Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 20 December 2022

[Bulls n Bears]

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 20 December 2022 

 


 

 


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

 


 

 


 

ü  EU nations agree gas price cap to shield consumers

ü  British Airways: Flights leaving US grounded over technical issue

ü  First pictures of King Charles banknotes revealed

ü  Will Elon Musk's ultimatum cost him Twitter?

ü  Fortnite settles child privacy and trickery claims

ü  The cargo hauling aircraft with no pilots on board

ü  Low-deposit mortgage scheme extended for a year

ü  Decision on energy bill support for businesses postponed

ü  Former Debenhams building in King's Lynn could become flats

ü  Tobacco Harm Reduction - Are Chemicals In e-Cigarettes Dangerous?

ü  Ghana: Suspension of Payments on Selected External Debts of the Government of Ghana

ü  Nigeria's Oil Rigs Count Slumps 50% in Three Years

ü  Nigeria: Airlines Call for Upgrade of Airport Infrastructure to Curb Flight Delays

ü  Nigeria: 80% of African Start-Ups Have Funding Challenges - IFC

ü  Nigeria: Ship Owners Seek Ajegunle Residents' Relocation to Upgrade Apapa Port

 


 

 


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EU nations agree gas price cap to shield consumers

European Union nations have agreed to cap soaring wholesale gas prices to protect consumers across the bloc.

 

>From 15 February, prices will be limited if they breach 180 euros per megawatt hour for three days running.

 

It follows weeks of wrangling in which Germany and others sought safeguards to ensure the cap would be suspended if it had negative consequences.

 

Gas prices have spiked as EU countries seek ways to import less Russian gas following its invasion of Ukraine.

 

Previously Moscow supplied 40% of the gas used across the bloc, but those flows have fallen sharply putting pressure on market prices.

 

Jozef Skiela, the Czech minister of industry and trade said the EU had "succeeded in finding an important agreement that will shield citizens from skyrocketing energy prices".

 

"Once again, we have proved that the EU is united and will not let anybody use energy as a weapon."

 

In a statement, Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov called the cap "unacceptable" and said it was an attack on market pricing.

 

The cap comes after Europe's benchmark price for natural gas delivered via pipeline briefly surged to nearly 340 euros per megawatt hour this summer - more than three times what it is now.

 

It is temporary and will last for a year, the European Council said.

 

Once the cap is activated, gas across the bloc will have to be sold at a level equivalent to or below the global price of liquified natural gas (LNG), plus 35 euros.

 

This will last for at least 20 working days, the Council said, although the cap could be automatically deactivated if prices fell again.

 

Divisions

The measure has been months in the making, with EU governments starkly divided on how to implement it.

 

Some countries such as France and Spain wanted to urgently bring in a limit to protect consumers.

 

But others including Germany, Austria and Denmark were concerned the measure would scare off suppliers of liquified natural gas (LNG) from the Middle East and elsewhere.

 

In the end the sceptics backed the 180-euro cap, which was much lower than a 275-euro limit initially proposed by the European Commission.

 

The cap will include a suspension mechanism that would kick in if energy supplies came under threat or demand began to surge.

 

Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki hailed the agreement on Twitter on Monday.

 

"At the recent meetings in Brussels, our majority coalition managed to break the resistance - mainly from Germany," he wrote. "This means the end of market manipulation by Russia and its [main supplier] Gazprom."-BBC

 

 

 

British Airways: Flights leaving US grounded over technical issue

British Airways has apologised after flights due to depart from the US were grounded for several hours.

 

The airline said it was urgently investigating a technical issue with its third-party flight planning supplier.

 

BA passengers have reported waiting for hours in airports.

 

The airline said it aimed to get planes departing as quickly as possible, adding it was sorry for any disruption to its customers' plans.

 

Passengers have taken to Twitter to report waiting at John F. Kennedy International Airport for more than three hours.

 

Others said they had been sitting on planes parked on runways for hours, before being moved back to the airport.

 

In a statement, British Airways said: "Our flights due to depart the USA tonight are currently delayed due to a technical issue with our third-party flight planning supplier, which we are urgently investigating.

 

"We're sorry for any disruption this will cause to our customers' plans, our aim is for these flights to depart as quickly as possible."-BBC

 

 

 

 

First pictures of King Charles banknotes revealed

The new look of banknotes featuring the image of King Charles has been unveiled by the Bank of England.

 

The portrait will be the only change to existing designs of £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes and will start to enter circulation from mid-2024.

 

New notes will feature the King's portrait on the front and in the see-through security window.

 

Existing notes will still be accepted in shops after the new notes begin to circulate.

 

Queen Elizabeth was the first and only monarch to appear on circulating Bank of England banknotes, starting in 1960. Notes issued by Scottish and Northern Irish banks do not depict the monarch.

 

There are about 4.5 billion individual Bank of England notes worth about £80bn in circulation at present.

 

The Bank of England said that, following guidance from the Royal household, the new notes would only be printed to replace worn notes or to meet increased demand, in order to minimise the environmental and financial impact of the change.

 

Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, said he was "proud" of a "significant moment" with the new design.

 

Fifty pence coins bearing the image of King Charles III have already entered circulation via post offices across the country.

 

An estimated 4.9 million of the new coins are being distributed to post offices - about half of the total number earmarked for circulation - to be given in change to customers.

