Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 12 March 2021

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 12 March 2021

 


 

 


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ü  Covid stimulus: Biden signs $1.9tn relief bill into law

ü  Singapore PM: 'Considerable risk' of severe US-China tensions

ü  Coupang: Harvard dropout rockets into mega-billionaire's club

ü  Brexit: UK delays border checks on EU goods into Great Britain

ü  Netflix considers crackdown on password sharing

ü  Uber and Lyft to swap data on banned drivers

ü  Car insurance claims plunge as drivers stay at home

ü  Exchange email hack: Hundreds of UK firms compromised

ü  Covid: Jet2 customer asked to pay £1,000 to change flight dates

ü  Biden administration adds new limits on Huawei's suppliers

ü  China's antitrust regulators weigh levying record fine on Alibaba: WSJ

ü  Ransom-seeking hackers are taking advantage of Microsoft flaw: expert

ü  SoftBank-backed Grab in talks to go public in nearly $40 billion SPAC
deal: sources

ü  China market regulator fines 12 companies for illegal monopolistic
behaviours

ü  Brent crude eases, but stays near $70 as demand optimism lends support

ü  Kenya: Tough Terms As Kenya Lifts Tanzania, Uganda Maize Imports Ban

ü  Kenya Faces Revenue, Job Losses as House Ratifies UK Trade Deal

ü  Nigeria: Minimum Wage Bill - Labour Threatens to Shut Down Nigeria

ü  Nigeria: Outdoor Advertising Practitioners At Crossroads

ü  South Africa: Over 5,000 Eastern Cape Health Workers Will Be Without Jobs
At the End of This Month

 

 


 <https://www.facebook.com/Hyundaizimbabwe/> 

 


 

Covid stimulus: Biden signs $1.9tn relief bill into law

US President Joe Biden has signed a $1.9tn (£1.4tn) economic relief bill
that aims to help Americans impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic into law.

 

The bill includes $1,400 payments, an extension of jobless benefits, and a
child tax credit that is expect to lift millions out of poverty.

 

Mr Biden said the relief package will rebuild "the backbone of this
country".

 

The spending bill, one of the largest in US history, passed Congress without
a single Republican supporter.

 

Mr Biden is due to give a primetime address later on Thursday to tout the
bill's provisions. He and other Democrats will also hold a signing ceremony
at the White House on Friday.

 

This sixth Covid-19 relief bill is a major legislative win for Mr Biden.

 

The package has been broadly popular among Americans.

 

A March Pew Research Center poll found that 70% of US adults surveyed
expressed support for the bill, including 41% of Republicans.

 

Unemployment skyrocketed over the last year, with a current rate of 6.2%,
according to the US Labor Department.

 

Mr Biden had originally planned the bill signing for Friday, but it was
pushed up in his schedule "because Congress enroled the bill more quickly
than we anticipated," White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said in a tweet.

 

Joe Biden was originally expected to sign the ambitiously named "American
Recovery Plan Act" at the White House on Friday. Instead the final step in
enacting the president's first significant piece of legislation was moved up
to Thursday afternoon.

 

An official ceremony is still planned for Friday, but the scheduling change
reveals an administration anxious to get busy selling the American people on
the benefits of this massive and multifaceted piece of government spending.

 

This - and Biden's address to the nation Thursday night - are the opening
gun of a two-week public-relations blitz, including presidential travel, to
highlight the legislation. It shouldn't be too hard a sell, as opinion polls
indicate widespread support for the law even among Republican voters.

 

What Biden and the Democrats don't want is a repeat of the 2009 Great
Recession relief bill passed under President Barack Obama. Many in the party
believe that Democrats did not claim enough credit for the law's benefits -
and that voters had forgotten about their efforts when they cast their
ballots in the 2010 congressional mid-term elections (and roundly voted
Democrats out of office).

 

Biden, as vice-president, had a front-row seat for that debacle. His actions
as president suggest he hasn't forgotten it.

 

What's in the bill?

The act includes one-off direct payments worth $1,400 to be sent off to most
Americans.

 

It extends weekly jobless benefit payments of $300 until September.

 

It also allocates $350bn to state and local governments, some $130bn to
school reopening, $49bn for expanded Covid-19 testing and research, as well
as $14bn for vaccine distribution.

 

A proposal to raise the national minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 per hour
became a sticking point in the Senate and did not make it into the final
version of the bill.

 

When will stimulus money be deposited?

White House officials say that direct payments, the third payments of the
pandemic, will begin before the end of March.

 

Previous cheques were sent out by tax officials within one to two weeks of
the bills' passage.

 

Individuals earning up to $75,000 will receive a $1,400 payment.

 

Tax officials at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) use tax statements to
determine the exact size of each person's payment. For that reason they have
urged Americans to quickly file their tax returns, which are due 15 April.

 

Stimulus cheques sent out by Mr Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, included
the former president's personal signature.

 

But Mrs Psaki said Mr Biden's signature will not be on these payments.

 

What does the child tax credit do?

Currently, American couples are able to apply for a $2,000 per child under
the Child Tax Credit, a 24-year old government programme.

 

This law increases the tax break to $3,000 for every child age 6 to 17.
Children under the age of 6 will receive a $3,600 benefit.

 

More than 4 million children - more than half of the total - could be lifted
out of poverty, according to analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities.

 

It also extends access to lower income families, even those that pay nothing
in taxes, by making the credit refundable.

 

The programme is temporary, and will expire after one year.

 

What did Biden say?

Before signing the bill in the White House Oval Office, Mr Biden said the
bill is about "rebuilding the backbone of this country and giving people in
this nation, working people, middle class folks, the people that built the
country a fighting chance.

 

"That's what the essence of it is."

 

He promised that he would have "a lot more to say about that tonight and the
next couple of days".

 

Mr Biden will deliver his first primetime address to the American public on
Thursday night.

 

The speech comes on the 50th day of his presidency.

 

It will be the third time this year that he has marked a moment in the
coronavirus pandemic, which has left more than 529,000 people dead and over
29 million infected.

 

Previewing his remarks on Wednesday, Mr Biden said he would be laying out
"the next phase," of the US Covid-response.

 

"There is light at the end of this dark tunnel of the past year. But we
cannot let our guard down now or assume the victory is inevitable," he said.

 

"Together, we're going get through this pandemic and usher in a healthier
and more hopeful future."

 

On Thursday, the White House announced that Mr Biden and Vice-president
Kamala Harris will travel to Atlanta, Georgia next Friday as part of the
"Help is Here tour to amplify the American Rescue Plan".--BBC

 

 

 

Singapore PM: 'Considerable risk' of severe US-China tensions

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has told the BBC that a clash
between the US and China is more likely than it was five years ago.

 

However, he maintained that the odds of military conflict are "not yet
high".

 

The prime minister said if both nations continue to take a hard line because
of domestic considerations, they could easily find themselves at an impasse.

 

The Biden administration will hold its first high-level talks with Chinese
officials in Alaska next week.

 

Mr Lee was reluctant to give advice to China but noted its political
direction had sparked tensions with nations big and small.

 

"There is significant uncertainty [and] anxiety over which way China is
going and whether this will be good for them," he told BBC World News'
Talking Business Asia programme.

 

"I do not think that is in China's interest."

 

The Singaporean leader's views on the US-China relationship are often
sought, as the tiny island nation plays an outsized role economically and in
terms of political influence in the region.

 

The US is a major security partner for the city state and is also the
biggest investor in Singapore, far out-stripping any other country's
contribution.

 

Meanwhile, China is Singapore's largest export market and, like much of
Asia, Singapore's economy has benefited from China's rise.

 

US-China trade war

The bitter trade war between the two superpowers over the last two years has
threatened this delicate balance.

