uyghurs have been detained at camps where allegations of torture, forced
labour and sexual abuse have emerged. China has denied these claims saying
the camps are "re-education" facilities aimed at lifting Uyghurs out of
poverty.-BBC

 

 

 

John Lewis and Waitrose plan to cut 1,000 jobs

John Lewis and Waitrose are planning to cut 1,000 jobs as part of a shake-up
of store management.

 

The move follows the closure of eight John Lewis shops earlier this year,
which put almost 1,500 jobs at risk.

 

John Lewis, which owns Waitrose and the department store chain, is trying to
cut costs as shopping habits change and more people shop online.

 

It said it would help affected staff find new roles and wanted to avoid
compulsory redundancies.

 

The proposed job cuts "will allow us to reinvest in what matters most to our
customers", a John Lewis Partnership spokesperson said.

 

It will invest in customer service roles and "visual merchandising to make
our shops look their best to entice customers", the retailer said.

 

The cuts, which work out at nearly three management roles per store, will
"reduce the number of layers between our most senior leaders and
non-management" shop floor staff, it added.

 

Cuts and closures

The coronavirus pandemic accelerated a trend towards people shopping online
instead of in stores.

 

Last year the retailer said it would close eight stores with the loss of
1,300 jobs, and put in place a plan to adapt to the boom in online shopping.

 

It then announced a further eight department store closures this year, after
the impact of the pandemic led it to report a hefty annual loss.

 

Earlier this month, the partnership announced plans to build 10,000 rental
homes over the next few years to give it a stable long-term income.

 

At the moment, it has 34 John Lewis shops and 331 Waitrose stores and across
the UK.

 

Its 80,000 staff are also partners in the business and usually get a share
of the profits.

 

Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves
Lansdown, said that for John Lewis, "pivoting quickly to keep up with the
accelerated shift in shopping habits brought on by the pandemic has been far
from easy".

 

Last year was the first time since 1953 that the company did not pay a
bonus, "highlighting the once-in-a-generation challenge the partnership is
facing", she said.

 

The firm is spending £1bn over five years to speed up the move to online
sales.

 

"To do that, it needs to make significant cost savings elsewhere," Ms
Streeter said. "Closing underperforming stores and reducing headcount is an
inevitable consequence as chair Dame Sharon White tries to steer the ship
towards the online shopping future."

 

She added: "It's becoming increasingly clear that John Lewis faces a future
with a much smaller retail footprint.

 

"By evolving to become part of campus-style developments [with housing], the
partnership may help distressed city centres find new leases of life and
bring fresh energy back into the retail ecosystem."-BBC

 

 

 

Asian shares advance as China data better than feared

(Reuters) - Asian shares advanced on Thursday as economic data from China
was largely more resilient than expected, and as U.S. Federal Reserve Chair
Jerome Powell said tapering of its massive stimulus was still a way off.

 

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS)
gained 0.4%, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng (.HSI) rising 1.0%.

 

Mainland Chinese shares were little changed with CSI300 index (.CSI300)
almost flat.

 

China's second-quarter economic growth fell just short of forecasts on an
annual basis, with GDP growth slowing to 7.9% from a year earlier from a
record 18.3% expansion in the January-March period. But seasonally adjusted
growth of 1.3% on the quarter in April-June was slightly better than
expected. read more

 

Monthly data for June, including retail sales, industrial output and fixed
investments, showed growth softened but not as much as expected, adding to
views that policymakers may do more to support the recovery.

 

Earlier in the day, China's central bank partially rolled over maturing,
one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans, injecting 100 billion
yuan ($15.46 billion). read more

 

Around 1 trillion yuan in long-term liquidity was also released into the
Chinese financial system from Thursday after the PBOC last week said it
would cut the amount of cash banks must hold as reserves.

 

"On the whole the PBOC is loosening but it is not flooding the banking
system like the Fed does. And today's economic data wasn't that bad," said
Masahiko Loo, portfolio manager at AllianceBernstein.

 

Japan's Nikkei bucked the trend, with Nikkei (.N225) falling 0.9%, hurt by
worries about rising domestic COVID-19 infections.

 

Wall Street shares were mixed, with S&P (.SPX) ending 0.12% higher and
Nasdaq (.IXIC) down 0.22%.

 

In testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services
Committee, Powell said the U.S. economy was "still a ways off" from levels
the central bank wanted to see before tapering its monetary support. read
more

 

He also said he is confident recent price hikes are associated with the
country's post-pandemic reopening and will fade.

 

His comments came after data published this week showed consumer prices
increased by the most in 13 years in June while producer prices accelerated
to the largest annual increase in more than a decade. read more

 

Powell gave fresh assurance to the markets that the Fed is not too hawkish
about taming inflation, said Chotaro Morita, chief rates strategist at SMBC
Nikko Securities.

