Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 04 November 2021

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 04 November 2021

 


 

 


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

 


 

 


ü  India cuts fuel taxes as prices hit record highs

ü  US central bank is reducing its bond-buying programme

ü  Ikea to raise prices as supply chain problems bite

ü  Taliban bans foreign currencies in Afghanistan

ü  State pension payments still delayed for thousands

ü  UK firms forced to show how they will hit net zero

ü  Tanzania: New Forum to Boost Proper Internet Use Among Youth

ü  Rwanda: Investors Shy Away From 'Risky' Cremation Facilities

ü  Nigeria: World Bank Urges Govt to Initiate Bilateral Migration Policy

ü  SocGen beats estimates in Q3, raises 2021 provision outlook

ü  EBRD sees Russian economy growing 3% in 2022, notes sanctions risk

ü  Japanese shippers reap quarterly profit bonanza amid supply chain chaos

ü  Evonik Q3 core profit broadly in-line on increased demand, higher pricing

ü  S.Africa's MTN plans to offload shares in Nigeria business via public offer

ü  Google to allow third party app payments in S.Korea

ü  Toyota lifts annual profit outlook on a weaker yen

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

India cuts fuel taxes as prices hit record highs

India has cut the taxes paid by consumers on petrol and diesel after the surging cost of crude oil pushed fuel prices to record highs.

 

The move is aimed to ease price rises and "further spur the overall economic cycle", the government said.

 

Global commodity prices have soared this year as economies around the world recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

 

The announcement was made ahead of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.

 

India's excise duty on petrol has been reduced by 5 rupees (£0.049; $0.0671) per litre, and by 10 rupees on diesel.

 

"The reduction in excise duty on petrol and diesel will also boost consumption and keep inflation low, thus helping the poor and middle classes," the government statement said.

 

The announcement came on the eve of the Hindu festival of Diwali, which sees the start of a busy festive season in India, typically marked by increased consumer spending.

 

The tax cut is also likely to help ease the pressure on manufacturers and farmers, who have seen their overheads pushed up by rising fuel costs.

 

Global oil prices have jumped this year, which has hit India hard as it typically imports around 85% of the oil it consumes. This has helped push up petrol and diesel prices to record levels.

 

Reducing diesel prices has been one of the key demands from the country's farmers, who for more than a year have held a series of major protests.

 

The government statement said that cutting the tax on diesel "will come as a boost to the farmers during the upcoming Rabi season".

 

Rabi crops - such as wheat, barley and mustard - are typically sown after the monsoon season in mid-November.

 

However, the tax cuts are also expected to boost the demand for petrol and diesel even as global leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have been gathering for the COP26. climate change conference to tackle the global economy's reliance on fossil fuels.-BBC

 

 

US central bank is reducing its bond-buying programme

The Federal Reserve has outlined plans to withdraw the billions of dollars it has been pumping into the economy during the pandemic.

 

Since the start of the Covid crisis, the US central bank has been buying $120bn worth of bonds every month to help keep borrowing costs low.

 

Fed chair Jerome Powell said he expected economic growth to strengthen over the rest of the year.

 

However he said the Fed "can be patient" about raising interest rates.

 

The Fed's purchases of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities would be scaled back by $15bn this month, Mr Powell said following a two-day meeting of the committee which sets Fed policy.

 

The US economy has rebounded as the vaccine roll-out has allowed shops, restaurants, schools and workplaces to reopen.

 

But supply chain difficulties and staff shortages have meant that businesses are struggling to meet the growing demand, and prices have been rising at their highest rate for thirty years.

 

Mr Powell said there had been "sizeable price increases in some sectors" with inflation at 4.4% in September running "well above" the Fed's 2% goal.

 

The usual response to rising inflation would be a rise in interest rates, to dampen down demand.

 

However Mr Powell repeated his view that prices rises were temporary, saying that while he expected higher inflation to persist "well into next year", he thought it would come down by the second or third quarter.