 

It started during former US President Donald Trump's time in office, but
there's been no indication that newly-elected President Joe Biden will take
a softer approach with China.

 

Prime Minister Lee said he hoped the new American leader would be someone
who "believes in multilateralism and international trade".

 

He also addressed the tussle for global dominance between the two.

 

"The US is still number one but number two [China] is not so far behind," he
said. "That is what is difficult for the US to accept."

 

By some estimates, the Chinese economy is slated to overtake the US to
become the world's largest by 2028, five years earlier than previously
forecast.

 

China's remarkable economic rise has in recent years been accompanied by
increasing aggression both internally and externally under leader Xi
Jinping.

 

China's rise

That has led to condemnation of its actions by many in the West and concern
among some partners in Asia.

 

Despite this, Prime Minister Lee said Singapore could not afford to take
sides.

 

"It is a problem for many countries, which is why we are all hoping and
encouraging the two large powers to think very carefully before deciding
that the other one is an adversary which has to be kept down, if not put
down," he said.

 

"What we would like to see is China being a country where its prosperity,
development and growing strength is welcomed by other countries in the
world, who see this as an opportunity for them to prosper together and live
in a stable world together."

 

The deterioration in US-China ties is taking place against the backdrop of
the pandemic and a backlash against globalisation, an economic trend that
has helped Singapore become one of the richest countries in Asia.

 

Prime Minister Lee believes globalisation still has much going for it,
especially given the need to cooperate on vaccines.

 

"You cannot avoid working with one another because to go back to where you
were... lies poverty and despair and probably instability and conflict," he
said.

 

Post-pandemic travel

Closer to home, one of the key priorities for Singapore is to open borders
and find a way for tourists to return to the trade and travel-dependent
nation.

 

The prime minister suggested vaccination passports could be part of that
process but warned it would be some time before international travel
returned to pre-pandemic levels.

 

"It will not be like before where you can just buy a ticket, hop onto the
plane and go off to Hong Kong, Bangkok or Bali for a weekend or a casual
holiday," he said.

 

"Hopefully by the end of this year or next year the doors can start to open,
if not earlier."--BBC

 

 

 

Coupang: Harvard dropout rockets into mega-billionaire's club

South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang listed its shares on the New York
Stock Exchange on Thursday making a multi-billionaire out of its founder Bom
Kim.

 

Shares in the company surged when they began trading, valuing the Harvard
business school dropout's stake at more than $8.6bn (£6.1bn).

 

Coupang's US listing is the biggest by an Asian company since Alibaba in
2014.

 

While it's still loss-making, revenue almost doubled last year as the
pandemic boosted online shopping.

 

Coupang's share price rose 41% in its trading debut, which was the biggest
US initial public offering (IPO) since Uber in 2019. Coupang is often
referred to as the Amazon of South Korea.

 

The online retailer, whose biggest backer is Japanese multinational
SoftBank, said it would grant its warehouse staff and 15,000 full-time
delivery workers as much as $90m worth of its shares.

 

"We were fortunate to have demand from a lot of great investors and we
didn't have room for all of the great investors out there," Mr Kim said, who
is both Coupang's founder and chief executive.

 

Born in Seoul, Mr Kim moved to America when he was in middle school and
obtained US nationality.

 

After dropping out from his Harvard MBA, he returned to South Korea and set
up Coupang in 2010, inspired by Groupon's business model.

 

The company has aggressively expanded its delivery operations, putting 70%
of South Korea's population within a seven-mile radius of its distribution
centres.

 

Coupang has also invested in new business lines like food delivery and
streaming services.

 

Despite the company's popularity, it has faced scrutiny after reports of
several deaths among delivery and logistics employees who were allegedly
overworked.--BBC

 

 

 

Brexit: UK delays border checks on EU goods into Great Britain

Post-Brexit checks on some EU goods coming into Great Britain have been
delayed by six months in order to give businesses more time to prepare.

 

The government said the new timetable would help firms recovering in the
wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

The need for health certificates on imports such as meat and milk will be
pushed back from next month to October.

 

And in-person inspections on such animal products due from July will now
begin in January 2022.

 

It is the second time that the timetable for these checks, originally due
after the post-Brexit transition ended in January 2021, has been put back.

 

The European Union has been implementing full checks on goods sent from the
UK since the start of this year.

 

Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said the disruption caused by the
pandemic had "lasted longer and has been deeper than we anticipated".

 

'Chopping and changing'

In a statement outlining the changes, he insisted the government had been
"confident of being ready on time" for the checks to take effect.

 

But he added: "We have listened to businesses who have made a strong case
that they need more time to prepare."

 

Under the revised timetable:

 

·         Importers of animal products will have to pre-notify officials
from 1 October, instead of next month

·         Safety and security declarations on imports will be pushed back
from July to January 2022

·         Customs declarations will be required at the point of import on
all goods from the same time

·         Checks on live animals and low-risk plant products will take place
from March 2022

The British Retail Consortium, which represents everything from major
supermarkets to fast food chains and online businesses, said it would have
been "foolhardy" not to delay checks given the current state of border
infrastructure and IT systems.

 

Its director of food Andrew Opie said the new timetable had come "in the
nick of time," with many border posts "little more than a hole in the
ground".

 

He added that pushing ahead without a delay "might otherwise have seen empty
shelves for some products".

 

He urged the government not to "rest on its laurels," and use the next six
month to "establish and communicate the new systems" with businesses.

 

Labour's shadow Cabinet Office minister Jack Dromey said the government's
"chopping and changing" of rules "smacks of ill-preparedness and
incompetence".

 

"They have had years to prepare for this but can't stop missing their own
deadlines," he added.

 

"The government need to pull their sleeves up, listen to businesses who have
been desperately coming forward with practical solutions, and get this
sorted."

 

This extension is not ideal, but it does mean that supermarket shelves, for
example, should be kept relatively well-stocked during the recovery from the
pandemic.

 

It is far from clear that all port infrastructure would have been ready to
cope with these import arrangements.

 

It is theoretically possible that other countries exporting to the UK would
argue these grace periods violate key world trade principles on offering the
same access to all countries.

 

In practice, in the middle of a pandemic, it seems unlikely that a few
months' continuation of favourable import arrangements for EU firms would
really lead to a significant backlash.

 

British exporters that are facing non-tariff barriers in trade with the EU
and even with Northern Ireland, might, however, express concern about the
impact of EU competitors having ongoing free access to the UK market.

 

Effectively there has been a post-Brexit transition period - but only for EU
firms exporting into the UK.

 

The latest delay comes amid a row over the UK's decision to postpone a
separate set of border checks on GB goods arriving in Northern Ireland.

 

Under the UK's withdrawal deal, Northern Ireland is following the EU's rules
on goods in order to avoid border posts with the Irish Republic.

 

But that has required a new set of checks on goods going between Great
Britain and Northern Ireland.

 

The UK has unilaterally pushed back the full implementation of some of these
checks, after disruption to some food supplies and online deliveries.

 

The UK has insisted the move is lawful and justified - but the EU has
threatened a legal challenge.

 

Earlier, the EU's diplomatic representative in the UK called for a reset in
relations, amid rising tensions over borders and other issues.

 

Joao Vale de Alemeida said there was a need to "change the mindset" and
"give up on trying score points on the disputes of the past".--BBC

 

 

 

Netflix considers crackdown on password sharing

Netflix is trialling a crackdown on password sharing.

 

Some users have reported seeing a screen saying, "If you don't live with the
owner of this account, you need your own account to keep watching."

 

A spokesperson told the BBC: "This test is designed to help ensure that
people using Netflix accounts are authorised to do so."

 

A decision has yet to be made as to whether the company will roll this out
across its network.

