Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 28 October 2021

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 28 October 2021

 


 

 


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

 


 

 


ü  Theranos: DeVos family 'misled' before investing $100m

ü  Saudi chemical giant to invest nearly £1bn in Teesside plant

ü  Impact of Brexit on economy 'worse than Covid'

ü  Budget 2021: Rishi Sunak lets the taxman take the strain

ü  Wage rises will put 30p on a pint, says pub chain

ü  Starbucks to hike U.S. employee pay to attract workers during labor
crunch

ü  Microsoft nearly overtakes Apple as most valuable company

ü  Setback for Nvidia's $54 bln ARM bid as EU regulators open probe

ü  Ford, GM juggle high prices, supply chain pressure in Tesla's shadow

ü  Samsung says component supply issues to affect chip demand, profit hits
3-year high

ü  EBay revenue outlook disappoints as pandemic-led boom fades

ü  China's Li Ning plans $1.4 bln share sale for international expansion

ü  South Africa: Stage Four Load Shedding Implemented

ü  Namibia: Recon Already Gained From Licence

ü  Namibia: Govt Says SIM Card Registration Will Curb Crime

ü  Kenya Receives Sh16bn Funding From World Bank for Climate Change Action

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

Theranos: DeVos family 'misled' before investing $100m

Former US Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was given false information before
investing $100m (£73m) in the now-defunct healthcare firm Theranos, her
representative has said.

 

The claims were made in testimony at the trial of Theranos founder Elizabeth
Holmes, who is accused of lying to investors and patients about the
company's blood-testing technology.

 

Ms Devos is one of several high profile people allegedly duped by the firm.

 

Ms Holmes, 37, denies the claims.

 

The former Silicon Valley star is charged with 12 counts of fraud and could
face 20 years in jail if found guilty.

 

The Devos family is one of America's richest, and Betsy Devos, a Republican,
served as education secretary under Donald Trump.

 

Lisa Peterson, a representative of the DeVos family's investment office,
told the San Jose court on Tuesday that she had been asked to explore a
potential investment in Theranos in 2014.

 

She said the firm had provided her with detailed information, including that
its tests were used by the US military and big pharmaceutical companies.

 

The firm also allegedly said that its devices could conduct 300 blood tests
before having to be replaced, and that the company did all of its testing on
its own lab machines, not third party equipment.

 

According to the US Attorney's Office, which is prosecuting Ms Holmes, those
claims were false and were deployed to fraudulently raise $700m from
powerful investors.

 

Ms Peterson told the court that the DeVos family had originally intended to
invest $50m in Theranos, but doubled the amount after meeting Ms Holmes, who
convinced them the technology was a "game changer for healthcare".

 

Ms Holmes' defence lawyer, Lance Wade, suggested the DeVos family had not
done proper due diligence, to which Ms Peterson replied: "We didn't think we
needed it."

 

Mr Holmes' trial began in September and is likely to last until December.
The trial so far has also heard:

 

Ms Holmes allegedly faked "independent due diligence reports" from
pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Schering-Plough, which backed the
viability of her technology

Wade Miquelon, the former chief financial officer of pharmacy chain
Walgreens, testified that the company was impressed by this research and
went on to partner with Theranos and invest $140m

Former Safeway boss Steve Burd said his company spent 100 hours doing due
diligence on Theranos before agreeing to a partnership deal in 2010

Sunil Dhawan, who served as Theranos' lab director in 2014-2015, testified
that he had only been to the firm's labs a handful of times and rarely
interacted with its technicians.

Once dubbed the "next Steve Jobs", Ms Holmes rose to fame in 2013 thanks to
technology she claimed could test for multiple diseases using just a few
drops of blood from a finger prick.

 

But in 2015 a whistleblower revealed the tests did not work, and the
billionaire inventor fell from grace.

 

In 2016 she was banned from running a blood testing firm for two years, and
by 2018 Theranos had been dissolved. Ms Holmes and Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani -
her former business partner and boyfriend - were charged with fraud shortly
after that.

 

'She is innocent'

Ms Holmes' lawyers say she did not intend to defraud, but instead "naively
underestimated" the challenges her business faced.

 

They also allege Mr Balwani abused her emotionally and psychologically for
years, impairing her mental state. Mr Balwani denies the allegations.

 

At the start of the trial in September, Mr Wade said: "By the time this
trial is over, you will see that the villain the government just presented
is actually a living, breathing human being who did her very best each and
every day. And she is innocent."-BBC

 

 

 

Saudi chemical giant to invest nearly £1bn in Teesside plant

Saudi Arabian manufacturing and chemicals giant Sabic is to invest almost
£1bn at its Teesside plant.

 

The company, one of the world's largest petrochemical manufacturers, told
Reuters the cash injection was part of its plans to reduce its carbon
footprint by up to 60% initially.

 

Boris Johnson said the investment was a "huge vote of confidence" in the
UK's chemicals industry.

 

The prime minister said the deal would create and safeguard 1,000 jobs.