 

Since the worst of the pandemic has eased US shoppers have been spending more, including savings built up during lockdowns. But many firms are still struggling to hire the staff they need, goods have been stuck in ports, and a shortage of haulage drivers has slowed deliveries. Some components such as computer chips have been in short supply.

 

As a result Americans are paying more for food, building materials, used cars, household products and furniture.

 

Richard Flynn, UK Managing Director at Charles Schwab, said the shift in tone from the Federal Reserve would reassure markets that the Fed will keep inflation under control.

 

"The Fed will hope that phasing-out its stimulus programme puts downward pressure on demand, encouraging supply to catch up.

 

However he said neither tapering the stimulus or raising interest rates were likely to make any difference to supply chain bottlenecks.

 

Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Global Investors, agreed saying: "Supply chain bottlenecks are not in the Fed's control, and so inflation is not entirely in the Fed's control.

 

"Yet, inflation will be elevated for longer, inflation expectations are creeping higher, and the deficit in employment is down to labour supply - not labour demand - and so there are limits to what the Fed can realistically achieve by keeping policy rates unchanged for so long."

 

The financial markets remained focused strongly on the question of when interest rates would rise, she added.

 

The Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) which sets monetary policy said it expected to continue to adjust the support provided to the bond market at the same rate each month, suggesting it will have withdrawn support fully by June 2022.

 

Any rise in interest rates would not come until after the tapering of support was complete, Mr Powell has said.

 

However he said the timetable for reducing support would adapt to the economic circumstances.

 

Gurpreet Gill, macrostrategist at Goldman Sachs said the policy to begin tapering support had been expected but said the range of outcomes remained wide.

 

"Large surprises on the path of the pandemic, inflation, expectations for inflation, or wage growth could prompt a changed taper pace and impact the rate outlook," she said.

 

Mr Powell is waiting hear whether President Biden will nominate him for another term as chair of the Federal Reserve. Some on the left of the Democratic Party have called for him to be replaced.-BBC

 

 

Ikea to raise prices as supply chain problems bite

Ikea is to raise prices as the disruption to global supply chains is expected to last into next year.

 

On Wednesday, Ikea reported a drop in full-year profit due to higher transport and raw material costs.

 

In the coming year it will pass some of these costs on to its outlets, which will be free to then charge customers more, the Reuters news agency reported.

 

Businesses have been struggling with supply chain problems as economies recover from the Covid pandemic.

 

The Swedish furniture giant saw record demand during the pandemic as people spent more time at home.

 

However, pre-tax profit at Ikea Group, which makes most of its money selling goods to its franchisees, fell 16% in the year to September to €1.7bn (£1.4bn).

 

Compared with 2019, before the pandemic, profit was down 4%.

 

The biggest hit to its income came from "the steep increase in transport and raw material prices in the second half of the financial year," it said.

 

"Keeping Ikea stores and warehouses stocked has been a challenge. Supply chain disruptions led to a substantial drop in the availability of products that we have yet to recover from. We expect this will continue far into [Ikea's 2022 fiscal year]," it added.

 

Chief Financial Officer, Martin van Dam, said that the effects of the global supply chain crisis and high energy prices could last for some time, saying he expected 2022 to be "a more difficult year with more challenges".

 

Ikea didn't hike its product prices to retailers in the year to September but indicated it would pass on some of the higher raw material and transport costs to store owners this fiscal year.

 

"Though we can't continue to secure fixed prices to the retailers under these challenging conditions, we also plan to absorb part of the increased costs during FY22," it said.

 

Mr Van Dam said store owners would have some freedom to decide whether, or to what extent, they would pass on higher prices to shoppers.

 

The Ikea announcement comes after chief executive Jesper Brodin said in mid-October that congestion at ports had led to supply problems.

 

"We need to live with disturbances for the year to come," he said.