 

In the trial, users can verify they are allowed to access the account by a
code, sent via text or email.

 

Netflix is trying to crack down on ineligible users, though it is unclear
how many people use the platform against their terms of service.

 

Streaming platforms, including Netflix, HBO Go, Amazon Prime and Disney+,
allow users to create multiple profiles within the account, but the terms
and conditions specify they are meant to be used by people in the household.

 

During a 2016 webcast, Netflix co-founder and chief executive Reed Hastings
said: "Password sharing is something you have to learn to live with, because
there's so much legitimate password sharing, like you sharing with your
spouse, with your kids, so there's no bright line, and we're doing fine as
is."

 

In October 2019, chief product officer Greg Peters said the company was
looking at the issue of password sharing, but said it had no "big plans to
announce at this time in terms of doing something differently there".

 

Netflix gained almost 37 million new subscribers in 2020 and now has more
than 200 million subscribers around the world.

 

An increase of prices, a global lockdown and shows such as Tiger King and
The Queen's Gambit saw Netflix report nearly $25bn (£18bn) in revenue and
almost $2.8bn (£2bn) in profit.--BBC

 

 

 

Uber and Lyft to swap data on banned drivers

Uber and rival app Lyft plan to share with each other the names of US
drivers they ban from their platforms because of "serious" safety incidents,
such as sexual assault.

 

The two firms said the programme, to be managed by a background check
company, was aimed at improving industry safety.

 

They said other US firms could opt to participate.

 

Both Uber and Lyft have faced scrutiny and legal action over their handling
of sexual assault and other safety issues.

 

They have responded to the criticism by introducing measures such as
recurring background checks and new features, such as emergency buttons in
their apps.

 

The new programme, which is only active in the US, will also allow the two
firms to share information about drivers involved in certain serious
incidents such as rape and non-consensual kissing, as well as non-sexual
physical assaults.

 

Scott Berkowitz, president and founder of the Rape, Abuse & Incest National
Network, said the effort meant "perpetrators will no longer be able to hide
or escape accountability by simply switching ridesharing platforms".

 

"By putting aside competition, they are placing users first and building a
safer rideshare community for all," he said in the announcement shared by
the companies on Thursday.

 

Lawyer Kristen Barton of Estey & Bomberger, which represents women who have
sued the ridesharing companies for inadequate protections from sexual
violence, called the programme a "step in the right direction".

 

But she cautioned that the database's usefulness would be limited by its
focus on drivers that the companies have banned.

 

"There's no guarantee that when a report against a driver is lodged that
that is being followed up on and resulting in deactivation by the
companies," she said, adding that only a small number of people who are
assaulted even report the incident.

 

"While it is a good start, it's just not going to capture enough information
to stop assaults from occurring," she said.

 

In 2019, Uber said it had received nearly 6,000 reports of sexual assault in
the US in the previous two years. It said problems arose in a tiny fraction
of the 2.3 billion rides during that time.

 

It later clashed with state regulators in California, who wanted access to
the reports, ultimately leading to a fine.

 

Lyft has delayed publication of a similar report, citing the privacy
disagreement. The company is also facing lawsuits from dozens of women in
the US, who say they were harmed after the firm failed to protect passengers
from its drivers.

 

Lyft is active in the US and Canada. Uber, which operates in 71 countries
around the world, said the data-sharing initiative was limited to the US,
with no plans to expand at this time.

 

The firm has faced concerns over its handling of safety incidents outside
the US as well.

 

In the UK, Uber had its London licence suspended, in part because of safety
concerns. However, in September last year, Westminster Magistrates' Court
ruled the firm could continue operating, saying it had improved its record
despite "historical failings".--BBC

 

 

 

Car insurance claims plunge as drivers stay at home

The number of motor insurance claims settled last year dropped by 19%, as
vehicles sat idle with drivers staying at home.

 

The total amount paid out fell by 6% compared with the previous year, the
data from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) shows.

 

But the average price paid by drivers for new comprehensive car insurance
fell by only 1%.

 

The ABI said that insurers had faced other costs when supporting customers.

 

Billions in payouts

With so many fewer journeys taking place during the various Covid lockdown
restrictions across the country in 2020, it was inevitable that there would
be fewer accidents, thefts and insurance claims.

 

There were still 2.1 million claims settled, down 19% on the previous year.

 

Average payouts did rise, particularly for personal injury. However, there
was still a cut of 6% in total payouts made by insurers, to £8.3bn.

 

Motorists may have hoped to see these savings reflected in lower premiums.
The cost of new comprehensive motor insurance did fall to a four-year low,
but only dropped by 1%.

 

Car insurance cover extended during lockdown

The ABI said this was the result of various factors, some - but not all - of
which were the result of the impact of the pandemic.

 

It said that some insurers had been altering existing policyholders' deals
owing to their lower mileage, which had included offering rebates.

 

Extra services had also been included, without charge, such as automatic
cover for those driving to and from work, or delivering medicines or
groceries. Drivers who are financially stretched have also been given the
option to pay premiums in instalments.

 

There is no guarantee that prices will get any cheaper in the future,
despite new controls on whiplash claims.

 

"As we edge back to some form of normality, cost pressures remain, such as
increasing vehicle repair costs, reflecting ever more complex vehicle
technology," said Laura Hughes, the ABI's general insurance manager.--BBC

 

 

Exchange email hack: Hundreds of UK firms compromised

Hundreds of UK companies have been compromised as part of a global campaign
linked to Chinese hackers.

 

Cyber-security firm Eset said more than 500 email servers in the UK may have
been hacked, and many companies are not aware they are victims of the
attack.

 

It comes as governments around the world warn organisations to secure their
systems.

 

But some experts fear it may be too late, as at least 10 hacking teams are
capitalising on the chaos.

 

The UK's National Cyber Security Centre has joined US authorities in issuing
warnings about the hack, but says it is still assessing the situation for UK
businesses.

 

Meanwhile, the Norwegian cyber-authority is actively scanning for at-risk
companies in the country and warning them directly.

 

'Zero-day'

The hacking campaign was first announced by Microsoft on 2 March and blamed
on a Chinese government-backed hacking group called Hafnium.

 

Microsoft said the group was using four never-before-seen hacking techniques
to infiltrate the email systems of US companies.

 

The attackers targeted the popular email system Microsoft Exchange Server,
used by large corporations and public bodies across the world.

 

Microsoft released software updates for the so called "zero-day" exploits
and urged customers to install them to protect themselves.

 

However, the hacking has escalated from straightforward espionage to crisis
levels, with some reports estimating tens of thousands of organisations
could be affected.

 

'Race now on'

According to cyber-security researchers at Eset, as many as 10 different
hacking groups are now actively using the zero-days exploits to target
companies in 115 different countries.

 

Cyber-researchers at FireEye also confirmed they had detected multiple
groups, likely to be based in China, using the exploit in different waves.

 

"As always, it is complex but it is very likely that Hafnium gifted these
'zero days' to government-sanctioned groups to actively use the flaws once
they were rumbled," Jake Moore at Eset said.

 

"The race is now on for all of those affected to patch immediately and then
painstakingly check for any recent compromises and make sure no webshells
are installed on the servers."

 

Webshells being dropped

A webshell is a piece of computer code that can act like a backdoor into a
computer network.

 

Once installed, hackers have a foothold in a network and can either steal or
spy on email messages, or use the access to launch more crippling
cyber-attacks.

 

Globally, Eset says it has detected the backdoors on 5,000 separate servers
- and more than 500 of them are in the UK.

 

Cyber-security responders are racing to find out which companies have been
hacked, and remove the webshells to kick the hackers out of their systems.

 

Beware the second wave

CyberGuard Technologies says it is dealing with 42 separate cases where
hackers have installed webshells, with the number rising by the hour.