 

Sabic said the investment would include strengthening operations at Teesside
and making its site "one of the world's lowest carbon-emitting crackers".

 

A cracker is a facility that processes and heats hydrocarbons to make
building blocks for all sorts of products.

 

The company produces chemicals, fertilisers, plastics and metals at its
plant in Wilton, near Redcar, but also has storages and logistics facilities
in North Tees and Teesport.

 

The announcement comes as Britain is set to host the COP26 climate talks in
Glasgow in November.

 

The summit is seen as crucial if climate change is to be brought under
control. For this conference, 200 countries are being asked for their plans
to cut emissions by 2030.=BBC

 

 

 

Impact of Brexit on economy 'worse than Covid'

The impact of Brexit on the UK economy will be worse in the long run
compared to the coronavirus pandemic, the chairman of the Office for Budget
Responsibility has said.

 

Richard Hughes said leaving the EU will reduce the UK's potential GDP by
about 4% in the long term.

 

He said forecasts showed the pandemic would reduce GDP "by a further 2%".

 

"In the long term it is the case that Brexit has a bigger impact than the
pandemic", he told the BBC.

 

His comments come after the OBR said the cost of living could rise at its
fastest rate for 30 years, with suggestions inflation could hit almost 5%.

 

Speaking after Wednesday's Budget, Mr Hughes said recent data showed the
impact of Brexit was "broadly consistent" with the OBR's assumption that the
leaving the EU would "reduce our long run GDP by around 4%".

 

 

"We think that the effect of the pandemic will reduce that (GDP) output by a
further 2%," he added.

 

The Treasury has been contacted for comment.

 

What is GDP and how is it measured?

GDP or Gross Domestic Product is one of the most important ways of showing
how well, or badly, an economy is doing. It is a measure - or an attempt to
measure - all the activity of companies, governments and individuals in an
economy.

 

In a growing economy, quarterly GDP will be slightly higher than the quarter
before, a sign that people are doing more work and getting (on average) a
little bit richer. If GDP is falling, then the economy is shrinking.

 

The UK voted to leave the EU in 2016 and officially left the trading bloc on
31 January 2020, however, both sides agreed to keep many things the same
until 31 December 2020, before a new trade deal was announced and
implemented on 1 January this year.

 

Supply chain problems

Both the pandemic and Brexit have played a part in current supply chain
issues across the UK, and have further exposed the scarcity of lorry
drivers, which has resulted in recent shortages of products for businesses
and some empty shelves for customers.

 

However, in the OBR's latest report, the independent body said "supply
bottlenecks had been exacerbated by changes in the migration and trading
regimes following Brexit".

 

Supply chain issues has led to the government granting short-term visas to
EU workers across certain sectors, including the haulage industry.

 

The British Poultry Council has said turkey farmers will do their best to
ensure Christmas "is as normal as it can be", but warned shortages are
likely, due to a shortage of seasonal overseas workers.

 

The government has assured consumers that turkeys will be available for the
festive season and has also deployed temporary visas in a bid to bolster
worker numbers.=BBC

 

 

 

Budget 2021: Rishi Sunak lets the taxman take the strain

Rishi Sunak might liken himself to a reluctant taxman, but his strategic
decision has been to spend at the same time as keeping borrowing down, so
taxation has taken the hit.

 

There are four big figures that tell the broad story here.

 

A significant spike in inflation to higher than 4%, and set to last a year
or so, partly reflects rising energy and fuel prices.

 

Taxation as a proportion of the economy at 36.2% is at its highest level
since the 1950s Labour Atlee government.

 

Spending as a proportion of the economy, at nearly 42%, is at its highest
sustained level since the 1970s.

 

Those two facts taken together leaves the British state under a Conservative
government permanently bigger as a legacy of the pandemic.

 

But borrowing at the end of the new forecast is even lower than forecast
before the pandemic.

 

And so the big story is that the corporation tax rises from the March
Budget, required to shore up public finances after bad forecasts, have been
kept as they were, even as those bad forecasts have been reversed.

 

There might have been some room to delay those tax rises or extend the
corporation super deduction.

 

Top up

But that extra taxation has been kept to be deployed mainly in terms of
extra spending.

 

That spending has been sprinkled towards some help with cost of living, and
some surgery on the economy to improve skills and long term productivity.

 

Unprotected areas of the public finances forecast for a continuing squeeze
have all been topped up. All will now enjoy rising spending.

 

Image caption,Rishi Sunak has a better economic backdrop than he expected -
but will keep business tax rises despite this

The really good news is that unemployment is now forecast to peak at 5.2%.

 

To be clear, this would have been scarcely believable 18 months ago and is
the best measure of the pandemic economic rescue plan's success.

 

But before the Budget, I raised the question as to whether, after furlough,
the public were becoming used to the idea that the Government should solve
problems such as rising living costs.

 

Despite the chancellor's protestations of his love for low, tax free-market
conservatism, his actions show an attachment to higher tax and spending.

