Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 23 February 2022

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 23 February 2022 

 


 

 


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

 


 

 


ü  K-pop: BTS agency Hybe grows profits by 31%

ü  Nord Stream 2: How does the pipeline fit into the Ukraine-Russia crisis?

ü  Explainer: Western sanctions on banks only scratch surface of Fortress Russia

ü  EXCLUSIVE Punishing Putin: How Biden could cut Russia off from world tech

ü  Factbox: Companies with exposure to Russia react to Ukraine crisis

ü  Bitcoin could be laid low by miners' malady

ü  Stocks regroup as investors hold their breath on Ukraine

ü  Britain mistakenly puts Russian central bank's address on sanctions list

ü  Oil pulls back on fading supply worries over Ukraine crisis

ü  Uk Expert Urges Nigerian Organisations To Identify Business Threats Opportunities. 

ü  Rwanda: EABC Pushes for 35% Common External Tariff Rate

ü  Nigeria, Iraq Kick Against Hike in OPEC Oil Output As Prices Surge Towards $100

ü  Liberia: Supreme Court Rejects House of Representatives' Blocking of Chinese Mining Company Deal

ü  Tanzania: Isles, Mainland Institutions Sign Deals to Cooperate on Oil, Gas

ü  Tanzania: Dar Port to Handle South Sudan Cargo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 

K-pop: BTS agency Hybe grows profits by 31%

The South Korean entertainment company behind K-pop band BTS has seen a surge in profits, despite making less money from concerts during the pandemic.

 

Hybe says its operating profits jumped by 30.8% in the past year.

 

It almost tripled its revenue from content, such as games and digital comics featuring the popular group.

 

The firm, which was previously named Big Hit Entertainment, also owns the music labels of singers including Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber.

 

Speaking to investors on Tuesday, Hybe chief executive Park Ji-won said the company planned to "carry out its game and publishing business in earnest".

 

He said it planned to invest in game developers and "provide a variety of entertainment in the soon-to-be-unfolded metaverse".

 

That came after the firm reported a surge in operating profits to 190.3bn won (£118m; $160m) last year.

 

Revenue from its content business rose from 132.3bn won to 370.4bn.

 

Its takings from merchandise also grew, and that from advertisements, artist appearances and their management more than doubled.

 

 

Hybe had gained ground with K-pop fans through the Weverse platform, that allows them to connect with artists and buy exclusive content.

 

It is in the process of launching non-fungible tokens or NFTs. While these have been touted as the digital answer to collectables, critics have warned about risks in the market.

 

The firm also plans to release another mobile game and improve Rhythm Hive, where players tap along to music by BTS and other South Korean bands. They collect and buy "gems" that could be used for virtual purchases.

 

However, concerts have seen a slow recovery. Hybe's earnings from performances were under a quarter of what they were in 2019.

 

In 2020, BTS - one of the biggest revenue generators for Hybe - called off what was supposed to be their largest international tour with almost 40 concerts, because of the pandemic. The seven-member group held online shows instead.

 

In November, they performed in Los Angeles, marking their first in-person concert since the pandemic began.

 

Five of its members have contracted Covid-19 after returning to Seoul.

 

The band has since scheduled three concerts in the city and a series of performances in Las Vegas.-BBC

 

 

Nord Stream 2: How does the pipeline fit into the Ukraine-Russia crisis?

Final approval of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline has been put on hold because of Russia's actions in Ukraine, Germany has said.

 

The pipeline between Russia and Germany was completed last September but is not yet operating.

 

What sanctions are being imposed on Russia?

 

What is Nord Stream 2?

Nord Stream 2 is a 1,200km pipeline under the Baltic Sea, which will take gas from the Russian coast near St Petersburg to Lubmin in Germany.

 

It cost €10bn (£8.4bn) and was completed last September. The Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom put up half of the cost and western energy firms such as Shell and ENGIE of France are paying the rest.

 

Nord Stream 2 runs parallel to an existing gas pipeline, Nord Stream, which has been working since 2011.

 

 

Together, these two pipelines could deliver 110bn cubic metres of gas to Europe every year. That is over a quarter of all the gas that European Union countries use annually.

 

Map showing the route of the Nord Stream pipelines between Russia and Germany.

How has the Ukraine crisis affected Nord Stream 2's future?

The pipeline does not yet have an operating licence - and Germany has now put this on hold.

 

It took the step after Russia formally recognised two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine, and sent troops there.

 

"In light of the most recent developments we must reassess the situation in particular regarding Nord Stream 2," Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.

 

US President Joe Biden had previously vowed to shut down Nord Stream 2 if Moscow invades Ukraine, saying "I promise you we will be able to do it".

 

Who is against Nord Stream 2?

The US and UK, along with Russia's neighbours Poland and Ukraine, strongly oppose Nord Stream 2.

 

They fear that if were to start operating, it would give Russia even more of a stranglehold over gas supplies to Europe.

 

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has called Nord Stream 2 "a dangerous political weapon".

 

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Europe needs to "snip the drip feed into our bloodstream from Nord Stream".

 

In 2006, Russia shut off gas supplies going through Ukraine because of a financial quarrel between the two countries. It caused acute energy shortages during winter in central and eastern Europe.

 

There are fears Russia might stop gas supplies in the future for political reasons.

 

The US has tried to block Nord Stream 2 before, by imposing sanctions on companies involved in the project. However, it has only targeted Russian firms and not German ones, for fear of damaging diplomatic relations with Berlin.

 

Who wants Nord Stream 2?

Russia is keen to boost supplies of gas to Europe from its vast fields in the west of the country.

 

It wants an undersea pipeline to Europe, rather than relying on its land-based pipelines which go through Poland and Ukraine. These pipeline networks are aging and inefficient. Besides this, Poland and Ukraine charge high transit fees.

 

Before the Ukraine crisis, Mr Scholz's predecessor Angela Merkel did a lot to try and push through Nord Stream 2.

 

Germany already imports 35% of the gas it needs from Russia and she thought Nord Stream 2 would be a way of getting much more Russian gas delivered directly to Germany.

 

Even before Germany's latest action, the project still faced a big legal hurdle and was unlikely to be delivering any gas before the summer of 2022.

 

Germany's regulator had already refused to give it an operating licence because Russian firm Gazprom owns both a 50% stake in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and all of the gas that would go through it.

 

Germany says that gives Russia too much control over supplies and it wants the ownership of the pipeline to be passed to another company.-BBC

 

 

 

Explainer: Western sanctions on banks only scratch surface of Fortress Russia

(Reuters) - The United States, the European Union and Britain announced new sanctions on Russia on Tuesday after Moscow's recognition of two separatist regions in Ukraine as independent entities.

 

Chief among their targets: Russian banks and their ability to operate internationally.

 

Yet the impact of the new sanctions is likely to be minimal. Western governments - for now - are preferring to keep the much larger sanctions packages that they have planned in reserve should the crisis escalate.

 

It means Russian bankers or their Western counterparts with exposures to the country won't be losing much sleep.