 

Ikea has been forced to buy additional shipping capacity to address product shortages.-BBC

 

 

Taliban bans foreign currencies in Afghanistan

The Taliban has banned the use of foreign currencies in Afghanistan, a move that could further disrupt an economy on the brink of collapse.

 

"The economic situation and national interests in the country require that all Afghans use Afghani currency in their every trade," the Taliban said.

 

The economy is struggling due to the withdrawal of international financial support after the Taliban took control.

 

The US dollar has been used widely in Afghanistan's markets.

 

Dollars are also often used for trade in areas bordering Afghanistan's neighbours such as Pakistan.

 

"The Islamic Emirate instructs all citizens, shopkeepers, traders, businessmen and the general public to henceforth conduct all transactions in Afghanis and strictly refrain from using foreign currency," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement posted online.

 

"Anyone violating this order will face legal action," the statement said.

 

Assets frozen, funds stopped

After the Taliban seized control of the country in August, billions of dollars of Afghanistan's overseas assets were frozen by the US Federal Reserve and central banks in Europe.

 

"We believe that it's essential that we maintain our sanctions against the Taliban but at the same time find ways for legitimate humanitarian assistance to get to the Afghan people. That's exactly what we're doing," Deputy United States Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told the US Senate Banking Committee last month.

 

The Taliban has called for the release of Afghanistan's assets that are being held overseas as the nation faces a severe cash crunch.

 

Afghanistan has also been hit by the exodus of foreign aid. Grants from overseas previously financed three quarters of its public spending.

 

Earlier this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Afghanistan will no longer be able to access its resources, while the World Bank also halted funding for projects in the country.

 

Last month, the IMF warned that the country's economy could shrink by 30% this year, pushing millions into poverty and causing a humanitarian crisis.

 

The fund also said that Afghanistan's economic woes could fuel a refugee crisis impacting neighbouring countries, Turkey and Europe.

 

The country is also suffering from a severe drought, which has ruined much of its wheat crop and sent prices soaring.

 

The United Nations World Food Programme has warned that millions of Afghans could face starvation due to a combination of the drought, conflict and Covid-19.

 

However, although Western powers have said that they want to avoid a humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan, they have refused to officially recognise the Taliban government.-BBC

 

 

State pension payments still delayed for thousands

Thousands of newly-retired people are still yet to receive their first state pension payments after a deadline for backlogs in payments to be cleared.

 

Most delayed pensions to people who have just turned 66 are now being paid following a catch-up exercise by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

 

But applications have yet to be processed for 4,900 people from whom the DWP has asked for extra details.

 

The pandemic and staffing issues were blamed for problems over the summer.

 

Many thousands of people did not receive their state pension entitlement on time, owing to the administration issues at the DWP.

 

Some told the BBC of their distress, financial strain, and frustration at the problems.

 

Pensions minister Guy Opperman told MPs earlier this year that hundreds of department staff were being redeployed to deal with the backlog in state pension payments.

 

He promised them that the system would be back to normal by the end of October.

 

Now, the DWP has said that there were still 4,900 pension claims which had required officials to contact customers, and more information was required before processing would be completed.

 

"We are sorry that some new customers have faced delays receiving their state pension," said a DWP spokesman.

 

"We have now issued all outstanding payments and are in contact with those customers where more information is required in order to complete processing."-BBC

 

 

UK firms forced to show how they will hit net zero

Most big UK firms and financial institutions will be forced to show how they intend to hit climate change targets, under proposed Treasury rules.

 

By 2023, they will have to set out detailed public plans for how they will move to a low-carbon future - in line with the UK's 2050 net-zero target.

 

An expert panel will set the standards the plans need to meet to ensure they are not just spin.

 

Any commitments will not be mandatory. Green groups say this is not enough.

 

Net zero is when a business or a country achieves an overall balance between the amount of carbon it is emitting and the carbon that it's removing from the atmosphere.