 

With new restraints on the ability to borrow, delivering on lowering this
tax burden will require the economy to grow far more robustly than the
disappointing rates forecast after 2023 of as low as 1.3%.

 

Small wonder that the chancellor was proclaiming a "new era of optimism" for
the economy.

 

To deliver on his promises to reverse tax rises, that isn't just a hope,
it's a necessity.-BBC

 

 

 

Wage rises will put 30p on a pint, says pub chain

The price of a pint of beer will have to rise by as much as 30p to help pay
for higher wages and energy costs, one pub company has warned.

 

As the government prepares to unveil its Budget, City Pub Group said price
rises were "the only way forward".

 

On Monday, the government said the National Living Wage would rise to £9.50
per hour in April for those over 23 years old.

 

Clive Watson, the chain's boss, said this would cost it about £1m a year.

 

Other pub owners echoed Mr Watson's warning, with industry bodies calling
for help for the sector.

 

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, said
that while increases to the minimum wage and the minimum living rate would
be "welcomed" by many staff in pubs, it was a further cost increase for pubs
who were "still struggling to recover and face an uncertain future".

 

 

"It makes beer duty, business rates and VAT cuts in the Budget on Wednesday
all the more important for the viability of our sector," she added.

 

99p pint returns

Wetherspoons however, has announced it will cut drink prices next month on a
range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

 

Becks bottles and whisky measures will be sold for 99p at some branches.
Wetherspoons said prices will be reduced at all of its almost 900 pubs but
the discounts will vary.

 

In October, JD Wetherspoon reported a record annual loss after Covid
lockdowns saw its pubs shut for 19 weeks.

 

The firm was also recently affected by a shortage of some beer brands,
caused by driver shortages due to a combination of Covid and Brexit.

 

Road to recovery

Chancellor Rishi Sunak's latest Budget, to be delivered later, comes as the
pub trade is still recovering from lockdown measures imposed during the
coronavirus pandemic.

 

City Pub Group weathered the financial storm thanks to government
assistance, putting 99% of its staff on furlough during the pandemic.

 

"That's basically kept the industry on life support, but we're coming off
life support now and we need to be able to have a road to recovery," Mr
Watson told the BBC.

 

Last month, the group, which owns 45 pubs, reported that sales had been
above 90% of pre-pandemic levels since Covid restrictions were eased in May.

 

But now it faces further challenges - not just minimum wage rises, but also
higher energy and food costs, as well as employers' national insurance
contributions going up next April.

 

The price of beer "would probably have to go up by 25 to 30p a pint" to take
account of all that, Mr Watson said.

 

"We want to do our bit - it's very important, but at the same time we don't
want everything going up the whole time, because all that will do is stoke
inflation," he added.

 

UK inflation is expected to rise above 4% by the end of this year.

 

While Mr Watson said increases to the minimum wage were a "good idea", he
warned that those increases could be "gobbled up by other inflationary
pressures".

 

He said a more effective measure would be for the government to cut VAT as a
way of reducing the cost of living.

 

The hospitality industry currently benefits from a reduced VAT rate of
12.5%, but that is due to revert to 20% in April.

 

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of the trade group UK Hospitality, said the
VAT tax rise would be "unsustainable" and mean that businesses would have
"no option" but to pass the cost on to customers.

 

"We are facing into considerable headwinds with a bubble of inflationary
pressures coming through the supply chain, as well as wage rate inflation,"
she added.

 

Costs 'inevitably' passed on.

 

Martin Greenhow, managing director at Mojo, a chain of six pubs in the north
of England, said supply chain costs were "certainly putting pressure" on the
business.

 

"If costs go up, prices go up, it's fairly inevitable," he said.

 

All of the 89 staff the firm employs are currently on or above the National
Living Wage.

 

"The coming increase will of course affect everyone, as those above it will
also expect to see a pro-rata increment which will cost the business
thousands," he explained.

 

Mr Greenhow said that these staffing and supply costs would "inevitably be
passed on to the consumer".

 

"Furlough and grants helped us survive, but essentially our survival was
achieved by huge borrowings, which represent another cost to the business
and therefore another inflationary driver."

 

'Something's got to give'

Ian Ridley runs three pubs and the majority of his 50 staff earn the
National Living Wage.

 

"Something's got to give, we cannot absorb these cost pressures," he
explained.

 

Although he has not worked through the cost projections for next year yet,
Mr Ridley estimates the price of a pint could rise by 20p.

 

"When we're trying to encourage customers to come back and we're compete
with supermarkets on booze, higher prices are not going to help us," he told
the BBC.

 

The wage increases will mean an estimated £20,000 of extra costs, in
addition to higher food, transport and brewery bills.

 

Rising energy costs are causing concern and Mr Ridley said the VAT hike in
April and business tax rates were another "huge worry".-BBC

 

 

 

Starbucks to hike U.S. employee pay to attract workers during labor crunch

(Reuters) - With U.S. restaurants nationwide struggling to find enough
waiters and cashiers to serve customers, Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O) on
Wednesday said it will give pay raises to workers in the United States with
at least two years of employment and offer $200 referral bonuses.