 

Indeed, U.S. banks are not expecting global sanctions to have a major impact on American bank businesses or spark contagion risk, given lenders have little exposure to the Russian economy, said three executives familiar with industry thinking. [nL8N2UX2PZ]

 

Here's how the banks are being targeted and which measures might hit harder:

 

WHAT HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED SO FAR?

 

European foreign ministers agreed to sanction 27 individuals and entities, including banks financing Russian decision-makers and operations in the breakaway territories.

 

The package of sanctions also includes all members of the lower house of the Russian parliament who voted in favour of the recognition of the breakaway regions. read more

 

Britain imposed sanctions on Gennady Timchenko and two other billionaires with close links to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and on five banks - Rossiya, IS Bank, GenBank, Promsvyazbank and the Black Sea Bank. read more

 

The lenders are relatively small and only military bank Promsvyazbank is on the Russian central bank's list of systemically important credit institutions.

 

Bank Rossiya is already under U.S. sanctions from 2014 for its close ties to Kremlin officials.

 

Washington imposed sanctions on Promsvyazbank and VEB bank.

 

It also ramped up prohibitions on Russian sovereign debt, which U.S. President Joe Biden said meant the Russian government would be cut off from Western financing. The U.S. Treasury said it was extending current prohibitions to cover participation in the secondary market for bonds issued after March 1 by Russia's Central Bank and other entities. read more

 

Russian dollar bonds extended their losses after the announcement on U.S. sanctions, with longer-dated issues slipping to record lows trading in the mid-90s, data showed. , The premium demanded by investors to hold Russian debt over safe-have U.S. Treasuries blew out to 329 basis points, the widest since the COVID market rout in spring 2020. (.JPMEGDRUSR)

 

WHAT WILL THE IMPACT BE?

 

For now - minimal.

 

Russia's large banks are deeply integrated into the global financial system, meaning sanctions on the biggest institutions could be felt far beyond its borders.

 

But the new sanctions focus on smaller lenders.

 

The measures targeting banks are not yet as extensive as those imposed after Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, although many of those sanctions remain in place.

 

Then the West blacklisted specific individuals, sought to limit Russia's state-owned financial institutions' access to Western capital markets, targeted the bigger state lenders, and imposed widespread limits on the trade of technology.

 

Britain's new measures refrained from imposing limits on the biggest state banks, cutting off capital for Russian companies, or ejecting other prominent so-called Russian oligarchs from Britain.

 

Shares in Russia's biggest banks, Sberbank (SBER.MM) and VTB soared after the state-controlled groups escaped the sanctions.

 

Analysts say Russian institutions are better able to cope with limited sanctions than eight years earlier, and Russian state banks have cut their exposure to Western markets.

 

Russia has since 2014 diversified away from U.S. Treasuries and dollars - the euro and gold account for a bigger share of Russia's reserves than do dollars, according to a January report from the Institute of International Finance.

 

Russia has some strong macroeconomic defences too, including abundant hard currency reserves of $635 billion, oil prices near $100 a barrel and a low debt-to-GDP ratio of 18% in 2021. read more

 

"The ones today were not that significant," said Samuel Charap, a senior political scientist at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation, about the U.S. sanctions.

 

“The question is where we go from here," he said. "I am increasingly pessimistic, and I think there is a high probability of significant further Russian military action and I think in that case, we are likely to see some of the really qualitatively more devastating measures than in the past."

 

WHAT MIGHT COME NEXT?

 

The EU has said it is ready to impose "massive consequences" on Russia's economy but has also cautioned that, given the EU's close energy and trade ties to Russia, it wants to ratchet up sanctions in stages. read more

 

Officials consider Tuesday's measures as a first round.

 

Beyond lenders that do business directly with the breakaway regions, it's not clear yet when or whether the EU will hit the biggest banks.

 

Washington has prepared a raft of measures including barring U.S. financial institutions from processing transactions for major Russian banks by cutting "correspondent" banking relationships, sources told Reuters last week.

 

Disabling international payments would hit hard.

 

Those measures, however, may be kept in reserve.

 

Russia's Sberbank and VTB would face American sanctions if Moscow proceeds with its invasion of Ukraine, a senior U.S. administration official told reporters.

 

If such banks did get targeted, U.S. banks could face retaliation, said Charap, who pointed to cyber attacks as a potential weapon that could be used.

 

WHAT WOULD HIT HARDEST?

 

What the region's banks and Western creditors fear most is the possibility that Russia is banned from a widely used global payment system, SWIFT, which is used by more than 11,000 financial institutions in over 200 countries. read more

 

Such a move would hit Russian banks hard but the consequences are complex. Banning SWIFT would make it tough for European creditors to get their money back and Russia has been building up an alternative payment system.

 

Data from the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) shows that European lenders hold the lion's share of the nearly $30 billion in foreign banks' exposure to Russia.

 

WHICH FOREIGN BANKS ARE MOST EXPOSED?

 

Europe's banks - particularly those in Austria, Italy and France - are the world's most exposed to Russia, and have been on high alert should governments impose new sanctions.

 

 

Italian and French banks each had outstanding claims of some $25 billion on Russia in the third quarter of 2021, according to BIS figures. Austrian banks had $17.5 billion. That compares with $14.7 billion for the United States.

 

Among the most exposed lenders is Austria's RBI (RBIV.VI), which has big operations in Russia and Ukraine. It has said "crisis plans" would come into effect if things deteriorate. Its shares closed down 7.5% on Tuesday. read more

 

Many foreign banks have, however, significantly reduced their exposure to Russia since 2014, making some bankers less concerned about the threat of sanctions.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

EXCLUSIVE Punishing Putin: How Biden could cut Russia off from world tech

(Reuters) - If Russia further invades Ukraine, the Biden administration could deprive it of a vast swath of low- and high-tech U.S. and foreign-made goods, from commercial electronics and computers to semiconductors and aircraft parts, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

 

President Joe Biden would achieve that by expanding the list of goods that require U.S. licenses before suppliers can ship them to Russia, and his administration would then deny those licenses, the people said.

 

The measures, whose details have not previously been reported, are part of a suite of export control penalties that the United States has prepared to damage Russia's economy, targeting everything from lasers to telecoms equipment and maritime items.

 

They were not announced on Tuesday as part of a round of sanctions unveiled by Biden to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin for recognizing two breakaway regions of Ukraine as independent and deploying troops into the regions to "keep the peace." read more

 

But a senior administration official said, “if Putin escalates further, we will escalate further, using both financial sanctions and export controls, which we’ve yet to unveil.”

 

The official added: "Export controls are really potent because we’re talking about critical technology inputs that Russia needs to diversify its economy.”

 

The official added that the United States is "fully prepared with a very large number of countries across the world to implement those export control measures if the invasion proceeds."

 

The White House, and the Commerce Department, which oversees U.S. export controls, did not respond to requests for comment on details of the potential restrictions.

 

The package, which was still being fine-tuned over the weekend and could change, could come even as some White House officials have pledged to spare the Russian consumer from the brunt of the penalties.