 

Check out more of the BBC's business stories from the COP26 summit

Firms and their shareholders will be left to decide how their businesses adapt to this transition, including how they intend to decarbonise.

 

And although the plans will need to be published, the government said "the aim is to increase transparency and accountability" and the UK was not "making firm-level net-zero commitments mandatory".

 

The market will decide whether firms' plans are credible, the Treasury said.

 

Speaking at the COP26 climate summit, Chancellor Rishi Sunak claimed the UK was leading the world in becoming the "first-ever net zero aligned global financial centre".

 

He said the changes would mean: "Better and more consistent climate data; sovereign green bonds; mandatory sustainability disclosures; proper climate risk surveillance; and proper global reporting standards."

 

In total, 450 firms controlling 40% of global financial assets - equivalent to $130tn (£95tn) - have agreed to commit to limit global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

 

What does net zero mean?

Green investing: How your savings can fight climate change

'Not fast enough'

However, campaign group Global Witness said that without regulation the pledges were "doomed to fail".

 

"Banks and financiers are the lifeblood of the fossil fuel companies and destructive agribusinesses fuelling the climate crisis - so it's right that focus should be on them at COP26.

 

"However, today's announcement by banks risks amounting to more greenwashing if it's not legally binding," said Veronica Oakeshott, head of forests policy and advocacy at Global Witness.

 

David Barmes, senior economist at the campaign group Positive Money, said the intention was positive, but that financial firms were still "pouring billions into environmentally harmful projects."

 

Mark Campanale, founder and executive chair of Carbon Tracker Initiative, praised the ambition of the plans, but said details of how it would work were still unclear.

 

"None of the financial assets announced are currently aligned with net-zero and no group of companies can say they are meeting the Paris target by continuing to invest in fossil fuels, so that needs to change considerably before London can be lauded as the world's first net-zero financial centre and a model for the world," he said.

 

Shaun Spiers, executive director of environmental think tank Green Alliance, said that more UK public sector funding was needed.

 

"Private sector investment is vital, but it will be much easier to achieve on the back of serious investment by the chancellor," he said.

 

However, a coalition of finance groups led by former Bank of England governor Mark Carney said there was enough finance committed to keep global warming to 1.5C.

 

The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) said more than $130trn (£95trn) of private capital "is now committed to transforming the economy for net zero".

 

In practice, this means that bank loans which would go to an oil field, or a coal mine, are diverted to renewable energy or to a mortgage product that subsidises highly efficient homes.

 

Bank bosses will also be expected to have tough conversations with their customers who want to build coal power stations, pulling funding in advanced nations now, and developing countries beyond the next decade.

 

Under the proposed Treasury rules, financial institutions and companies with shares listed on the London Stock Exchange must come up with net-zero transition plans, which will be published from 2023.

 

The strategies will need to include targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and steps which firms intend to take to get there.

 

A taskforce made up of industry leaders, academics, regulators and civil society groups will set a science-based "gold standard" for the plans in order to guard against so-called "greenwashing" - where environmental initiatives are more about marketing than substance.

 

However, the government said there was "not yet a commonly agreed standard for what a good quality transition plan looks like".

 

Meanwhile, Mr Sunak also pledged that a target for developed countries to send $100bn (£720m) a year to those that are less developed - to help support their transition to net zero - will be achieved by 2023.-BBC

 

 

Tanzania: New Forum to Boost Proper Internet Use Among Youth

INTERNET Society Tanzania Chapter (ISOC-Tanzania) has initiated a forum through which youth could earn skills and awareness over internet governance matters.

 

Dubbed the Tanzania Youth Internet Governance Forum (TzYIGF), it is expected to help the younger generation avoid any acts that could abuse the use of the internet.

 

According to Mr Nazar Kirama, president of the ISOC-Tanzania said members of the forum will be young people from all walks of life, including higher learning institutions.