 

Coins carrying the image of the late Queen will still be accepted in shops, in the same way as banknotes.

 

For anyone taking part in a family Christmas quiz this year, it is worth remembering that, in ascending order, the reverse side of current polymer Bank of England banknotes feature Sir Winston Churchill, Jane Austen, JMW Turner and Alan Turing.

 

Cash use has become far less frequent when compared to debit cards, owing primarily to the use of contactless payments and then accelerated by the Covid pandemic. The buying power of specific coins and banknotes have also been diluted by rising prices.

 

However, there is still keen interest from consumers and collectors about the images used on cash.

 

Collectors will be particularly excited to get their hands on the lowest serial numbers of the new King Charles banknotes when they appear.-BBC

 

 

 

Will Elon Musk's ultimatum cost him Twitter?

Elon Musk's poll, asking whether he should stand down as the boss of Twitter, appeared hours after he was photographed at the World Cup final in Qatar.

 

That photo tells us two things: firstly, Musk was standing beside Jared Kushner - the son-in-law of Donald Trump, the former US President whom Musk has tried, and failed, to entice back to the social network he now owns.

 

Musk knows that a bombastic Trump tweet would likely provide a controversial, but 'jackpot' moment for Twitter - and bring huge audiences to the platform.

 

Trump knows this too, of course, and has his own agenda - specifically his own social network, Truth Social, to which he has so far remained loyal.

 

Pardon the pun but Musk's trump card remains unplayed.

 

The second point about the photo? It proves Musk was geographically in the vicinity of Saudi Arabia - home to Twitter's biggest investors. Did he drop in, and did they - along with millions of people who use Twitter every day - pose some serious questions about his leadership during the past couple of months?

 

And then there's the matter of the poll itself. How we view the results - 57% of the 17.5m votes cast were in favour of Musk standing down as Twitter CEO - depends on what we think he wanted to achieve by it.

 

The poll has either spectacularly backfired - if Musk was looking for an ego-boost - or it has been a huge success in getting him off the rather large hook he has found himself caught on since his purchase of Twitter was, basically, forced through.

 

Let's not forget that the Tesla owner spent months trying to get out of buying this company.

 

As I write, Musk's Twitter feed is uncharacteristically silent.

 

That won't be the case for long, undoubtedly. He has a track record for listening to polls. After all, he put to the vote whether or not he should buy Twitter in the first place, when this entire circus began.

 

In the past, he has also asked Twitter users to help him decide whether to sell valuable Tesla stock.

 

It's an unorthodox way of doing big business, to say the least. But with Elon Musk, we have grown to expect the unexpected.

 

The next CEO

So... if he does what he's been told by the people and quits - who takes over?

 

He's been a one-man band since his arrival at the social media company. There's been no regular mention of a deputy, or someone with whom he has worked closely. Meta's Mark Zuckerberg had Sheryl Sandberg, Amazon's Jeff Bezos had Andy Jassy (now CEO). Musk has no obvious Twitter wingman.

 

Even those senior figures he initially saw as allies, like Head of Trust and Integrity Yoel Roth, have since left the business and criticised Musk's leadership.

 

But before you dust off your CV, consider for a moment the job description of Twitter CEO. You have the world's most demanding boss; you inherit a demoralised workforce - half of it recently laid off and the remainder under instruction to work long hours. The finances are bleak according to Musk: he says Twitter is operating at a loss of $4m per day.

 

And then there is the legacy of chaotic decision-making which has defined recent months at Twitter. Musk's approach to moderation was decidedly personal. The "digital town square" he claimed he wanted to create was rapidly beginning to feel more like you had walked into his house and were trying not to knock over the ornaments.

 

Policies came and went seemingly on a whim.

 

Any future chief also faces the challenge of trying to maintain the safety of some 300 million Twitter users, posting in real time - including content which can be abusive, offensive and, sometimes, illegal.

 

Throw into that mix the unpredictability of Musk himself - and the ongoing risk that his next tweet could cause untold reputational damage and/or regulatory scrutiny. After all, he was banned from tweeting about Tesla after causing the share price to fall when he said it was over-valued.

 

Then again, you could say that the only way is up.

 

A new CEO who is less intent on relentless revolution might calm investors and improve employee morale. Currently every second tweet in my timeline is people threatening to leave Twitter or complaining about it. A social network obsessed with itself is arguably not fulfilling its potential.

 

Space enthusiast Elon Musk thought Twitter needed a bit of rocket fuel and he's certainly provided that.

 

But perhaps he's now learning the hard way that social media, and the people who bring it to life, are not machines. Perhaps the future of this troubled firm lies not in the stars, but with feet firmly on solid ground. If he'll allow it.-BBC

 

 

 

 

Fortnite settles child privacy and trickery claims

The maker of popular video game Fortnite has agreed to pay $520m (£427m) to resolve claims from US regulators that it violated child privacy laws and tricked users into making purchases.

 

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said the firm duped players with "deceptive interfaces" that could trigger purchases while the game loaded.

 

It also accused it of using "privacy-invasive" default settings.

 

Epic Games blamed "past designs".

 

"No developer creates a game with the intention of ending up here," the company said. "We accepted this agreement because we want Epic to be at the forefront of consumer protection and provide the best experience for our players."