 

The goal of the export control measures "is really to degrade Russia's ability to have industrial production in a couple of key sectors," Peter Harrell, who sits on the White House's National Security Council, said in a speech last month. He said the administration was focused on industrial production and high-tech sectors "rather than how do we sort of target the Russian people writ-large."

 

The administration has been vowing to hit Moscow with a potent cocktail of banking sanctions and export controls for weeks, in response to a massing of hundreds of thousands of Russian troops along Ukraine's borders.

 

Reuters reported on Saturday that the Biden administration had also prepared a package of sanctions against Russia that includes barring U.S. financial institutions from processing transactions for major Russian banks. read more

 

By far the most sweeping measure contained in the export controls package would take a page from restrictions placed on Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies Co Ltd (HWT.UL) under former President Donald Trump. It would dramatically expand the scope of the so-called Foreign Direct Product Rule (FDPR), requiring firms that use U.S. tools to make technology overseas to obtain a U.S. license before shipping them to Russia.

 

"It's extraordinarily novel and has the potential for being far more significant than controls just on exports of these items from the United States," said Washington lawyer Kevin Wolf, a former Commerce Department official.

 

U.S. suppliers would also have to obtain licenses for certain Russia-bound items that do not currently require them, such as civil aircraft parts. Whether Europe would follow suit with similar measures remains to be seen.

 

Japan said on Tuesday it stood ready to join the United States and other G7 industrialised nations in slapping sanctions on Russia. read more

 

On Tuesday, Biden said the United States would impose sanctions against two large Russian financial institutions and Russian sovereign debt and against some Russian elites and their family members. read more

 

On Monday, as an initial response to Putin's moves into eastern Ukraine, Biden vowed to end investment in and trade with the regions while British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced initial sanctions targeting Russian banks and billionaires.

 

Under changes proposed in the U.S. export control package, the license applications, in turn, would face a strict "policy of denial" standard of review, meaning only in rare cases would the administration approve them.

 

In addition, Russian companies listed as so-called military end users for their alleged ties to the Russian military, including a handful of aircraft producers, would be added to a trade blacklist known as the entity list. That would broaden the scope of items the companies would need licenses to obtain.

 

Finally, Washington would expand the scope of products that would need approval from the United States when sent to Russian military end users through an even broader application of the FDPR rule, subjecting to U.S. licenses requirements all items made abroad with U.S. tools and destined for companies that support the military.

 

U.S. exports to Russia were under $5 billion in 2020, according to the Commerce Department, and already face many curbs. But the use of the FDPR rule dramatically expands the impact of the restrictions included in the package.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Factbox: Companies with exposure to Russia react to Ukraine crisis

(Reuters) - International companies with exposure to Russia are closely following Western sanctions on the country after an escalation in the Ukraine crisis. read more

 

Below are comments from some Japanese and European companies on the situation:

 

JAPANESE COMPANIES:

 

HITACHI LTD, CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT & POWER GRID BUSINESSES

 

The conglomerate has five engineering bases in Ukraine of GlobalLogic, which it acquired last year, and roughly 7,200 staff working in places including Kyiv and northeastern Kharkiv.

 

Hitachi said it does not expect a significant impact on those businesses and operations are continuing.

 

JAPAN TOBACCO, FIVE FACTORIES IN RUSSIA

 

Japan's former tobacco monopoly relies on the Commonwealth of Independent States, including Russia and Belarus, for about a fifth of its profits.

 

Japan Tobacco (2914.T) employs about 4,000 people at its Russian plants, and its tax payments in 2020 accounted for 1.4% of the Russian Federation state budget, the company said on its website.

 

It has one factory in Kremenchuck, central Ukraine, where it has been expanding production. A spokesperson for the company said it was keeping an eye on developments.

 

MARUBENI CORP, TRADER WITH VARIOUS BUSINESS INTERESTS

 

The Japanese trading house has offices in the Ukraine capital Kyiv and in Dnipro in the east that trade in chemicals and fertilizers and distribute Hitachi Construction Machinery mining equipment.

 

Marubeni's three Japanese workers in Ukraine have already left, a spokesperson said. It also has four offices in Russia, where it sells tyres for mining equipment and manages a health check-up centre.

 

MITSUBISHI CORP, TRADER WITH VARIOUS BUSINESS INTERESTS

 

It distributes Mitsubishi Motor (7211.T) vehicles through some 141 dealerships in Russia and has a stake Sakhalin II gas and oil development project that supplies Japan with liquefied natural gas (LNG) and trades coal, aluminium, nickel, coal, methanol, plastics and other material. It also supplies power plant equipment and other machinery.

 

A spokesperson for Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T) said its business interests in both Ukraine and Russia were small and declined to comment further.

 

RAKUTEN, OWNER OF MESSAGING APP VIBER USED IN UKRAINE

 

The e-commerce firm said it is "focused on maintaining connectivity for Viber users everywhere". The app is used by 97% of Ukrainian smartphone users and the Japanese firm operates an office in Odessa with contractors and in Kyiv.

 

Rakuten (4755.T) said it has told contractors to prioritise their safety and will "accommodate their situations if they are prevented from working as usual."

 

SBI HOLDINGS, OWNS SBI BANK IN RUSSIA

 

SBI Bank, established almost three decades ago, offers corporate services and loans to Japanese companies expanding operations in Russia.

 

A spokesperson for the financial conglomerate (8473.T)said it had contingency measures to continue its Russian business by using euro, yen and dollars payments with European banks.

 

TOYOTA, AUTOMAKER WITH FACTORY IN SAINT PETERSBURG

 

The company's operations were unaffected, a spokesperson said. Toyota's (7203.T) plant in Russia makes Camry and RAV4 vehicles, and it has a sales office in Moscow. It has about 2,600 people, including 26 Japanese nationals, at those locations.

 

EUROPEAN COMPANIES:

 

BASF, GERMAN CHEMICALS MAKER WITH 1% SALES FROM RUSSIA

 

"All employees in Ukraine are requested to work from home where possible and to avoid business travel. All of our employees in Russia continue to work as normal," BASF (BASFn.DE) said in a statement.

 

Last year, Ukraine accounted for 0.2% of BASF's total sales.

 

COCA-COLA HBC, LONDON-LISTED BOTTLER WITH RUSSIAN OPERATIONS

 

"We have contingencies in place for all scenarios, including alternative sourcing, so that we can act swiftly," Zoran Bogdanovic, chief executive of Coca-Cola HBC (CCH.L), told Reuters. read more

 

He said the soft drinks company, which operates in 29 European and African countries and counts Russia and Nigeria as its two biggest markets, had learned lessons from its experience during the 2014 Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

 

"We ensure that we have the right level of stocks in our markets to avoid disruptions."

 

DANONE, WHICH GETS 6% SALES FROM RUSSIA

 

"Our local teams are monitoring the situation very closely with a view to ensure the security of employees," a Danone (DANO.PA) spokesperson said.

