Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 31 May 2021
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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 31 May 2021
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ü Hong Kong offers top bank executives quarantine exemptions
ü Metal, money, mystery: How Sanjeev Gupta built his empire
ü What is the GFG Alliance and what does it own?
ü Nigeria: Buhari to Inaugurate Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge June 10
ü Nigeria: Naira Weakens Further As Reserves Dip
ü Africa: First Bank Named Second Most Admired Brand in Africa
ü Kenya: President Kenyatta Commissions Road, Water Projects in Siaya County
ü Nigeria: Kuda Commences $37m Financing Deal
ü Intel reiterates chip supply shortages could last several years
ü EXCLUSIVE U.S. tyre maker Goodyear faces allegations of labour abuse in Malaysia
ü Asia shares look to extend rally before U.S. jobs test
ü U.S. records show Iran oil cargo landed one month after ship seizure
ü Bitcoin falls 5.2% to $33,849, Ether down 6.3%
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Hong Kong offers top bank executives quarantine exemptions
Hong Kong is offering top bankers exemptions from strict virus quarantine measures, said the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC).
Senior executives who are fully vaccinated can apply to be exempted from a mandatory 21-day quarantine.
It comes after authorities had previously warned that slow vaccination uptake could hurt the city's position as a global financial centre.
Hong Kong has some of the world's strictest quarantine restrictions.
Hong Kong could end up throwing away unused jabs
A maximum of two senior executives from each of the financial services company that are licensed by SFC and two of their overseas affiliates can apply for the waiver, according to the announcement.
Five days prior to their trip, those applying for quarantine exemption have to provide the SFC with a copy of their passport photo page or identity card, an itinerary of their visit and proof that they are fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
The SFC is the official body that issues licenses that allow firms including investment banks, securities brokerages and asset managers to operate in Hong Kong.
Anyone granted the exemption is only allowed to attend activities listed in the itinerary supplied to authorities and have to self isolate otherwise.
Anyone found breaking the rules would lose thr exemption and be sent to a quarantine centre for three weeks.
Those convicted of breaking the rules would also face six months in prison and a HK$5,000 ($644, £454) fine.
Government officials and airline crew members are currently among those that do not have to go through compulsory quarantine.
Separately last week, Hong Kong warned that it could have to throw away vast stores of coronavirus vaccines because of people's reluctance to be injected.
Less than 20% of people have had a jab, even though Hong Kong has more than enough doses for the whole population.
The low take-up rate has been blamed on a relatively small number of infections and distrust of the government.
Hong Kong's government is keen to reinvigorate the city's economy after the pandemic and years of political tensions helped push the city into its worst ever recession.
Earlier this month, official figures showed that Hong Kong's economy had finally emerged from a year and a half of contractions but concerns remain that the recovery is uneven.--bbc
Metal, money, mystery: How Sanjeev Gupta built his empire
It might be almost summer, but a patchwork blanket of snow still covers the tops of Ben Nevis and the neighbouring peaks that huddle around Fort William, the second-largest town in the Scottish Highlands.
The remote beauty of the mountains and Loch Linnhe, which runs like a dark carpet out to sea from the foot of the hills, makes this the last place you would expect to find a big industrial plant.
There is one, however - the last of its kind in the UK. The Lochaber smelter churns out 48,000 tonnes of aluminium a year, its turbines fed by water brought from the lochs above, in a tunnel that runs underground in a 12-mile curve around Ben Nevis itself.
Built in the 1930s, it was a prodigious feat of engineering. In the five years since he bought it, the owner of the smelter and the surrounding countryside, the metals tycoon Sanjeev Gupta, has managed a similar feat of engineering, this time financial.
He has raised more than £600m from a facility faced with closure, thanks in large part to financial support provided by the Scottish government. A spokesman for Mr Gupta wouldn't comment on what the money has been used for.
Plans for a big expansion at Fort William have so far come to nothing.
How Mr Gupta did it - the clever winnowing of value from an unattractive group of assets and the canny harvesting of financial support from politicians eager to maintain employment - follows a model he has used in building a business empire that now spans the world.
He and his family have bought steelworks, mines, power stations and smelters from Australia to the Czech Republic. Most faced an uncertain future and possible closure before his arrival.
Politicians have hailed him as a saviour, and he has made a popular and timely case for investment in more environmentally-friendly ways of making steel and aluminium.
Now he faces his own fight for survival. The money that fuelled his meteoric rise came from Greensill Capital, a supply-chain finance company that collapsed into administration in March. Mr Gupta is now battling to find new sources of finance, with some of his companies facing winding-up petitions from creditors.
Looming over all is a Serious Fraud Office (SFO) probe of his business empire, GFG Alliance, which will investigate alleged fraud, fraudulent trading and money laundering, with specific reference to the relationship with Greensill. GFG has said it will fully co-operate with the investigation.
In Scotland, a political backlash to the support granted by ministers is growing. If Mr Gupta fails in his refinancing attempt and his empire crumbles, there is the possibility of a hefty bill landing at the government's feet.