 

The companies range from financial institutions, manufacturing and retail.

 

Sean Tickle, head of CyberGuard, said: "It's widespread and very much a case
of hackers hosing their attacks at as many targets as they can before
companies can secure their systems.

 

"It only takes someone to alter this approach to drop a more malicious
malware package and we're going to see some real hurt for the companies that
fall behind.

 

"There's already rumblings that these shells are being used, and I think
we're going to see mass ransomware attacks happen as a second wave of
this."--BBC

 

 

 

Covid: Jet2 customer asked to pay £1,000 to change flight dates

A family who tried to "help out" Jet2 by rebooking instead of claiming a
refund were asked to pay almost £1,000 extra to change flights.

 

When Olivia Sparnenn-Josh's summer 2020 trip to Turkey was cancelled, she
said she opted to be "loyal at a difficult time" and reschedule to June
2021.

 

Amid fears the family would not be vaccinated in time, they asked to move
the booking again, to August, but were told it would cost £921 to amend.

 

Jet2 has since waived the fees.

 

Ms Sparnenn-Josh, a musician, had made two bookings - one for her family and
one for her mother - and moving her flights to June had only incurred a
small admin fee.

 

Amid recent warnings that travelling might not be possible for all Britons
by then, the family looked into amending their flights.

 

After checking the cost of the August flights on the company's website
against the price she had originally paid, she expected to cover the
difference of about £70 plus the firm's standard £35 rebooking charge.

 

Frustrated

Instead, she was told she was ineligible for the online rate and must pay
for an undiscounted ticket.

 

Ms Sparnenn-Josh said she would have needed to pay an extra £500 to switch,
with her mother facing a similar request.

 

She worked out the cost for both changes to be £921 more than a new customer
making the same booking would pay at current prices.

 

Ms Sparnenn-Josh said she believed she was doing the right thing in
supporting the West Yorkshire-based firm by not taking a refund, but was
left feeling frustrated.

 

"I think our main cause for complaint is the fact that we feel we were loyal
to them during a difficult time," she said.

 

"It doesn't seem fair as a loyal customer... to have to pay extra," she
said, adding that she probably would have taken the refund in hindsight.

 

A spokesperson for Jet2 said: "We have been widely recognised for how we
have looked after customers affected by programme changes during the
pandemic.

 

"We have spoken to Ms Sparnenn and are pleased to say that the matter has
been resolved."

 

The holiday firm said the original booking had been made during a promotion.
and that when it was amended to the new dates normal terms and conditions
excluded any discounts.--BBC

 

 

 

Biden administration adds new limits on Huawei's suppliers

(Reuters) - The Biden administration this week amended licenses for
companies to sell to China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd , further
restricting companies from supplying items that can be used with 5G devices,
sources said.

 

The changes could disrupt existing contracts with Huawei that were agreed
upon under previous licenses that have now been changed, two of the sources
said.

 

The actions show the Biden administration is reinforcing a hard line on
exports to Huawei, the telecommunications equipment maker placed on the
trade blacklist over U.S. national security concerns.

 

A U.S. Commerce Department spokeswoman declined to comment, saying the
licensing information is subject to confidentiality. A Huawei spokeswoman
declined to comment.

 

The initial export licenses were granted by the Commerce Department after
the company was placed on the department’s trade blacklist in 2019. This
week’s new conditions make older licenses more consistent with tougher
licensing policies implemented in the waning days of the Trump
administration.

 

In January, the Trump administration decided it would deny 116 licenses with
face values totaling $119 billion, and only approve four worth $20 million,
according to a Commerce Department document reviewed by Reuters. Most of
those denied fell into three broad categories: memory, handset and other
devices, and network applications.

 

Between 2019 and 2020, the administration approved licenses for companies to
sell $87 billion worth of goods and technology to Huawei, the document said.
Licenses are generally good for 4 years.

 

While new restrictions on those licenses hurt some suppliers, one source
noted, they also level the playing field between companies, since some
received licenses under less restrictive policies.

 

According to one revised license seen by Reuters, which took effect March
9th, items may not be used “with or in any 5G devices,” a broad
interpretation that prohibits the item from going into a 5G device even if
it has nothing to with 5G functioning.

 

Another amended license was not authorized for use in military, 5G, critical
infrastructure, enterprise data centers, cloud or space applications,
effective March 8.

 

The notice also says that certain items must have a density of 6 gigabytes
or less, and other technical requirements.

 

Both revised licenses say, prior to export, Huawei or customers must
implement a parts control plan and make inventory records available to the
U.S. government upon request.

 

Companies are placed on the trade blacklist, known as the “entity list,”
over national security and foreign policy concerns, and licenses to sell to
them generally face a standard of likely denial.

 

But Trump had an inconsistent approach to Huawei, opening the door to more
sales when he was seeking a trade deal but then coming down harder as
tensions began rising over the coronavirus and Beijing’s crackdown in Hong
Kong last year.

 

According to the January document seen by Reuters, some 300 applications
with stated values of $296 billion were still pending. It’s not clear how
many of those have been decided.

 

 

 

China's antitrust regulators weigh levying record fine on Alibaba: WSJ

(Reuters) - China’s antitrust regulators are considering levying a record
fine on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd over suspected anticompetitive behavior,
the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with
the matter.

 

The fine could surpass the $975 million that Qualcomm paid in 2015 over
anticompetitive practices, the report said. The regulators are also
considering whether the Chinese e-commerce giant should divest some assets
unrelated to its main online-retailing business.

 

Alibaba declined to respond to a Reuters request for comment.

 

Founder Jack Ma’s business empire has been put under intense scrutiny by
Chinese regulators following his stinging criticism of China’s regulatory
system in late October.

 

In late December China’s State Administration for Market Regulation
announced it launched an antitrust probe into Alibaba.

 

That news came after authorities in Beijing halted a planned $37 billion IPO
from Ant Group, Alibaba’s internet finance arm.

 

The company has come under fire in the past from rivals and sellers for
allegedly forbidding its merchants from listing on other e-commerce
platforms, a practice known as “two-choose-one.”

 

Alibaba’s Hong Kong shares climbed 1.7% on Friday morning, after its New
York shares gained 2.8% overnight amid a broad stock market rally. The New
York shares are still down about a quarter from their October levels.

 

 

 

Ransom-seeking hackers are taking advantage of Microsoft flaw: expert

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ransom-seeking hackers have begun taking advantage of
a recently disclosed flaw in Microsoft’s widely used mail server software, a
researcher said late Wednesday - a serious escalation that could portend
widespread digital disruption.

 

The disclosure, made on Twitter by Microsoft Corp security program manager
Phillip Misner, is the realization of worries that have been coursing
through the security community for days.

 

Since March 2, when Microsoft announced the discovery of serious
vulnerabilities in its Exchange software, experts have warned that it was
only a matter of time before ransomware gangs began using them to shake down
organizations across the internet.

 

Misner didn’t immediately respond to follow-up messages and Microsoft did
not return emails seeking comment. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure
Security Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation also didn’t
immediately respond.

 

Even though the security holes announced by Microsoft have since been fixed,
organizations worldwide have failed to patch their software, leaving them
open to exploitation. In Germany alone, officials have said that up to
60,000 networks remained vulnerable.

 

The fixes are free, but experts attribute the sluggish pace of many
customers’ updates in part to the complexity of Exchange’s architecture.

 

All manner of hackers have begun taking advantage of the holes - one
security firm recently counted 10 separate hacking groups using the flaws -
but ransomware operators are among the most feared.

 

Those groups work by locking users out of their devices and data unless the
victims cough up big chunks of digital currency. They now potentially have
access “into a huge number of vulnerable systems,” said Brett Callow of
Canadian cybersecurity company Emsisoft.