 

The French company is the world's largest yoghurt company and controls Russian dairy brand Prostokvashino. It mainly produces dairy products in Russia.

 

HEIDELBERGCEMENT, GERMAN COMPANY WITH THREE PLANTS IN RUSSIA

 

"We do not expect any major impact on our Russian business should the conflict escalate further. All of our three Russian cement plants supply their respective local/regional markets and do not export outside Russia," a Heidelberg (HEIG.DE) spokesperson said. The company sold its Ukraine operations in 2019.

 

INGKA GROUP, WHICH RUNS IKEA STORES AND MALLS WORLDWIDE

 

"Potential sanctions are likely to affect all international companies, including Ingka Group," the company said in a statement.

 

METRO, GERMAN RETAILER WITH RUSSIAN OPERATIONS

 

"Our responsibility as a company in Russia lies primarily with our approximately 10,000 employees and 2.5 million customers," a Metro spokesperson said, adding that the same concerns applied for Metro in Ukraine.

 

NESTLE, FOOD GROUP WITH FACTORIES IN RUSSIA

 

"(We) have business continuity plans in place that can be activated as needed. The safety and protection of our employees remains our highest priority. We will not speculate on any potential sanctions," a Nestle (NESN.S) spokesperson said.

 

As of 2020, the company had six factories in Russia, including plants making confectionary and drinks. Its 2020 sales from Russia were worth about $1.7 billion.

 

NESTE, FINNISH REFINER AND BUYER OF RUSSIAN OIL

 

"If sanctions are aimed at Russian crude oil and oil products, it will have an impact on the oil market globally. It is very difficult to define those impacts at this stage," Sami Oja, interim leader of the oil products business at Neste (NESTE.HE), told Reuters. "If there were no Russian oil available, Neste would buy its crude oil in other markets."

 

The company relies on Russia for two thirds of its oil needs.

 

"A significant part of Neste's crude oil purchases are made on so-called spot markets, meaning one load at a time, and therefore we are able to react flexibly to changes in the markets in our purchases if necessary," he said.

 

NOKIAN TYRES, WHICH HAS A PLANT AND WAREHOUSE IN RUSSIA

 

"We prepare for different scenarios as part of our normal risk-management work, and now we have intensified the work due to the current geopolitical situation, including availability planning," a spokesperson said.

 

Nokian (TYRES.HE) was prepared to transfer certain product groups between factories if the situation required.

 

RENAULT, WHICH HAS RUSSIAN JOINT VENTURE AVTOVAZ

 

Russian carmaker Avtovaz (AVAZI_p.MM), controlled by France's Renault (RENA.PA), is seeking alternative supplies of electronic chips in case U.S. sanctions curb deliveries, Avtovaz CEO said, without indicating how Avtovaz secures chips for its car plants in Russia.

 

"At this stage, it is premature to estimate what could be the sanctions," a Renault spokesperson said. read more

 

VOLKSWAGEN, GERMAN AUTOMAKER

 

"The degree of impact on our business activities in the affected countries is continuously determined. Regarding all activities on site, the safety and integrity of our employees is our top priority," the company (VOWG_p.DE) said in a statement.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Bitcoin could be laid low by miners' malady

(Reuters) - Bitcoin miners are feeling the heat - and the pain's rippling downstream to pressure prices.

 

The cryptocurrency's spectacular rally in 2021 drew thousands of entrants into mining, or producing new coin. As a result the hashrate, or combined computational power used by bitcoin miners globally, has roughly quadrupled over the past six months to blow past 200 million "terahashes" per second.

 

But what's that got to do with the price of bitcoin?

 

A rising hashrate makes it becomes harder for miners to earn coin and cover their costs of hardware, electricity and staff - so many are more likely to sell, rather than hold, their newly minted cryptocurrency, exerting a bearish force on the market.

 

"Running costs are a major factor in miners' decision to hold or sell newly acquired coins. They are the first and most natural sellers in the crypto space and so definitely impact prices," said Justin d'Anethan, institutional sales director at crypto financial services firm Amber Group.

 

The total value of coins held in miners' wallets has fallen to around $75 billion from $114 billion at the start of November, as their profitability has been squeezed by the rising hashrate as well as falling prices, according to Oslo-based crypto research firm Arcane Research.

 

Miners have been transferring more coins to exchanges than adding to reserves, according to crypto industry analytics firms, a sign of selling or intent to sell.

 

Such flows are adding to pressures facing bitcoin , whose drift towards the mainstream has seen it caught up in a selloff in global markets driven by tensions on the Ukraine border and the Federal Reserve's policy tightening.

 

The world's dominant cryptocurrency is trading at about $37,854, which is 45% below its Nov. 10 high of nearly $69,000.

 

WHAT IT COSTS

 

Bitcoin mining, in simple terms, is the process by which a network of computers checks and validates a block of transactions that then get added to the blockchain. Miners get rewarded for completing a block.

 

It's an expensive business, though, requiring not just sophisticated and fast "rigs" costing upwards of $10,000, but also a huge amount of power. And it's getting pricier.

 

The seven-day average of total mining cost per transaction validated has fallen to $176.8 from a record $235.57 hit in May last year, data from blockchain.com shows.

 

"As more miners join the network, each individually earns fewer bitcoin. This is because network difficulty increases in order to slow the issuance of new bitcoin," said Joe Burnett, analyst at infrastructure and mining firm Blockware Solutions.

 

Waning mining profitability is also hitting the broader market because some institutional investors, who are unable or unwilling to invest directly in cryptocurrencies, instead buy shares of listed miners or ETFs that track miners as an alternative way of gaining access to the young industry.

 

Shares of U.S.-listed crypto miners Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA.O) and Riot Blockchain (RIOT.O) have plunged 66% and 52% respectively since early November.

 

The Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI.O) is meanwhile trading at a roughly 5% discount to its net asset value since the fund's launch in early February, and the Viridi Clean Energy Crypto-Mining & Semiconductor ETF has lost 23% since the beginning of the year.

 

THE LAST BITCOIN

 

Some of the pressures on miners flow from bitcoin's inherent structure. The decentralised blockchain was created anonymously with a final limit of 21 million coins, of which nearly 19 million has already been minted.

 

It takes around 10 minutes to mine one block and the reward for miners - who currently get 6.25 bitcoin per block - is halved about every four years.

 

"There could be one miner or a million, it doesn't change anything. There's only one block and a set number of bitcoins issued," said d'Anethan at Amber Group.

 

A final note: don't lose sleep fretting about what will happen when the last bitcoin is mined - that's not expected until the middle of the next century, about 2140.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Stocks regroup as investors hold their breath on Ukraine

(Reuters) - Asian stocks steadied on Wednesday and demand for safe-havens waned a little as investors regarded Russian troop movements near Ukraine and initial Western sanctions as leaving room to avoid a war, while a rate hike lifted New Zealand's dollar.

 

Commodity prices remain elevated, however, and traders are still nervous over the situation on Europe's eastern edge.

 

Overnight oil struck a seven-year high while the S&P 500 index (.SPX) tipped into correction territory, having dropped more than 10% from January's record peak.