Scotland was a world pioneer in making aluminium using hydroelectric power, with the first British Aluminium Company smelters commissioned in the final years of Queen Victoria's reign. The Fort William plant opened in 1929, and it is the last working aluminium smelter in the UK.
The smelter passed through several sets of owners until it was acquired by Rio Tinto, the mining giant, in 2007. Less than a decade later, Rio Tinto decided to get out.
It put the plant, the hydroelectric schemes and the associated land - a giant 114,000-acre estate, one of the biggest in Scotland - up for sale.
It was far from certain that the smelter would continue operating. It is tiny by world standards, and relies on imported bauxite - the raw ore from which aluminium is smelted - rather than having its own nearby source.
"There is only one smelter operating in the world which is smaller that I know of - one in Cameroon," Ami Shivkar, an aluminium specialist at the consultancy Wood Mackenzie tells the BBC.
"Lochaber makes nearly 50,000 tonnes a year - but many of competitors are making hundreds of thousands of tonnes. It is a drop in the ocean."
Many bidders were interested in the hydroelectric plants, few in the smelter. Brian King, who ran the plant for Rio Tinto and now does the same job as chairman of Alvance UK, the aluminium division of GFG Alliance, was intimately involved with the sale.
"There were only two bidders who had any real interest in the smelting operations. One of those was purely speculative, the other was GFG," says Mr Shivkar.
The Scottish government already had experience of dealing with Mr Gupta, having provided loans to help his purchase of two threatened steel plants, at Dalzell and Clydebridge.
In 2016, he emerged as the victor, paying Rio Tinto £330m.
Almost immediately, work began on a financial restructuring to drive some value from the newly-acquired assets. Greensill Capital was drafted in to issue bonds - essentially loans - to City investors, which would be paid off by a slice of the future income from a second hydropower plant at Kinlochleven, which came with the estate.
The bonds were issued via a legal entity called Wickham, according to marketing documents seen by the BBC, and it is understood £229m was raised, most of which went straight to Rio Tinto as part of the purchase price.
Another, more complicated bond transaction - again arranged by Greensill, with the assistance of the Wall Street bank Morgan Stanley - required the explicit support of the Scottish government.
The marketing documents for Project Boots, also seen by the BBC, outline a convoluted structure. Gupta companies make an "irrevocable" commitment to pay investors in the bond issue a quarterly return.
That commitment is guaranteed by the Scottish government, which in return receives a fee and security over Gupta assets, chiefly the companies that own the hydroelectric power assets. The quarterly payments will continue, the documents make clear, even if the power station breaks down, or the smelter can't afford them.
Government support for a commercial bond issue is unusual - and the documents tell prospective investors that this is a "rare opportunity to invest in [sic] explicit and irrevocable Scottish government guaranteed fixed income asset".
"I have never seen a transaction like this," says Prof Florin Vasvari, chair of the accounting faculty at London Business School. "Bond issues are common, but normally there are just two parties - here there are several individual companies in the structure, and a sovereign guarantee.
"I am sure it would have been sought after because a guarantee like that is extremely rare."
Government support for private enterprise can fall foul of state aid rules, but the Lochaber deal was approved by ministers after an investigation by the accountancy firm EY judged that it met value for money and state aid tests.
Its report - Project Golf - has been made public, but nearly all of it is blacked out, on grounds of commercial sensitivity. The amount raised in the bond issue has not been publicly confirmed, but the Project Golf reports put its value at £259m.
That was not, though, the end of the fundraising. Last year, the power plant at Kinlochleven was sold to Equitix, an infrastructure investor, for what City sources confirm was about £150m.
Simec, the arm of the GFG Alliance that deals with power projects, also has another project on the go, with planning permission sought for a large wind farm at Glenshero in Inverness.
Local environmental groups, like the John Muir Trust, which looks after wild areas in Scotland including Ben Nevis, are staunchly opposed to the wind farm, saying its construction and scale would damage a precious landscape.
The plan has been rejected by Highland Council, and its fate will now be decided by the Scottish government.
There is widespread political support for the Scottish government's provision of financial assistance. Murdo Fraser, the Conservative MSP who was until recently shadow finance secretary, sat on the committee that approved it.
"There was a real concern that the smelter might close, so I understand the government going to lengths to secure its future. It is in an economically sensitive part of the country," he says.
The question now, says Mr Fraser, was whether Mr Gupta had made good on promises made in return for the financial support.
"He promised to make a new aluminium wheel factory that did not materialise, there were promises made about putting land into community ownership, and they did not materialise.
"And there are questions marks over whether the Scottish government was sufficiently cautious with taxpayer funds, given GFG was able to raise so much extra cash."
The Scottish government said in a statement that it had intervened to save a facility of "strategic importance" and that the same support had been offered to "any bidder with plans for long term industrial operations of the Lochaber businesses".
There had been no call on the guarantee to date, it said, and ministers had taken security, allowing them to claim certain assets if the GFG companies went bust.