 

Bond yields dipped globally, with the 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield slipping
to 1.336% , having peaked out at 1.423% on Wednesday.

 

The yield on inflation-protected bonds, sometimes called the real yield,
dropped below minus 1.0% , staying near its lowest levels since February.

 

"Given declines in bond yields started before Powell's speech, the market
was probably driven more by short-covering and unwinding of underweight
positions than Powell's comments per se," SMBC Nikko's Morita also added.

 

In the currency market, Powell's dovish stance put a dent on the U.S.
dollar.

 

The euro bounced back to $1.1826 from Wednesday's three-month low of
$1.1772. The dollar stood at 109.88 yen after 0.6% fall on Wednesday.

 

The Chinese yuan dipped to 6.4693 per dollar in Asia after hitting a
three-week of 6.4508 overnight.

 

Gold jumped to a one-month high of $1,829.8 per ounce on Wednesday and last
stood at $1,826.1 .

 

Oil prices eased after major global oil producers came to a compromise about
supply and after U.S. data showed demand slacked off a bit in the most
recent week. read more

 

U.S. crude futures dropped 1.0% to $72.40 per barrel while Brent futures
lost 0.8% to $74.18 per barrel.

 

($1 = 6.4693 Chinese yuan renminbi)

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

China's economic recovery loses some steam, investors eye more policy easing

(Reuters) - China's economy grew slightly more slowly than expected in the
second quarter, weighed down by higher raw material costs and new COVID-19
outbreaks, as expectations build that policymakers may have to do more to
support the recovery.

 

Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 7.9% in the April-June quarter from a
year earlier, official data showed on Thursday, missing expectations for a
rise of 8.1% in a Reuters poll of economists. read more

 

Growth slowed significantly from a record 18.3% expansion in the
January-March period, when the year-on-year growth rate was heavily skewed
by the COVID-induced slump in the first quarter of 2020.

 

Retail sales and industrial output grew more slowly in June, the latter
dragged by a sharp fall in motor vehicle production, while NBS data also
showed a cooling in China's housing market, a key engine of growth.

 

But June activity data still beat expectations, providing some relief to
investors concerned about a slowdown after the central bank announced policy
easing last week. read more

 

"The numbers were marginally below our expectation and the market's
expectation (but) I think the momentum is fairly strong," said UOB economist
Woei Chen Ho in Singapore.

 

"Our greater concern is the uneven recovery that we've seen so far and for
China the recovery in domestic consumption is very important...retail sales
this month was fairly strong and that may allay some concerns."

 

While the world's second-largest economy has rebounded strongly from the
COVID-19 crisis, buoyed by solid export demand and policy support, data
releases in recent months have suggested some loss in momentum.

 

Higher raw material costs, supply shortages and pollution controls are
weighing on industrial activity, while small COVID-19 outbreaks have kept a
lid on consumer spending. read more

 

Investors are watching to see if the central bank is shifting to an easier
policy stance after the People's Bank of China (PBOC) announced last week it
would cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves, just as some
other central banks begin or start thinking about exiting pandemic-era
stimulus. read more

 

Average second quarter growth in 2020 and 2021 was 5.5%, up slightly from a
5% average for the first quarter, according to the National Bureau of
Statistics.

 

On a quarterly basis, GDP expanded 1.3% in the April-June period, the NBS
said, just beating expectations for a 1.2% rise in the Reuters poll. The NBS
revised down growth in the first quarter from the fourth quarter last year
to 0.4%.

 

POLICY EASING?

 

The PBOC move, which released about 1 trillion yuan ($154.64 billion) in
long-term liquidity to bolster the recovery, comes even as policymakers have
sought to normalise policy after the economy's strong rebound from the
coronavirus crisis to contain financial risks.

 

It highlights the challenges policymakers will face in rolling back
pandemic-era stimulus as the coronavirus continues to flare-up around the
world. read more

 

"The domestic economic recovery is uneven," said Liu Aihua, an official at
the NBS at a briefing on Thursday.

 

"We must also see that the global epidemic continues to evolve, and there
are many external instabilities and uncertain factors," she said.

 

Premier Li Keqiang reiterated on Monday that China would not resort to
flood-like stimulus.

 

Still, economists in the Reuters poll expected more support this year,
forecasting a further cut in the bank reserve requirement ratio (RRR) in the
fourth quarter.

 

Some market watchers say a cut in the country's benchmark loan prime rate
may be next, possibly as early as next week. read more

 

"Based on the current situation, if policymakers do not act, the GDP figure
in Q4 could fall out of the reasonable range as data from last Q4 was
shining," said Xing Zhaopeng, senior China strategist at ANZ in Shanghai.

 

"I expect the government to roll out targeted easing measures."

 

HEADWINDS

 

China's strong exports have been a key support to the country's post-COVID
recovery, but a customs official said this week overall trade growth may
slow in the second half of 2021, partly reflecting COVID-19 pandemic
uncertainties. read more

 

"Headwinds to growth are likely to intensify during the second half of the
year," said Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist at Capital
Economics in a note.