 

Mr Kirama noted that they have facilitated the youth within the ISOC Tanzania to form their forum under which they would participate in the Tanzania Internet Governance Forum (TzIGF) to take place on Friday this week and the global Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2021 to be held in Poland in Katowice from 6-10 December.

The TzIGF is a multi-stakeholder platform for public policy dialogue on internet governance. It involves stakeholders from the Civil Society, government, technical community, the academia and the Private Sector on the bottom-up agenda planning and consultations to arrive at topics, presentations, themes and sessions to be presented during the forum.

 

TzIGF is also part of the United Nations' Internet Governance Forum ecosystem known as National and Regional Initiatives (NRIs).

 

The ecosystem is interdependent, where internet governance national issues are fed into sub-regional, regional and finally to the United Nations' Internet Governance Forum (UN IGF).

 

This is done to facilitate a healthy national, regional and global debate on key issues that shape the evolution of the Internet and how it is governed, said the organizers.

 

Secretary of the TzYIGF, Evelyn Rujuguru, said the forum would be helpful to the youth since the world has now gone digital whereby almost everything is done online.

 

"When the youth are informed about what is available online, they may properly use the internet, including using it as an employment," said Evelyn who is also a third-year student of Computer Engineering and Information Technology at University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM).

 

She argued that the Covid-19 pandemic has offered a lesson over why it was important to have internet skills since several businesses shifted to online platforms.

 

She further said through the TzYIGF the youth would have the opportunity to contribute their views for consideration in decision making over internet uses in the country.

 

On his part, Albert Misilimbo, a third-year student of Telecommunication Engineering and member of TzYIGF, argued that the forum would spread awareness over positive things available on the internet.-Daily News.

 

 

Rwanda: Investors Shy Away From 'Risky' Cremation Facilities

The Ministry of Local Government has attributed the absence of cremation facilities to the lack of investor appetite for such ventures.

 

This is due to the fact that there is no demand for such facilities among Rwandans, thus raising their risk profile.

 

"There were talks with potential investors, and they expressed fears that those facilities were not a viable investment option," Jean Marie Vianney Gatabazi, Minister of Local Government, told lawmakers on Tuesday.

 

He was responding to the questions about cemeteries and other burial facilities.

Members of Parliament had summoned the minister to seek clarification over why, after eight years since the law determining the organisation and use of cemeteries was enacted, cremation and burial of ash facilities remain scarce.

 

Article 31 of the law provides that the District Council may identify one or several sites for incineration of dead bodies only.

 

Such a decision may specify whether the cremation of dead bodies shall be carried out only at such sites for the entire district or for its part.

 

The law stipulates in article 28 that cremation is one of the accepted inhumation ways in Rwanda.

 

For a body to be cremated, it is required an authorisation issued by the Executive Secretary of the Sector or, in his/her absence, by his/her deputy. The authorisation shall be requested by the person responsible for the burial of the deceased, and indicate modalities, time and place to conduct the cremation.

The request for authorisation shall be accompanied by a certificate issued by a recognised medical doctor indicating the cause of the death.

 

However, article 29 of the same law provides that in the case of suspicion that the deceased was the victim of a crime, authorisation to cremate the body shall not be granted unless an autopsy is carried out.

 

Gatabazi said Rwandans have not yet been set up because people have not yet adopted cremation as a way of burial.

 

"Ordinary people assume that the incineration of bodies is done by burning firewood or charcoal... yet it is done through a technology that requires a large investment," he said.

 

Saving land and cost?

 

MP Eugene Mussolini said that body cremation was cheaper and in line with efficient use of land.

 

The demand for land is rising in order to pave way for infrastructure projects such classrooms, roads, and hospitals and human settlement, he said.

 

Therefore, he added, there's need for an urgent shift in the way people are buried.

 

"Considering Kigali, if Rusororo cemetery is full, which might happen soon, the Government will be required to spend about Rwf1 billion to buy another plot of land [for cemetery]. Yet, an incinerator can cost around Rwf100 million," he said.