GFG said the wheel plant scheme had to be abandoned because of the downturn in UK car manufacturing.
"If we had built it, it would now be standing idle," says Mr King, who stressed that GFG had kept the plant running for a number of years when aluminium prices were low and it was loss-making.
GFG is now working on plans for a plant to produce aluminium billet, shaped tubes and squares of metal that are used in extrusion manufacturing and command a higher price. It will cost about £90m and will employ about 60 more staff.
Were promises about the land honoured?
There is a wider unhappiness in Fort William with how Mr Gupta has managed the giant tracts of land acquired with the smelter.
The undertaking he gave to the Scottish government at the time of the deal - parts of which have again been seen by the BBC - made clear that he would hand back land to the community.
"We appreciate that community ownership is at the heart of Scottish government's community empowerment agenda," the document said. It added that Mr Gupta undertook to work with local groups to "to enter into community land transactions in relation to significant portions thereof".
John Hutchison, chairman of the East Lochaber and Laggan Community Trust, which is named in the undertaking, says no real attempt had been made to meet the commitment: "Five years on, here we are. We are still waiting."
GFG rejects the criticism, saying it has given over assets to local groups and works with charities.
"The East Lochaber and Laggan Community Trust have not presented us with a proposal we could consider," Julia Stoddart, chief operating officer of Jahama Highland Estates, the GFG company that manages the land, tells the BBC.
Uncertain future
The future of the smelter - and the other assets that go with it - are now inextricably linked to the wider fate of Mr Gupta's empire. His negotiations to find a new investor have been complicated by the SFO investigation.
White Oak Global Advisors, a Californian investment fund, has agreed to put some money into his Australian steelmaking operations, but similar talks for White Oak to invest in the UK have stalled.
City sources say that while many hedge funds and rivals are interested in buying assets or lending money, the situation is complicated by the outstanding loans to Greensill and its creditors, notably the Swiss bank Credit Suisse, which has already issued winding-up notices against two GFG companies.
Mr Gupta, has, however, been lucky in one respect - iron and aluminium prices are at a ten-year high, meaning most of his plants, including Fort William, will be making money.
The question now is whether he can find a way to keep his creditors - and the investigators - at bay.-bbc
What is the GFG Alliance and what does it own?
In May, the news of a fraud probe into GFG Alliance sent shockwaves of worry around the UK and the rest of the world.
The Gupta Family Group Alliance (GFG) owns a collection of businesses in energy, steel and trading which spans the globe, employing around 35,000 people.
Its high-profile executive chairman Sanjeev Gupta has become famous for buying troubled steelworks and factories, promising to keep them open and save jobs.
He has been particularly active in the UK - starting his trading business, Liberty, from his room at Cambridge University.
When steelworks in Yorkshire, Scotland and South Wales were put up for sale - and threatened with closure - GFG stepped in and bought them.
However, GFG's main backer Greensill Capital collapsed in March, leaving the business scrambling for cash. A number of parts of the GFG empire are now being offered for sale to fill the hole in GFG's finances.
And the future of many plants and their workers remains uncertain.
Map of UK showing position of Liberty Steel facilities
GFG's steel business in the UK ranges from the 150-year-old Dalzell plant in Motherwell, to a rolled steel plant in Newport, South Wales, which took Mr Gupta two years to reopen.
The firm is selling two plants in South Yorkshire, at Stocksbridge and Brinsworth, and a third in West Bromwich, which makes speciality steel parts for the makers of planes and cars.
GFG owns another, larger steelworks in Rotherham, as well as a plant in Scunthorpe, and a number of smaller factories in the West Midlands, South Wales, Hartlepool and Teesside.
What else does GFG own?
GFG Alliance has 5,000 employees in the UK, employed in a range of industries from banking and manufacturing, to steel, aluminium and renewable energy.
The financial heart of the business is Liberty Commodities, which trades metals around the world, with a turnover of $6.4bn (£5.3bn).
It has trading offices in London, Dubai, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore.
GFG also owned its own bank, Wyelands, named after Sanjeev Gupta's £3m home in South Wales, though in May it announced that it would close down if it couldn't find new investors.
Map of UK showing position of Alliance facilities excluding steel
The firm owns the UK's last aluminium smelter, in Fort William, Scotland, where bauxite ore is turned into eight-tonne bars of pure metal, ready to be made into finished products.
Smelting aluminium requires vast amounts of electricity, which is provided by a hydroelectric dam in the hills above the smelter.
The dam came with 114,000 acres of land, in the highlands around Ben Nevis and further east at Glenshero, where GFG is planning a 39-turbine wind farm.
Renewable energy projects like this are central to GFG's vision of a more environmentally friendly approach to metal production, which can often be highly polluting.
On top of this, GFG owns a 43% stake in SIMEC Atlantis Energy (SAE), which installed a turbine under the waters of the Pentland Firth, between John O'Groats and the Orkney Islands, to harness the power of the tide.