 

Workers with at least two years of employment could get up to a 5% raise and
those with at least five years could receive a 10% pay boost in late
January, Starbucks said.

 

Average pay for all U.S. workers will range between $15 and $23 an hour,
averaging nearly $17 an hour, by summer of 2022, the Seattle-based company
said.

 

Many chains are lifting wages to try to attract more workers.

 

Restaurants are struggling to recruit and retain enough labor to keep stores
open at full capacity amid a widespread staffing shortage.

 

McDonald's Corp (MCD.N) reported on Wednesday that some of its locations
have had to close early or seen their service times slow down because of
labor shortages. read more

 

In December, Starbucks raised pay by 10% or more for existing staff and said
it would boost starting pay to at least $15 an hour over the next couple
years.

 

The changes over the last two years will total $1 billion worth of
investments in wages and benefits, it said.

 

Shares of the global coffee chain, which reports quarterly earnings on
Thursday, are up about 7 percent since the start of the year.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Microsoft nearly overtakes Apple as most valuable company

(Reuters) - A surge in Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O) shares nearly unseated
Apple Inc (AAPL.O) as the world's most valuable company on Wednesday, a day
before the iPhone maker reports its quarterly results.

 

Fueled by strong quarterly growth in its Azure cloud-computing business,
Microsoft's shares jumped 4.2% to end at a record $323.17, elevating the
software maker's market capitalization to $2.426 trillion, just short of
Apple's $2.461 trillion valuation, according to Refinitiv data.

 

Apple's shares dipped 0.3% ahead of its report due after the bell on
Thursday, with investors focused on how the global supply-chain crisis is
challenging the company's ability to meet demand for its iPhones.

 

Microsoft's stock has rallied 45% this year, with pandemic-induced demand
for its cloud-based services driving sales. Shares of Apple have climbed 12%
in 2021.

 

Apple's stock market value overtook Microsoft's in 2010 as the iPhone made
it the world's premier consumer technology company. The two companies have
taken turns as Wall Street's most valuable company in recent years, with
Apple holding the title since mid-2020.

 

In its report late on Tuesday, Microsoft forecast a strong end to the
calendar year thanks to its booming cloud business, but it warned that
supply-chain woes will continue to dog key units, such as those producing
its Surface laptops and Xbox gaming consoles. read more

 

 

Analysts on average expect Apple to report September-quarter revenue up 31%
to $84.8 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $1.24, according to
Refinitiv.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Setback for Nvidia's $54 bln ARM bid as EU regulators open probe

(Reuters) - Nvidia (NVDA.O) suffered a setback on Wednesday as EU antitrust
regulators opened a full-scale investigation into its $54 billion bid for
British chip designer ARM on concerns the deal could lead to higher prices,
less choice and reduced innovation.

 

Britain's competition agency is also probing the deal for the country's most
important technology company, warning that it could damage competition and
weaken rivals. read more

 

Reuters reported the European Commission viewed as insufficient concessions
offered by Nvidia, the world's biggest maker of graphics and artificial
intelligence (AI) chips during its preliminary review. read more .

 

Nvidia has not disclosed what these are but it has previously said it would
maintain ARM as a neutral technology supplier to sooth concerns from
customers such as Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O), Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
(005930.KS) and Apple Inc (AAPL.O).

 

 

"We are working closely with the European Commission through the regulatory
process. We look forward to the opportunity to address their initial
concerns and continue demonstrating that the transaction will help to
accelerate Arm and boost competition and innovation, including in the EU," a
Nvidia spokesperson said.

 

The Commission said it would decide by March 15 whether to clear or block
the deal.

 

"Whilst Arm and Nvidia do not directly compete, Arm's IP is an important
input in products competing with those of Nvidia, for example in
datacentres, automotive and in Internet of Things," EU competition chief
Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

 

"Our analysis shows that the acquisition of Arm by Nvidia could lead to
restricted or degraded access to Arm's IP, with distortive effects in many
markets where semiconductors are used," she continued.

 

ARM customers Broadcom (AVGO.O), MediaTek (2454.TW) and Marvell (MRVL.O) are
backers of the deal.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Ford, GM juggle high prices, supply chain pressure in Tesla's shadow

(Reuters) - Detroit automakers Ford Motor Co (F.N) and General Motors Co
(GM.N) both took advantage of insatiable demand from U.S. consumers for
trucks and SUVs to offset the pain caused by supply chain bottlenecks.

 

But both automakers warned investors that the cost pressures created by
disruptions in the global semiconductor supply chain and price spikes for
other commodities will continue well into next year.

 

For the Detroit automakers, that means sustaining a complex juggling act:
Pushing the price envelope on popular vehicles such as the Ford F-150 or
Cadillac Escalade while scrambling to stabilize flows of semiconductors and
keeping a lid on the costs of raw materials from steel to aluminum to
magnesium.