 

"China's COVID-19 export boom appears to have peaked and will unwind over
the coming quarters as vaccine rollouts and reopening help to normalise
global consumption patterns."

 

New home prices rose in June at the slowest clip since April and property
investment at its weakest pace this year as government measures to cool a
hot housing market further tapped the brakes on growth. read more

 

The NBS data showed China's industrial output grew 8.3% in June from a year
ago, slowing from a 8.8% rise in May. Economists in the poll had expected a
7.8% year-on-year rise.

 

Retail sales grew 12.1% from a year earlier in June. Analysts in the poll
had expected a 11.0% increase after May's 12.4% rise.

 

Economists in the Reuters poll expected a 8.6% GDP expansion in 2021, which
would be the highest annual growth in a decade and well above the country's
official target for growth higher than 6%. China was the only major economy
to have avoided a contraction last year, expanding 2.3%. read more

 

Fixed asset investment grew 12.6% in the first six months of 2021 from the
same period a year earlier, versus a forecast 12.1% uptick and down from a
15.4% jump in January-May.

 

($1 = 6.4665 yuan)

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

China's share of bitcoin mining slumped even before Beijing crackdown,
research shows

(Reuters) - China's share of global bitcoin production power fell sharply
even before a recent crackdown by its authorities on cryptocurrency mining,
research by the University of Cambridge showed on Thursday.

 

China has long been the centre of global cryptocurrency mining, an
energy-intensive process. Many bitcoin miners in China use fossil fuels
including coal, stoking concerns over bitcoin's environmental footprint.

 

The country's share of the power of computers connected to the global
bitcoin network, known as "hash rate," fell to 46% in April this year from
75.5% in September 2019, according to the data from the Cambridge Centre for
Alternative Finance.

 

In the same period, the United States' share of hash rate jumped to 16.8%
from just over 4%, making it the second-largest producer of bitcoin.
Kazakhstan's share also rose to around 8%, with Russia and Iran the other
major producers.

 

The research gives a rare glimpse into global trends of bitcoin mining, amid
increasing worries from the likes of Tesla (TSLA.O) over how the
cryptocurrency is produced. read more

 

The decline in Chinese mining power came ahead of a crackdown by China's
state council, or cabinet, on bitcoin mining and trading in late May, citing
underlying financial risks.

 

Anhui, in eastern China, became this week the latest province to announce a
sweeping ban on cryptocurrency mining. read more

 

Major Chinese mining hubs including Sichuan, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang
have all issued detailed measures since to root out the business, paralysed
the mining industry as miners dump machines or move to places including
Texas or Kazakhstan. read more

 

Bitmain, China's biggest maker of cryptocurrency mining machines, last month
halted sales following Beijing's mining ban, and said it was looking for
power supplies overseas in places including the United States, Russia and
Kazakhstan. read more

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Sydney Airport rejects $17 bln buyout proposal amid deal frenzy

(Reuters) - Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (SYD.AX) said on Thursday it
would reject a A$22.26 billion ($16.6 billion) takeover proposal from a
group of infrastructure funds, the biggest of a frenzy of Australian deals
fuelled by record-low interest rates.

 

The operator of Australia's largest airport said directors had unanimously
concluded the proposal undervalued the airport and was not in the best
interest of shareholders. If successful, it would have been one of
Australia's biggest buyouts.

 

Record-low interest rates have prompted pension funds and their investment
managers to chase higher yields, leading to recent asset purchases from
Telstra Corp (TLS.AX) and Qube Holdings (QUB.AX). read more

 

Electricity poles-and-wires company Spark Infrastructure Group (SKI.AX)
rejected a A$4.91 billion buyout proposal from private equity firm KKR & Co
Inc (KKR.N) and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board but left open the
chance of some engagement.

 

Last week, the Sydney Aviation Alliance, a consortium of IFM Investors,
QSuper and Global Infrastructure Partners offered A$8.25 a share, for a
premium of 42% to pandemic-ravaged Sydney Airport's last trading price
before the offer. read more

 

Shares of Sydney Airport were flat at about A$7.80, a sign the market
expects further negotiations.

 

The proposal is contingent on a board recommendation and access to due
diligence. Sydney Airport said its board would only accept a buyout deal
that would "deliver and recognise appropriate long-term value".

 

"The board is obviously trying to play hardball, but we do think it's a
pretty unique long-dated asset so we are supportive of their decision so
far," Andy Forster, a portfolio manager at Argo Investments, a top-20
investor in the airport, told Reuters.

 

In a statement, the Sydney Aviation Alliance said it was "surprised and
disappointed" by the rejection, but did not say if it had ruled out a higher
offer.