Next to the steel plant in Newport, South Wales, stands the Uskmouth power plant - originally coal - which SAE is converting to produce energy by burning fuel derived from rubbish.
As well as rescuing threatened steelworks, GFG has bought a number of engineering businesses, such as the century-old Covpress car parts factory in Coventry, which is now known as Liberty Pressing Solutions. It too is being sold.
Liberty is also selling its aluminium manufacturing business, with factories in Witham in Essex, as well as Wednesbury and Kidderminster in the West Midlands.
GFG's acquisitions have left it with a large property portfolio, which it has been starting to develop.
In 2019 it sold a former factory site in West Bromwich to Persimmon Homes for £2.5m.
The firm has been developing plans to build 100 homes on another former factory site in Dudley, and a hotel next to the Clydebridge steelworks.
>From Australia to South Carolina
Sanjeev Gupta has repeated the same trick across the world, rescuing factories big and small from the threat of closure.
In Australia, GFG owns the Whyalla steelworks in South Australia, and the nearby iron ore mines which feed it.
And in Tasmania, it owns the Infrabuild steel manufacturer and distributor, and a manganese smelter, which it bought as recently as August 2020.
In total, GFG employs around 6,500 people in Australia.
Map of the world showing GFG companies outside the UK
In 2019, the firm bought seven steel plants employing 14,000 people from ArcelorMittal - its biggest ever deal worth €740m, which made it one of the top ten steel producers in the world.
Over in France, GFG owns Europe's largest aluminium smelter in Dunkirk, two more steel plants at Hayange and Ascoval, plus vehicle conversion business Durisotti, and an aluminium wheel plant.
As for the US, the firm reopened steelworks in Georgetown, South Carolina that had been closed for three years. A total of 1,500 people work at this plant and others owned by GFG around the country.
And in India, GFG owns steelworks in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
While workers loved the man who brought new life to plants that seemed doomed, it was never clear how Mr Gupta was able to make money where the giants of the steel industry could not.
And with the collapse of Greensill Capital in March, the financial engineering which made this extraordinary buying spree possible started to come apart.
The lender, which employed the former prime minister David Cameron as an adviser, was lending GFG billions of dollars, and helped to fund many of its acquisitions.
The UK's Serious Fraud Office announced an investigation in May. GFG says it will co-operate fully.
Tata, which sold some of its UK steel plants to GFG, is suing, alleging that bills have not been paid, and Credit Suisse, a lender, is also taking some group companies to court.
How the crisis at the heart of GFG will affect workers in the factories remains unclear.
The alliance is not organised in a conventional way, with one set of published accounts which cover the whole group.
It's more of a network of interconnected businesses, which makes it very hard to gauge the group's overall levels of debt.
Mr Gupta owns many of them, according to company filings, while some are owned by his father PK Gupta.
However, aluminium and steel prices are currently high, and many of the plants are thought to be profitable.
Throughout his buying spree, Mr Gupta has relied on support from politicians eager to keep strategically vital industries afloat. The political importance of those factories remains undiminished.
In the UK, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has rejected a request for a £170m bailout from GFG Alliance.
But he said that the UK government would consider 'all options' for saving the steel plants he owns.—BBC
Nigeria: Buhari to Inaugurate Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge June 10
President Muhammadu Buhari will inaugurate the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge project on June 10, the Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed has said.
Mohammed disclosed this yesterday during a joint inspection of the project with the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi.
Mohammed told journalists at the Wole Soyinka Station in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital that the inspection was to ensure that all the T's are crossed and I's dotted ahead of the inauguration.
He said: "Tentatively, the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge would be commissioned on June 10. What the Honourable Minister is doing is to ensure that all the I's are dotted and the T's are crossed before June 10.
"You can see right from Apapa to Agege, Papalanto to this place; you have seen us go down to engage the contractor to ensure that everything is in order because this is one of the flagships of this administration - one of the landmark achievements of this administration.
"Not only this is the first time we are having a dual standard gauge but you can see the passion by which the minister supervises the project."
The minister reiterated the commitment of the administration to improve the lives of the people through the railway modernisation projects across the country, which would significantly cut travel times and make travelling more comfortable.
"There is nothing to deflect the attacks on this administration than by showing concrete evidence like this one that this administration is focused, is committed to delivering infrastructures to Nigeria.
"With this railway project completed, we are cutting down the travel time between Lagos and Ibadan but more importantly we are creating jobs along the line and it is by far safer than travelling by road. So far we are satisfied with what we are seeing," he stated.-This Day.
Nigeria: Naira Weakens Further As Reserves Dip
The value of the naira continued on its downward spiral at all ends of the market as it closed last week losing N10 to sell at N495 to the dollar in the parallel market, a situation analysts said would continue this week.
It had begun depreciating on Tuesday last week following the acceptance of the Nigeria Autonomous Foreign Exchange (NAFEX) rate by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). At the NAFEX window, the value of the naira depreciated slightly to N412 to the dollar compared to N410 when it opened the week's trading activities.
The CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele had, at the end of the monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, confirmed that the change in the official exchange rate to NAFEX rate was necessitated by the fact that government transactions were no longer consummated using the official exchange rate.
Emefiele noted that transactions are rather benchmarked against the NAFEX rate, reiterating that Nigeria still operates a managed-float exchange rate regime.
Consequently, the value of the naira which had depreciated slightly on Tuesday to N486 to the dollar was down to N493 as at Wednesday and further slid to N495 on speculation of a further devaluation of the naira.
The CBN had earlier this month removed the N380 per dollar exchange rate from its website spurring rumour of a pending devaluation.
At the end of the week, total turnover increased by more than 125 per cent to $1.26 billion, with trades consummated within the N400 and 430 to the dollar band.
In the Forwards market, the rate weakened across the 1-month (-0.1% to N413.71/$), 3-month (-0.3% to N420.39/$), 6-month (-0.3% to N429.40/$) and 1-year (-0.5% N447.56/$) contracts.
Meanwhile the 30-days moving average of foreign reserves dipped slightly by 0.3 per cent to $34.24 billion as at May 27, 2021 despite a 5.1 per cent increase in the price of Brent crude, a position analysts hope to turn around.
The expected turnaround was hinged on expectations that reopening economies and higher travel numbers in the US and Europe would boost fuel demand outweighed concerns about the coronavirus spread in parts of Asia.
At the money market end, rates fell as system liquidity closed at N486.5 billion.-Leadership.
Africa: First Bank Named Second Most Admired Brand in Africa
First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria's premier and leading financial inclusion services provider, has been ranked the Second Most Admired Financial Services Brand in Africa - for the second straight year - at the 2021 Brand Africa 100, Africa's best brands event, held on Africa Day, recently.
Brand Africa is an intergenerational movement inspiring a great Africa through promoting a positive image of Africa, celebrating its diversity and driving its competitiveness. It is a brand-led movement which recognises that in the 21st century, brands are an asset and a vector of image, reputation and competitiveness of nations.
With over 127 years of being woven into the fabric of society, FirstBank has been at the forefront of promoting growth and development in the country, extending its financial services footprints - through its subsidiaries - to over half a dozen countries across three continents.
The bank's international business presence includes FBN Bank (UK) Limited in London and Paris, FBNBank in the Republic of Congo, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Senegal as well as a representative office in Beijing.
Through the years, the bank's leading digital banking services and innovative products like FirstMobile, USSD, Firstmonie Agent amongst many others, have been essential to promoting cashless transactions in today's digital age. FirstBank's digital savviness extends to the social media platforms where it has been ranked by Financial Brand as the number one on Instagram in Nigeria and second globally, based on the highest number of fan base/followers and it's clearly poised to reclaim number one position across all parameters.
Appreciating the recognition on behalf of the bank, the Chief Executive Officer, Dr Adesola Adeduntan, said, "we are grateful to Brand Africa for the back-to-back recognition as the 'Second Most Admired Financial Services Brand in Africa'.
"This is a testament to the impactful role we are playing in promoting socio-economic development in Africa, which includes being at the forefront of bridging the financial inclusion gap as well as our commitment to supporting Small and Medium Enterprises because of the critical role they play in economic growth and development".
He further noted that FirstBank has created a functional ecosystem for SMEs to thrive through various value-adding solutions and value propositions.
Only recently, First Bank of Nigeria Limited was awarded the 2021 "Retail Banking CEO of the Year Nigeria", "Most innovative Retail Banking App Nigeria" and "Best CSR Bank Nigeria" awards by Global Banking and Finance magazine.-Leadership.
Kenya: President Kenyatta Commissions Road, Water Projects in Siaya County
Siaya — President Uhuru Kenyatta has commissioned two key road and water projects in Siaya County.
The President, who arrived in the region Sunday afternoon for a three-day working visit, officially opened the Shs1.6 billion Kodiaga-Wagai-Onyirore/Akala, and Nyangweso-Muhanda road circuit, and the Shs 2.4 billion Siaya-Bondo water supply and sanitation project.
The road network covers a total distance of 38kms, opening up the fish and sugarcane rich region to markets in Kisumu and beyond.
On the other hand, the Siaya Bondo water project, funded by the Government and the African Development Bank (AfDB), raised the volume of fresh water supply to the two towns by rehabilitating and expanding the Sidindi Malanga processing plant.
The project, whose construction began in November 2013 and ended in December 2018, also involved the construction of sewer treatment facilities in Siaya and Bondo towns.
According to Lake Victoria Water Works Development, the water project implementer, the objective was to improve access, availability and sustainability of water supply and wastewater services in the fast-expanding Siaya and Bondo towns.
Further, the water supply project sought to improve the quality of life of the people, catalyze commercial activities, drive economic growth and build resilience against climate change.
Addressing wananchi who turned up to welcome them at Wagayi trading centre in Gem Constituency, President Kenyatta and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga said the fruits of the handshake are manifest throughout the country as peace and harmony continues to prevail while development projects are rolled out.
