Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 17 March 2021

Wed Mar 17 07:38:42 CAT 2021

 <https://bullszimbabwe.com/> 

 <http://www.bullszimbabwe.com> Bullszimbabwe.com         <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw?subject=View%20and%20Comments> Views & Comments        <https://bullszimbabwe.com/category/blogs/bullish-thoughts/> Bullish Thoughts        <http://www.twitter.com/BullsBears2010> Twitter         <https://www.facebook.com/BullsBearsZimbabwe> Facebook           <http://www.linkedin.com/pub/bulls-n-bears-zimbabwe/57/577/72> LinkedIn          <https://chat.whatsapp.com/CF6wllAfScU9Wr6dXxoQnO> WhatsApp         <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw?subject=Unsubscribe> Unsubscribe

Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 17 March 2021

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

ü  Uber to pay drivers a minimum wage, holiday pay and pensions

ü  Uighur abuse: MPs criticise companies over China forced labour

ü  Intel buys time with 'retrofit' Rocket Lake desktop PC chips

ü  Nokia to cut up to 10,000 jobs worldwide

ü  Greggs to open shops despite first loss in 36 years

ü  Blacklisted Chinese firms eye lawsuits after Xiaomi win against Trump ban

ü  Exclusive: Honda temporarily cutting production at all U.S., Canada plants

ü  Airlines face headache over 'use-by' date on some jet parts as pandemic grounds fleets

ü  Asian stocks retreat as investors await FOMC outcome

ü  Oil bears and bulls grapple as market puzzles over pandemic exit

ü  Exchange leaders say GameStop saga highlights regulatory challenges

ü  Pfizer to halt biosimilar output in China, sell assets to WuXi Biologics

ü  Japan temporarily sets higher tariffs on U.S. beef imports

ü  Nigeria: CBN Imposes Mobile Banking Charge - a Setback for Financial Inclusion

ü  Nigeria's Unemployment Rate Rises to 33.3% - Highest in Over 13 Years

ü  Nigeria Inflation Rises to 17.33 Percent in February, Highest in Four Years

ü  Kenya: Tullow Woes Scuttle Kenya's Oil Dream

ü  South Africa: Labour Department to Probe 'Poor Conditions' On Cape Farm

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

Uber to pay drivers a minimum wage, holiday pay and pensions

Uber says it will give its 70,000 UK drivers a guaranteed minimum wage, holiday pay and pensions.

The ride-hailing app giant said drivers would earn at least the UK's National Living Wage, paid to the over-25s, of £8.72 an hour.

It comes one month after the US firm lost a legal battle in the UK, begun in 2016, over drivers' status.

Uber told the BBC it did not expect the change in drivers' conditions to mean higher fares.

Union leaders and employment experts said Uber's move would have far reaching consequences for the gig economy. Bates Wells lawyer Rachel Mathieson, who represented Uber drivers fighting for worker rights, called it "a very significant milestone".

In last month's Supreme Court hearing, Uber had argued it was a third-party booking agent, and its drivers were self employed.

But the court ruled its drivers were workers, a category that means they are entitled to minimum legal, holiday and pension rights.

The company is being challenged by its drivers in multiple countries over whether they should be classed as workers or self-employed.

Workers' rights

Uber said the changes to its UK drivers' pay would come in almost instantly, from Wednesday, and form an earnings floor, not an earnings ceiling.

The company said the new rates would come on top of free insurance to cover sickness, injury and maternity and paternity payments which have been in place for all drivers since 2018.

Uber says:

It will pay at least the minimum wage for over-25s, after accepting a trip request and after expenses

All drivers will be paid holiday time based on 12.07% of their earnings, paid out on a fortnightly basis

Drivers will automatically be enrolled into a pension plan with contributions from Uber alongside driver contributions, setting drivers up over the long term

It will continue free insurance in case of sickness or injury as well as parental payments, which have been in place for all drivers since 2018

All drivers will retain the freedom to choose if, when and where they drive

Jamie Heywood, regional general manager for Northern Europe at Uber, said: "Uber is just one part of a larger private-hire industry, so we hope that all other operators will join us in improving the quality of work for these important workers who are an essential part of our everyday lives.

"Drivers have consistently told us that they wanted both the flexibility that we provided but also they wanted the benefits and we've been struggling to find a way of bringing those two together in a way that work for us and work for drivers," he said.

Uber pointed out in its statement announcing the changes that a worker is a classification that is unique under UK employment law. Workers are not full-blown employees but are entitled to the minimum wage, holiday pay and a pension.

The company said the recent UK Supreme Court ruling had provided a clearer path forward as to a model that gives drivers the rights of worker status - while continuing to let them work flexibly.

Union reps could barely contain their delight at Uber's announcement.

After years of court battles, they portray this as a win of David over Goliath.

And they are hopeful it might create a domino effect.

Other gig economy companies have likely been looking closely at the Supreme Court's verdict in February.

The fact that Uber has chosen to fundamentally change its system rather than fight on might encourage others to do the same.

Uber has disrupted markets globally; this move could have repercussions around the world.

In a long-running legal battle, Uber had finally appealed to the court after losing three earlier rounds. The Supreme Court ruled that Uber had to consider its drivers as "workers" from the time they logged onto the app, until they logged off.

This was a key point because Uber drivers typically spend time waiting for people to book rides on the app, for which they don't get paid.

Previously, the firm had said that if drivers were found to be workers, then it would only count the time during journeys when a passenger is in the car.

James Farrar and Yaseen Aslam, the two former drivers who sued Uber over worker status, welcomed Monday's announcement, but said the company was still "short changing" drivers.

They said the Supreme Court ruling meant drivers should get worker entitlements from when they log-on to log off. Whereas, Uber is committing only to these entitlements from the time a trip is accepted to the drop-off.

Uber drivers will "still be short-changed to the tune of 40-50%. Also, it is not acceptable for Uber to unilaterally decide the driver expense base in calculating minimum wage. This must be subject to collective agreement," they said.

Gig economy impact

Employment experts said the ramifications of Uber's changes would be felt across the gig economy.

Mary Walker, partner and employment lawyer at law firm Gordons, said: "The resulting ability for the Uber drivers to claim back pay for minimum wage and unpaid holiday pay will have many gig businesses reviewing their practices and the associated risks as a matter of urgency."

She believes the additional costs facing the gig economy mean "some businesses will simply be unable to continue trading". Other firms will be able to restructure, but perhaps with fewer workers, Ms Walker added.