 

MP Elisabeth Mukamana said that the increasing population and land use required other means for burying such as through cremation.

 

Mukamana suggested that a study should be carried out to gather information from Rwandans on how they perceive cremation and to comprehensively identify the challenges and how to address them based on evidence.

 

Gatabazi said that based on the available information, burial costs could go up to Rwf3 million and Rwf4 million in some cases, pointing to the costly land and funeral service vehicle needed for the burial.

 

He said that there is a need to change the mindset of Rwandans on cremation, pointing out that a person could have the body of their loved one cremated and keep their ash [in a container] at home and give them tribute there.

 

Meanwhile, the Minister said that there are 1,439 cemeteries countrywide.

 

Plans are underway to increase the number of cemeteries in all the 30 districts of the country and to scale up sensitisation so that people embrace burial in cemeteries.

 

Some people still prefer to bury their loved ones in their homes partly because cemeteries are located far from them.-New Times.

 

 

 

Nigeria: World Bank Urges Govt to Initiate Bilateral Migration Policy

The World Bank has urged Nigeria to create a bilateral migration policy that would support legal migration of Nigerians, saying that legal migration would be a boost to remittances as well foster economic growth.

 

Economist at World Bank, Mr. Samik Adhikari, made this call yesterday at the virtual webinar organised by World Bank titled, 'Nigeria: Perspectives on Labour migration and diaspora.'

 

He urged Nigeria to sign bilateral migration agreement with countries who are in need of skills the country possesses in abundance such as the United Kingdom who are in need of nurses, construction partnership with Germany and an ICT partnership with European countries and other global partners.

He said: "Nigeria's working age population as we know is expanding rapidly. If we look at the population pyramid of Nigeria between now and 2015, we know that the working age population is set to expand by 133 million between now and 2050 adding to the existing employment pressure in the economy, whereas high income OECD countries are facing a rapidly aging population."

 

Many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa including Nigeria, remain young and will remain young until 1950. If we look at comparable countries there Nigeria's population growth is the steepest in terms of growth compared to other countries such as Bangladesh, Indonesia, between now and 2015. While the population has expanded rapidly, we also know for a fact that the opportunities in the Nigerian labor market has have dried up."

On recommendations, he said: "So the first one really is on securing more and larger partnerships with destination countries. This is directly relevant to the Sustainable Development Goal, one of the Sustainable Development Goals of you know, opening new channels for safe orderly and regular migration. And you know, along with efforts to curb irregular migration, opening of new channels for safe, orderly and regular migration through bilateral labour agreements (BLA) because this is something Nigeria can benefit from."

 

"The second bucket of recommendation is on providing migrants abroad representation as well as reducing the fees of remittances by increasing competition in the remittance market. "

 

The third bucket of recommendation is on mainstreaming migration in some of the key national policy documents. One there are several policy documents related to labor migration and migration."

 

He noted that the FG has remained a bit silent when it comes to the national development plans or the economic growth and recovery plan ignoring the fact that migration as something that the country can benefit from.

He further added: "It's also necessary to reduce the fragmentation among stakeholders through the existing migration groups. Finally, we highlight that there needs to be better collection and dissemination of migration data.

 

Data in any sector is paramount to policymaking, but especially when it involves cross border collaboration, learning about different profiles migrants and understanding their needs and concerns."

 

He also noted that Nigerians migrating is a modest percentage contrary to the perception that Nigerians are migrating alarmingly.

 

He said: "Nigeria is not a country in exodus mode. And the number of international migrants from Nigeria is actually modest.

 

"The absolute number of Nigerian migrants over the last few decades has increased threefold and stands at about 1.4 million in 2019. However, if we look at the percentage of international migrants from Nigeria as a percent of the population, we see that it is largely constant and hovering around below 1% of the population."

 

On his part, Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki said: "Government needs to have a strategy to support migration and also understand what is going on. Register these people and help provide those services that would aide them."