"All these projects you are seeing us commissioning are as a result of peace and unity, and I wont stop appreciating my brother because of the handshake.
"The fruits of peace is development, the fruits of peace are opportunities and eliminating poverty and lack amongst our people and that's why we are asking you to support BBI," the President said.
The Head of State commended the former PM for being firm and steadfast in his quest to build unity amongst Kenyans saying the handshake was not for the benefit of few individuals but all Kenyans.
"Since the time we said we are going to work together, my brother (Raila Odinga) has been steadfast. We want to continue with this kind of development throughout the country," the President said.
In Yala, thr President said clean water is the basis of good health and pointed out that the project will supply 200,000 households across Siaya County.
"This project will ensure all residents get access to tap water in their homes. When we have water then families will be healthy. Clean water is the foundation of a healthy society," he said.
Former PM Raila Odinga commended President Kenyatta for his resolve to unite Kenyans, and initiate development projects across the country.
"We thank the Government for implementing various projects in this region. Since we did the handshake, this brother of mine (President Uhuru Kenyatta) has stood firm. He has ensured all that we agreed upon, has been done in Lamu, Mombasa, Athi River, Mandera, Busia as we witness ongoing projects. Be it in Mt. Kenya, Rift Valley and lake region, there is development taking place," Mr Odinga said.
The two leaders reiterated that the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) is crucial to laying a firm foundation for peace, unity and tranquillity, which will ensure development, and prosperity for all.
"Together we said we are uniting Kenyans to bring development in our nation and that's why we brought BBI," the former PM said.
Siaya leaders including Deputy Governor Dr James Okumbe, Senator James Orengo and Gem MP Elisha Ochieng Odhiambo commended President Kenyatta and ODM leader Odinga for agreeing to work together to unite Kenyans.
"We are enjoying the fruits of handshake. As the people of Gem we want to thank you for staying on the course of development of the people of Kenya," Odhiambo said.
Present during the tour were the Cabinet Secretaries James Macharia (Transport), Sicily Kariuki (Water), and George Magoha (Education) among other senior Government officials.-Capital FM.
Nigeria: Kuda Commences $37m Financing Deal
The recently announced $37 million Series A financing round by Kuda, the Africa-focused challenger bank, has given early investors an ideal opportunity to exit their investment via a secondary sale.
One investor, SM River, the consortium consisting of Raj Kulasingam, Haresh Aswani, Vishal Agarwal and Alwin Magimay which acted as lead investor of Kuda's $1.6 million pre-seed round took the opportunity created by the secondary sale to realise a material return on their early investment.
SM River was the largest investor in Kuda's pre-seed round and its stake was bought by Kuda's existing investors.
Founder & Chief Executive Officer Kuda bank, Mr. Babs Ogundeyi, in a statement made available to THISDAY explained: "It was important to give Kuda's earliest investors an exit opportunity, and we are delighted that we have been able to repay their early backing of the company with a material return on their investment.
"We are particularly grateful for the foresight shown by SM River in recognising the potential in Kuda during the company's earliest days.
"They have been incredible investors and have provided Kuda with so much value beyond money by leveraging their knowledge, reputations and networks to help Kuda scale and grow.
"We would like to thank the consortium for their early participation and contribution towards Kuda's success. In realising their investment in Kuda, SM River will relinquish their seat on the company's Board."
Speaking about the exit, Kulasingam on behalf of SM River Consortium said: "When we met Babs and Musty, we saw the huge opportunity for their vision of the creation of Nigeria's first digital bank and backed them to take advantage of this opportunity. "It's been an incredible journey of growth and scale and we commend the Kuda team for getting the company to where it is in such a short space of time. "As angel investors, who focus on early-stage investments, it's now time to recycle our capital, find the next Kuda and hand over the baton to institutional VCs to guide the founders to further scale and grow.
"We will continue to watch with pride as Kuda delivers financial innovation to Africa and the world."-This Day.
Intel reiterates chip supply shortages could last several years
Intel Corp's (INTC.O) CEO said on Monday it could take several years for a global shortage of semiconductors to be resolved, a problem that has shuttered some auto production lines and is also being felt in other areas, including consumer electronics.
Pat Gelsinger told a virtual session of the Computex trade show in Taipei that the work-and-study-from-home trend during the COVID-19 pandemic had led to a "cycle of explosive growth in semiconductors" that has placed huge strain on global supply chains.
"But while the industry has taken steps to address near term constraints it could still take a couple of years for the ecosystem to address shortages of foundry capacity, substrates and components."
Gelsinger had told The Washington Post in an interview in mid-April the shortage was going to take "a couple of years" to abate, and that it planned to start producing chips within six to nine months to address shortages at U.S. car plants. read more
Intel announced a $20 billion plan in March to expand its advanced chip manufacturing capacity, building two factories in Arizona and opening its plants to outside customers. read more
"We plan to expand to other locations in the U.S. and Europe, ensuring a sustainable and secure semiconductor supply chain for the world," Gelsinger said, without elaborating.