 

S&P 500 futures were up 0.55% in Asian trade, after U.S. President Joe Biden left the door open to diplomacy as he announced sanctions on two Russian banks and some elites close to President Vladimir Putin. read more

 

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) rose 0.3%. Japan's Nikkei (.N225) was closed for the Emperor's birthday holiday.

 

"The market sees the various sanctions ... as modest and perhaps not as aggressive as feared," said Chris Weston, head of research at brokerage Pepperstone.

 

"For now, one could assess there is a vibe across markets that Russian troops will hold Donbass, but push no further," he added, referring to the parts of eastern Ukraine that Russia has recognised as independent and has sent troops to reinforce.

 

The European Union and Britain also announced plans to target banks and Russian elites while Germany halted Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, leading to a nearly 11% leap in Europe's benchmark gas price . read more

 

Japan followed on Wednesday, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida saying the nation is prohibiting the issuance of Russian bonds in Japan and freezing the assets of certain Russian individuals as well as restricting travel to Japan. read more

 

Wheat futures had also leapt on Tuesday, posting the sharpest leap in three-and-a-half years and corn futures hit an eight-month high on concern that conflict could disrupt grain supply from the Black Sea export region.

 

Brent crude futures were last steady at $97.09 a barrel, having eased off Tuesday's top of $99.50. U.S. crude futures sat at $92.2 a barrel.

 

CENTRAL BANKS TOO

 

The crisis in Ukraine and the potential for surging energy prices come on top of nerves about whether the global economy can handle rising interest rates.

 

"That's what's weighing on markets - the uncertainty around how hard and fast central banks will go and what it does to the economy in terms of slowing it down," said Kerry Craig, global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management in Melbourne.

 

Aidan Yao, senior emerging Asia economist at AXA Investment Managers, told the Reuters Global Markets Forum that the Fed and other central banks would now need to contend with both market sentiment and rising energy prices.

 

"So it's a rock and a hard place - the onus will be on the Fed to make sure spikes in commodity prices don't morph further into inflation expectations and wage/pricing behaviours," he said.

 

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced its third consecutive rate hike on Wednesday, lifting its benchmark cash rate by 25 basis points to 1%, as expected, but surprising investors with a hawkish tone. read more

 

The New Zealand dollar rose 0.6% on the news and is on its longest streak of daily gains in almost two years.

 

China is a notable outlier where rates are falling and, according to a private research group, banks in nearly 90 cities have cut mortgage rates this month. read more

 

Elsewhere in currency markets, moves were fairly muted, though hopes that war in Ukraine can be avoided took some of the bid from safe-havens.

 

The yen was steady at 115.00 per dollar, having hit 114.50 a day ago. The euro hovered around its 50-day moving average at $1.1331.

 

The Australian dollar , which has been supported by surging commodity prices, touched a two-week high of $0.7241.

 

Cash Treasuries were closed in Asia due to the holiday in Tokyo but benchmark 10-year futures were steady and showed an implied yield of 1.97%.

 

Precious metals eased from overnight highs but remain bid on nerves about war. Gold was steady at $1,898 an ounce and is up more than 8% from December lows, while platinum and palladium have surged on fears about supply disruption.

 

Platinum is up more than 20% since December and palladium has gained more than 50%. read more

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Britain mistakenly puts Russian central bank's address on sanctions list

(Reuters) - Britain on Tuesday mistakenly assigned the address of the Russian central bank to a privately held bank with close links to Russian President Vladimir Putin that was the target of sanctions announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

 

Johnson slapped sanctions on five private banks including Bank Rossiya, which the government said was "privately owned by elite Russian billionaires with direct links to Putin", but spared Russia's largest state banks for now. read more

 

The government mistakenly listed Bank Rossiya's address as "Neglinnaya, 12, Moscow, 107016, Russia" which is the address of Russia's central bank, known in Russian as "Bank Rossiya."

 

The private Bank Rossiya is based in the northern Russian city of St Petersburg. Neglinnaya Street in Moscow has been home to a Russian or Soviet central bank office for at least a century.

 

The British foreign office later issued an update to make "administrative corrections to two listings under the Russia sanctions regime" which gave the bank's correct address.

 

The Russian central bank in Moscow did not reply to a Reuters request for comment, but a source close to the bank said their understanding was that it was a mistake and that it had had no impact on the bank’s operations.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Oil pulls back on fading supply worries over Ukraine crisis

(Reuters) - Oil prices took a breather on Wednesday after surging to seven-year highs the previous session as it became clear the first wave of U.S. and European sanctions on Russia for sending troops into eastern Ukraine would not disrupt oil supplies.

 

At the same time, the potential return of more Iranian crude to the market, with Tehran and world powers close to reviving a nuclear agreement, also kept a lid on prices.

 

Brent crude rose 30 cents, or 0.3%, to $97.14 a barrel at 0442 GMT, after soaring as high as $99.50 on Tuesday, the highest since Sept. 2014.

 

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures also gained 30 cents, or 0.3%, to $92.21 a barrel, after hitting $96 on Tuesday.

 

"The NATO allies are holding back some punitive measures as bargaining chips, which also means the door to diplomacy is still open. The Iran nuclear deal remains a possibility until it is not," said Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights.

 

"The two factors will leave crude rangebound and hold Brent back from $100 for the time being," Hari added.

 

Prices jumped on Tuesday on worries that western sanctions on Russia for sending troops into two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine could hit energy supplies, but the United States made it clear there would be no impact on energy exports.

 

"The sanctions that are being imposed today as well that could be imposed in the near future are not targeting and will not target oil and gas flows," a senior U.S. State Department official told reporters late on Tuesday. read more

 

Sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union, Britain, Australia, Canada and Japan on Tuesday were focused on Russian banks and elites while Germany halted a major gas pipeline project from Russia in response to one of the worst security crises in Europe in decades.

 

Further dampening prices was the possible return of more than 1 million barrels per day of crude from Iran, as diplomats said Iran and world powers were on the verge of reaching an agreement to curb Tehran's nuclear programme.

 

The big unknown is how quickly Iran could actually boost its exports, Commonwealth Bank commodities analyst Vivek Dhar said.

 

Other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, together called OPEC+, have struggled to meet their production targets due to underinvestment in oil infrastructure, and Iran could face the same issue, he said.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

Uk Expert Urges Nigerian Organisations To Identify Business Threats Opportunities. 

Director of TEXEM UK, Caroline Lucas, a British but passionate supporter of Africa, has urged Nigerian leaders and organisations to identify threats and opportunities to survive in the present period of uncertainties.

 

In a TEXEM press release signed by Caroline Lucas, Director of Special Projects, in Abuja, Lucas said more than ever before, deliberate efforts to develop innovation are now very vital for all organisations.

 

She asserted that contrary to the popular opinion that innovation was only essential for growth, it was also a vaccine against losses from pandemics.

"At this time and even beyond, retooling your organisation to sail through the turbulent times through creative ideas could be a defining approach to outperforming the rivals, achieving profitable growth and succeeding.