 

He said more modest companies - many of whom lack the ability or awareness
to update their software - could be particularly affected by the latest
variant of ransomware.

 

“This is a potentially serious risk to small businesses,” he said.

 

 

 

SoftBank-backed Grab in talks to go public in nearly $40 billion SPAC deal:
sources

(Reuters) - Grab Holdings Inc is in talks to go public through a merger with
a special purpose acquisition company that could value the ride-hailing
giant at nearly $40 billion, making it the largest ever blank-check deal,
people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

 

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier in the day SoftBank-backed Grab was
in talks with Altimeter Capital Management LP. (bit.ly/3rD4XR6)

 

Grab is expected to raise between $3 billion and $4 billion from private
investors, according to the report.

 

Reuters first reported in January, citing sources, that Singapore-based Grab
was exploring a listing in the United States.

 

Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Altimeter has backed two SPACs -
Altimeter Growth Corp and Altimeter Growth Corp 2. The WSJ report did not
specify which of the two SPACs Grab was in talks with.

 

Special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, are shell companies that
raise funds through an initial public offering to take a private company
public.

 

Other recent large SPAC deals include UMW Holdings Corp’s $16-billion merger
with a blank-check firm backed by billionaire Alec Gores, and the
$24-billion deal that luxury electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors struck with
a Michael Klein-backed SPAC.

 

Altimeter did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment,
while Grab could not be reached for comment outside regular business hours.

 

 

 

China market regulator fines 12 companies for illegal monopolistic
behaviours

BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s market regulator said on Friday it has fined 12
companies related to 10 deals that demonstrated illegal monopolistic
behaviours.

 

The State Administration for Market Regulation said in a statement on Friday
that the companies include Baidu Inc, Tencent Holdings, Didi Chuxing, and
ByteDance-backed firm.

 

Baidu, Tencent, ByteDance and Didi did not immediately respond to requests
for comment.

 

 

 

Brent crude eases, but stays near $70 as demand optimism lends support

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Brent crude prices eased on Friday but hovered near
$70 a barrel as production cuts by major oil producers constrained supply,
with optimism about a recovery in demand for the resource in the second half
of the year also lending support.

 

Brent crude futures for May slipped 11 cents, or 0.2%, to $69.52 a barrel by
0403 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for April was at $65.83 a
barrel, down 19 cents, or 0.3%.

 

Front-month Brent is on track to post weekly gains for the eighth week after
touching a 13-month high on Monday following attacks on Saudi Arabian oil
facilities.

 

Sentiment was also buoyed by the decision of the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, earlier
this month to largely hold production cuts in April.

 

Investors have been pumping funds into commodities such as oil on
expectations of a demand recovery in the second half of the year as the
global economy grows, while a wider rollout of vaccines against the COVID-19
pandemic allows more people to travel this summer.

 

“Assuming vaccination programmes are successful, we expect pent-up demand
for gasoline to be released this summer during the U.S. and European driving
season,” FGE analysts said in a note.

 

RBC Capital analysts said the fundamentals for summer gasoline is the most
bullish in nearly a decade.

 

“We think this will support the entire oil complex this summer and beyond.”

 

OPEC said on Thursday a recovery in oil demand will be focused on the second
half of the year.

 

The United States, world’s largest oil consumer, saw a massive draw on U.S.
gasoline stocks last week as the winter storm in Texas disrupted refining
output. [EIA/S]

 

Oil prices sustained at higher levels are expected to draw U.S. producers to
increase output, JP Morgan analysts said in their weekly note.

 

“At current prices, most U.S. onshore operators are economic, leaving a vast
group of operators, from large public companies to private players, in good
position to ramp up activity in 2H21 and build solid momentum for higher
volumes in 2022,” JP Morgan said.

 

The bank now expects U.S. crude oil production to average 11.78 million
barrels per day (bpd) in December 2021, up 0.71 million bpd annually, with
the full year volume to average 11.36 million bpd compared with 11.32
million bpd in 2020.

 

 

 

Kenya: Tough Terms As Kenya Lifts Tanzania, Uganda Maize Imports Ban

Nairobi — Kenya has lifted the ban on imports of Ugandan and Tanzanian maize
with strict conditions on exporters as the country seeks to curb shipping in
of the cancer-causing aflatoxin on imported crop.

 

Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday that all stakeholders dealing in
maize imports would be required to be registered, the consignments coming in
must be accompanied with certificate of conformity on aflatoxin levels and
that traders have to issue details of their warehouses.

 

The certificate of conformity should indicate that the aflatoxin levels
complies with the maximum required levels of 10 parts per billion.

 

In a statement read by Agriculture Chief Administrative Secretary Lawrence
Angolo, Kenya said the move is aimed at addressing the safety of consumers
and that the country will not be compromise on that.

 

Mr Angolo said the details on warehouse would help in ensuring that the
maize supplied to Kenya adhered to all standard procedure on food handling
and that it was not dried on roads (tarmac).

"While we strive to give Kenya safe food by addressing the challenge in
productions system, we equally expect our trading partners to trade safe
maize as per the East African community standards," said Mr Angolo.

 

The ministry urged the regional countries to fast track ratification of EAC-
SGS standards on aflatoxin and submit the instruments of certification to
the EAC.

 

Traders importing maize from Uganda to Kenya will be required to also have
certificate of origin from the counties of produce before they get clearance
at the border points.

 

Kenya last week banned maize imports from Uganda citing high levels of
aflatoxin in the grain, setting stage for trade war between the two
neighbouring states.

 

Millers this week faulted the government over a blanket ban on maize imports
from Uganda and Tanzania arguing the move will have a serious implication on
the price of flour.

 

The processors argued that the State should have only intercepted the maize
that has high level aflatoxin and allow the one that meets the set standards
to be exported to the country.-Citizen.

 

 

 

Kenya Faces Revenue, Job Losses as House Ratifies UK Trade Deal

Kenya is staring at massive losses in revenue following the ratification of
the Economic Partnership Agreement with the United Kingdom.

 

The National Assembly ratified the EPA on Tuesday, opening the local market
to about 1,934 products from the UK, whose import tariff will either be
lowered or zero-rated.

 

The pact, which expires in 25 years, has been adopted at a time the country
is facing challenges in financing its obligations.

 

Although the EPA allows for gradual and partial reduction of tariffs, from
95 per cent of the basic duty followed by total elimination, fears abound
that a majority of imports are likely to be subjected to zero duty at the
point of entry.

 

Econews Africa, a think-tank that advises governments on economic matters,
says the expected revenue losses will be tragic to the country that is
already in economic doldrums.

 

This is notwithstanding that the MPs have already approved the 2021 Budget
Policy Statement (BPS) that provides mechanisms for government expenditures
and revenue for the 2021/22 financial year.

Custom duties

 

"Custom duties on products from the UK will have to go down at the coming
into force of the EPA. How has the government committed to accounting for
this in the budget?" posed Mr Edgar Odari, Econews director.

 

The products whose duty will be lowered or eliminated include chicken, pork,
virgin oil, zinc oxide, vegetable seeds, motor and aviation spirits, zinc
peroxide, crude oil, petroleum oils, fats of sheep or goats.

 

Others are sulphate of aluminium, flat rolled products of iron or non-alloy
steel, oil or petrol filters for internal combustion engines,
electro-thermic coffee or tea makers for domestic use, toasters, smart
cards, wire and cables.

 

Nominated MP Godfrey Osotsi says the pact is injurious to President
Kenyatta's own Big Four agenda of manufacturing and food security.

The UK offers subsidies to its manufacturers that make it easier for them to
produce at a lower costs.