 

How much higher prices can go is a key question. The average GM vehicle sold
for more than $47,000 during the third quarter. Ford raised prices on
vehicles sold in North America by nearly $3,500 each, on average. Both
companies said the higher prices offset higher raw material costs in the
quarter.

 

The results Ford and GM reported on Wednesday show managing the supply chain
pressure will not be easy, and that investors are watching the companies
closely and critically.

 

GM shares tumbled 5.2% on Wednesday even though the company said its
full-year 2021 operating profits would be at the high end of a range between
$11.5 billion to $13.5 billion.

 

Both of the once-dominant Detroit automakers are now overshadowed by
electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), which last week reported stronger
profit margins and earlier this week achieved a market capitalization of $1
trillion, more than its top five rival automakers combined. read more

 

While relying almost entirely for now on profits from petroleum-fueled
trucks, both GM and Ford executives talked up their ambitions to challenge
Tesla in the EV market.

 

GM Chief Executive Mary Barra told CNBC the company could "absolutely" catch
up to Tesla in U.S. sales of EVs by 2025. Ford executives said they will
invest $30 billion in battery electric vehicle development from 2020-2025.

 

Ford Chief Executive Jim Farley said the automaker has orders for 160,000 of
its electric F-150 Lightning pickups, and its electric Transit commercial
van is "completely sold out."

 

Ford reported a stronger-than-expected third-quarter profit and raised its
full-year earnings forecast as strong demand for its trucks helped offset
the hit from a global semiconductor shortage. read more

 

However, Ford cautioned that higher steel and aluminum prices could cost it
$1.5 billion next year, and warned of "inflationary pressure impacting a
broad range of costs" in 2022.

 

Ford reported revenues of $35.7 billion for the latest quarter - more than
GM, long the larger company by vehicle unit sales and overall revenue. GM
earlier on Wednesday reported quarterly revenue of $26.8 billion. read more

 

Barra said the company was hit by pandemic-related shutdowns of
semiconductor factories in Malaysia. Ford executives said their supplies of
chips improved.

 

Ford's net income fell to $1.8 billion, from $2.4 billion a year earlier.
Still, Ford said it will restore a quarterly dividend, paying shareholders
10 cents a share or $400 million in total in the fourth quarter.

 

Ford's Farley said the automaker expects a rapid recovery as the pandemic
and supply chain snarls ease.

 

Another challenge GM and Ford will share if supply chain pressures do ease
in the second half of 2022 is finding a new sweet spot for prices,
production volumes and inventories of vehicles at dealerships.

 

Ford officials said the company wants to aim for 50 days of vehicles in
stock, not the 75 that was normal before the pandemic. Barra said GM also
wants to keep inventories in tighter check.

 

"As availability does improve 
 the very strong pricing will mitigate some,"
Barra said. "But we will be very disciplined."

 

 

 

Samsung says component supply issues to affect chip demand, profit hits
3-year high

(Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) said on Thursday it
expects component shortages to affect chip demand from some customers in the
current quarter, after reporting its highest quarterly profit in three
years.

 

The warning comes as producers of goods from televisions to cars have faced
a host of supply chain issues ranging from a shortage of logic chip parts,
manpower shortages, logistics snarls, and delays at parts plants due to
power cuts in China.

 

"A longer-than-expected component supply issue may need to be monitored due
to potential impacts" on the manufacturing of devices that use memory chips,
Samsung said in a statement, although it added there was "strong fundamental
demand for servers from increased investments from technology companies."

 

The world's top maker of memory chips and smartphones posted a 28% jump in
operating profit in the July-September quarter to 15.8 trillion won ($13.48
billion) on the back of an 82% on-year profit surge in its chip business,
where earnings rose to 10.1 trillion won ($8.62 billion).

 

 

Rising memory chip prices and shipments, plus a jump in profitability at
Samsung's chip-contract manufacturing business boosted the chip business'
operating profit.

 

Samsung said demand for server DRAM chips, which temporarily save data, and
NAND flash chips that serve the data storage market, is expected to stay
robust in the fourth quarter due to expansion of data centre investments,
while personal computer manufacturing growth is expected to hold in line
with the previous quarter.

 

Although supply chain issues could limit demand from some mobile chip
customers in the fourth quarter, demand for server and personal computer
chips is expected to be robust in 2022 despite uncertainties, it said.

 

Samsung did not comment on the outlook for memory chip prices, which has
weighed on the company's shares as investors expect prices to have peaked in
the third quarter before falling until mid-2022.

 

Smaller rival SK Hynix (000660.KS) on Tuesday struck a more bullish note
than U.S. peers and forecast steady demand for memory chips. Earlier,
chipmakers Intel (INTC.O) and Micron had said shortages of some components
were stopping their customers from shipping PCs. read more

 

Operating profit at Samsung's mobile division slid about 24% on-year to 3.36
trillion won on the third quarter, as sales of Samsung's new foldable
smartphones were tempered by marketing costs. read more

 

Despite uncertainties over component supply, year-end holiday shopping is
expected to boost demand for mobile devices in the fourth quarter, and
Samsung aims to maintain a double-digit profit margin in the mobile business
by selling more foldable phones and other premium models as well as wearable
accessories.