Intel's plans could directly challenge the two other companies in the world that can make the most advanced chips - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) (2330.TW), and South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS).
The two have come to dominate the semiconductor manufacturing business, moving its centre of gravity from the United States, where much of the technology was once invented, to Asia, where more than two-thirds of advanced chips are now manufactured.-The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
EXCLUSIVE U.S. tyre maker Goodyear faces allegations of labour abuse in Malaysia
American tire manufacturer Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co (GT.O) is facing accusations of unpaid wages, unlawful overtime and threats to foreign workers at its Malaysian factory, according to court documents and complaints filed by workers.
In interviews with Reuters, six current and former foreign workers, and officials with Malaysia's labour department, say Goodyear made wrongful salary deductions, required excessive hours and denied workers full access to their passports.
The department confirmed it had fined Goodyear in 2020 for overworking and underpaying foreign employees. One former worker said the company illegally kept his passport, showing Reuters an acknowledgement letter he signed in January 2020 upon getting it back eight years after he started working at Goodyear.
The allegations, which Reuters is the first to report, initially surfaced when 185 foreign workers filed three complaints against Goodyear Malaysia in the country's industrial court, two in 2019 and one in 2020, over non-compliance with a collective labour agreement. The workers alleged the company was not giving them shift allowances, annual bonuses and pay increases even though these benefits were available to the local staff, who are represented by a labour union.
The court ruled in favour of the foreign workers in two of the cases last year, saying they were entitled to the same rights as Malaysian employees, according to copies of the judgement published on the court's website. Goodyear was ordered to pay back wages and comply with the collective agreement, according to the judgement and the workers' lawyer.
About 150 worker payslips, which the lawyer said were submitted to the court as evidence of unpaid wages and reviewed by Reuters, showed some migrants working as many as 229 hours a month in overtime, exceeding the Malaysian limit of 104 hours.
The foreign workers are claiming about 5 million ringgit ($1.21 million) in unpaid wages, said their lawyer, Chandra Segaran Rajandran. The workers are from Nepal, Myanmar and India.
"They are put in a situation where they are being denied their full rights as what is provided for (by law)," he said, adding that it amounted to "discrimination".
Goodyear, one of the world's largest tire makers, has challenged both verdicts at the high court. The appeal decision is expected on July 26. The verdict for the third case, over the same issues, is due in the coming weeks.
Goodyear declined to comment on any of the allegations, citing the court process. According to the court ruling last year, Goodyear Malaysia argued that foreign workers are not entitled to the benefits of the collective agreement because they are not union members.
According to the ruling, a union representative testified that foreign workers are eligible to join and are entitled to the benefits in the collective agreement even if they are not members. The court agreed that the foreign workers' job scope entitled them to those benefits.
Goodyear told Reuters it has strong policies and practices relating to and protecting human rights.
"We take seriously any allegations of improper behaviour relating to our associates, operations and supply chain," a representative said in an email.
The union - the National Union of Employees in Companies Manufacturing Rubber Products - did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment on the workers' complaints.
Goodyear's Malaysia operation is jointly owned by the country's largest fund manager, Permodalan Nasional Berhad, which directed queries to Goodyear.
FINES AND VIOLATIONS
Workers said they faced intimidation from Goodyear after they filed the lawsuits. Goodyear declined to comment.
"The company had different rules for different sets of workers," said Sharan Kumar Rai, who filed one of the lawsuits and worked at Goodyear in Malaysia from 2012 until last year.
The foreign workers filed the first two lawsuits in July 2019. Soon afterward, Goodyear asked some to sign letters, without their lawyer’s knowledge, that they would withdraw from the legal action, according to their lawyer, police complaints filed in October 2019 and a copy of the letter seen by Reuters. Reporting a complaint to police does not always result in criminal charges but can trigger an investigation.
Industrial court chairman Anna Ng Fui Choo said in her ruling that the letter "was an act of unfair labour practice".
Malaysia's labour department told Reuters it had investigated and charged Goodyear in 2020 over nine violations of labour laws, unrelated to the lawsuits, regarding excessive hours and wrongful salary deductions. It fined Goodyear 41,500 ringgit ($10,050), it said.
Malaysia has in recent years faced accusations from its own Human Resources Ministry and authorities in the United States of labour abuse at its factories, which rely on millions of migrant workers to manufacture everything from palm oil to medical gloves and iPhone components.
($1 = 4.1255 ringgit)-The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Asia shares look to extend rally before U.S. jobs test
Asian shares were trying to extend their recent rally to a third week on Monday in the hope critical U.S. jobs figures show the expected revival in hiring in May and keep the global economic recovery on track.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) added 0.4%, having rallied 2.2% last week. Japan's Nikkei (.N225) fell 1.1%, while Australia (.AXJO) touched a fresh all-time peak.