 

Local manufacturers

 

"Once these cheaply produced products get to the Kenyan market, the local
manufacturers that must bear with expensive power, will have nowhere to sell
their highly priced products," said Mr Osotsi.

 

Milk is among the few products that are protected in the pact.

 

The imports set to have their duty zero-rated attract an East African
Community Common External Tariff of between 10 and 25 per cent.

 

The 2021 BPS sets the revenue target for the 2021/22 financial year "at no
less than" Sh2.034 trillion with ordinary revenue being set at Sh1.78
trillion. The revenue should finance the Sh3.02 trillion budget for the
2021/22 financial year.

 

But with a budget deficit of Sh930 trillion, Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA)
will have to work beyond the call of duty to meet the targets.

 

Currently, Kenya applies at least two surcharges on imports --the Railway
Development Levy (RDL) and the Import Declaration Fees (IDF). However, the
agreement does away with RDL and IDF.

 

Imported goods

 

RDL is charged at the rate of two per cent of the customs value of goods
imported for home use to provide finances for repairs of the Standard Gauge
Railway (SGR).

 

IDF is charged at the rate of 3.5 per cent of the import value. Under the
UK-Kenya EPA, Kenya must eliminate such duties from the day the agreement
comes into force.

 

In 2019, Kenya imported goods valued at Sh32.7 billion from the UK.

 

This means that elimination of RDL and IDF will amount to an annual
government revenue loss of about Sh2 billion.

 

In the 25 years the agreement will be in force, without considering the
changes in imports, the cumulative loss will be Sh50 billion in RDL and IDF
alone.

 

In his presentation to the Trade, Industry and Cooperatives committee of the
National Assembly at the time it was considering the pact, Mr Odari warned
that the UK government will also have a lot of say in marine
fisheries.-Nation.

 

 

 

Nigeria: Minimum Wage Bill - Labour Threatens to Shut Down Nigeria

Organised labour comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade
Union Congress (TUC) yesterday took their protest to the National Assembly
to demand a halt to the plot by the lawmakers to decentralise the minimum
wage structure by introducing a Bill seeking to remove it from the exclusive
to concurrent list.

 

The workers led by president of the NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba and his TUC
counterpart, Quadri Olaleye, warned that unless the action is halted, labour
will shut down the country by declaring a nationwide strike.

 

LEADERSHIP reports that the workers, armed with placards, started assembling
at the Unity Fountain, Abuja as early as 7:20 am yesterday before proceeding
on a peaceful protest to the National Assembly to officially deliver a
document containing workers' demands from the government.

 

Some inscriptions on the placards read: "On minimum wage we stand', 'No to
minimum wage on concurrent list', 'Yes to minimum wage on Executive list.'

Delivering the document to representatives of the Senate president and
Speaker of the House of Representatives, the aggrieved workers warned the
lawmakers that failure to do the right thing would amount to a total
shutdown of the nation's economy.

 

President of the NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, who insisted that politicians
were the problem of the country, stressed that the national minimum wage was
a standard set by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which the
Nigerian government ratified since 1961.

 

He said the lawmakers cannot reverse what the workers have earned through
hard labour for 40 years over night.

 

Citing President Joe Biden whose first statement on assumption of office was
the need to carry out an upward review of workers minimum wage to $15 per
hour as example, he said rather than lead a progressive leadership, Nigerian
politicians were raising false arguments against the National Minimum Wage
being in the exclusive list.

According to him, the minister of labour and employment had already
clarified that the lawmakers were going in a wrong direction that could
attract sanctions given Nigeria's signatory to the ILO Convention on minimum
wage.

 

Wabba further warned that should the governance structure in the country
persists workers would have no option but to pray down fire to consume
politicians responsible for the calamities befalling the country.

 

He said, "The Bill that seeks to remove the minimum wage from the exclusive
list to the concurrent list is not accepted.

 

"The issue of national minimum wage is a standard set by the International
Labour Organisation and the ILO is the first agency of the United Nations
formed in 1919 after the First World War.

 

"Your argument is that because they want federalism, the issue of the
national minimum wage should be moved to the concurrent list; that is wrong.
In countries of the world today, we have 26 federal nations that have
minimum wage in their exclusive list including the United States of America.

"The argument about federalism is false, also, the argument about the
ability to pay. How can we degenerate to remove an issue that the workers
have earned through hard labour for 40 years and want to remove it over
night?"

 

Speaking further, the president of the TUC, Quadri, urged the National
Assembly to lead by example by taking the decision to receive their salaries
from their respective local government area councils.

 

But receiving the document on behalf of the Speaker, House of
Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, the House leader, Alahassan Ado Doguwa,
advised the labour leaders and Nigerian workers to lobby their respective
legislators to kill the Bill they were agitating against.

 

He said, "The presentation and recommendation of the Bill was only an
opinion and a proposal but from what I am seeing now it appears to me that
the leadership and organised labour are against the Bill and you have your
rights and reasons to reject that Bill.

 

"We will still invite you to the relevant committee of which I am a member,
the constitution review committee, to come and make your position formally,
and members representing your respective communities will be on the ground
to do justice to that Bill.

 

"I can understand that the only thing you want is to kill that Bill but I
would like to advise, go ahead and lobby the members that you elected, tell
them you don't like that Bill and your elected members will stand for you."

 

Also receiving the document on behalf of the Senate president, Ahmed Lawan,
the deputy chief whip of the Senate, Senator Abdullahi Sabi, appealed to the
workers to have confidence in the lawmakers whom he said would do everything
possible to ensure workers' rights and demands were respected.

 

"Denying you minimum wage is something I personally as a senator do not
support but we are in a democracy which is about a process. You have read
your point, you are standing tenaciously to ask for what is your right but I
want to assure you, there are a lot of progressive lawmakers in the 9th
Assembly.

 

"In the past we have stood toe to toe with Nigerian workers, there is
nothing that suggests we are changing from that direction rather, we will
stand by you to ensure that the fundamental right of every worker is not
only ensured, but enforced and guaranteed.

 

"We are going to ensure that we are going to do justice to everything you
have brought to us, wait to see the action."

 

Meanwhile, there were massive protests by all the state branches of the NLC
over the planned transfer of minimum wage from the exclusive to a concurrent
legislative list.

 

In Kano, the chairman of the Organised labour, Kabiru Ado Minjibir, while
presenting their case to the speaker of the Kano state House of Assembly
noted that the letter carried the concerns of the workers in the state on
the issue.

 

Similarly, the Kaduna State chapter of the NLC and TUC presented their
protest letter to the Kaduna State House of Assembly for onward presentation
to the National Assembly.

 

Kaduna state chairman of NLC, Comrade Suleiman Ayuba and his TUC counterpart
Comrade Abdullahi Danfulani led members in their numbers in a peaceful
protest to the state Assembly complex where the letters were respectively
presented to the House speaker, Hon. Yusuf Ibrahim Zailani.

 

In Rivers State, it was a peaceful protest to the State House of Assembly,
as labour leaders presented their letters to the leadership of the House
demanding a halt to the proposed Bill to transfer minimum wage from the
exclusive to the concurrent list.

 

It was also a similar scenario in Anambra, Bauchi, Oyo, Ekiti, Abia, Sokoto,
Kogi and Cross River States.

 

Labour leaders who had embarked on the protest described the Bill seeking
the transfer of minimum wage from the exclusive to concurrent list as
retrogressive.

 

In Kogi, the organized labour gave the state government a 12-day ultimatum
to implement the N30,000 minimum wage or they would be forced to begin an
indefinite strike.

 

The workers said if their demands were not met on or before March 22, 2021,
they would embark on industrial action.

 

The NLC) and the TUC while on a peaceful protest in Lokoja presented their
letter to the Speaker of Kogi State House of Assembly on the transfer of the
National Minimum Wage from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent
legislative list.