Union leaders also warned other gig economy firms they would have to change. "This is the end of the road for bogus self employment," said Mick Rix, general secretary of the GMB union, which has been fighting for employment rights through the courts.

"It's a shame it took the GMB winning four court battles to make them see sense, but we got there in the end and ultimately that's a big win for our members. Other gig economy companies should take note," Mr Rix said.--BBC

Uighur abuse: MPs criticise companies over China forced labour

Some British firms could be complicit in the use of forced labour in China's Xinjiang region, an MPs' report says.

The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee said there was a lack of transparency in firms' supply chains and failures in government.

Xinjiang is home to many Chinese ethnic minorities, including Uighur Muslims.

The MPs said firms in fashion, retail, media and technology could all be implicated, and it was time to fine and blacklist those that failed to change.

The BEIS committee said it was appalled companies still cannot guarantee that their supply chains are free from forced labour. Those that cannot prove they don't have links with Xingjian should face sanctions, the MPs said.

The report recommends the government accelerates proposals to amend and strengthen the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

It also recommends the government develops a policy framework for creating a whitelist and blacklist of companies which do and do not meet their obligations to uphold human rights throughout their supply chains.

The findings come as some senior Conservative MPs attacked Boris Johnson for failing to adopt a tougher stance on Beijing in his Integrated review of security, defence, development and foreign policy published on Tuesday.

For the inquiry, the BEIS committee heard from a variety of witnesses including Boohoo, H&M, TikTok, The North Face and Nike.

The report found it "clearly unacceptable" that Boohoo had only minimal data about the different tiers in its supply chain.

A Boohoo spokeswoman said the company "has made extensive improvements to its supply chain practices", and that the "group looks forward to publishing the details of its UK supply chain next week".

While the report had widespread concerns about retailers and suppliers using cotton from Xinjiang, other companies were also in the committee's sights.

MPs were particularly critical of Disney which, they said, had refused to appear before it to give oral evidence on the making of the film Mulan - parts of which were shot in China's Xinjiang province.

"The Walt Disney Company has a responsibility to demonstrate that none of their actions supported oppression or undermined human rights during the production of Mulan," it said.

"The Walt Disney Company still has many questions to answer, particularly in relation to concerns about whether it completed adequate risk assessments and put in place sufficient safeguarding measures during the production of Mulan in Xinjiang, and why it refused to answer questions before our committee."

'Deeply concerning'

A Disney spokeswoman responded: "We respect the role and views of the select committee and when approached by the committee we provided relevant background and robust written testimony to them."

Nusrat Ghani, Conservative MP and lead BEIS Committee member looking at forced labour in UK, said: "It is deeply concerning that companies selling to millions of British customers cannot guarantee that their supply chains are free from forced labour.

"Modern slavery legislation and BEIS Department policy are not fit for purpose in tackling this grave situation. Amid compelling evidence of abuses, there has been a sorry absence of significant new Government measures to prohibit UK businesses from profiting from the forced labour of Uighurs in Xinjiang and other parts of China."

But a government spokesperson said: "Forced labour is one of the world's most despicable practices and the government will not stand for it, whether this exploitation takes place in the UK or abroad.

"The UK is the first country in the world to require businesses to report on how they are tackling modern slavery and forced labour in their operations and supply chains, and we are taking forward plans to extend that to certain public bodies and introduce financial penalties for organisations that don't comply."

As evidence of Uighur Muslims being abused and compelled to work in fields and factories in Xinjiang has mounted, so too has unease about the hidden cost of some clothes.

A fifth of the world's cotton comes from the region, and a lack of transparency in supply chains may mean some British firms are unwittingly complicit in the abuse.

The government says financial penalties will be introduced for firms found to be breaching an updated version of the Modern Slavery Act - but has yet to reveal full details or a timescale.

The industry too is keen to be seen to be acting. The Better Cotton Initiative, which focuses on sustainable production and supplies some big high street names, has ceased sourcing from Xinjiang.

Retailers know any reputational stain may be hard for customers to wear. But with so many steps in the production process, it isn't always easy to know the provenance of the shirt on your back.-BBC

Intel buys time with 'retrofit' Rocket Lake desktop PC chips

Intel has launched its latest desktop PC chips having had to retrofit some of its recent semiconductor designs to work on older transistor tech to deliver the processing power required.

The stopgap effort has consequences for both the speeds and heat they produce.

The US firm claims the Rocket Lake chips deliver a 19% headline-rate gain over the last generation, and introduce features that will help PCs keep pace with the latest gaming consoles.

Intel continues to dominate the sector.

But rivals have benefited from outsourcing production, leading to suggestions that Intel's position as the leading CPU (central processing unit) provider is not as secure as it might appear.

Intel still leads the pack. CPU chips (Oct-to-Dec 2020).  .

Tiny switches

Transistors are basically tiny on-off switches, and billions of them are arranged in different patterns to carry out calculations on a chip.

The benefit of making them smaller is that more can be packed into the same space - allowing computers to run more quickly while potentially using less power.

Intel's new Rocket Lake chips rely on 14 nanometre transistors, and are made within its own fabrication plants.

By contrast, its chief competitor AMD uses a contract manufacturer - Taiwan's TSMC - to build its latest Ryzen desktop PC chips, which benefit from smaller 7nm transistors.

And Apple is in the process of weaning itself off Intel to use its own designs, also produced by TSMC but using its even more advanced 5nm tech.

Fab-less pressure

There is no set way to measure transistor sizes, and Intel claims its 14nm tech equates to TSMC's 10nm. Even so, the US firm acknowledges it is running behind.

It had originally intended to make the transition to 10nm desktop chips between 2017 and 2019. As it is, this will not happen to a future generation launched in late 2021-2022.

And Intel is also experiencing delays in making the next leap forward to 7nm.

However, there are advantages to keeping production in-house.

It helps keep costs down.

And it also means it avoids feeding into wider concerns that the US has become over-reliant on overseas chip-producers.

Intel recently appointed a new chief executive - Pat Gelsinger - who has made it clear he intends to resist pressure from some investors to become a "fab-less" firm, a term used to refer to chip designers who do not operate fabrication plants of their own.

"The factory is the power and soul of an enterprise, and we must become even better in the future," said Mr Gelsinger in January.

Faster frame rates

The new "11th generation" desktop chips take the microarchitecture for their CPU cores from one set of 10nm laptop chips - 2019's Ice Lake series - and their graphics architecture from another - 2020's Tiger Lake family.