 

Fortnite, a battle royale game that became a global sensation after its launch in 2017, has more than 400 million players around the world. The game is generally free to download, but makes money from in-game purchases of items such as costumes and dance moves.

 

The FTC said that the game, which matches strangers around the world for interactive battles, was aimed at children and teens, but despite that, its developers failed to comply with rules regarding parental consent - even after making changes to address internal and public concerns.

 

"As our complaints note, Epic used privacy-invasive default settings and deceptive interfaces that tricked Fortnite users, including teenagers and children," said FTC chair Lina Khan.

 

"Protecting the public, and especially children, from online privacy invasions and dark patterns is a top priority for the commission, and these enforcement actions make clear to businesses that the FTC is cracking down on these unlawful practices."

 

The FTC said Epic would pay $275m - a record penalty for the consumer watchdog - to resolve the claims it collected child and teen data without parental consent, and exposed children and teens to bullying and harassment by turning on voice and text communications by default.

 

Epic Games agreed to change its privacy settings for teens and children, and have chat communications turned off by default.

 

The company will also pay a record $245m, to be used for refunds to customers, to settle a separate complaint about deceptive billing practices.

 

The FTC cited a "counterintuitive, inconsistent, and confusing button configuration" that led to hundreds of millions of dollars in unauthorised purchases.

 

It said the firm had resisted changing its design to add a separate confirmation step, worried that doing so "would add 'friction', 'result in a decent number of people second guessing their purchase', and reduce the number of 'impulse purchases'", according to the complaint.

 

It said the company locked accounts of customers who disputed charges and "purposefully obscured cancel and refund features to make them more difficult to find".

 

Epic said it had been making changes and the practices detailed in the FTC's complaints were "not how Fortnite operates".

 

"The laws have not changed, but their application has evolved and long-standing industry practices are no longer enough," the company said, adding that it hoped to offer a model for the rest of the industry.-BBC

 

 

 

The cargo hauling aircraft with no pilots on board

Svilen Rangelov sports an impressive beard. It's eight years' worth of growth he says.

 

The beard dates back to when he and his younger brother, an aerospace engineer by training, formed Dronamics as Europe's answer to the emerging market for cargo drones.

 

He agreed with his brother Konstantin that they would only shave their beards after the first flight of the drone they've been building in their native Bulgaria.

 

At the time he established Dronamics big tech giants like Amazon were experimenting with drone deliveries to domestic addresses. But Mr Rangelov never believed in the concept of personal goods delivered by the drone.

 

The practical difficulties of flying a drone right up to someone's front door were obvious to Mr Rangelov. "We couldn't buy into the concept of small drones. We took a different approach."

 

This take on drone delivery will bear fruit when the prototype cargo aircraft takes to the air.

 

Looking very much like a conventional light aircraft but without a pilot's cabin, the drone combines "cell phone economics" in terms of cheap electronics, with the ability to land on short runways, says Mr Rangelov.

 

It will be known as the Black Swan.

 

"Here in Bulgaria air cargo means one large aircraft offloading goods onto a truck which then goes to a sorting centre where the delivery is broken down for the next stage of its journey to individual sites."

 

He thinks taking a smaller load to a short airstrip closer to the final recipient will cut costs and take trucks off the road.

 

"There are 3,000 airstrips across Europe, that's a lot of locations."

 

Black Swan embodies a combination of lightweight composite materials (his brother's speciality) and a standard piston engine that sips petrol while the drone cruises on long and fuel efficient wings.

 

This whole package will fly at 20,000ft altitude,below the mass of passenger air traffic. Dronamics sees this height band as unused airspace and is also testing out a new, synthetic aviation fuel which it claims will allow carbon-neutral flights.

 

The 350kg (770lb) cargo load of the Black Swan equals that of a small courier van. "We're connecting city to city, not door to door."

 

Dronamics plans to operate Black Swans like an airline, "Europe's first drone cargo airline." It will charge by weight or charter, cutting out the cost and time taken by vehicles that criss-cross Europe to deliver essential goods and parts.

 

German logistics giant Hellmann is poised to begin using these drones. Jan Kleine-Lasthues is in charge of this initiative and he has spent a long career in airfreight.

 

Mr Kleine-Lasthues doesn't see conventional air freight facing competition from these new designs, but thinks the drones will allow Hellmann to fly goods that previously travelled by road.

 

Connecting Greek islands by cargo drone is one of Hellmann's immediate ambitions, says Mr Kleine-Lasthues.

 

"The drones will be more frequent than ferries and we can use them to break down deliveries into several packages, so we can increase the frequency of deliveries. They represent a big change, they offer speed and flexibility."

 

Dronamics claims a 2,500km (1,500 miles) range for its aircraft, putting the whole of Western Europe within range of any EU-based cargo hub.

 

While smaller versions of the drone are already flying in Bulgaria, a full-scale prototype should be airborne in early 2023.

 

Dronamics says the European aerospace regulator has been kept apprised of its planned operations and given it a limited licence to operate. Hellmann is talking about beginning to fly them during 2023.

 

Mr Kleine-Lasthues shares the opinion that earlier drone delivery models were a dead end. "I never believed in the idea of parcel drones. That's why we're working with Dronamics, it's not an Amazon delivery type idea."