 

The Australian government has a foreign ownership cap of 49% on airport
operators. IFM, QSuper and UniSuper are Australian, while Global
Infrastructure Partners is from the United States.

 

Sydney Airport is Australia's only listed airport operator and a purchase
would be a long-term bet on the travel sector. The city's lockdown will run
at least two more weeks after a rise in COVID-19 infections. read more

 

A successful deal would bring its ownership in line with the country's other
major airports, which are owned by consortia of infrastructure investors,
primarily pension funds.

 

Australia's mandatory retirement savings system, known as superannuation,
has assets of A$3.1 trillion, according to the Association of Superannuation
Funds of Australia.

 

A Sydney Airport purchase, with an enterprise value of A$30 billion
including debt, would position it to reap financial benefits when borders
reopen.

 

If successful, the purchase would be one of Australia's largest by
enterprise value in U.S. dollar terms, on par with the $22-billion purchase
of mall operator Westfield Group by Unibail-Rodamco in 2017, Refinitiv data
showed.

 

It would require the approval of the Foreign Investment Review Board and
Australia's competition regulator.

 

Cross-ownership rules may compel IFM to sell down a portion of its holdings
in other major Australian airports, Morgan Stanley analyst Rob Koh said.

 

"It may be there is a series of further airport transactions as a result of
this," Koh said at a CAPA Centre for Aviation event on Wednesday, adding
that co-owners who probably have pre-emptive rights would be logical buyers.

 

Last week, Bloomberg News said a consortium led by Macquarie Group (MQG.AX)
was considering a rival offer, citing unidentified sources. With talks at an
early stage, Macquarie could also consider joining the Sydney Aviation
Alliance, it added. read more

 

In a note, Credit Suisse analysts said there was potential for other
bidders, such as Macquarie, Australia Super and the Future Fund, to get
involved. Macquarie once owned Sydney Airport and the rest have stakes in
other Australian airports.

 

($1=1.3407 Australian dollars)

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

SoftBank Vision Fund invests $1.7 bln in S.Korean travel firm Yanolja

(Reuters) - SoftBank's (9984.T) Vision Fund has invested $1.7 billion in
Yanolja, the South Korean travel and leisure firm said on Thursday, as it
seeks to build on rapid pandemic-induced growth in Southeast Asia, India and
Africa.

 

Yanolja, which provides cloud-based booking and other systems for hotels and
travel companies, says demand for its systems has jumped as the spread of
COVID-19 put companies under intense pressure to introduce contactless
services and cut costs.

 

That in turn has made Yanolja a rare beast in the travel industry over the
past year - a company which has seen earnings spike.

 

"Powered by AI, we believe Yanolja is a leader in transforming the travel
and leisure industry in South Korea," said Greg Moon, Managing Partner at
SoftBank Investment Advisers.

 

Yanolja declined to comment on the stake Vision Fund is receiving or its
valuation based on the investment. But the deal is expected to represent a
large increase over its previous valuation of more than $1 billion in 2019
when Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC and U.S. firm Booking Holdings
(BKNG.O) invested $180 million.

 

Founded as an online booking agency in 2005, Yanolja only launched its cloud
business in 2019.

 

The business, which competes with Oracle Corp (ORCL.N) in a highly
fragmented sector, now has some 30,000 licensees and that client base should
reach 500,000 by 2025, Chief Executive Kim Jong-yoon told Reuters in an
interview.

 

"Our sales and profits are bound to improve when COVID-19 travel constraints
end," he said.

 

Last year Yanolja swung to a 16.1 billion won ($14 million) operating profit
from a loss of 6.2 billion won, while revenue soared 44% to 192 billion won.

 

Yanolja has previously said it was pursuing an IPO but Kim declined to
comment on those plans.

 

The company's systems allow hotels to manage bookings, accept contactless
check-ins, and track when guests are not in their rooms so that electricity
is not wasted and rooms can be cleaned more efficiently.

 

It also offers systems that allow hotels and travel agencies to connect
their data more easily.

 

In addition to some 9,000 hotels as clients in South Korea, Yanolja has
signed up some 6,000 hotels in Southeast Asia where it has a presence in
Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.

 

It also plans to enter Vietnam shortly having partnered with VNTravel, the
online travel unit of VNLIFE.

 

In India, Yanolja has some 6,000 hotel customers, while in Africa at least
3,000 hotels are using its services after it entered the market in September
last year.

 

($1 = 1,149.2000 won)

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Beyond Meat opens JD.com store amid China consumer caution on meat
substitutes

(Reuters) - Beyond Meat (BYND.O) said on Thursday it has launched an online
store in China on JD.com's (9618.HK) ecommerce platform, as the plant-based
meatmaker aims to boost sales in the world's biggest meat market where
consumer interest in meat alternatives is low.

 

U.S.-based Beyond Meat said in a statement the JD.com store will initially
help expand availability of its products in four major cities, including
Beijing and Shanghai, and eventually in 300 cities across China.