 

Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement, fluctuating foreign exchange, forthcoming elections, dwindling government revenue and high inflations offer threats and opportunities for every organisation.

 

To succeed in these increasingly disruptive times, leaders need to build a culture and capability of agility, innovation and efficiency," Lucas said.

She disclosed that TEXEM planned to train Nigerian and other global leaders to succeed in such times in its executive development programme on March 23 and March 24.

 

Lucas said the topic of the programme is "Leading And Building A Culture Of Innovation For Sustainable Success".

She said that London Business School Prof. Randall Peterson and Oxford University-trained Prof. Roger Delves would be the faculty at the executive development programme.

 

"This programme aims to help develop leadership agility for innovation and sustainable success.

 

Its focus is to help the participants develop a clearer understanding of how to successfully drive innovation for sustainable success," Lucas said.

 

She explained that by leveraging TEXEM's tested and proven methodology, participants would learn practical skills actionable insights from the faculty.

Lucas said they would also gain valuable insights from their professional exchange with critical partners and colleagues.

 

The development programme, organised by TEXEM, is virtual and will be engaging.

 

The release also quoted testimonials from delegates who had previously attended similar TEXEM programmes.

 

"It's a very insightful and worthy programme on Leadership and Executive Management. It has opened my eyes to understanding that you also have to be an effective follower to be an effective leader. I need to surround myself with people better than me and learn from them," said Hakeem Muriokunola, Head of Service, Lagos State

 

"It's the first time I'm doing a programme in Nigeria, and it's actually very interesting. The first thing I liked about it is the diversity of the participants and the quality of the network. I also like the edgy conversations we had with Christian and Alim. It's quite thought-provoking," recalled Effiong Okon, Operations Director, Seplat.

 

"The programme is an excellent one, it's a world-class institute, looking at the quality of materials, the quality of the facilitators, I think it's a world-class programme. It could be anywhere in the world, and it's a good standard," said Glory Idehen, Head of E-Training, C.B.N.

 

Professor Roger Delves explained that given TEXEM's impressive pedigree of consistently delivering value-adding programmes and the world-renowned faculties such as Randall Peterson of London Business School, who would join me in delivering this programme, it is one that is timely and will help leaders and organisations to succeed. Thus, this programme on Leading And Building A Culture Of Innovation For Sustainable Success scheduled to take place virtually, from 23rd – 24th March 2022, is relevant, critical and promises to add immense value to organisations and leaders. Also, through this programme, leaders would network and challenge assumptions. Notably, in times of social, economic and political turmoil, it is easy to get so engrossed in the daily struggle to survive that one forgets to take a breath, look around, take the temperature of the wider environment. Leaders can better focus on the bigger picture, identify opportunities, and inspire actions for profitable growth when one pauses to reflect and examine, which are missed in the rush and worry of the pandemic day. Intelligent executive minds all pausing simultaneously and exploring the same issues together are bound to come up with new thoughts, exciting ideas, refreshing, stimulating initiatives, and enhancing performance. Wouldn't you want to be in the room when the process of impactful growth begins?'

 

 

Rwanda: EABC Pushes for 35% Common External Tariff Rate

The East African Business Council (EABC) insists on the position that partner states adopt a 35 per cent maximum Common External Tariff (CET) rate as it, among others, will promote industrialisation as well as boost intra-EAC trade by $18.9 million.

 

Rwandan economist John Bosco Kalisa, CEO of the six-member bloc's top regional body of private sector associations and corporates, on Monday, February 21, told The New Times, in his offices in Arusha, Tanzania, that in the first week of March, they will start engaging Rwandan and Burundian stakeholders in a fresh bid to bring them on board.

 

An extraordinary meeting of regional Ministers of Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment last Friday directed Partner States to consult on the analysis undertaken by the Secretariat on the proposed maximum CET rates and submit comments on the analysis and the proposed maximum CET rates of 30 per cent, 33 per cent and 35 per cent to the Secretariat by March 15.

Kalisa said: "Our position remains the same. We are wondering why any further consultations (are required) when a study done on the proposed CET rate and it is very clear about the benefits in terms of promotion of industrialisation, expansion of intra-EAC trade, and product diversification.

 

"The 35 per cent CET rate also creates employment opportunities once we promote the regionally produced goods, as well as sustainance of regional food security and rural development."

 

The regional CET reflects the trade relations between partner states and the rest of the world particularly import duty charged on imported products into the bloc.

The prefered maximum regional CET rate of 35% is set to boost intra-EAC trade by $18.9 million if adopted by Partner States, according to the analysis done by EAC Secretariat on the proposed CET rates of 30%, 33% and 35% for products classified under the fourth, or maximum, band.

 

In 2020, total intra-EAC trade stood at 11.8 per cent amounting to $6.39 billion. According to the EABC, the prefered 35% tariff is set to boost intra-EAC trade to $6.4 billion.

 

The 35 per cent maximum CET rate for products categorized under the fourth band will divert trade from global trading partners in favour of EAC intra-regional trade.

 

As noted, Uganda will accrue highest trade creation at $8,456,681 followed by Kenya and Rwanda at $5,099,829 and $3,714,495, respectively.

 

According to Kalisa, besides the development impact, justification for the 35 per cent maximum CET rate also includes aspects of revenue protection, reinforcement of the national and regional policies of developing priority value chains, as well as reduction in the use of stay of applications (SOAs) to support development of national and regional value chains.

Shedding more light on the latter, Kalisa noted that the bloc cannot enough sugar, for example, and as such requests that tax on sugar be lowered as locally produced sugar is more expensive.

 

"Rwanda would, for example, be allowed the right to import from outside the EAC and that's what is called stay of application."

 

"But if the EAC demonstrates the required capacity to produce such items then there is no need for further requests of the SOAs."

 

Last November, drawn-out negotiations involving stakeholders highlighted divergent positions regarding a maximum CET rate of 30 per cent or 35 per cent. The Confederation of Tanzania Industries (CTI), Uganda Manufacturers Association (UMA) and Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) were pushing for 35 per cent while the Rwanda Association of Manufacturers (RAM) and Association des Industrielles du Burundi (AIB) supported a 30 per cent tariff rate.

 

Reached for comment, earlier on Monday, Alphonse Kwizera, an official from the Rwanda Manufacturing Association, told The New Times that he was in a meeting where "we are discussing the matter even now."

 

Hours later, late in the evening, Kwizera said: "We are supportive of the fourth band tariff as it puts into consideration the value chains, and domestic industries' promotion."

 

Manasseh Nshuti, Rwanda's Minister of State for EAC Affairs also told The New Times that: "This (issue of the best maximum CET rate for the region) has been on the table. We shall discuss the same in the Council."

 

Kenya's Permanent Secretary EAC, Dr. Kevit Desai who chaired last Friday's meeting in Arusha told The New Times that Ministers directed the EAC Secretariat, the bloc's executive organ, to convene another extra-ordinary meeting on March 18 to deliberate on the maximum CET rate.