Intel has described the process of reworking these designs for 14nm transistors as "backporting".

"We've been making 14nm CPUs for a long time, and part of the benefit of that is it is a very established manufacturing process to the point where we know it inside and out," spokesman Mark Walton explained.

"So we really know how to ramp up the clock speeds - and for a gaming product, that's really, really important."

The firm's own benchmarks indicate its new i9-11900K chip will deliver a boost of 14% more frames-per-second when playing Microsoft Flight Simulator over the last-generation i9-10900K, when set at high quality graphics, for example.

And Intel is also playing up other benefits, including support for PCie 4.0, which increases the bandwidth available to third-party components such as add-on graphics cards and solid state drives, effectively allowing them to shunt data about more quickly.

"You will have much faster loading times, textures will load more quickly in games, and you get a much more seamless experience," said Mr Walton, suggesting this would counter one of the key advantages the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 enjoyed.

Testing hot

Intel will be marketing the new chips as offering a 19% improvement in "instructions per cycle" over their predecessors.

But the site Anandtech said it had only noticed modest gains when testing some of the chips with games of its own choice, and in some cases said the differences were imperceptible.

"It trails behind its competitor AMD at times by a significant margin," the site's Dr Ian Cutress told the BBC.

Moreover, the review also highlighted that the chips could run very hot.

Intel has removed a very thin layer of material between the block of semiconducting material on which the CPU's circuits are fabricated and the "heat spreader" on top to help keep the components cool.

But Anandtech recorded peak temperatures of 104C (219F) in one of its tests, which is only just in the safety zone.

"Intel's laptop chips were designed specifically for the characteristics of 10nm, and that includes thermal performance and frequency, and voltage," explained Dr Cutress.

"Because they've done a retrofit, compromises have had to be made - they still get the performance gains, but it's at the expense of needing lots of power and potential heat issues."

In real-world terms, that means if users give the chip taxing tasks and do not have proper cooling, the chip may throttle its own performance to avoid damage.

One added consequence is that Intel is only offering Rocket Lake chips with a maximum of eight cores - the more cores you have the faster a program can run if optimised to share the load between them.

By contrast, AMD's Ryzen chips go up to 16.

However, AMD's newest processors remain in short supply.

And one advantage Intel has as its own manufacturer, is that it can relatively easily adjust production to match demand.

By contrast, AMD must vie with Apple, Nvidia and others for TSMC's capacity.-BBC

Nokia to cut up to 10,000 jobs worldwide

Finnish telecoms giant Nokia is to axe between 5,000 and 10,000 jobs worldwide in the next two years as it cuts costs.

It is unclear where the bulk of the cuts will fall, but it said about 96 jobs in the UK were under threat as part of the €600m (£518m) cost cuts.

Nokia is playing catch-up on 5G, and also plans to invest in cloud computing and digital infrastructure research.

The company currently has 90,000 employees around the world, and has cut thousands of jobs since 2015.

"We currently expect the consultation process in the UK to cover an estimated 96 roles," a Nokia spokesperson said.

"At this stage, however, these are only estimates. It is too early to comment in detail, as we have only just informed local works councils and expect the consultation processes to start shortly, where applicable."

China's telecom giants ask for Wall Street relisting

Last year, Nokia employed almost 40,000 people in Europe, 20,500 in the Asia-Pacific region, 13,700 in China, 12,000 in North America and 3,700 in Latin America.

In Finland, the company's base, about 300 jobs are likely to go, mainly from its Helsinki headquarters, a union representative said.

France, where the company slashed more than 1,000 jobs last year, will be spared in the latest round of cuts.

Chief executive Pekka Lundmark said: "Decisions that may have a potential impact on our employees are never taken lightly. My priority is to ensure that everyone [that will be hit] is supported through this process."

After taking the top job last year, Mr Lundmark has made changes after product missteps under the company's previous management hurt Nokia's 5G ambitions and dragged on its shares.

The restructuring is intended to boost Nokia's performance against rivals such as Sweden's Ericsson and China's Huawei.

Nokia was once the biggest handset manufacturer in the world, but it failed to anticipate the popularity of internet-enabled touchscreen phones such as Apple's iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy and was spectacularly knocked from its perch by rivals.

After selling its handset business to Microsoft, which the software giant later wrote off, Nokia concentrated on telecoms equipment. It also later went into a licensing deal for Nokia-branded handsets.-BBC

Greggs to open shops despite first loss in 36 years

Bakery chain Greggs is to open 100 new shops in 2021 as it bets on a post-pandemic recovery.

This is despite the chain reporting its first loss for 36 years in 2020 after sales fell by a third amid coronavirus lockdown measures.

Greggs said it had ramped up deliveries, wholesale, and click-and-collect as High Street sales fell.

Chief executive Roger Whiteside added that Greggs had "made a better-than-expected start to 2021".

He added that the chain was "well placed to participate in the recovery from the pandemic".

Sales at company-managed shops fell by more than 36% last year as footfall in city centres and travel hub sites fell substantially during lockdowns.

This was partly offset by deliveries through Just Eat, which is one of the world's biggest food delivery platforms.

Greggs reported a pre-tax loss of £13.7m, its first since listing on the stock market in 1984.

Nevertheless, the chain is planning to open about 100 net new shops this year, adding to the 2,078 it already operates.

Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the pandemic "tore a huge chunk off business as it turned once bustling city centres into ghost towns".

"Although the crisis is likely to prove a temporary interruption to our insatiable demand for sausage rolls rather than a sign of dramatically changing tastes, it is quite a sustained break, and it's going to take a toll. Greggs has previously said it doesn't expect a return to pre-Covid levels of operations until 2022 at the earliest."

John Moore, senior investment manager at Brewin Dolphin, said: "The High Street is likely to be a very different place when lockdown restrictions are fully ended, with many empty spaces and chains such as Pret re-focusing on suburban areas - the traditional heartland of Greggs.

"While these factors cannot be underestimated, the company is in good shape, with a solid balance sheet, and has a great record of rising to the challenge."

Greggs chairman Ian Durant said 2020 was "not the year that any of us planned for".

He said the firm had started the year strongly but then temporarily closed its shops in March due to the Covid outbreak. It then reopened shops in the middle of the year.

To get through the pandemic, Greggs arranged financing both from the government, which it has since repaid, and from lenders.