 

JD.com's 18 cold chain warehouses will provide delivery of Beyond Meat
products to consumers within 48 hours of orders being placed, it said.

 

Its products are currently mainly available in China through its
partnerships with Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O), Yum China Holdings Inc and
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's Freshippo markets.

 

But expanding into the retail segment by selling on JD.com will help it
reach a wider audience in the country, which is increasingly purchasing
fresh food online.

 

Online sales in China of fresh food, into which category Beyond Meat's
products fall, are expected to top 300 billion yuan ($46.40 billion) this
year, an increase of 18% from 2020, according to consultancy iiMedia
Research.

 

Beyond Meat's direct retail foray follows a similar move by Nestle (NESN.S)
in December, which launched a range of plant-based burgers, sausages,
nuggets and dishes suited to Chinese cooking. read more

 

The push by global firms comes even as consumers in China are not exactly
devouring plant-based meat.

 

"Currently it is a solo dance by the manufacturers, the consumers are not
joining the tango," said Zhu Danpeng, an independent food industry analyst.

 

Chinese consumers are deterred by concerns over food safety as well as
taste, said Zhu.

 

A recent poll on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter-like social media platform,
found only 14% of 400 participants were willing to try plant-based meat.

 

Nevertheless, the promise of a market with 1.4 billion people is enticing
for the companies.

 

Beyond Meat, which has set up its first manufacturing plant outside of the
United States in the eastern Chinese city of Jiaxing, near Shanghai,
declined to comment on its sales in the market so far.

 

A 0.454 kg twin pack of plant-based beef will be sold at 210 yuan on the
company's JD store. By comparison, one kg of good quality domestic beef
costs about 140 yuan on JD's fresh food platform.

 

JD.com did not have an immediate comment.

 

Liu Yiping, a 45-year-old businessman in Beijing, said he likes the sandwich
with Beyond Meat at Starbucks.

 

"I tried it for fun as I wonder how the taste will be," he said. "It is not
bad but still won't make me try the second time as it is not cheap."

 

Beyond Meat is also adding Beyond Pork, created for the pork-loving Chinese
market, to its offering on JD.com.

 

It will also sell ingredients that are used in the cooking of local dishes
such as stir-fry, dumplings, mapo tofu, zhajiang noodles and lion's head
meatballs to appeal to Chinese consumers.

 

($1 = 6.4741 yuan)

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Biggest U.S. banks smash profit estimates as economy revives

(Reuters) - The four largest U.S. consumer banks posted blockbuster
second-quarter results this week, after pandemic loan losses failed to
materialize and the U.S. economy began roaring back to life.

 

Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N), Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), Citigroup Inc (C.N)
and JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) posted a combined $33 billion in profits,
buoyed by the release of $9 billion in reserves they had put aside last year
to absorb feared pandemic losses.

 

That was beyond analyst estimates of about $24 billion combined, compared
with $6 billion in the year-ago quarter.

 

Consumer spending has climbed, sometimes beyond pre-pandemic levels, while
credit quality has improved and savings and investments have risen, the
banks said.

 

Thanks to extraordinary government stimulus and loan repayment holidays,
feared pandemic losses have not materialized. A national vaccination
roll-out has allowed also Americans get back to work and to start spending
again.

 

Sizzling capital markets activity has also helped the largest U.S. banks,
with Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) reporting a $5.35 billion profit, more
than double its adjusted earnings a year ago. read more

 

"The pace of the global recovery is exceeding earlier expectations and with
it, consumer and corporate confidence is rising," Citigroup Chief Executive
Officer Jane Fraser said.

 

That was reflected in a pick-up in consumer lending.

 

For example, JPMorgan said combined spending on its debit and credit cards
rose 22% compared with the same quarter in 2019, when spending patterns were
more normal.

 

Spending on Citi-branded credit cards in the United States jumped 40% from a
year earlier, but with so many customers paying off balances its card loans
fell 4%. read more

 

Citigroup Chief Financial Officer Mark Mason said the bank expects more
customers to go back to their pre-pandemic pattern of carrying revolving
balances as government stimulus programs wind down later this year.

 

Wells Fargo posted a 14% gain in credit-card revenue compared with the
second quarter of 2020, due to higher point-of-sale volume. Revenue was up
slightly on the first quarter, the bank said. read more

 

"What we're seeing is people starting to spend and act more in a way that
seems more like it was before the pandemic started and, certainly on the
consumer side, spending is up quite a bit, even when you compare it to
2018," Wells Fargo chief financial officer Mike Santomassimo told reporters.

 

While loan growth is still tepid, which is usually bad for bank profits,
there were signs that demand is creeping back.

 

Excluding loans related to the U.S. government's pandemic aid program, loan
balances at Bank of America, for example, grew $5.1 billion from the first
quarter. read more

 

"Deposit growth is strong, and loan levels have begun to grow," Bank of
America CEO Brian Moynihan said in a statement.