 

It was agreed that countries consult key stakeholders on the proposed maximum CET rates and submit comments to the Secretariat by March 15.

 

Dr. Desai said: "I am confident as the chair of the coordination committee that at our next meeting we will as partner states have consensus on the CET there by nurturing value addition through industrialization in EAC."

 

A meeting of the regional task force held in Uganda, last October, to carry out a comprehensive review of the CET agreed on a four band tariff structure of zero per cent, 10 per cent, 25 per cent and a rate above 25 per cent which is either 30 per cent or 35 per cent.

 

It is now structured under three bands of 25 per cent for finished goods, 10 per cent for intermediate goods and zero percent for raw materials and capital goods.

 

There are a limited number of products under the sensitive list that attract rates above the maximum rate of 25 per cent ranging between 35 per cent and 100 per cent.

 

The Secretariat last week presented to Ministers the analysis it undertook on the proposed rates of 30 per cent, 33 per cent and 35 per cent for products classified under the fourth band.

 

The Secretariat noted that indicators of measure of benefit for products identified to be covered in the maximum tariff band are positive except for welfare loss, which is transitory.

 

As noted, the proposed various maximum CET rates will have diverse macroeconomic impacts.

 

On the implications for revenue, the average potential short-term impact on EAC Partner States total tax revenues increases by 3.9 per cent (scenario 1 - 30 per cent), 4.9 per cent (scenario 2 - 33 per cent) and 5.5 per cent (scenario 3 - 35 per cent).

 

On employment, employment generation increases marginally with 0.02 per cent (5,055 persons) under the maximum rate of 30 per cent; 0.03 per cent (6,089 persons) with a maximum rate of 33 per cent applied; and 0.03 per cent (6,781 persons) increase in average EAC formal employment under the maximum rate of 35 per cent.

 

On the implications for trade, potential trade diversion into the EAC (intra-EAC trade) increases by $13.03 million under the 30 per cent maximum rate, $16.51 million with a maximum rate of 33 per cent and 18.9 with the highest rate of 35 per cent.

 

On industrial development, industrial production increases under each of the proposed maximum CET rates of 30 per cent, 33 per cent and 35 per cent, with the highest rate of 35 per cent conferring the greatest gains in industrial output. There is a 0.02 per cent ($7.7 million) increase in industrial output with an applied maximum rate of 30 per cent; 0.03 per cent ($10.3 million) increase in production with a rate of 33 per cent; and 0.04 per cent ($12.1 million) increase in output with the highest rate at 35 per cent.-New Times.

 

 

 

Nigeria, Iraq Kick Against Hike in OPEC Oil Output As Prices Surge Towards $100

Abuja — Nigeria and Iraq have said the strategy employed by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, OPEC+, to gradually raise oil production is enough to balance the market.

 

Both countries insisted that there was no need for OPEC to be more aggressive, despite crude oil surge this year to almost $100 a barrel.

 

The 23-nation alliance, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, would meet on March 2 to decide the next line of action in terms of the amount of oil it expected members to pump in April.

 

Bloomberg quoted Nigeria's Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, as maintaining that the international cartel would not need to take any unplanned barrels to the market, stressing that the current plan perfectly serves the market as it is.

 

Sylva told reporters at an event in Doha, Qatar, according to Bloomberg, "We won't do anything extraordinary at this time because we are expecting a lot of production from outside of OPEC+."

 

He added, "There's no need at all to bring on more barrels than the current plan. We are expecting more production if a nuclear deal with Iran works out (since) there will be production from them."

 

Several of OPEC+'s biggest producers want to continue to add 400,000 barrels a day of crude to the market each month, Bloomberg reported.

 

In addition, Iraq's Ihsan Jabbar said OPEC and its partners would make their decision for April at the March meeting, after reviewing fresh data on supply and demand.

 

The comments came even as Brent crude rose 2.3 per cent to $97.60 a barrel, extending this year's jump to 26 per cent.

 

 

Tuesday's gain occurred after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he was recognising two self-proclaimed separatist republics in Ukraine.

 

Iraq's energy minister, Jabbar, said OPEC was factoring in growth in output from non-OPEC+ members, such as Brazil and Canada, and did not want to see any increase in commercially-stored oil around the world.

 

"The market will have more and more oil so we think there's no need" to deviate from today's strategy, Jabbar said in an interview in Qatar, where he was attending a natural gas conference, together with Sylva and others.

 

"We will not create any growth to the commercial storage. We will secure all the demand by making the required supply," he added.

 

Russia, a major oil and gas producer, plans to send "peacekeeping forces" to the Ukrainian region in a dramatic escalation of the on-going conflict. Moscow has consistently denied having plans to invade Ukraine.

 

 

Some major oil importers have called on OPEC+ to pump faster and put pressure on the likes of Saudi Arabia to use up some of their spare capacity.

 

Jabbar said it would be "unfair" for any OPEC+ state to raise output beyond its quota, despite many members struggling to reach theirs.

 

Nigeria has been struggling to meet its OPEC allocation for months and has as much as 300,000 barrels per day deficit, mainly due to ageing upstream infrastructure and sabotage as well as technical reasons.

 

Despite the over 1.7 million barrels' output allowed by the organisation, the country has managed to increase production to about 1.4 million, going by the latest OPEC review.

 

Although there are issues surrounding the sustainability of the current upward trend of the country's supply to the global market, it is seen as a good sign for the nation's oil and gas industry.

 

Last week, the International Agency Energy Agency (IEA), which advises rich countries, said OPEC+ was pumping almost one million barrels a day below its target.

 

"We have come from the recovery from COVID," the Iraqi minister said.

 

"It is not fair that you will give the increase just for some countries," he added.

 

Iraq undershot its output target last month because of bad weather at ports, Jabbar said. The country should meet its quota for February of around 4.3 million barrels a day, he noted.

 

Meanwhile, the Chief Executive of Vitol, one of the world's biggest oil traders, expects oil prices to climb to $100 and remain at that level for an extended period of time.

 

This bullish prediction, he said, was driven by a belief that global demand would surge in the second half of the year and could surpass 100 million barrels per day.

 

On the supply side, he said it was the fear of shrinking spare production capacity and restraint from US shale that was driving oil prices higher. Oil prices will go higher, and they would stay there for an extended period of time, said the chief executive of Vitol, Russell Hardy.

 

"The 100 million-barrel number is probably going to be exceeded this year," Hardy told Bloomberg, adding, "Demand is going to surge in the second half."

 

According to him, demand for crude this year could surpass 100 million barrels daily.

 

Like many others, Vitol's chief executive noted that the imbalance in global oil markets was fuelling inflation and threatening to interfere with the recovery of the global economy from the fallout of the pandemic.

 

However, more oil does not seem to be coming, as the US and European super majors are focusing on shareholder returns instead of production growth, and national oil companies in the OPEC+ countries are sticking to their original plan of adding 400,000 bpd to total production every month.

 

"Eventually we're going to run out of spare capacity. That's what the market is trying to work out," Hardy noted.