 

He further urged the FG that policies that would spur growth. he said: "Your monetary and exchange rate policies do not support growth and except you accept an overhaul that you're not going to find space and you are not going to have the economy, growing and opportunities being created."

 

On his part, the Country Director World Bank, Nigeria Mr. Shubham Chaudhuri, added that the bank would continue to partner with Nigeria to finance initiatives that would spur growth.

 

He said: "We would continue to provide large scale financing that goes through government channels. We are here to help work with all government partners at the sub national as well as at the federal level on thinking through what are the most promising avenue to support beyond financing."

 

"We are here as partners supporters, choices are Nigeria's sources and right now, Nigeria is at a critical point where the choices it makes within the next year or even the next few months are going to determine the next few decades," he added.-This Day.

 

 

SocGen beats estimates in Q3, raises 2021 provision outlook

(Reuters) - French bank Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) posted on Thursday a better-than-expected third-quarter earnings on higher revenue in its corporate and investment banking business and lower pandemic-related provisions for bad loans.

 

France's third-largest listed lender, after BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) and Credit Agricole SA (CAGR.PA), said its net income has nearly doubled in the reported quarter to 1.6 billion euros ($1.85 billion) from 862 million euros a year ago, beating mean forecast for 952 million euros in a poll of analysts compiled by Refinitiv.

 

The lender also raised its 2021 outlook for provisions. It now expects cost of risk - that reflects the level of provisioning against bad loans - not to exceed 20 basis points this year against a previous forecast of a cost of risk between 20 and 25 basis point.

 

SocGen said in a statement it was launching a share buyback programme of around 470 million euros.

 

Chief Financial Officer William Kadouch-Chassaing will leave the bank by this month-end and will be replaced by current deputy financial chief Claire Dumas from Dec. 1, the lender confirmed in a separate statement.

 

($1 = 0.8633 euros)

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

EBRD sees Russian economy growing 3% in 2022, notes sanctions risk

(Reuters) - The Russian economy will grow 3.0% in 2022 after expanding 4.3% this year, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said on Thursday, pointing to geopolitical risks that could cloud the economic outlook.

 

The Russian economy has already recovered to pre-pandemic levels after its sharpest contraction in 11 years of 3% in 2020. But it may now face headwinds from a possible drop in prices for oil, its main export, and numerous interest rate hikes.

 

In a report on regional economic prospects, EBRD said the Russian economy is boosted by social spending programmes that are facilitated by higher commodity revenues. But forecasts are subject to a number of risks.

 

It pointed at "geopolitical tensions, notably the risk of further sanctions, and volatility in oil and gas prices and demand."

 

EBRD's forecasts are in line with those of the Russian central bank that expects gross domestic product to grow by 4.0-4.5% in 2021 and by 2.0-3.0% a year in 2022-2024.

 

EBRD provided the following forecasts for Russia and other countries:

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

Japanese shippers reap quarterly profit bonanza amid supply chain chaos

(Reuters) - Nippon Yusen (9101.T) and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (9107.T), Japan's biggest and third-biggest shipping companies by sales, reported record quarterly profits on Thursday as they benefited from higher freight rates amid the chaos hitting global supply chains.

 

The chaos in the world's trade system, which threatens to derail a recovery from the worst health crisis in a century, has provided a bonanza to such companies as freight rates (.BADI) soared to the highest since 2008s.

 

"Port and inland congestion did not improve due to a shortage

 

of drivers for inland haulage," Nippon Yusen said in comments on the results for the three months through Sept. 30.

 

Quarterly profit came to 260 billion yen, more than 25 times last year's amount, according to calculations by Reuters from the company's first fiscal half earnings announced on Thursday.

 

That is the highest quarterly profit for the company, according to Refinitiv Eikon data going back to December 2002.

 

Kawasaki Kisen's second-quarter profit increased nearly 14-fold to 144 billion yen from a year earlier, based on calculations from its first-half results, also released on Thursday. That was the most since at least June 2003.