 

Speaking on behalf of workers, the Kogi State chairman of NLC, Comrade Onuh
Edoka, said since the state government set up a 17-man committee in 2019,
nothing has been heard from them.

 

Noting that Kogi workers are suffering in the state due to the unfriendly
economic condition of the country, the labour leader said, "We therefore
want to plead with You, Distinguished Speaker, to use your good office to
prevail on the committee set by the state government on the implementation
of the Thirty Thousand naira (N30,000.00) New Minimum Wage in Kogi State to
expedite action on her works in record time, so as to guarantee industrial
harmony and further strengthen peace in the state".

 

Edoka and his team who were received by the clerk of the House, Ibrahim
Amouka, on behalf of the Speaker however called for an end to percentage
salary at the local government level.

 

He lamented that local government workers were collecting 40 per cent
salary, noting that life was becoming unbearable for them in the state.

 

His words: "Local government workers are looking older than their state
colleagues. They are receiving a 40 per cent salary. Mr Speaker, any
political appointee that wants local government workers to be paid 40
percent, they should also be paid 40 per cent so that they will use their
money to develop the state. If this is done, it will make them feel the
pains local government workers are passing through.

 

"The issue of percentage payment of salary to employees at the local
government level needed urgent attention of the honourable House to mitigate
the effect of the hardship the workers at that level are
facing."-Leadership.

 

 

 

Nigeria: Outdoor Advertising Practitioners At Crossroads

Raheem Akingbolu writes on the likely impact the federal government's
proposed road concession and Lagos State alleged regulatory discrimination
could have on outdoor advertising fortune in the years ahead

 

Since the year 2006, in the twilight of the Senator Bola Tinubu's
administration in Lagos State, when the government established the Lagos
State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA) to regulate outdoor
businesses, the outdoor industry has been jumping from one controversy to
the other.

 

Perhaps because of the mutual suspicion that existed between the pioneer
Managing Director of the agency, Makanjuola Alabi and the leadership of the
Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN), the foundation was laid
on mistrust, highhandedness, accusations and counter accusations. The fact
that Alabi was also a struggling practitioner before he was appointed, made
stakeholders in the industry saw his appointment as unhealthy.

As a result of this, LASAA has always been viewed as one agency of
government that was created to frustrate advertising practitioners in the
out-of-home sub sector of the industry. Thus, there hasn't been a mutual
relationship between the successive managing directors of LASAA and the
leadership of OAAN.

 

After the Lagos experience, which was believed to have jacked up the state's
revenue base, other states had quickly readjusted and established state
outdoor agencies to share regulatory functions with the Advertising
Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON). The consequence of this is that
operators have continued to contend with multiple regulations local
governments, states and APCON waylay agency owners for charges.

Between LASAA and LOATSAD...

 

Unlike previous MDs of LASAA, Adedamola Docemo, the new helmsman, enjoyed a
few months of honeymoon before controversy set in. Few weeks ago, the news
had filtered in that Docemo might lose the plum job over his unilateral
decision to employ 92 workers without the consent of the state governor.

 

While his spin doctors were working to dispel what they described as 'mere
allegation', some outdoor practitioners cried out that Docemo and his team
were not providing a level playing field for Lagos practitioners. According
to fresh findings, LASAA is believed to be shielding and protecting the
business interest of a new agency, LOATSAD Promomedia Lmited. Aside from
having exclusivity right on some major roads in Lagos, the agency, which was
recently established by Mr. Seyi Tinubu, son of a former governor of the
state, was said to enjoy unbridled freedom and exception.

As at the time of filing in this report, the MD of LOATSAD, Mr. Adenrele
Olusoga, neither picked calls nor replied to the messages sent to his MTN
line.

 

Today, stakeholders in the entire marketing communications landscape are
back to the drawing board to save the multibillion naira businesses in the
outdoor sub-sector of the industry. According to a source within LASAA, the
routes that have been monopolised by LOATSAD include; Lekki -Epe Road, the
newly-built Murtala Muhammed Airport Road, the Badagry Road and others.

 

But according to a senior practitioner, who spoke to THISDAY in confidence,
the sites on these roads were said to have been allocated to the new agency
with little or no regard to other operators to participate in the bidding
process.

 

"LOATSAD has simply taken over the entire outdoor Ad space, in Lagos, with
alleged full support of the state, through its outdoor regulatory agency,
the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA)," the practitioner
alleged.

 

According to the practitioner, many choice areas, in the state, such as
Lekki -Epe Road, the newly-built Murtala Muhammed Airport Road, the Badagry
Road and others, had been allocated to this agency, while other operators
were not given the opportunity to even participate, at the bidding process.

 

More worrisome to stakeholders, according to the outdoor practitioner is the
fact that there seems to be no criteria employed by the state's outdoor
regulatory agency, at arriving at the choice of the young outdoor
advertising firm that is connected to a big man in politics.

 

"Not that we are against concessioning, but we believe it should not be done
at the expense of standards. We believe all the cards must be put on the
table. There should be a level-playing field. We should not just wake up and
realize that a part of the metropolis has been concessioned, without any
call for bidding.

 

"For instance, nobody knows the criteria being used to arrive at the choice
of this particular agency as beneficiary of such concessions, and many
others," stated the practitioner, who would want to remain anonymous now.

 

The practitioner also alleged that LASAA had not been giving practitioners a
level-playing field to operate. "You will agree with me that when you give
such juicy parts of the state to just one firm, and others are left to
struggle with the 'bones', I think there is an issue," he added.

 

According to him, despite the fact that the young agency owes the state's
regulatory agency a humongous amount of money, the outdoor firm is usually
exempted when enforcements are being done.

 

"They are usually exempted when enforcements are being carried out, just
because of their strong connections to those in the corridors of power.
Unfortunately, when you give such indulgence, and pursue those with milder
debts with a sledge hammer, I think there is a problem here," he added.

 

Reacting to the issue, the Head of Communications at LASAA, Mr. Temitope
Akande, dismissed the various claims made against the new advertising firm,
arguing that the practitioners were only looking for ways to blackmail the
government agency.

 

"If indeed some practitioners alleged that LASAA is shielding LOATSAD, then
they are not sincere. As I speak, hardly there is any outdoor agency in
Lagos that does not owe LASAA but because the agency is keen about
protecting businesses, various payment plans were agreed upon. The firm in
question is not only meeting its financial obligation, it also follows the
rules of the business to the latter. It is also not true that LOATSAD has
moved beyond the Lekki axis corridor in its businesses. We haven't
concessioned any other roads to the firm, apart from the previous
arrangements, and any one with contrary evidence can come up with that. I
think it is wrong for anybody to make claims that cannot be substantiated,"
Akande stated.

 

Akande also described as untrue, the allegation that the outdoor firm was
always shielded by the regulatory agency, anytime it went out for
enforcement. He also bluntly declared that most agencies in Lagos are
indebted to LASAA.

 

"What we have done is to allow them to have a payment plan. We only go after
those that failed to honour such plans. So if the agency is not going after
LOATSAD, what it simply means is that the firm is keeping to its payment
plans," he added.

 

Speaking on the current development, a former Deputy Provost at the Nigerian
Institute of Journalism, Dr. Jide Johnson, cautioned the state government
from embarking on any retrogressive practice that could hamper the growth of
the industry.

 

"To grow the industry, outdoor business in Lagos must not be monopolised.
The process of site allocation must be democratized. For instance, opening
up the Airport route to many practitioners will deepen creativity and allow
Nigeria to showcase her best," he stated.