 

Cargo drones have attracted the attention of Bristow, a US group that operates helicopters around the globe. Bristow has signalled its intent to buy up to 100 cargo drones from a Californian company, Elroy Air.

 

While the current of crop of passenger-carrying Electric Vertical Take-Off (Evtol) designs features all-electric power, the Elroy Air cargo drones will run on a hybrid electric engine, a small turbine that generates electrical power and runs off aviation fuel.

 

The hybrid design means the drone can refuel at existing facilities rather than relying on docking stations for electricity. And it burns less than a third of the fuel a helicopter uses.

 

"Pure electric power means you're constrained by where you put the charging base" says David Stepanek, a former US Marine Corps helicopter technician who is now a Bristow executive studying cargo droneoperations.

 

Bristow is looking at using the Elroy drones to back up its operations in locations such as West Africa, where the offshore oil industry needs to shift equipment and Bristow wants to reduce the costs of using helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.

 

Elroy Air has been working on a large multi-engined, vertical take-off drone that can heave a 225lb (100kg) load up to 480km (300 miles).

 

Elroy Air's Kofi Asante researched autonomous trucks at Uber's freight arm. He points out that the idea of a cargo pod attached and then de-coupled from the chassis of a an autonomous truck also works for a cargo drone.

 

He describes relations with US regulator the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) as "very positive" with a test flight for a full-sized drone planned by the end of 2022.

 

At over 8m (26ft) in width the drone, named Chapparal, is large by uncrewed civil drone standards. But that size is the point says Mr Asante.

 

"It can carry a hundred times the payload of small UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle), it's comparable to a small plane in terms of load but operates at a fraction of the cost of a helicopter."

 

You may not be ordering a flying drone delivery to your home address anytime soon. But it looks as if the death of one drone dream has opened the way for another more practical concept to thrive.

 

And this should usher in clean-shaven leadership at Dronamics.-BBC

 

 

 

Low-deposit mortgage scheme extended for a year

A mortgage guarantee scheme to help people get on the property ladder is to be extended by a year.

 

The government said the programme, which was due to close at the end of December, would help buyers "navigate difficult times".

 

It was originally designed to encourage lenders to give home loans to people offering a 5% deposit - a product that was far less available during Covid.

 

Some lenders still play it safe as buyers face the rising cost of living.

 

Chief Secretary to the Treasury John Glen said: "For hard-working families facing today's challenging economic conditions, it is right that we continue to help them secure their first home or move into their dream house.

 

"Extending this scheme means thousands more have the chance to benefit, and supports the market as we navigate through these difficult times."

 

The mortgage scheme has a £600,000 limit, and is primarily used to help first-time buyers.

 

These 95% loan-to-value mortgages are often seen as riskier by banks as they are more vulnerable to falling property prices, when there is a risk that people hold more debt than their home is worth.

 

Under the scheme, the government takes on some of the risk and compensates the lender for some of the loan if the property is repossessed.

 

It began in April last year, and the government said it had helped more than 24,000 households.

 

Some brokers have suggested the scheme had done its job by bringing more low-deposit mortgages onto the market, but others suggested only a small number of lenders had used the scheme.

 

Many mortgage providers generally only lend to those with a regular income, irrespective of any government incentive, and still carry out affordability checks.

 

Unemployment levels are expected to rise and the UK housing market is expected to slow.

 

A recent survey by the Building Societies Association, suggested that 14% of people thought now was a good time to buy a property, but 47% did not think now was a good time to purchase a home.-BBC

 

 

 

Decision on energy bill support for businesses postponed

A decision on extending help for businesses facing soaring energy bills will not be made until the new year, the Treasury has said.

 

Currently wholesale gas and electricity prices have been fixed for firms from October until March 2023, but the help is under review due to the cost.

 

Ministers had promised to make an announcement before the end of 2022, and the delay angered business groups.

 

They said it was creating uncertainty for firms worried about their bills.

 

"Disappointing news that government has also postponed announcement on future energy support until the New Year rather than before Christmas as previously announced," tweeted Kate Nicholls, boss of UK Hospitality, which represents hotels, restaurants and others in the industry.

 

"Businesses are facing daily changing rates and contract decisions in Jan so certainty was really needed."

 

Unlike households, businesses are not covered in normal times by an energy price cap, which limits the amount suppliers can charge per unit of energy.

 

But after energy prices spiked this year, the government's Energy Bill Relief Scheme fixed costs, providing a lifeline for many firms that risked going bust without the support.

 

In October the government said it would review the scheme due to its high cost to taxpayers and publish those findings by the end of this year. Officials are considering options to extend support only for "vulnerable businesses".

 

On Monday, the Treasury said its final decision would now not be announced until the start of 2023.

 

"We are protecting businesses from high energy costs this winter, caused by Putin's invasion of Ukraine, through the six-month £18bn Energy Bill Relief Scheme," a spokesperson said.

 

Firms' energy bills to be cut by half this winter

"However, this is very expensive, and we need to ensure longer-term affordability and value for money for the taxpayer.

 

"That is why we are currently carrying out a review with the aim of reducing the public finances' exposure to volatile international energy prices from April 2023. We will announce the outcome of this review in the New Year to ensure businesses have sufficient certainty about future support before the current scheme ends in March 2023."

 

Business groups have been calling for the government to provide certainty to businesses on energy support.