"Government support has been essential to mitigate the impact of Covid and protect as many jobs as possible through this period," Mr Durant said.

He said it had been "sad to say goodbye" to staff whose roles had been cut by the firm "to reflect the reality of the trading environment".-BBC

Blacklisted Chinese firms eye lawsuits after Xiaomi win against Trump ban

(Reuters) - Chinese companies targeted by a sweeping investment ban imposed by former President Donald Trump are considering suing the U.S. government after a federal judge on Friday suspended a similar blacklisting for Beijing-based smartphone maker Xiaomi.

Lawyers familiar with the matter said some of the banned Chinese companies are in talks with law firms including Steptoe & Johnson and Hogan Lovells, emboldened by U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras’ preliminary order halting Xiaomi’s inclusion on a U.S. list of alleged Communist Chinese military companies that are subject to an investment ban.

The Trump administration’s move to blacklist Xiaomi Corp, which knocked $10 billion off its market share and sent its shares down 9.5 percent in January, would have forced investors to completely divest their stakes in the company.

“Companies are reaching out to lawyers to challenge the listings and the grounds for the listings,” said Wendy Wysong, managing partner of the Hong Kong office of Steptoe & Johnson, a worldwide law firm headquartered in Washington. Wysong and a person familiar with Hogan Lovells, another global law firm, declined to name the companies involved in discussions.

Contreras flagged the U.S. government’s “deeply flawed” process for including the company in the investment ban, based on just two key criteria: its development of 5G technology and artificial intelligence, which the Defense Department alleges are “essential to modern military operations,” and an award given to Xiaomi founder and Chief Executive Lei Jun from an organization said to help the Chinese government eliminate barriers between commercial and military sectors.

The judge noted that 5G and AI technologies were fast becoming standard in consumer electronics, and that over 500 entrepreneurs had received the same award as Lei since 2004, including the leaders of an infant formula company.

“The facts that led to Xiaomi’s designation are almost laughable, and I think it absolutely is going to lead to additional companies seeking relief,” said Washington lawyer Brian Egan, a former legal adviser in both the White House and State Department who also works at Steptoe.

GOVERNMENT UNDECIDED ON PATH FORWARD

In a joint filing on Tuesday, the government said it had not decided on the “appropriate path forward” in the Xiaomi case in light of the judge’s decision.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Justice, which is defending the case, declined to comment. A spokeswoman for the Department of Defense referred questions to the White House, which has not responded.

Xiaomi and 43 other companies were added here in the waning months of the Trump administration to the blacklist, which was mandated by a 1999 law requiring the Defense Department to publish a compilation of companies "owned or controlled" by the Chinese military.

Seeking to cement a tough line on China and box his Democratic successor, Joe Biden, into hardline policies, Trump signed an executive order that was later expanded to bar all U.S. investors from holding securities in the named companies beginning on Nov. 11, 2021.

Other companies listed include video surveillance giant Hikvision, China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) and China’s top chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp.

SMIC, Hikvision and CNOOC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Luokung Technology Corp, a mapping technology company on the list, also sued the U.S. government earlier this month, and is expected to seek preliminary relief similar to that awarded to Xiaomi.

Exclusive: Honda temporarily cutting production at all U.S., Canada plants

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co said late Tuesday supply chain issues will force a halt to production at a majority of U.S. and Canadian auto plants for a week.

The Japanese automaker added the issue will result in some production cuts next week at all U.S. and Canadian plants, citing “the impact from COVID-19, congestion at various ports, the microchip shortage and severe winter weather over the past several weeks.”

“In some way, all of our auto plants in the U.S. and Canada will be impacted,” Honda said.

Some U.S. and Canadian plants are expected to have smaller production cuts next week, but a spokesman for Honda added “the timing and length of production adjustments could change.”

The company declined to specify the volume of vehicles impacted but said “purchasing and production teams are working to limit the impact of this situation.”

The company added when production is suspended Honda workers “will continue to have the opportunity to work at the impacted plants.” Honda workers were notified of the production cuts Monday.

Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions, said Honda typically produces about 30,000 vehicles a week in the United States and Canada.

The production issues are hitting Honda plants in Ontario, Ohio, Alabama, and Indiana. Honda said its Mexico operations have not announced any production cuts.

The chip shortage, which has hit most of the global automakers, stems from a confluence of factors as carmakers, which shut plants for two months during the COVID-19 pandemic last year, compete with the sprawling consumer electronics industry for chip supplies.

General Motors Co has cut production at many plants and warned it could shave up to $2 billion from this year’s earnings.

GM’s U.S. rival Ford Motor Co previously said the shortage could hurt 2021 profit by up to $2.5 billion and said it had curtailed production of its flagship F-150 pickup.

Airlines face headache over 'use-by' date on some jet parts as pandemic grounds fleets

(Reuters) - Airlines with planes idled by the pandemic are cutting costs by delaying some maintenance tasks like changing life vests, testing oxygen bottles and checking emergency exits under COVID-19 waivers from airplane manufacturers and regulators.

The move allows airlines to stop the clock on a category of parts that would otherwise need checks or pass their “use-by” date without leaving the ground because of the huge number of planes parked during the pandemic.

In special guidance to airlines, Airbus SE, Boeing Co, Brazil’s Embraer SA and turboprop manufacturer ATR say there is no risk to safety because the work will be done before the planes return to the skies.

But there are concerns that delays could trigger commercial disputes between airlines and their lessors and financiers if they breach contractual maintenance agreements.

“I think there is going to be some argument,” said Phil Seymour, president of aviation intelligence and advisory firm IBA.

Delayed checks also mean it will take longer to reactivate planes.

In the highly regulated world of airplane maintenance, the frequency of many tasks is determined by the number of take-offs and landings or flight hours. But others, such as life vests and portable oxygen bottles, have a fixed schedule for replacement.

The world’s two major aviation regulators in the United States and Europe have both provided COVID-19 related guidance on extending some time-related tasks while a plane is stored.

“Prior to an aircraft return to service from storage, all scheduled maintenance tasks that were scheduled during the non-operational status must be performed,” a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman said.

In a sign of the scale of the issue, Boeing put an engineering team to work analysing all of the roughly 1,400 tasks per model to help airlines keep costs down and delay work that was not deemed urgent or safety-critical.

That allowed the maximum extension of 10% beyond the scheduled time to be increased to as much as 12 months for grounded planes not subject to passenger foot traffic, cargo carriage, and other wear and tear.