 

Net profit rose 31% to 12.3 trillion won. Revenue rose 10% to a record 74
trillion won.

 

Samsung's shares rose 0.3% in early trade on Thursday, compared with the
wider market's (.KS11) 0.1% rise. It shares have fallen about 13%
year-to-date.

 

($1 = 1,172.0500 won)

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

EBay revenue outlook disappoints as pandemic-led boom fades

(Reuters) - EBay Inc (EBAY.O) on Wednesday projected holiday-quarter revenue
below market expectations, another sign that the online shopping boom fueled
by the pandemic was tapering as consumers returned to stores.

 

The company was a big corporate winner in 2020 when lockdowns forced people
to shop on its online marketplace, but growth has slowed since then as
vaccinations encourage consumers to step out.

 

 

EBay said it expected fourth-quarter revenue between $2.57 billion and $2.62
billion, well below analysts' average estimate of $2.65 billion, according
to Refinitiv IBES data.

 

The company also reported a 5% decline in the number of active buyers on its
marketplace in the third quarter.

 

Gross merchandise volume, the total dollar value of sales on eBay from which
the company takes a percentage, fell 10%.

 

But a strong showing by its payment services and the expansion of its
advertising portfolio drove a 11% jump in revenue that was better
expectations.

 

 

The company has doubled down on its core auction and e-commerce business in
recent years through deals in a bid to fend off rising competition from
industry behemoth Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and upstarts such as Etsy Inc
(ETSY.O).

 

It earned 90 cents per share on an adjusted basis, a cent above estimates.

 

For the current quarter, it expects adjusted profit between 97 cents and
$1.01 per share. Analysts expected $1 per share.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

China's Li Ning plans $1.4 bln share sale for international expansion

(Reuters) - Chinese sportswear group Li Ning Co Ltd (2331.HK) said on
Thursday it planned to sell HK$10.5 billion ($1.35 billion) worth of new
shares to raise capital for international expansion and for investment in
newly launched product categories.

 

The Beijing-based company plans to sell 120 million new shares, or 4.59% of
the enlarged share capital, to its major shareholder Viva China Holdings Ltd
(8032.HK), it said in a filing to the Hong Kong bourse.

 

 

The new shares will be issued at HK$87.50 apiece, or a 8.09% discount to
Wednesday's close, with proceeds also to be used for investment in
re-engineered infrastructure and supply chain systems, for brand building
and working capital.

 

Viva will buy the new shares on completion of the sale of the same amount of
existing shares at the same price to third-party investors. Its stake in Li
Ning will be diluted to 10.37% from 10.87% after the deal.

 

 

($1 = 7.7779 Hong Kong dollars)

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

South Africa: Stage Four Load Shedding Implemented

State owned power utility, Eskom, has announced that it will implement Stage
four load shedding from midday today (Wednesday) until the early hours of
Friday morning.

 

Then, load shedding will drop to Stage two until the next morning.

 

The power utility has been battling to keep the lights on as a result of
trips and shutdowns at units at five power stations which are costing the
grid nearly 15 000MW in power.

 

"Over the past 24 hours a unit each at Medupi, Kusile and Matla power
stations tripped while a unit each at Lethabo and Arnot power stations were
forced to shut down. This constrained the power system further requiring
extensive use of emergency reserves and therefore, hampering the recovery of
these reserves.

 

"We remind customers that load shedding is implemented as a last resort to
maintain the stability of the power system regardless of the stage of load
shedding. The implementation of Stage 4 load shedding is therefore, no cause
for alarm as the power system remains to be effectively controlled," Eskom
said.

 

The entity added that some recovery is already taking place with units
already back on or returning over the next two days.

 

"Some generating units have returned to service and we anticipate another
two units to return to service during the day. In addition, Koeberg Unit 1
is expected to return to service today and begin ramping up to full output
within 48 hours."-SAnews.gov.za.

 

 

 

Namibia: Recon Already Gained From Licence

Canadian oil explorer ReconAfrica has already benefited financially through
the Canadian Stock Exchange from the licence they obtained from the Namibian
government for exploration in the two Kavango regions. Namibia, through the
National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor), owns 10% of the licence
while ReconAfrica owns 90%.

 

The chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Natural Resources
Tjekero Tweya wanted to know during a public hearing with

 

Namcor representatives yesterday what benefits government has accrued to
this end from the joint venture. "Our interest is how best we can harness
our resources for the benefit of the country and its people.

 

ReconAfrica is already benefiting at exploration level and not production
while Namibia is getting zero," he said. Namcor board chairperson Jennifer

 

Comalie indicated to the committee that since ReconAfrica acquired the
licence in 2015, their market value on the Canadian stock exchange has
increased significantly from US$0.06 as of 29 January 2015 to US$10.94 as of
27 July 2021 in close share price.