 

This week, Maersk, which handles one in five containers shipped worldwide, said quarterly profit tripled to almost $7 billion and warned that port delays would stretch into the new year. read more

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

Evonik Q3 core profit broadly in-line on increased demand, higher pricing

(Reuters) - German chemicals group Evonik Industries (EVKn.DE) on Thursday reported adjusted core profit for the third quarter broadly in-line with analysts' estimates, citing increased demand across all of its divisions and higher pricing.

 

The company, which makes ingredients for products ranging from animal feed and diapers to ingredients for Pfizer/BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine, reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 645 million euros ($747.23 million) in the third quarter, up 24% and slightly above analysts' forecast of 641.1 million euros in a company-provided poll.

 

($1 = 0.8632 euros)

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

S.Africa's MTN plans to offload shares in Nigeria business via public offer

(Reuters) - MTN Group (MTNJ.J) plans to proceed with a public offer to sell up to 575 million shares in its Nigerian business, the South African telecoms operator said on Thursday as it reported a surge in third-quarter revenue and core profit.

 

The company said the offer will open this month with a bookbuild to institutional investors, after which a fixed price will be announced for retail investors.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

Google to allow third party app payments in S.Korea

(Reuters) - Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google said on Thursday it plans to allow third party payment systems in South Korea in order to comply with a new law that bans major app store operators from forcing software developers to use their payments systems.

 

Google's announcement comes after the Korea Communications Commission's (KCC) request for the U.S. tech giant to come up with compliance plans for the new law that went into effect in September. read more

 

In late August, parliament passed an amendment to South Korea's Telecommunications Business Act - dubbed the "anti-Google law" - banning big app store operators, such as Google and Apple Inc (AAPL.O) from forcing developers to use their payment systems, effectively stopping them from charging commissions on in-app purchases.

 

"We respect the decision of the National Assembly, and we are sharing some changes to respond to this new law, including giving developers that sell in-app digital goods and services the option to add an alternative in-app billing system alongside Google Play's billing system for their users in South Korea," Google said in a statement.

 

Google, which charges developers a 15% service fee for distributing apps, said it will reduce this to 11% when users choose an alternative billing system, recognising that developers will incur costs to support their own billing system.

 

It was unclear how beneficial that would be for developers.

 

Google added that alternative billing systems may not offer the same protections or payment options and features of Google Play's billing system.

 

The KCC said Google's plans would be implemented this year and would only apply to South Korea.

 

"We were able to confirm Google's determination to comply with the law, and I hope (Google) will implement this policy change in a way to reflect the legislative purpose of the revised law," said KCC Chairman Han Sang-hyuk.

 

In October, another major app store operator Apple told the South Korean government that it was already in compliance with the new law and did not need to change its app store policy.

 

The KCC said it would ask Apple's South Korean unit for a new policy allowing greater autonomy in payment methods. If Apple failed to comply, it would consider measures such as a fact-finding probe as a precursor to possible fines or other penalties.

 

Apple did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Toyota lifts annual profit outlook on a weaker yen

(Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) reported a better-than-expected 48% rise in second-quarter operating profit and raised its earnings outlook on Thursday as it benefited from a rebound in vehicle demand and a weaker yen.

 

It raised its full-year profit forecast to 2.8 trillion yen ($24.5 billion) from 2.5 trillion yen, but said that without the favourable currency impact, it was "in substance a downward revision due to raw material cost increases".

 

Its operating profit of 750 billion yen for the three months to Sept. 30 was higher than a Refinitiv consensus estimate of 593.3 billion yen.

 

Hit by a global chips shortage, the maker of the RAV4 SUV crossover and Prius hybrid lowered its full-year sales target to 10.29 million vehicles from 10.55 million.

 

It also announced a share buyback of up to 150 billion yen or 0.86% of shares.

 

($1 = 114.1700 yen)

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

 


 


 


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