“The unique, individual assessments for each Boeing model accounted for all climates around the world and can support all operators,” a Boeing spokesman said.

Airbus also analysed calendar-driven tasks to give more flexibility to customers, said Airbus head of scheduled maintenance services Claire Kauffmann.

“This ensures that the task is performed in a safe way and that they have proper time and staff to do that,” she said.

An ATR spokesman said airlines had used a three-month “clock stoppage” on parked planes to ensure time-driven tasks were not scattered over a longer schedule.

Consulting group Oliver Wyman said in a recent report that the mass return to service of grounded aircraft expected over the next two years could create a maintenance-demand bubble.

Although the airline industry does not expect passenger traffic to rebound to 2019 levels until 2024, Oliver Wyman forecasts spending on airframe maintenance will recover to 2019 levels by 2022.

The decision by many airlines to spread their limited flying among more planes than usual to be ready for a sharp increase in demand could also drive more maintenance spending as manufacturers consider requiring some work to be done regardless of flight hours.

For example, most of the tasks related to the air conditioning system need to be done every 2,000 flight hours, normally about six months. But if the plane only flies 400 hours in six months, the check might be moved up to 1,600 hours to account for the longer passage of time, Kauffmann said.

“Here we would actually recommend increasing the number of tasks to be performed if you have a low utilisation,” she said. “This is always an engineering driven and safety driven analysis.”

Asian stocks retreat as investors await FOMC outcome

TOKYO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Asian stocks fell on Wednesday, tracking Wall Street, as investors waited to see if the U.S. Federal Reserve will signal a faster path toward policy normalisation than previously expected.

The U.S. central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will end a two-day meeting later in the day.

An index of regional equities excluding Japan sank 0.3%, led by declines in South Korea’s Kospi and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200.

The Shanghai Composite index slid 0.4%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.2%.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 bucked the trend to add 0.1%, but the broader Topix index was flat to slightly lower.

Global markets have been swung in recent weeks by a rout in Treasuries that saw the benchmark yield soar to a more than one-year high as bond investors bet that accelerating COVID-19 vaccinations and massive fiscal stimulus would spur faster-than-expected growth and inflation in the world’s biggest economy.

The volatility stoked speculation the Fed may be forced into a technical adjustment to the levers controlling its policy rate, but few expect the central bank to act on the matter at this week’s meeting, even if it releases rosier growth forecasts.

“We expect (Chair Jerome) Powell to note the FOMC has the tools to intervene if the bond market becomes disorderly or constrains the economic recovery,” analysts of Commonwealth Bank of Australia wrote.

“But we expect Powell to push back against talk of policy tightening because of the large amount of labour market slack.”

“U.S. bond yields and the USD could jump if the FOMC’s post‑meeting statement and Powell’s statement are not deemed dovish enough.”

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields continued to consolidate around 1.6%, standing at 1.6197% on Wednesday in Asia. They reached 1.6420% on Friday for the first time since February of last year.

An index tracking the dollar against six major peers held at around 91.90 following its retreat from a three-month high of 92.506, touched last week.

Currency market caution may extend all week, with the Bank of England announcing its policy decision on Thursday, and the Bank of Japan wrapping up a policy review on Friday in which it may phase out a numerical target for its asset buying.

On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.39% to end at 32,825.95 points, while the S&P 500 lost 0.16% to 3,962.71. The Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.09% to 13,471.57.

E-mini futures for the S&P 500 slipped 0.04% on Wednesday.

Gold prices edged up to hover at their highest in more than two weeks on prospects of higher inflation.

Spot gold was up about 0.2% at $1,734.81 per ounce.

Oil prices were lower amid concerns over demand after Germany, France and other European countries suspended use of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, a move which could curb the strength of the region’s economic recovery.

Brent crude futures slid 12 cents to $68.27 a barrel and U.S. crude futures slipped 3 cents to $64.77 a barrel.

Oil bears and bulls grapple as market puzzles over pandemic exit

LONDON (Reuters) - Trading in oil futures is now as heavy as it was in the first months of the COVID-19 crisis, according to market data and analysts, with oil bulls and bears rushing to hedge against jolts in the steady rise of prices.

Oil futures have already recovered to pre-pandemic levels, with Brent crude futures spiking $55 in less than a year to $70 a barrel this week while actual fuel demand remains weak.

But speculation over when and if people will begin to travel and commute as they once did is driving dueling bets in the market and historic volumes of trade.

“What makes the current situation so pronounced is ... the duration of uncertainty around how the resolution will pan out,” said Marc Rowell, senior energy broker at Britannia Global Markets.

Total monthly contracts for U.S. WTI crude held by producers and merchants increased to more than 1 million in February for the first time since May, according to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Meanwhile, market open interest in ICE’s Brent futures contract reached an all-time high of 2.8 million contracts on Feb. 19, topping its last record in April last year.

Open interest refers to a trader’s position in the market, long or short, and reflects their sentiment over future value.

Oil market participants engage in futures trading to mitigate risks by price changes to their business - producers generally use short positions to protect themselves from price increases while consumers use longs to hedge against decreases.

The recent surge in oil prices encouraged both producers and consumers to wade into the market with their competing bets, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said.

“The current prices provide an incentive for crude oil producers to secure a contract rate based on present highs,” the EIA wrote this week.

“The potential for continued crude oil price increases is an incentive for physical market buyers to secure a contract rate at present levels in case prices continue to rise.”

WAITING FOR DEMAND

Underscoring the instability is a disconnect between the four-month surge in the futures price and slow physical crude sales - with global demand expected to match supply only later in 2021.

“A key contributor to the ongoing volatility is speculative non-physical trading in the futures market,” Rowell added.

“Until there is a change in momentum and price stability in line with the physical market, volatility is here to stay.”

A solid return for global demand may be the only exit from the market’s bumpiest-ever periods. Price volatility from the close of one trading day to the next last March hit highs last seen in the Gulf War, and the current highs are the highest since November.

“This time, what is different is the dramatic decrease in consumer and commercial demand”, said Gianna Bern, finance professor at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

“Price volatility remains so long as the impact of the pandemic is being felt.”

Exchange leaders say GameStop saga highlights regulatory challenges

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The recent trading frenzy around GameStop Corp and other so-called “meme” stocks highlights shortcomings and challenges in the U.S. markets as retail investors become a bigger presence, exchange leaders said on Tuesday.