 

On Monday, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) urged the government to make an announcement before Christmas, saying many of its members would struggle to pay their energy bills when the scheme comes to an end.

 

"Just over a month ago, the chancellor promised businesses that they would receive a plan on the future of the energy support package before the end of the year. With 24 hours left until parliament rises, businesses have one simple question: 'Where is this plan?'" said Shevaun Haviland, its director general.

 

"Businesses now face an anxious and uncertain festive period, unable to plan for the New Year. "-BBC

 

 

 

Former Debenhams building in King's Lynn could become flats

A former branch of Debenhams could be changed into flats, a planning application has revealed.

 

Developers have asked for permission to change the use of the former department store in King's Lynn High Street.

 

The Norfolk store closed in the first lockdown and never reopened. The entire chain went out of business in 2020 and since then the site has lain empty.

 

Flats are planned for the first and second floor, with the ground floor available as space for retail.

 

Councillors for the Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk will decide on the plans at a later date.

 

-BBC

 

 

Tobacco Harm Reduction - Are Chemicals In e-Cigarettes Dangerous?

AllAfrica InfoWire (Washington, DC)

The 10th E-cigarette summit was held in London on December 9th, 2022. The stated objective of this one-day conference is to create a “neutral meeting point for scientists, regulators, industry, public health and practitioners to explore the latest research on e-cigarettes and facilitate respectful debate on what remain highly controversial issues”.

 

Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS or e-cigarettes) deliver nicotine in a way that is similar to that of combustible cigarettes and hence potentially provide an alternative to them.

 

These “highly controversial issues” oppose those who believe that ENDS, while they are free of combustion, have no effect on smoking cessation, and are creating “a new generation of nicotine addicts”, and on the other side, those who believe that they are less harmful than combustible cigarettes.

 

First among the opponents is the World Health Organization of which one of their main concerns is how flavours in e-cigarettes impact product appeal for the youth especially.

 

For Dr Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, Associate Professor and Editor at the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group at the University of Oxford:

 

“At a population level, e-cigarettes have not acted as a gateway to increase smoking…E-cigarettes are generally unattractive to non-smokers, including non-smoking adolescents but attractiveness can be increased by marketing and product design.”

 

Besides, she pointed out that:

 

“In countries with a strong tobacco control climate that permit use of e-cigarettes, they have become the most popular quitting aid and have had a detectable impact in reducing smoking prevalence but they are used in fewer than half of quit attempts and have not increased the quit attempts.”

 

Professor Maciej L. Goniewicz, Professor of Oncology at the Department of health Behavior at the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, USA, shared his research and other scientific studies on flavours in e-cigarettes and recognized that: “Youths report that flavours are a primary reason they use e-cigarettes, and most youth e-cigarette users first initiate use with flavoured products.”

 

In his conclusions, he commented on the fact that while young people stated that they used ENDS because they tasted good, “there was judged to be insufficient evidence that use of e-liquid flavours specifically is associated with uptake of smoking and that no studies found clear associations between flavours and cessation” (studies of the University a-of Michigan 2015 & Notley et al., 2022).

 

He added that “policies that would have the greatest positive impact on youth and never smokers, but little negative impact on adults who vape as a method of quitting smoking, should be a priority for regulation”.

 

On the presence of toxicants in e-cigarettes, Prof. Alan R. Boobis, Emeritus Professor of Toxicology & Chair of the UK Committee on Toxicity at the Imperial College London stated:

 

  “The liquid in e-cigarettes, propylene glycol and/or vegetable glycerin (glycerol) is relatively non-toxic at the levels present when inhaled over the short to medium term. This applies to both absolute and relative risk, in users and in bystanders…there is some uncertainty about the effects of long-term, repeated exposure in users.”

 

In addition, he noted:

 

  “The most toxic chemicals found with conventional cigarettes are either not present or are present at much lower levels in e-cigarettes. For example, levels of the tobacco-specific nitrosamine NNK (Nicotine-derived-nitrosamine ketone) in e-cigarettes are < 0.3% levels with conventional cigarettes. Mercury was not detected in ENDS. Lead, rubidium, arsenic, silver, cobalt, bismuth, palladium and cadmium were rarely found in ENDS.”

 

He also stated as a conclusion:

 

“The evidence suggests that the risk posed by e-cigarettes to users is substantially less than that posed by conventional cigarettes, but at present we cannot quantify precisely by how much less…E-cigarettes are not without some risks, hence use as a lifestyle choice is not advisable”. And the risks to bystanders are low to very low. There are some data gaps, including long-term effects in users (but these are narrowing over time)”

 

Are Low and Middle-Income Countries left behind?

 

The last presentation of the conference was on Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). It was the only speech on LMICs whereas it is estimated that among the 1 billion smokers worldwide, 80% live in those countries.

 

Dr Sivakumar Thurairajasingam is Associate Professor in psychiatry and Head of the clinical School Johor Bahru at the Monash University in Malaysia.

 

For him, “there is a need to complement existing tobacco control policies by creating access to a range of reduced harm products to assist smokers in transitioning away from combustible tobacco products and towards achieving tobacco harm reduction objectives. Tobacco harm reduction is a viable and complementary component to strengthen national tobacco control strategies” adding that policies must be in place to ensure equitable and affordable access to adult smokers, whilst limiting access to youth”.