 

JPMorgan, the country's largest lender, on Tuesday reported profits of $11.9
billion compared with $4.7 billion last year.

 

Citigroup's second-quarter profit rose to $6.19 billion, up from $1.06
billion last year, while Bank of America's profit jumped to $8.96 billion
from $3.28 billion. read more

 

Wells Fargo posted a profit of $6 billion compared with a loss of $3.85
billion last year, which was largely related to special items.

 

While the results indicate good news for consumers and businesses, low
interest rates, weak loan demand and a slowdown in trading will probably
weigh on results going forward, analysts said.

 

The U.S. Federal Reserve is staying the course, with an inflation target of
2% and no plans to tighten monetary policy by, for instance, raising
interest rates, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in prepared remarks for a
congressional appearance on Wednesday.  

 

That suggests banks will have to deal with low rates for an extended period
of time.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Nigeria: FEC Approves N309 Billion for Road Contracts in Lagos, Kaduna,
Others

The FEC also approved N8.6 billion for the construction of vaccine
laboratory, text kits for HIV/AIDS and procurement of medical equipment.

 

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the construction of five
roads in the country worth N309 billion.

 

The roads are located in Borno, Kaduna, Lagos and Ogun States.

 

The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, disclosed this to
journalists after the meeting of the council in Abuja on Wednesday.

 

He said the roads, totalling 274.9 kilometres, would be constructed by
Dangote Group of companies under the tax credit policy of the Nigerian
government.

 

"The memo presented was for the construction and reconstruction of five road
projects, as the case may be, in favour of Dangote Industries Limited
totalling 274.9 kilometres of federal roads under the federal government's
roads infrastructure tax credit policy which is one of strategic partnership
with the private sector.

"Those five roads will cost N309,917,717,251.55 to be advanced by the
Dangote Industries as tax credit.

 

"The roads specifically are Bama to Banki in Borno State, 49.153 kilometre;
Dikwa to Gamboru Ngala (Borno), 49.577 kilometres; Nnamdi Azikiwe Road
popularly known as Western Bye-Pass in Kaduna State, 21.477 kilometres.

 

"The Deep Sea Port access road Sections I and III in Lagos State through Epe
to Shagamu Express Way, 54.24 kilometres, that links Lagos and Ogun States,
and the Obele Ilaro-Shagamu Road, 100 kilometres in Ogun," he said.

 

According to him, the council also approved the memorandum, to facilitate
the construction of the 274 kilometres of concrete road and "this will be
the largest single award of concrete roads ever undertaken by the government
of Nigeria in one award."

 

The Minister of Power, Sale Mamman, said the council approved three memos
for the ministry.

He said the approved projects included the construction of 45 km
Offafa-Umuahia Transmission Line in Abia in the sum of 170,465 dollars plus
N814.1 million.

 

Mr Mamman disclosed that the council approved N259.9 million for
construction of a substation at Obajana with line base extension at Lokoja.

 

"The last one is the construction, design, and supply of 2 by 50 MVA 132 33
substation at Ikom with 2 by 132 lines base transmission at Calabar, Cross
River.

 

"It also includes the design and construction of 220 km Calabar-Ikom 132
Cable Double Circuit Transmission Line. The amount is 39.9 million dollars
plus N9.5billion."

 

The council also approved the introduction of a Specialised Police Service
Scheme for the Nigeria Police Force to boost its revenue base and check
financial leakages.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba
Shehu, said this after the meeting.

 

According to him, the scheme would be managed through the Public Private
Partnership (PPP) arrangement and revenue generated will be shared between
the federal government, police and the consultant.

 

"There will be an introduction of tariffs and billing schemes. This will be
using PPP (Public Private Partnership arrangement).

 

"The police projected the use of consultant that will help them to manage
this. Part of the revenue will go to Federal Government. Part of it will go
to the police; part of it will go into police allowances and part will go to
consultant as their own fees.

 

"This is a new system that will formalise the existing relationship between
the Nigeria Police and Banks or Corporations, whereby the Police gives them
cover or escort.

 

"Now in the interest of accountability and transparency, there will be the
introduction of tariffs and billing scheme through the use of a consultant
that will help them to manage the scheme.

 

"This is something that has been going on for many years in some parts of
the world," he explained.

 

Mr Garba also said the Council approved N754 million for the construction of
a Command and Control Centre and procurement of communication gadgets for
the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

 

He said: "The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) got approval
for capital projects worth N754, 048, 161.25 and these are mainly for the
supply of communication gadgets and a command and control centre.

 

"This is to enable the EFCC to comply with modern day investigative
techniques and improve its operational efficiency and support the
administration of the criminal justice system in the country."

 

Mr Shehu added that the approval was also aimed at equipping the commission
with a defensive and offensive cybersecurity system.