"We monitor ReconAfrica performance to know what the incremental values are
in the shares when activities take place," explained Comalie. Committee
member and Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) parliamentarian Mike
Kavekotora said ReconAfrica has created value through the Namibian resource
and should be questioned how local companies are not given a chance to take
advantage of local resources.

 

To date, about 40 licences have been issued by the mines and energy
ministry.

 

Comalie noted when the mother company Recon Energy applied for the licence
to have operations in Namibia, they made a proposal to the mines and energy
ministry.

 

She said Namcor had no power to object to the 10% as it was already approved
by the ministry. The hearing was called in regard to the petition submitted
to parliament on 24 February 2021 by Save the Unique Lifestyle of the
Okavango (SOUL), a group of Namibian, Southern Africa and international
civil society organisations, scientists and activists, opposed to the oil
and gas exploration activities of ReconAfrica in the two Kavango regions.
The company has been accused of an array of shortcomings and failures since
it started operations earlier this year.

The committee also met with environment ministry officials yesterday where
they laid concerns including the lack of information accessibility to the
local community.

 

Tweya claimed traditional authorities were not consulted by the ministry but
rather meetings were held with community members, which is wrong.

 

The committee further alluded the ministry relied heavily on information
provided by ReconAfrica that has a feasible interest on the project.
Executive director Teofilus Nghitila assured the committee the ministry
would further undertake strategic environmental assessment to assess the
long-term impact of the project. "ReconAfrica drilling is not within
conservancies, or corridors for wildlife threat. Also, there is no fracking
expected to take place," he stated.

'Committed'

 

Earlier this month, ReconAfrica said it remains committed to being guided by
and is in compliance with Namibia's Environmental Management Plan,
Environmental Clearance Certificate and all laws regulating petroleum
activities in the country.

 

"Our operations continue to be guided by our Environmental Management Plan
(EMP), a compass to environmental compliance. We further continue to ensure
the 2D seismic data acquisition is undertaken in a manner to enhance our
knowledge of the Kavango sedimentary basin, while uplifting the
socio-economic context of our immediate communities in the Kavango East and
Kavango West regions," the company said in a statement.

 

During an earlier hearing, petroleum commissioner in the mines and energy
ministry Maggy Shino said the key public concern, also highlighted in the
petition, was whether the drilling project involves fracking.

 

She again clarified that ReconAfrica's petroleum exploration licence was
awarded only for conventional oil and gas exploration, and not for fracking.
"Fracking is a more expensive and complicated process to produce oil or
natural gas from non-reservoir rocks. The licence holder uses
environmentally friendly technology to preserve environmental and water
resources. Also, the oil drilling operations are located far from the
environmentally sensitive zones, and there is no land grabbing," she stated.
Furthermore, Shino said Namibia would benefit from the oil exploration
through government revenue, which is expected from royalties at a rate of
5%, and petroleum income tax of 35%. Also, through rental fees, the country
is set to receive N$12.2 million.

 

ReconAfrica has thus far spent US$40 million, of which US$14.03 million
(almost N$210 million) has been spent locally.-New Era.

 

 

 

Namibia: Govt Says SIM Card Registration Will Curb Crime

Government yesterday said a plan to force people to register their identity
when buying cell phone SIM cards is, among others, aimed at finding
criminals who utilise technology to conduct crime.

 

Government in March this year approved new regulations that will require all
mobile phone subscribers to register their SIM cards before being able to
access network services.

 

The regulations are yet to be operationalised on the date to be determined
by the minister.

 

While responding to what he termed as misleading media reports, information
ministry executive director Mbeuta Ua-Ndjarakana said the request of stored
SIM cards information will be done with due regard to the provision of the
regulations, which involves the issuance of an order by a judge or
magistrate to authorise the obtaining of that information from service
providers.

 

Ua-Ndjarakana said this will be done to safeguard the privacy of consumers.

Also, he said the Communications Act deals with the disclosure of
information and places a duty on telecommunications service providers to
safeguard the integrity of such information.

 

He said the benefits of SIM card registration are that it eradicates
anonymity of communications, which aids in legal surveillance and
interception.

 

"It also assists in finding criminals who utilise telecommunications to
commit crime," Ua-Ndjarakana said in a statement.

 

He said once the Communication Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN)
finalises the consultation process and the implementation modalities with
operators, the minister shall issue a commencement date for the registration
of SIM cards in the country.

 

Setting the record straight, Ua-Ndjarakana said the Communication Act does
not introduce interception of communication in the country.

 

"Interception is already authorised primarily by the National Central
Intelligence Service Act (NCIS) and the Prevention and Combating of
Terrorist and Proliferation Activities Act," he explained.

 

Also, he said the Criminal Procedure Act has provisions pertaining to the
procedure.