 

While the adoption of smokeless tobacco in various countries coincides with the decrease of combustible cigarettes’ use, research on e-cigarettes remains deficient in Africa where only a few countries allow them.

 

 

 

Ghana: Suspension of Payments on Selected External Debts of the Government of Ghana

Accra — Ghana is today faced with major economic and financial crisis, and its attendant social challenges. In 2020 and 2021, the covid-19 pandemic negatively impacted our fiscal and economic situation. Global risk aversion triggered large capital outflows, a loss of external market access and rising domestic borrowing costs.

 

This year, 2022, the global economic shock induced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine has further adversely affected our economy just when it was beginning to recover from the pandemic. The combination of adverse external shocks has exposed Ghana to a surge in inflation, a large exchange rate depreciation and stress on the financing of the budget. These factors taken together have put the sustainability of our debt at risk.

 

To address these mounting challenges, we launched on Monday 5th December an invitation to exchange our domestic debt. The details of this domestic debt exchange are set forth in an Exchange Memorandum, available on https://mofep.gov.gh/news-and-events/debt-operations. This domestic debt operation is part of a more comprehensive agenda to restore public debt sustainability. Given the magnitude of the economic and social crisis that Ghana is confronted with, this domestic debt operation will not be enough to close the large financing gaps that Ghana faces over the coming years. The Government’s Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) has demonstrated that our public debt, both external and domestic, is unsustainable.

 

 

We, therefore, formally requested IMF assistance in July 2022. A Staff-Level Agreement (SLA) has subsequently been achieved and announced on 13th December on a financing program aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability, and preserving financial stability while protecting the most vulnerable. This SLA milestone was achieved in record time. It is with this same spirit that we, therefore, expect creditors to also respond in an expedited manner, to ensure that the IMF-supported programme is adopted by the IMF Board as soon as possible in early 2023.

 

In the interim, additional emergency measures are necessary to prevent a further deterioration in the economic, financial, and social situation in Ghana. As it stands, our financial resources, including the Bank of Ghana’s international reserves, are limited and need to be preserved at this critical juncture.

 

That is why we are announcing today a suspension of all debt service payments under certain categories of our external debt, pending an orderly restructuring of the affected obligations.

 

This suspension will include the payments on: our Eurobonds; our commercial term loans; and on most of our bilateral debt. This suspension will not include the payments of our multilateral debt, new debts (whether multilateral or otherwise) contracted after 19th December 2022 or debts related to certain short term trade facilities. We are also evaluating certain specific debts related to projects with the highest socio-economic impact for Ghana which may have to be excluded. This suspension is an interim emergency measure pending future agreements with all relevant creditors.

 

The Government stands ready to engage in discussions with all of its external creditors to make Ghana’s debt sustainable through a fair, transparent and comprehensive debt restructuring exercise in line with international best practices. The Ministry of Finance will hold an investor presentation at a date to be announced at a later stage.

 

 

 

 

Nigeria's Oil Rigs Count Slumps 50% in Three Years

The latest Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) by Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has revealed that Nigeria's oil rigs count fell from 16 to eight between 2019 and 2022, underscoring the magnitude of challenges the country has faced in producing its OPEC monthly allocation.

 

The MOMR showed that while the average rigs count was 16 in 2019, it fell to 11 to 2020, and then further to seven in 2021.

 

In the first quarter of 2022, the count was eight, it was 11 in the second quarter of the year, and again fell to nine in the third quarter this year, according to the OPEC data.

 

 

In September this year, the total number of rigs were seven and although it rose by one, to eight in October, it was still half the number Nigeria had in 2019 when the industry hadn't been hobbled by production issues. OPEC had not released November figures for rigs at the time of going to press.

 

During the period, Algeria's also fell from 45 to 32, Angola's grew from four to nine, while Libya's rigs count slumped from 14 to six.

 

For world rigs count, outside OPEC, the United States rigs fell from 944 to 768 in October, while the UK's fell from 22 to 15. The global West led by America has been shutting down many of their facilities in preparation for the gradual adoption of renewable energy. OPEC rigs count was 394 for the period even as non-OPEC was pegged at 1,985.

 

The rigs data for October was released amid a marginal increase of 77,000 barrels per day oil production, during the month and a further rise to 171,000 barrels per day in November.

 

 

But the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has put current production at 1.6 million bpd, although traditionally OPEC and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) release production figures.

 

The production was still about 700,000 barrels per day less than Nigeria's quota for the month, which in the last few months has been pegged at 1.8 bpd on the average. In total, Nigeria's output was 1.186 million bpd in November.

 

The figure, the OPEC report indicated, were far less than what they were in 2020, regarded as the Covid-19 year, when Nigeria produced 1.493 million bpd and in 2021, when it averaged 1.323 million bpd.

 

The rise in the oil rigs in October was however about 14.2 per cent when put side by side the September figure, which was pegged at a low of seven.

 

In recent times, the country's active rigs have progressively decreased, but was made worse after Nigeria began shutting down many of its offshore platforms as oil prices took a downward slope and the producers' group embarked on production curbs to stabilise the market in 2020, following the upsurge of the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

 

Furthermore, there has also been massive underinvestment in the sector, leading to depleting oil rigs.