“The regulatory structure of the U.S. equity markets, in my mind, is flawed,” Jeff Sprecher, chief executive of New York Stock Exchange owner Intercontinental Exchange Inc, said on a panel at the Future Industry Association’s virtual FIA Boca conference.

Regulators have focused on competition between market intermediaries, like brokers and exchanges, rather than between buyers and sellers seeking to get the best prices, and the GameStop event exposed issues with that structure, he said.

In January, retail investors coordinated through social media forums in an attempt to punish hedge funds by buying shares of GameStop and other heavily shorted names, driving up their prices and forcing short sellers to close out positions at big losses.

At the height of the trading mania, several retail brokers restricted the buying of GameStop after collateral requirements needed to clear the trades spiked, angering many traders.

The saga has sparked congressional hearings, regulatory probes and put short selling under scrutiny.

“I’m hoping that in the future regulators will roll back some of the punitive rules and allow the market itself to deal with the intermediary structure,” Sprecher said.

The challenge now is to determine what constitutes unacceptable trading behavior as retail traders coordinate online, said Singapore Exchange CEO Loh Boon Chye.

Market manipulation, when it comes to retail investors’ online activity, has not been defined, which is “concerning,” said CME Group CEO Terry Duffy.

He pointed to the legalization of gambling and marijuana in most U.S. states as examples of regulators taking a more hands-off approach.

“People want to be in charge of their own destiny,” he said.

Pfizer to halt biosimilar output in China, sell assets to WuXi Biologics

BEIJING (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc has decided to stop producing biosimilar products in China and sell a unit in the eastern city of Hangzhou to WuXi Biologics Inc, the U.S. drugmaker said on Wednesday.

The pharmaceutical industry increasingly relies for its profits on costly biologic drugs, made from living organisms that are tougher and more expensive to make than conventional medicines with chemical ingredients.

“The site was planned to manufacture three biosimilars for the China market,” the company said in a response to Reuters.

“Pfizer commercially and technically evaluated other products for the site but none reached the level of activity for the scale of the site.”

Neither Pfizer nor WuXi disclosed the deal value, or the products to be made after the transaction closes, which is expected in the first half of this year.

WuXi said the deal would allow it to address surging manufacturing demand for drug substances and drug products.

The facilities are equipped with bioreactors and capable of filing vials and syringes, the Chinese firm said in a statement on the WeChat app.

WuXi also makes vaccine substances for a COVID-19 shot developed by AstraZeneca PLC and the University of Oxford to supply them to Brazil, but did not have immediate comment on whether the plant would turn out such substances.

Japan temporarily sets higher tariffs on U.S. beef imports

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan is temporarily raising tariffs on U.S. beef imports as volumes have exceeded levels agreed to between the two nations for the fiscal year ending on March 31, Japan’s agriculture ministry said on Wednesday.

>From Thursday, the tariff will rise to 38.5% from 25.8% for 30 days through April 16, marking the first time the safeguard measure has been imposed on U.S. beef imports since August 2017.

Japan imported a total of 242,229 tonnes of U.S. beef by early March, exceeding the maximum 242,000 tonnes set under the Japan-.U.S. trade agreement for the current fiscal year, the ministry said.

Slower imports from Australia due to drought there have boosted demand for U.S. beef, according to an official at the ministry.

Lower tariffs on U.S. beef after the Japan-U.S. trade deal took effect last year also made U.S. beef more competitive, an industry source said.

But the tariff hike is expected to have a limited impact on the local beef market as the tariff will drop to 25% from April 17, the rate set for the new fiscal year staring in April, and beef importers could delay the customs process until then, the ministry official said.

Kyodo News reported on Tuesday that Japan was set to temporarily impose higher tariffs on U.S. beef.

Nigeria: CBN Imposes Mobile Banking Charge - a Setback for Financial Inclusion

Millions of Nigerians use the USSD to access banking services daily, but telcos say they are being owed by banks.

The Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian Communications Commission have imposed a new charge for mobile banking services in the country, in a bid to end a row between banks and telecoms operators.

>From Wednesday, March 16, phone users using their devices for mobile banking will be charged a flat rate of N6.98 per transaction, the regulators announced Tuesday, a move likely to hurt gains made in expanding financial inclusion in the country.

The decision comes days after telecoms companies threatened to suspend access to the so-called USSD facility, which allows phone users check their bank accounts, transfer and receive money, and pay their bills.

The short code service has been popular in a country with a relatively low penetration of financial services. Many nongovernmental organisations have sought to encourage financial inclusion by encouraging mostly the nation's poorest population to make use of the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD).

After years of unresolved controversy over payment for the service, the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) on Friday said it would disconnect the banks from the service by March 15.

The group said its members were owed N42 billion by banks.

In a statement signed by its chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, and head of operations, Gbolahan Awonuga, the group said the withdrawal became necessary after its members and banks failed to reach an agreement on a payment structure that will exclude phone users.

"The banks, however, provided no assurances to our members that such service fees charged to customers' bank accounts for access to bank services through the USSD channel would be discontinued post implementation of end-user billing by our members," it said.

The CBN and the NCC said they held meetings with both sides and resolved that customers should pay for the service.

Read the full statement released Tuesday.

JOINT STATEMENT BY CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA AND NIGERIAN COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION ON PRICING OF UNSTRUCTURED SUPPLEMENTARY SERVICE DATA (USSD) SERVICES

Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) have had protracted disagreements concerning the appropriate USSD pricing model for financial transactions.

This resulted in the accumulation of outstanding fees for USSD services rendered leading to potential service withdrawal by the MNOs.

USSD is a critical channel for delivering financial services, particularly for the underserved and/or financially excluded. To resolve the lingering dispute and ensure uninterrupted services to customers on this channel, the Honorable Minister for Communications and Digital Economy on March 15, 2021 chaired a meeting of key stakeholders to discuss an amicable resolution in the interest of the general public.

Represented at the meeting were the various MNOs, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), OMBs (represented by the Chairman, Body of Bank CEOs) and the sector regulators -- Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

We are pleased to announce that after comprehensive deliberations on the key issues, a resolution framework acceptable to all parties was agreed thus:

1. Effective March 16, 2021, USSD services for financial transactions conducted at DMBs and all CBN - licensed institutions will be charged at a flat fee of N6.98 per transaction. This replaces the current per session billing structure, ensuring a much cheaper average cost for customers to enhance financial inclusion.

This approach is transparent and will ensure the amount remains the same, regardless of the number of sessions per transaction.