 

According to the presidential aide, the council also approved N1.5 billion
for the construction of a network of roads at the Federal Ocean Terminal at
Onne Port in Rivers following a memo submitted by the Minister of
Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.

 

He disclosed that the council also approved N161.8million as variation for
the consultancy fee for the Biu Mega Water Supply project in Borno.

 

FEC also approved N8.6 billion for the construction of vaccine laboratory,
text kits for HIV/AIDS and procurement of medical equipment.

 

The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, announced this while briefing
journalists after the meeting of the council.

 

According to the minister, N3.06 billion of the amount will be spent on the
construction of vaccine laboratory, N1.2 billion for laboratory equipment
while N4.3 billion will be used in procuring text kits for HIV/AIDS and
Syphilis.

 

He said: "The Ministry of Health presented three memos, which were all
approved. One of them was for the procurement of test kits for HIV/AIDS.

 

"As you all know, Nigeria has succeeded in driving down the HIV prevalence
from 3 per cent to 1.3 per cent."

 

Mr Ehanire said with the nationality indicator and the impact survey carried
out recently, the government was ready to conduct more tests, particularly
of mothers who may be carrying HIV that could be passed on to their unborn
children.

 

"That's sort of called the prevention of mother to child transmission and
also without routine tests that will be done on people who may have
absolutely no symptom at all, but are carrying HIV virus.

 

"So, these test kits we are procuring and we're also including those test
kits that can also detect syphilis.

 

"Syphilis as you all know is another sexually transmitted disease. So, this
memo was presented today and passed by the Council," said the minister.

 

He further stated that the council approved two other memos from the
National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

 

"One of them was a memo that was meant to buy equipment for six laboratories
in the country and the memo was also passed without any question.

 

"It's to update and upgrade the laboratories of NAFDAC," he added.-Premium
Times.

 

 

 

Nigeria: Northern Group Asks Reps to Reject Planned Sale of Five Power
Plants

The Federal Government government plans to sell the assets of the power
plants to fund the 2021 budget deficit.

 

The Coalition of Northern Group (CNG) has kicked against the plan by the
Federal Government to sell some assets of the Niger Delta Power Holding
Company (NDPHC) to fund the 2021 budget deficit.

 

Balarabe Rufai, who spoke on behalf of the group at the investigative
hearing by the House of Representatives joint committees on power and
privatisation and commercialisation on Wednesday, said the planned sale is
against the interest of the region.

 

The House had resolved to investigate the planned sale, following a motion
moved by Kayode Musbau (APC, Lagos). The green chamber had mandated the
joint committees to investigate the planned sales.

Mr Musbau had argued that the company did not belong to the federal
government wholly because it was started with $3.5 billion withdrawn from
the excess crude account which belongs to the three tiers of government.

 

At the hearing, Mr Rufai said the planned sale of Calabar, Ihovbor,
Olorunsogo, Omotosho and Geregu power plants, is not acceptable to the
region. He argued that it is inconsistent with the position of the mandate
of NDPHC.

 

According to Mr Rufai, the planned privatisation "reneges on the initial
understanding that after certain years of piloting the projects in Southern
Nigeria, the assets were to be sold and the proceeds reinvested in setting
up hydro generation assets in parts of northern Nigerian states for a
similar length of time."

The group rejected the plan to use the proceeds to fund the deficits in the
budget, rather than investing it in renewable energy in the north.

 

He added that "this justification is not supportable and stands unacceptable
for the fact that the NDPHC subsidiary companies are not wholly-owned by the
FGN but include other shareholders -- the states and local governments
including those of northern Nigeria which stands the risk of being
short-changed by this plot."

 

Speaking earlier, the Managing Director of NDPHC, Chinedu Ugbo, said the
company was not against the planned sales, noting that the value of the
assets had depreciated by 50 per cent since the last planned sales.

 

He said the board of the NDPHC, which is chaired by Vice President Yemi
Osinbajo, will meet on the 29 July to deliberate on the decision of the
federal government to sell its stakes in the company.

Mr Ugbo informed the committees that the Mckinsey Consulting had advised the
company to fix the system before selling, to avoid selling the assets for
half of its value.

 

Also, he said the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET) was owing
NDPHC over N150 billion.

 

The committee was unable to take the view of the Bureau of Public
Enterprises (BPE), as the representative of the Director-General of BPE,
Alex Okoh, was walked out of the hearing by the chairman, Aliyu Magaji.

 

Muraina Ajibola (PDP, Oyo), a member of the Committee, had moved that the
committee should only take the submission of heads of agencies, not
subordinates. The motion was adopted and passed.

 

Also, the representative of Association of Local Governments of Nigeria,
ALGON, Ngozika Iwuoma, was stopped midway from making a presentation due to
lack of correspondence from the leadership of ALGON.