 

Despite the remarkable recovery in global crude oil demand, Nigeria had been unable to ramp up production, following massive theft of the resource in the Niger Delta as well as shutdowns due to frequent equipment failure.

 

In the oil and gas industry, the rig count is a major index for measuring activities in the upstream sector.

 

While for instance, 26 rigs were in operation, on both onshore and offshore terrains, in 1997, Nigeria as at January this year had just about 12 active oil rigs, with about half of them not even in use.

 

Last week, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) revealed that in the period spanning between 2009 and 2020, Nigeria lost as much as 619.7 million barrels of crude oil valued at N16.25 trillion to oil theft.

 

The losses were from theft and sabotage, based on information and data provided by an average of eight companies covered by NEITI process over the years, the organisation said.

 

A breakdown of the losses, it said, shows that in 2009 when NEITI commenced reporting of crude oil theft, Nigeria lost 69.49 million barrels valued at $4.31 billion.

 

It added that the figures for 2010, 2011 and 2012 revealed that 28.31 million, 38.61 million and 51.58 million barrels which were valued at $2.29 billion, $4.39 billion and $5.82 billion were lost respectively.

 

According to NEITI, its oil and gas industry reports for 2013 to 2020 also showed that the losses to crude oil theft did not abate as 78.30 million barrels valued at $8.55 billion were lost in 2013 alone.

 

-This Day.

 

 

 

Nigeria: Airlines Call for Upgrade of Airport Infrastructure to Curb Flight Delays

Domestic carriers have called for the upgrade and expansion of airport infrastructure, attributing most of flight delays to inadequate facilities like limited spaces at the airport terminals, inadequate x-ray machines and attendant personnel that man passenger facilitation at the airports.

 

Speaking on behalf of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) at the launch of the book, "Air Transportation In Nigeria: The Lingering Expectations," the Chairman and CEO of Air Peace, Allen Onyema said that as the festive season approaches, influx of passengers would likely outstretch facilities at airports, especially Abuja where only a few check-in counters are available in a small hall for processing hundreds of passengers.

 

 

He said such situation naturally causes delays, as passengers who interface with airlines do not know the root cause of the delays, which begins with capacity of check-in halls, the number of check-in counters, the delay in the screening of passengers and also the capacity of departure halls.

 

While exonerating airlines over flight delays, Onyema said 95 percent of the circumstances that usually lead to delays is beyond passengers' and airlines' control.

 

"Airlines are prepared, they have the means, we also know the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) is alive to its duties of regulation, safety is assured but in other areas, the airport authority has some questions to answer, "Onyema said.

 

Speaking particularly on Abuja and Gombe airports, he said it is unimaginable for about 10 airlines' passengers to occupy a small space with only four check-in counters, adding that rather than for authorities to rally round and support them, they prefer to de-market them.

 

 

"Nigerian airline operators are the most patriotic citizens of Nigeria because of the environment. People blame us for late departures but airlines are not responsible for delays, passengers need to know the truth but those are supposed to protect us are de-marketing us.

 

"AON has written to the Ministry and FAAN on the issue of Abuja check-in counters. It is crazy, nine or 10 airlines in a very small space is not encouraging, but a few days ago, the Managing Director of FAAN spoke to me that they are going to do something about it, what we are asking for is expansion, the old international terminal is lying fallow, some airlines can be asked to move there to create more room for us, a situation where we are given few counters and we have thousands of people checking in will cause delay.

 

 

"I have said it that passengers should stop blaming airlines for delays, they should look at the main cause, no airline plans to delay flights deliberately. Although, this government has done a lot for aviation, the Minister and the President have done a lot, a very passionate man, we need to do something about infrastructure especially at the Abuja airport, it is causing delays for airlines because once you take off from Lagos, you must experience delays in Abuja because of the check-in difficulties, there is no conveyor belts.

 

"Gombe is one place we like flying to. The governor has been very supportive, Air Peace loves the place but their safety is important. The problem is not insurmountable, we made the report about the faulty scanners but I think they are doing something about it, I am sure all the authorities have been informed about it", he added.

 

Meanwhile, stakeholders in the sector have honoured and praised the authors of the book, which captures all segments of the industry in the country.

 

Present at the occasion were the Chairman of Arik Air, Sir Arumemi Ikhide; former Managing director Arik Air, Chris Ndulue; Dr. Alex Nwuba, Mr. Richard Aisubeogun, former and current country managers of British Airways, Mr. Kola Olayinka and Mrs. Adetutu Otuyalo; Mr. Abayomi Agoro, president, Nigeria Air Traffic Controllers Association; former and current editors of Newspapers, Mr. Rotimi Durojaiye; Mr. Don Okere, among others.

 

Industry stakeholders who graced the occasion spoke about the authors' hard work and attention to details, saying some of the topics treated were challenges that have bedeviled the sector over the years without being tackled.

 

Director General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Musa Nuhu, represented by Director of Aerodrome Airspace Standard, Tayyib Odunowo , attested to the fact that that issues such as forex , Jet fuel were lingering challenges that affected the sector.

 

Onyema, who was the chief launcher, remarked that the book would serve as reference for Nigerians interested in the aviation sector.

 

According to him, policy somersault, owner/ manager syndrome in airline business and lack of corporate governance are areas that have been well dissected in the book.

 

-This Day.