 

Major Wall Street banks, including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, JP Morgan, and Morgan Stanley, had already recently predicted that prices would hit $100 a barrel.-This Day.

 

 

Liberia: Supreme Court Rejects House of Representatives' Blocking of Chinese Mining Company Deal

In a legal blow for members of the House of Representatives, the Supreme Court has ruled that Senate did not violate any provision of the 1986 Constitution while ratifying the 25-year BAO CHICO Iron Ore Concession Agreement for Gbarpolu County, as claimed by the House

 

In a unanimous decision, the Court ruled that the agreement is not a revenue generation one, as claimed by the House of Representatives. Instead, it is a concession agreement that would have emanated from any of the two Houses, Senate or Representatives. Both houses have earlier passed separate versions of the BAO CHICO agreement.

 

Therefore, the court further ruled that there was no constitutional violation by the House of Senate, as being argued by the House of Representatives.

 

On November 7, 2021, the Senate passed the bill, "An Act to Ratify the Mineral Development Agreement between the Government of Liberia and the BAO CHICO Resources of Liberia", and was seeking the concurrence of the House of Representatives.

 

Surprisingly, while the senators were eagerly awaiting their colleagues in the lower house to concur with them (senators), members of the House of Representatives went ahead to ratify the agreement, ignoring similar agreements sent to them by the upper house.

 

Justifying their decision, the House of Representatives argued that discussion of the proposed agreement should have started with them and not the Liberian Senate, because, according to the members of the lower house, any bill regarding revenue generation should have originated from the House of Representatives.

 

 

They further argued that because the agreement was a revenue generation one, and the senators were in breach of the Constitution of Liberia, particularly Article 34, d (i), which among other things says, "All revenue bills, whether subsidies, charges, imports, duties or taxes and other financial bills shall originate in the House of Representatives, but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other bills."

 

In counterargument, the Senate said, the House of Representatives was in constitutional error to have ratified the Bio Chico agreement, without passing through the Senate.

 

They argued that, had the bill been a revenue bill and ratified or passed by the lower house without the knowledge of the Senate, that would not have been a problem, but in this case, it is a concession agreement that needs to be ratified by the upper house and not the other way around.

 

The controversial Mineral Development Agreement between the Government of Liberia and BAO CHICO Resources Liberia Limited is for the extraction of iron ore, to be operated under a Class "A" Mining License for an initial term of 25 years, in Gbarpolu County, from the time it would have been ratified.

 

The case grew when members of the House of Senate filed a petition before the Supreme Court, where they sought the court to decide the Constitutionality of ratification of the Bao-Chico Mineral Development Agreement by the Liberian Senate, prior to ratification by the House of Representatives.

 

President George Weah while submitting the BAO CHICO agreement, said the deal brings huge direct benefits in the forms of employment and revenue, including the payment of all taxes and duties; payments of royalties, and a signature fee of US$3 million.

 

However, the President did not state the total number of jobs the concession is expected to create.

 

The company's investment is in the tune of US$500 million, aimed at improving the country's economy, creating job opportunities and scholarships for citizens as part of its support to the Government's Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD).-Observer.

 

 

 

Tanzania: Isles, Mainland Institutions Sign Deals to Cooperate on Oil, Gas

SIX institutions dealing with development of oil and natural gas in both mainland and Zanzibar have signed agreements to strengthen collaboration.

 

The institutions in the Mainland are Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority (PURA), Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA), and Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC).

 

Whereas in the Isles, the institutions are Zanzibar Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority (ZPRA), Zanzibar Utilities Regulatory Authority (ZURA) and Zanzibar Petroleum Development Company (ZPDC).

 

"This is a milestone in our collaboration to the development of our country," said Engineer Felchesmi Mramba, Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Energy after the signing ceremony held at Hotel Verde, Mtoni area.

He said that in the Mainland, research and exploration on oil and gas were ongoing, good results have been recorded and that so far more than 57 trillion cubic feet of natural gas have been discovered.

 

Mr Mramba said there were still indications of discovering oil and gas in various areas in the Mainland where the exploration started more than six years ago.

 

"Therefore we have attained some experience in research and management. Collaboration with Zanzibar will enable us to move forward. We have decided to strengthen partnership by signing MoU so that we move forward smoothly. We can now share knowledge, experiences, statistics and other areas that will enable our institutions to move faster," he said.

 

He commended the Zanzibar and Mainland institutions' partnership, saying it would enable country to achieve its goals in research and developing oil and gas resources so that the outcome is known in the shortest possible time.

 

Urban District Commissioner (DC), Mr Rashid Simai Msaraka said that the new cooperation would strengthen the Union.

 

Mr Mgereza Miraj, the Permanent Secretary in the Isles Ministry of Water, Energy and Minerals said "Although we had cooperation in the past, we had no written agreement. Our future collaboration is backed by this agreement in different areas.-Daily News.

 

 

Tanzania: Dar Port to Handle South Sudan Cargo

TANZANIA Ports Authority (TPA) is looking forward to start receiving South Sudan consignments through the Dar es Salaam Port.

 

TPA expressed its readiness to start handling freight destined to Africa's youngest nation subject to relevant institutions holding a grip in assuring that all other supporting infrastructures are working properly.

 

The freight to South Sudan will be transported through the central line railway to the shores of Lake Victoria, then through a cargo ship to Port Bell in Uganda where it would continue by road to the final destinations.

 

 

"The performance improvement of Dar Port has lately attracted more foreign customers and of recent, traders from South Sudan, something that show huge interest of using our facilities. TPA is very ready and capacitated," said TPA's Deputy Director General,MrKarimMataka.

 

He made the revelation at Dar Port premises before visiting members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Infrastructure that was led by its chairman, MrSelemanKakoso.

 

Mr Mataka said that already the government has formed a committee composed of officials from different transportation sectors that is jointly addressing all hurdles faced by transport to and from different seaports.

 

The committee would advise the government on how better the ports would smoothen local and foreign cargo handling, including that of South Sudan.

 

"If we have a fast working railway system and cargo ferry/ship on Lake Victoria, we will handle more cargo to South Sudan through Uganda. In fact, by smoothening water transportation in different lakes, it means more countries will choose Tanzania's ports and increase more earnings," MrMataka said.

 

The committee is involving members from Tanzania Railway Corporation, Tanzania National Roads Agency, Tanzania Revenue Authority, Tanzania Bureau of Standards and those from security organs.

 

Some of the improvementsinclude elimination of repetitive weighbridge measurement among truck transporters, where now all foreign truckers measure only twice, at the start of the journal and near exit border points.

 

MrKakoso, on behalf of his fellow parliamentary standing committee members hailed TPA and the government for continuing efforts and advised for continued creativity for the country's ports to remain the number one choice for eastern and southern African countries.

 

"TPA has to improve its marketing department and have staff training on which is being done elsewhere to lure more customers and retain the current ones," Mr Kakoso said.-Daily News.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


 


Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

 

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INVESTORS DIARY 2022

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


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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