 

Before he was stopped, he had stated that ALGON supported the sale as long
as the local governments would get their fair share of the proceeds of the
sales.

 

Meanhile, Mr Magaji, the chairman of the committee, asked the DG of BPE
alongside the Central Bank of Nigeria, Ministry of Finance and others to
also appear before the committee.-Premium Times.

 

 

West Africa: Factoring Offers an Alternative to Financing for SMEs - Central
Bank of West African States

Factoring, which is a financial management technique allowing a company to
liquidate its receivables and recover cash, can be an alternative and
complementary solution to financing, in particular for SMEs and SMIs the
Governor of the Central Bank of West African States (Bceao), Tiémoko Meyliet
Koné said at the official opening, on Tuesday, July 13, of the series of
joint BCEAO-AFREXIMBANK-FCI webinars on the theme "factoring and financing
of receivables in Africa".

 

Meyliet Koné noted that factoring is an opportunity that has not yet been
fully exploited by African companies. He said the African continent
represents only 0.9% of the global turnover of factoring activity over the
last five years according to FCI, The amount of resources granted for the
factoring activity in our community space barely represents 0.4% of the
overall volume of bank loans he said. It is for this reason that the Central
Bank has decided to deploy a strategy to promote factoring in the West
African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) zone.

A uniform law intended to regulate factoring operations

 

Through the series of webinars on factoring, the Central bank is reiterating
its commitment to establish an environment more conducive to the development
and financing of economic activities and, more specifically, that of SMEs.
To achieve this the central bank has adopted a uniform law to regulate
factoring operations with specified terms.

 

According to the Governor Mr. Koné, this law confirms in particular that in
the WAEMU states, factoring is a credit operation and therefore falls under
the exclusive competence of credit institutions. However, in order to reach
a larger number of companies, the new law has opened up the exercise of
factoring activity to microfinance institutions, says Tiémoko Meyliet Koné.
This according to Peter Mulroy, Secretary General of FCI said is shaping a
promising future for factoring in Africa in a context of economic recovery
with positive growth rates announced. For Kanayo Awanie, president of the
Africa section of Afreximbank, factoring can help innovative SMEs to grow,
support transformation and their development in Africa.

Factoring is an alternative to reach available external funding sources

 

Welcoming the take off of factoring in African countries such as South
Africa and Tunisia, Awanie acknowledges the trends observed in Nigeria,
Senegal, Cameroon, and other countries where an emergence of activity has
been noted in recent times. In her view, Africa needs to build on factoring
factors by removing barriers. She believes that intra-African trade can be
one of the ways to develop factoring, which in her opinion, will help
support SMEs. Awanie welcomes the emergence of national laws in Africa and
encourages the promotion of factoring by developing related laws and
capacity building of stakeholders.-French story.

 

 

 

Mozambique: Standard Bank Hopes to 'Clarify' Allegations

Maputo — A day after the Bank of Mozambique suspended Standard Bank from
foreign currency trading for a year, it has responded with a promise to
continue to work with the central bank to "clarify all the allegations
against it", and to safeguard the interests of its clients.

 

The Bank of Mozambique also imposed heavy fines on Standard Bank and on two
of its senior managers, the Chief Executive Officer, Chukwuma Nwokocha, and
the director of the Corporate and Investment wing of the bank, Carlos
Madeira.

 

A Monday statement from the central bank said that an on-site inspection of
Standard Bank had found that it committed "serious breaches of a prudential
and exchange rate nature." The bank had allegedly "manipulated fraudulently
the exchange rate", and, among other violations, had undertaken "irregular
operations in financial derivatives for covering the risks of exchange rate
fluctuations".

 

Tuesday's brief statement from Standard Bank reminded customers that the
suspension does not cover day-to-day operations in Mozambican currency,
which "are continuing as normal".

The bank added that it has "a clear plan" for continuing its business. Part
of this plan is the appointment of an interim CEO. The statement does not
name this man, but the independent newssheet "Mediafax" says it has learnt
that he is Gomezgani Neba, a Malawian citizen, who was formerly financial
director of the bank. Neba regularly stood in for Nwokocha when he was
absent.

 

"Standard Bank is committed to doing business in an ethical and responsible
manner", said the statement, claiming that its governance procedures are
strict "because its reputation is a valuable asset". The statement says
nothing about the validity or otherwise of the allegations made by the Bank
of Mozambique.

 

Before the suspension, Standard Bank controlled about 46 per cent of the
foreign exchange market in Mozambique. Major foreign currency investment
projects, United Nations agencies, the World Bank, the IMF and foreign
embassies all use Standard Bank: this dominant position in the market is a
hangover from the days, decades ago when Standard was the only commercial
bank authorised to hold foreign currency accounts.

 

 

 

 


 


 


Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

 

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Skype:         Bulls.Bears 



 

 

 


 

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

 


 

 


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

 


 

 

 

 

 

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