Chinese blue chips (.CSI300) slipped 0.4%, as surveys showed a slight slowdown in factory activity but a pick-up in the giant service sector. read more
"It feels like a market looking for direction in the face of uncertainty around the interplay between much-feared inflation and much hoped-for growth recovery," says Patrik Schowitz, global multi-asset strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management.
"In this environment, while we continue to reduce risk exposure, we stay long given just how strong growth is likely to stay, as well as the remaining upside to economic and earnings growth expectations."
Markets in the United States and Britain are closed for a holiday, but futures were still trading in Asia with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 both ahead by 0.1%. EUROSTOXX 50 futures eased 0.2%.
The main event of the week will be U.S. payrolls on Friday with median forecasts at 650,000 but the outcome is uncertain following April's shockingly weak 266,000 gain.
That April figure was close to 750,000 lower than forecasts, the largest "miss" in the history of the series.
NatWest Market economist Kevin Cummins noted that even with a rise of around 550,000 total payrolls would still be 7.7 million below the February 2020 level.
"The labour market would still be considered a long way from being recovered," he added. "In our opinion, the data are unlikely to convince Fed Chair Powell that progress has been substantial enough just yet to start signalling tapering."
The Federal Reserve next meets on June 16 and this week will be the last chance for members to talk on policy before the blackout period starts on June 5.
So far, investors have taken the Fed at its word that the labour market needs to improve a lot more before it talks of tapering. That helped yields on U.S. 10-year notes ease to 1.58% even as data on core inflation topped forecasts.
TWIN DEFICITS
The economic outperformance of the United States has a downside in that it has sharply widened the country's trade deficit and added to its need for foreign funding for an already huge budget shortfall.
"The U.S. economy will face a period of high fiscal deficits and rising debt levels for the foreseeable future, ensuring that 'twin deficit' risk for the USD will remain a feature of the market landscape for years to come," said Ray Attrill, head of FX strategy at NAB.
The dollar index stood at 89.983 , near a five-month low. The euro was steady at $1.2197 , just off a four-month high of $1.2266 hit last week.
The dollar has fared better on the Japanese yen as investors borrow the currency at super-low rates to buy higher-yielding assets. The dollar was last at 109.70 yen after touching a two-month top of 110.19 last week.
China's yuan hit a fresh three-year high after recently breaching the psychologically important 6.4 per dollar level.
Concerns about global inflation and extreme volatility in cryptocurrencies has been a boon for gold which was holding at $1,906 , after hitting a four-month high at $1,1912 last week.
Oil prices were firm after gaining more than 5% last week to reach two-year closing highs as expectations of a rebound in global demand outweighed concerns about more supply from Iran once sanctions are lifted.
All eyes will be on OPEC this week as it reviews its supply agreement, and any hint of an increase in output could pressure prices.
Brent added 38 cents to $69.10 a barrel, while U.S. crude rose 39 cents to $66.71.- The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
U.S. records show Iran oil cargo landed one month after ship seizure
A cargo of 1.033 million barrels of Iranian crude oil landed on U.S. shores in March, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed, the second shipment of Iranian oil to be imported into the United States since 1991.
The cargo was registered in EIA data released late last week for the month following the seizure by U.S. authorities of the Liberian-flagged tanker Achilleas, which was transporting Iranian crude.
The EIA gave no other details on the Iranian cargo, and the agency could not be reached for comment outside of U.S. office hours. Monday is a holiday in the United States.
The United States last recorded Iranian crude and petroleum imports of 3,000 barrels per day for October 2020, EIA data showed, also oil Washington had seized under its sanctions programme.
Refinitiv Eikon shipping data showed that the Achilleas discharged its cargo at the U.S. Gulf port of Galveston in March.
The seizure was in line with tough economic sanctions imposed by Washington on Tehran over its nuclear programme and the U.S. designation of a number of Iranian groups as terrorist organisations, continuing decades of rancour between the two nations. Iran rejects U.S. accusations of wrongdoing.
Iran has been in talks with world powers since April, working on steps that Tehran and Washington must take on sanctions and nuclear activities to return to full compliance with the 2015 nuclear pact.-The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Bitcoin falls 5.2% to $33,849, Ether down 6.3%
A representation of virtual currency Bitcoin is seen in front of a stock graph in this illustration taken January 8, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo
Bitcoin dipped 5.16% to $33,849.47 at 18:00 GMT on Saturday, losing $1,842.99 from its previous close.
Ether , the coin linked to the ethereum blockchain network, dropped 6.26% to $2,262.06 on Saturday, losing $151.11 from its previous close.
Bitcoin, the world's biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, is down 47.8% from the year's high of $64,895.22 on April 14.
It has been less volatile in the past week but losses this month have been heavy at 38%, driven by growing regulatory pressures on the sector. It is trading at levels last seen in January and at roughly half its peak value.-The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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INVESTORS DIARY 2021
Company
Event
Venue
Date & Time
Companies under Cautionary
ART
PPC
Dairibord
Starafrica
Fidelity
Turnall
Medtech
Zimre
Nampak Zimbabwe
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