2. To promote transparency in its administration, the new USSD charges will be collected on behalf of MNOs directly from customers' bank accounts. Banks shall not impose additional charges on customers for use of the USSD channel.

3. A settlement plan for outstanding payments incurred for USSD services, previously rendered by the MNOs, is being worked out by all parties in a bid to ensure that the matter is fully resolved.

4. MNOs and DMBs shall discuss and agree on the operational modalities for the implementation of the new USSD pricing framework, including sharing of Application , Programme Interface (API) to enable seamless, direct and transparent customer billing.

5. DMBs and MNOs are committed to engaging further on strategies to lower cost and enhance access to financial services.

6. With the above resolutions, the impending suspension of DMBs from the USSD channel is hereby vacated. Therefore, DMBs shall no longer be disconnected from the USSD channel.

The general public is reminded that the USSD channel is optional, as several alternative channels such as mobile apps, internet banking and ATMs may be used for financial transactions.

The CBN and NCC shall continue to engage relevant operators and all stakeholders to promote cheaper, seamless access to mobile and financial services for all Nigerians.-Premium Times.

Nigeria's Unemployment Rate Rises to 33.3% - Highest in Over 13 Years

Nigeria's unemployment rate is the second-highest in the world.

One in three Nigerians able and willing to work had no jobs in the fourth quarter of 2020, according the National Bureau of Statistics.

The bureau reported Monday that Nigeria's unemployment rate rose to 33.3 per cent, translating to some 23.2 million people, the highest in at least 13 years and the second-highest rate in the world.

The figure jumped from 27.1 per cent recorded in the second quarter amidst Nigeria's lingering economic crisis made worse by the coronavirus pandemic.

Unemployment rate in the country has more than quadrupled since 2016 when the economy slipped into a recession. A second recession occurred in 2020.

The federal government in its Economic Sustainability Plan had predicted that the rate of unemployment would rise to 33.6 per cent at the end of 2020 if urgent steps were not taken.

The new rate means that prediction held largely true, missed only by a margin of 0.3 per cent.

The statistics bureau said the economically active or working-age population (15 - 64 years of age) increased from 117 million in the second quarter to 122 million in Q4 2020, a 4.3 percent increase.

The report shows the number of persons in the labour force (people within ages 15 -64, who are able and willing to work) was estimated to be 69.7 million.

Of this number, those within the age bracket of 25-34 were highest at 28.8 per cent of the labour force.

The total number of people in employment during the reference period was 46.5 million, of which 30.6 million were in full-time employment (i.e., worked 40+ hours per week), while 15.9 million were underemployed (i.e., working between 20-29 hours per week).

While the unemployment rate increased, the underemployment rate, however, declined from 28.6 per cent in Q2 to 22.8 per cent.

Unemployment in the states

Across the states, Imo reported the highest rate of unemployment with 56.6 per cent, followed by Adamawa and Cross River with 54.9 per cent and 53.7 per cent respectively.

Osun had the lowest rate at 11.7 per cent.

Underemployment was more prevalent in Benue than elsewhere, with 43.5 per cent. Lagos recorded the lowest underemployment rate, with 4.5 per cent.-Premium Times.

Nigeria Inflation Rises to 17.33 Percent in February, Highest in Four Years

Food inflation was at the highest level in at least a decade.

Nigeria's inflation rate rose to 17.33 per cent in February 2021, the nation's statistics bureau said Tuesday.

This is the highest inflation rate recorded in four years.

In January, inflation rose to 16.47 per cent amid skyrocketed food prices.

The NBS said Tuesday that food inflation rose to 21.79 per cent in February, compared to 20.57 per cent recorded in January 2021. The NBS said it is the highest point since the data series began over a decade ago.

The headline inflation increased by 1.89 per cent from 1.83 percentage points, month-on-month.

The cost of food rose penultimate week when a good blockade was announced by food and cattle suppliers.

The blockade led to a sharp rise in the prices of beef, foodstuff and vegetables.

Analysts opined that the blockade would worsen Nigeria's runaway food inflation.

The NBS said Tuesday that upward movement in food inflation was caused by increases in the prices of bread, cereals, fish, potatoes, yam and other tubers, vegetables, meat, oils and fats, fruits and food products.

However, core inflation, which excludes the prices of agricultural items, increased to 12.38 percent in February compared to 11.85 percent in January 2021.-Premium Times.

Kenya: Tullow Woes Scuttle Kenya's Oil Dream

Had everything gone according to plan, Kenya would be reading to begin its commercial export of crude oil on a large scale next year.

This was after success in sale of a consignment in 2019, which was obtained from the pilot phase of the project in the expansive fields in Turkana County.

Instead, Tullow last week announced that it is now shifting attention and over 90 percent of its resources to West Africa, with company chief executive Rahul Dhir saying the firm will be channeling resources to projects it considers to be productive in a bid to cut costs.

"After a year of significant change for Tullow, we are now executing a robust, cash generative business plan, which is focused on our most productive assets," said Mr Dhir.

Tullow also once again watered down the value of its stake in the Kenyan oil project by Sh46.8 billion on low global oil prices, casting doubt over the project's future.

The firm has also reduced capital injections in Kenya, and allocated Sh548 million for the project this year compared to Sh4.4 billion last year and Sh7.6 billion in 2018.

Drill oil

The Africa-focused oil explorer said it is buying time to see if its efforts to drill oil in Kenya would still be worthwhile at low global oil prices as it assesses options on whether it will have to discard the initiative entirely.

Tullow has already disposed of its assets in Uganda to Total for Sh62 billion ($575 million), leaving Kenya as the only country the firm has an interest in outside of West Africa.

Tullow owns a 50 percent stake in two blocks in the oil-rich South Lokichar basin, blocks 10BB and 13T, while French oil firm Total and Canadian-based Africa Oil hold the remaining stake equally.

Tullow and Total were reported to be looking for suitors to buy half of their interests in the project early last year but failed to find a suitor.

Licenses for the joint venture partners were extended by the government until December of this year.

Economist Churchill Ogutu says when the valuation of an asset drops, companies owning it take their time to decide on what to do with it, but that they would be reluctant to dispose of the asset on lower prices and instead wait for the value to rise.

"If they (Tullow) were to sell their stake in the project now, it would mean they would do so at lower prices due to the lower valuation. This means that if they want to bail out and fetch a good price for their assets, they might wait until oil prices recover to do so," Mr Ogutu said last week.