 

 

 

 

Nigeria: 80% of African Start-Ups Have Funding Challenges - IFC

The World Bank's private investment arm, the International Finance Corp (IFC) has said that 80 per cent of African start-ups have funding challenges which the organisation can intervene to reduce markedly.

 

The IFC said it sees huge potential to boost investment in Africa and help support entrepreneurship and digital transformation on the continent.

 

United States President, Joe Biden, last week, hosted a three-day summit attended by 45 African national leaders that was aimed at bolstering trade ties between the United States and Africa after years of inroads by rival China.

 

 

IFC Managing Director, Makhtar Diop, told Reuters the IFC was working with African countries to help match up entrepreneurs with urgently needed financing to support economic growth and job creation across the continent.

 

"Africa is buzzing with innovative tech solutions that can transform people's lives for the better. We've seen a surge in new business models and platforms in everything from health-tech to fintech. Yet over 80 per cent of African start-ups report difficulties in accessing funding," he said.

 

IFC's Global Director of Disruptive Technology, William Sonneborn, said Africa, with a population of 1.4 billion under the age of 18, was home to some of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

 

"Africa is the market of the future for US products and services, and so, if (the United States) is not active, it will miss out on a huge opportunity," Sonneborn said, citing what he called an "economic pivot" to focus on key new markets.

 

-This Day.

 

 

 

Nigeria: Ship Owners Seek Ajegunle Residents' Relocation to Upgrade Apapa Port

President of the Ship Owners Association of Nigeria, Mkgeorge Oyung, yesterday called for the relocation of the residents of Ajegunle, a suburb in Lagos, with a view to enhancing the value of Apapa Wharf.

 

He stressed the need for the federal and Lagos state governments to recreate the Apapa Port by relocating Ajegunle city, to build a modern logistics city.

 

Oyung stated this in Abuja, yesterday, at a public hearing of a bill: 'Nigerian Economic Diversification Bill 2022."

 

He noted that NPA was making a total of $2 million (N890,000, 000) instead of $43 billion (19,135,000,000,000) as daily revenue

 

 

He insisted that the only way to save Apapa port was to relocate Ajegunle by paying compensation ranging from N25 million and N45 million to house owners in the place.

 

He said, "We can build a proper logistics city as it is located and have on 24 hours trailers loading and moving out of the ports.

 

"What we have now is Ajegunle port! And the Lekki port is turning out to be the same thing. And we can do the same thing at Lekki.

 

"Nobody builds a port in the city. Go to Ajegunle anybody that has a Bungalow takes N25m and anybody with a story building takes N45m and you will get back the ports," he said

 

The SOAN boss said the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) was losing a whooping sum $41billion (N18,245, 000, 000,000) daily due to poor management of the maritime sector.

 

He noted that shipping was the biggest business in the world; hence, Nigeria should pay attention to it.

 

 

He said, "Shipping is 90 per cent of global trends and as far as the world is concerned, nothing moves, and nothing goes on without shipping, and without shipping, there is no shopping.

 

"NPA makes $2 million a day by their revenue, whereas it is an industry where it can make $43 billion a day; $1.8 billion an hour and $30m a minute.

 

"NPA is making $2 million a day, which means something must give way and my suggestion is that we should relocate Ajegunle."

 

The SOAN president also noted that the ports were functional, adding that its poor management and lack of diversification had continued to inhibit the optimisation of NPA.

 

Talking about the functionality of the ports, Oyung said, "All ports are functioning; the constraints of the ports are a matter of congestion due to poor port management of the port."

 

He added, "I am not trying to indict anybody but the fact that you have to manage the ships that come and make sure that the ships that come are producing and discharging and you don't delay them at the port because the ship comes to the port, it doesn't dwell.

 

"It is supposed to be very controlled, however in our port, especially Apapa port, it is so congested that the roads are not only the problem and of course what needs to be done, I have suggested. On other ports, they are bound by infrastructure decay, they are bound by the fact that they are not being utilised."

 

He further advised that the Apapa and Lekki ports, "particularly be feeder ports where when the goods arrive and it has a two put of 3,000 containers a day, we don't see the possibility of all of that being able to leave that port. So, we have other ships that will take them to other ports."

 

He added, "If somebody imports a car, there's really no reason why he should clear it in Lagos. If the car is taken to Port-Harcourt or Warri or Calabar, and cleared there, a person can drive back to Kaduna, Imo, Maiduguri or other states. So, when every car comes to Lagos and we diversify and say that some ports are for the exports, rail road, cars and some ports for minerals, that will help the economy."

 

Onyung noted that one of the ways to save the situation, particularly in Lagos was to relocate the Ajegunle community in other to save the ports.

 

-This Day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


 


Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

 

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INVESTORS DIARY 2022

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

National Unity Day

 

December 22

 


 

Christmas Day

 

December 25

 


 

Boxing Day

 

December 26

 


Companies under Cautionary

 

 

 


CBZH

Meikles

Fidelity

 


TSL

FMHL

Turnall

 


GBH

ZBFH

GetBucks

 


Zeco

Lafarge

Zimre

 


 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 


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

 


 

 


(c) 2022 Web: <http://www.bullszimbabwe.com>  www.bullszimbabwe.com Email:  <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> info at bulls.co.zw Tel: +263 4 2927658 Cell: +263 77 344 1674

 


 

 

 

 

 

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