 

FG's proposed concession of highways

 

The task before the industry has moved from the states to national level. To
this end, major operators have started expressing fears over the plan by the
federal government to concession twelve major roads in the country. The
Federal Ministry of Works and Housing (FMW&H) announced last month that it
would concession 12 major roads in the country, under the Highway
Development and Management Initiative (HDMI).

 

In the briefing guide, obtained by THISDAY from the Federal Ministry of
Works, which addressed frequently asked questions on the proposed project,
advertising is prominently identified as one of the revenue generating
assets after the exercise. However, it was not stated if the existing agency
would be on priority list to protect businesses and prevent multiple job
loss.

 

The briefing guide also explained that there will be advertising income and
Street lighting opportunities in the highway economy value chain, pointing
out that the objective is to develop an eco-system along the federal highway
network by bringing multi-dimensional resources of skills, manpower,
finance, technology, and efficiency into the National Highway governance.

 

According to the guide the affected roads are; Benin-Asaba, Abuja-Lokoja,
Kano-Katsina, Onitsha-Owerri, Shagamu-Benin and Abuja-Keffi-Akwanga. Others
are, Kano- Shuari, Potiskum- Damaturu, Lokoja Benin and Enugu-Port Harcourt

 

Though the statement speaks glowingly on using the policy to boost the
economy, the NIJ Mass Communication lecturer, pointed out that past
experience had shown that road concession hardly considers the business
interest of the existing outdoor practitioners.

 

"Over the years, outdoor business has suffered setbacks because of unfair
regulation and lopsided policies on road management. At the beginning, the
outdoor practitioners were at the mercy of the local government and APCON
before some states established regulatory agencies. Now the Federal
Government is introducing the Highway Development and Management Initiative
(HDMI) that may soon become another regulator and advertising site
allocator. We were all here during the concession of Lagos-Ibadan highway to
the Bi-Courtney Limited and witnessed how the firm first descended on
outdoor practitioners operating on the road by taking over the sites," he
stated.

 

Speaking further, Johnson advocated for transparency in the allocation
process as well as protection of local businesses.

 

Another practitioner, expressed concerns that the recent announcement by the
federal ministry would result in many practitioners being at the receiving
end.

 

"I remember the first step Bi-Courtney Limited took when it got the
Lagos-Ibadan highway was to remove all the billboards on that corridor, and
begin to erect personalised ones. Instead of facing road construction,
outdoor ad practice was the first thing the company delved into, immediately
it got there. A lot of practitioners, in that corridor, lost huge amounts of
money. So how are we sure the new arrangement by FMWH would be different?"
he asked.

 

The stakeholder believes indiscriminate concessioning and unfair regulations
might further sink the fortunes of this gravely-troubled multi-billion naira
sector.

 

"Not that concessioning is out of place, but you have to take into
consideration our peculiar situation. The country is going through a lot,
and no industry is immune. And when you concession a huge stretch of land to
just one outdoor firm, not because it is better than the others, but just
because of its strong connection, you are gradually killing the practice.

 

"For instance, we have over 150 outdoor ad firms in the country, and each of
these firms employs at least ten people directly. And as a government, if
you really want the economy to grow, your concerns should be how to ensure
about 15,000 workers directly engaged by these firms don't lose their jobs.
And the only way you can do that is to ensure such 'commonwealth' go round,
and not just monopolized in the name of concessioning," he stated.-This Day.

 

 

 

South Africa: Over 5,000 Eastern Cape Health Workers Will Be Without Jobs At
the End of This Month

The provincial health department says it has run out of funds and cannot
renew the contracts

 

The contracts of over 5,000 community health workers in the Eastern Cape
will be terminated at the end of March.

 

The provincial health department says it has run out of funds and cannot
renew the contracts until it sources additional money.

 

The workers were employed on contract under the National Disaster Fund and
assisted with Covid-19 efforts.

 

The unions are now demanding answers from the department as other provinces
have renewed the contracts of their health workers.

The contracts of more than 5,000 Community Healthcare Workers (CHW) in the
Eastern Cape will be terminated at the end of March.

 

Sizwe Kupelo, spokesperson for the Eastern Cape Health Department, says the
terminations were necessary because the department had run out funds. He
says the workers were employed through the National Disaster Fund to assist
with Covid-19 efforts. "The department is trying to source funding, but at
this stage the contracts are coming to an end," he said on Wednesday.

 

Noxolo Mafumana at Thanduxolo Clinic in Motherwell NU 10 is one of the 5,489
contracted health workers who face losing their jobs this month.

 

Mafumana said she was shocked to receive her letter last Thursday that the
contract she signed nine months ago would be terminated.

 

"We have done a lot of work as frontliners. We were screening and tracing
the patients for Covid-19. Also searching for treatment defaulters. But now
the department dumps us like disposable nappies," she said.

Mafumana said during her employment, she contracted Covid-19 and had to be
quarantined without payment. "The R3,500 per month was just enough for a few
days to feed my unemployed husband, three kids and two other relatives.

 

"I don't know where my next meal will come from. Covid had opened many doors
for poor people like me but the Department is taking away our daily bread,"
she said.

 

Meanwhile, the union leaders are questioning how other provinces like
KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng managed to extend the contracts of their CHWs.

 

The National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (NEHAWU) and South
African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) are calling for the contracts to
be extended as the country expects a possible third wave of Covid-19.

 

Miki Jaceni, provincial NEHAWU secretary, said, "We have held numerous
engagements with the acting head of the department, Dr Zungu, to discuss
retention of the Covid-19 workers but all our attempts were in vain."

 

Jaceni said the people of this province should not be made to suffer because
of poor financial management.

 

"We have always had a problem of understaffing which was exacerbated by the
outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. The coronavirus is still killing our
people while many still need hospitalisation and medical attention.

 

"With the third wave expected in the next two months we find it bizarre that
the department would see it fit to relieve the healthcare system of much
needed manpower," he said.

 

Mzikazi Nkata, secretary of SAFTU in Nelson Mandela Bay, said, "We as
healthcare promoters, CHWs, nurses and education assistants joined the
national call for an anti-austerity budget. We have already received a
circular from Eastern Cape Government that our contracts will not be renewed
after 31 March 2021. We knew that this was exactly in line with the budget
cuts that were being employed by this government."

 

Nkata said frontline workers who died during the course of the pandemic have
not yet been replaced. "If our contracts are not renewed the pressure [of
being understaffed] will intensify, causing a huge disaster for service
delivery and astonishing numbers of Covid-19 fatalities in the province,"
she said.-GroundUp.

 

 


 


 


Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

 

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Skype:         Bulls.Bears 



 

 

 


 

INVESTORS DIARY 2021

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


Old Mutual

analysts briefing

 

24/03/21 | 2:30pm

 


Willdale

AGM

Boardroom, Willdale Administration Block, Teneriffe, 19.5km peg Lomagundi
Road, Mt Hampden

25/03/21 | 11am

 


TSL

AGM

Virtual | https://eagm.creg.co.zw/eagmzim/ Login.aspx | in the Auditorium,
Ground Floor, 28 Simon Mazorodze Road, Southerton

25/03/21 | 12pm

 


CFI

AGM

Farm & City Boardroom, 1st Floor Farm & City Complex, 1 Wynne Street

31/03/21 | 11am

 


 

Good Friday

 

02/04/21

 


 

Easter Sunday

 

04/04/21

 


 

Easter Monday

 

05/04/21

 


 

Independence Day

 

18/04/21

 


 

Public Holiday in lieu of Independence Day falling on a Sunday

 

19/04/21

 


 

 

 

 

 


Companies under Cautionary

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


ART

PPC

Dairibord

 


Starafrica

Fidelity

Turnall

 


Medtech

Zimre

Nampak Zimbabwe

 


 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 


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

 


 

 


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

 


 

 

 

 

 

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