Kenya had identified the South Lokichar basin as the anchor of the onshore oil drilling project, a region Tullow estimates to contain 560 million barrels in oil reserves with a capacity to produce up to 100,000 barrels per day.

The government planned to use the Early Oil Pilot Scheme (EOPS) to collect technical data that would be used to formulate a Field Development Plan (FDP) and also debut Kenya's oil to the international market.

Tullow planned to get funding to build a crude oil processing facility in the area to process the find, build a Sh120 billion pipeline from Lokichar to Lamu and also acquire land and water access rights before they commit to the project.

Tullow, which is facing liquidity issues even as it records year-on-year losses and mounting debt, termed the pilot scheme a "success" at its end last year despite continually missing targets to make a final investment decision on the project which would secure its future.

Damaged roads

The company has placed blame over tarrying in committing to the project on government's delay in gazetting land for the project, slow progress in giving it access to water from Turkwell Dam and river and delays by the National Environment Management Agency (Nema) to approve the project's Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) report.

"Tullow and its joint venture partners expect to complete a revised assessment of the project by the second quarter of 2021. In parallel, the joint venture partners are also working closely with the government of Kenya on securing approval of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessments and finalising the commercial framework for the project," Tullow said in its results statement on Wednesday.

Tullow stopped trucking oil from Turkana to Mombasa in November 2019 citing damage of roads in the area by rain. The process has not resumed since.

But the government is still optimistic on the project and plans to sell 1.2 million barrels of oil and drill 75 oil wells in Lokichar by 2023.

Treasury has allocated Sh270 million for oil exploration and distribution this year, while Sh253 million was given for the same last year.

Meanwhile, Sh200 million was used in 2019-2020 for preparatory works on the proposed Lokichar-Lamu crude oil pipeline, while Sh400 million was also allocated for the project this year.

Tullow sought compensation of Sh204 billion from the Ministry of Petroleum last year for exploration costs incurred on the project.

Kenya has gazetted 63 oil blocks with almost half already floated to foreign multinationals while 35 remain up for grabs while the licensees have already dug up 94 oil wells.

Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Munyes and his Principal Secretary Andrew Kamau could not be reached for comment to discuss the merits of the project.-Nation.

South Africa: Labour Department to Probe 'Poor Conditions' On Cape Farm

Workers are demanding running water, lower electricity rates and improved housing

The Department of Labour will return to a farm near Kraaifontein and Stellenbosch soon to investigate claims by workers.

The workers are accusing the owner of hiking their electricity rates, not providing running water and failing to renovate their dilapidated houses.

This is the second time the department will be investigating the farm. In 2019 it issued the owner with an order to resolve a number of issues.

The farm's owner has disputed workers' claims and says he is doing what he can to assist.

Farm workers from Thiangara, a vegetable farm bordering Kraaifontein and Stellenbosch, are accusing the owner of hiking their electricity rates, not providing running water and failing to renovate their dilapidated houses.

The workers, supported by activists at Women on Farms Project (WFP), picketed outside the farm's gates earlier this month.

This is not the first time workers have complained about the conditions on Thiangara. In 2019, the Western Cape Chief Inspector David Esau was called to inspect the farm.

On Friday, Esau told GroundUp that after his last visit, he ordered the owner to rectify various issues such as the lack of ablution facilities, not paying for sick or family responsibility leave, and work on public holidays. He also told the owner to provide the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) to the farm workers.

Esau said that the owner provided proof of compliance and a follow-up inspection was done. The compliance order was then withdrawn.

But Esau said that in light of the worker's recent protest, the Department will visit the farm again.

One of the main issues workers raised was being overcharged for electricity. They had been paying R200 for 50 units every week since 2017 until it was recently increased to R250.

Louisa Warries, a worker on the farm, said they earn about R970 per week and the electricity is deducted from their weekly wages.

"We want him to pay back our electricity money," said Warries. She also complained that the workers had to spray pesticides on the vegetables without being given PPE.

Colette Solomon, director at WFP, said that the "unilateral rate setting of electricity" on farms by owners was a common problem. "Farmers can literally set the rate at anything they want to per unit, and that's what they're doing," she said.

But the farmer, Arthur Gee, told GroundUp that there is nothing "unfair" about the electricity rates he deducts. He said that the fee not only covered usage but also the service charges. Gee said that he increased the price because of an expected electricity increase.

Another issue on the farm is the lack of running water and the fact that there are no toilets in workers' homes. There are only pit toilets outside.

"There isn't even water close to us," said Tara Warries. She said that they have to walk to surrounding farms to fetch water.

Warries said that her house was so badly dilapidated and "broken" with a large crack in one of her walls.

Both Louisa Warries and Syster have lived in their houses for 12 years and Tara for six years.

In response, Gee said that the houses were in a great condition when workers first moved in. He said he was not willing to pay for repairs. Gee also said that there are people living on the property without permission and that he would not "fix homes for other people."

Regarding the water, Gee said he can't afford to install taps on the property. He said he fills up ten litre canisters with water and drops it at workers' homes.

Louisa Warries confirmed this but said it was not enough because over the weekends they have to source their own water.

CORRECTION: The article headline originally stated the farm was in Stellenbosch. It borders Kraaifontein and Stellenbosch and falls under the Kraaifontein municipality.-GroundUp.

Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

Cellphone:      <tel:%2B263%2077%20344%201674> +263 77 344 1674

Alt. Email:       <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> info at bulls.co.zw  

Website:         <http://www.bullszimbabwe.com> www.bullszimbabwe.com 

Blog:            <https://bullszimbabwe.com/category/blogs/bullish-thoughts/> www.bullszimbabwe.com/blog

Twitter:         @bullsbears2010

LinkedIn:       Bulls n Bears Zimbabwe

Facebook:      <http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FBullsBearsZimbabwe&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGhb_A5rp4biV1dGHbgiAhUxQqBXA> www.facebook.com/BullsBearsZimbabwe

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

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20210317/3ac49a79/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 9458 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20210317/3ac49a79/attachment-0003.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 31039 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20210317/3ac49a79/attachment-0002.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image003.png
Type: image/png
Size: 227947 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20210317/3ac49a79/attachment-0004.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image004.png
Type: image/png
Size: 34378 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20210317/3ac49a79/attachment-0005.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image005.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 22328 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20210317/3ac49a79/attachment-0003.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: oledata.mso
Type: application/octet-stream
Size: 65571 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20210317/3ac49a79/attachment-0001.obj>