 

He further said that the Communication Act simply introduces a framework
that enables the effective implementation of the powers already set out in
the NCIS Act and the Prevention and Combating of Terrorist and Proliferation
Activities.

 

"The current status in that interception is already taking place in line
with the provisions of the stated laws. The creation of interception centres
under the Communications Act has not been finalised as there are still
implementation modalities and directives that need to be finalised," said
the executive director, adding that the date will be communicated to the
general public in due course.-New Era.

 

 

 

Kenya Receives Sh16bn Funding From World Bank for Climate Change Action

Nairobi — Kenya has received a Sh16 billion financing agreement from the
World Bank which is aimed at strengthening local resilience to the impact of
climate change in the country.

 

It will be done through the financing of the locally-led Climate Action
(ELLoCA) programme which is part of Kenya's 10-year government financing
locally-led climate action programme launched in June, 2020.

 

"Climate change remains the biggest challenge of our age with Kenya's
climate sensitive economy being prone to droughts and floods with an
economic liability of up to 2.8 per cent of GDP annually. We have an
immediate need to build climate resilience in sectors such as agriculture,
water, energy tourism and wildlife which are not only affected by climate
change but also by the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic," Treasury
Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yattani said.

He noted that the programme will support the scaling up of community-led
climate resilience actions while developing the capabilities of national and
county institutions to plan, budget, report, finance and implement green
initiatives at the local level.

 

"As a nation, we remain cognizant of the challenges that lie ahead but
remain confident that with the support of the World Bank and other
development partners coupled by Kenyan innovation and resilience, we will
build our National and Counties capacity to manage climate risks and enhance
our resilience with home-grown solutions in a collaborative and progressive
approach between the two levels of government and owned and driven by local
communities," he said.

 

The ELLoCA programme seeks to create both an enabling environment and an
innovative decentralized approach to tackling climate change impacts.

 

The implantation of the five-year programme will be led by the National
Planning given its strong emphasis on climate finance with the adoption of
the innovative participation, climate information, demand-driven capacity
building and monitoring and evaluation of climate change actions.

 

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday while speaking virtually during the
Africa Adaptation Acceleration Day emphasized the need for increased funding
on climate change to mitigate the negative effects being experienced.

 

He cautioned that in the absence of urgent climate change adaptation action,
Africa's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) risks contracting by up to 30 per cent
by the year 2050.

 

"Evidence indicates that climate change will have a devastating
socioeconomic impact across the world and quite severely in Afra. If we do
not take any action Africa could, as a consequence, see its Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) contract by up to 30 per cent by 2050 due to climate change,"
the President said.

Consequently, the President rallied the global community to support the
accelerated rollout of adaptation programmes in Africa so as to mitigate
against the growing adverse effects of climate change as well as strengthen
the continent's resilience.

 

"While it is relatively more difficult to design and implement adaptation
projects and while fewer resources are currently available for adaptation,
we should not lose sight of the fact that adaptation is, without doubt,
smart economics," he said.

 

The Head of State's message was contained in a recorded video address
delivered Tuesday at a hybrid conference hosted by the University of Nairobi
in partnership with the Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA) to celebrate the
Africa Adaptation Acceleration Day, a pre-cursor to the United Nations
Climate Change Conference (COP26) that will be held in Glasgow, Scotland.

 

President Kenyatta pointed out that despite Kenya significantly increasing
the amount of financial resources invested in adaptation programs in recent
years, the country needed more international support to fully implement its
updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

 

"To implement our NDCs, we plan to invest approximately US$8 billion over
the next 10 years. This is just 10 percent of the total investment needed of
the NDCs and we, therefore, need support from our international partners,"
the President said.

 

He observed that the financing challenge is not peculiar to Kenya saying,
globally funding for climate adaptation, which in 2017 averaged around 30
billion US dollars a year, needed to be increase tenfold to meet the growing
needs of vulnerable communities across the world.

 

"Indications are that for an investment of 800 million US dollars in
developing countries in climate adaptation programmes would result in
benefits of up to 16 billion US dollars per year," the President noted.

 

He said Covid-19 had exacerbated the funding situation with countries around
the world collectively allocating over 20 trillion US dollars to the
pandemic thereby greatly reducing resources available to combat climate
change.

 

"However, climate change cannot wait while we address COVID19; we must
address the two challenges together. Indeed, to make recovery truly
sustainable, we need to institute green recovery measures that integrate
adaptation and mitigation measures," the President said.

 

This year's report on the state and trends of adaptation in Africa was
launched by GCA at hybrid conference. The report, among other provisions,
lists adaptation actions and investment opportunities that exist on the
continent.=Capital FM.

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


 


Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

 

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INVESTORS DIARY 2021

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

National Unity Day

 

December 22

 


 

Christmas Day

 

December 25

 


 

Boxing Day

 

December 26

 


 

Public Holiday in lieu of Boxing Day falling on a Sunday

 

December 27

 


Companies under Cautionary

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


ART

PPC

 

 


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.

 


 

 


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