Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 05 May 2022

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 05 May 2022 

 


 

 


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

 


 

 


ü  Shell profits nearly triple as oil prices surge

ü  Wealthy Russians flee to Dubai to avoid sanctions

ü  Uber loses $5.9bn as Asia investment values fall

ü  Bill Gates on Elon Musk feud and Jeffrey Epstein meetings

ü  China lockdown: What do zero-Covid policies mean for UK prices?

ü  LIC: How the dead helped a salesman to become a star agent

ü  US makes biggest interest rate rise in 22 years

ü  Ukraine: UK cuts Russia off from management services

ü  RBI repo rate: India central bank hikes interest rates after two years

ü  Klarna shopping habits will affect credit report

ü  Ghana: University of Ghana, Spain-Ghana Chamber of Commerce Partner for
Internship Training

ü  Ghana: Organised Labour Urged to Be Resolute in 2023 Wage, Salary
Negotiations

ü  Ghana: Sefwi Bibiani Gets New Primary Sub-Station

ü  Ghana: Implementation of E-Levy Insensitive - CPP

ü  Ghana: We Need Crude Oil From Jubilee Field to Refine - Tor Union Demand

ü  Ghana: Premium Foods Limited Exports Super Cereal to Burkina Faso

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 

Shell profits nearly triple as oil prices surge

Energy giant Shell has reported its highest ever quarterly profits as oil
and gas prices surge around the world.

 

Shell made $9.13bn (£7.3bn) in the first three months of the year, nearly
triple its $3.2bn profit it announced for the same period last year.

 

But the firm said pulling out of Russian oil and gas due to the Ukraine
conflict had cost it $3.9bn (£3.1bn).

 

On Tuesday, rival BP also reported a sharp rise in profit, but the UK has so
far ruled out a windfall tax.

 

The invasion of Ukraine has helped oil and gas prices skyrocket. Russia is
one of the world's major exporters but Western nations have pledged to cut
their dependence on the country for energy.

 

Oil prices were already rising before the Ukraine war as economies started
to recover from the Covid pandemic.

 

Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden said the war in Ukraine had caused
"significant disruption to global energy markets".

 

"The impacts of this uncertainty and the higher cost that comes with it are
being felt far and wide.

 

"We have been engaging with governments, our customers and suppliers to work
through the challenging implications and provide support and solutions where
we can."

 

Shell rivals, including BP and TotalEnergies have also reported a sharp rise
in underlying profits.

 

Norway's Equinor, which supplies a quarter of the UK's gas, also posted
record earnings on Wednesday.

 

The price of oil and gas, already high at the end of last year, surged
higher after the Russian invasion of Ukraine threatened disruption and
eventual boycotts of one of the world's biggest suppliers of energy.

 

These numbers surpassed those lofty expectations.

 

The question now is what Shell will do with all this money.

 

The company paid out £4.3bn to shareholders, which include millions of
pension savers, in the last quarter and said it plans to dish out roughly
the same in the next three months.

 

Shell has already said it will invest £20bn to £25bn in the UK in the next
decade in low carbon energy and in UK gas and oil supplies.

 

Ministers will be watching closely to make sure Shell delivers on those
commitments.

 

It's the promise of investment that is standing between UK oil and gas
companies and the windfall tax opposition parties have called for but the
government has so far resisted.

 

The high prices of oil and gas are pushing up the cost of living around the
world.

 

In the UK, inflation is running at 7%, its highest rate for 30 years, as
energy bills, fuel costs and food prices jump.

 

The Bank of England is set to make an announcement on interest rates on
Thursday, with speculation it will lift borrowing costs to temper inflation.

 

One of the main contributors to UK inflation has been fuel prices, which are
near record highs and could stay that way for months, according to some
analysts.

 

Demand for diesel has grown as the popularity of online shopping deliveries
remains high, and inventories are low in the US and Europe.

 

Russia is a major exporter of diesel, but the Ukraine invasion has made
access to that limited.-BBC

 

 

 

Wealthy Russians flee to Dubai to avoid sanctions

Dubai has emerged as a haven for wealthy Russians fleeing the impact of
western sanctions over the war in Ukraine.

 

Russian billionaires and entrepreneurs have been arriving in the United Arab
Emirates (UAE) in unprecedented numbers, business leaders told the BBC.

 

Property purchases in Dubai by Russians surged by 67% in the first three
months of 2022, a report said.

 

The UAE has not put sanctions on Russia or criticised its invasion of
Ukraine.

 

It is also providing visas to non-sanctioned Russians while many Western
countries have restricted them.

 

It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people have left Russia over
the last two months - although exact figures are not available.

 

 

One Russian economist said as many as 200,000 Russians had left in the first
10 days after the war began.

 

Virtuzone, which helps companies to set up operations in Dubai, has seen a
huge surge of Russian clients.

 

"We are receiving five times more enquiries from Russians since the war
began," said chief executive George Hojeige.

 

"They are worried about an economic meltdown that's coming. That is why they
are moving here to secure their wealth," he added.

 

The influx of Russian nationals has bolstered demand for luxury villas and
apartments across the city. Real estate agents are reporting a surge in
property prices, as Russians arriving in Dubai are looking to purchase
homes.

 

Dubai-based real estate agency Betterhomes found property purchases by
Russians surged by two thirds in the first three months of 2022.

 

And another real estate agency, Modern Living, told the BBC it had hired
many Russian-speaking agents to cater to rising demand. Chief executive
Thiago Caldas said they were receiving numerous calls from Russian nationals
looking to relocate to Dubai immediately.

 

"Russians who are coming down are not buying just for investment, they are
looking at Dubai as a second home," he said.

 

Many multinational companies and Russian start-ups are also relocating their
employees to the UAE.

 

Fuad Fatullev is the co-founder of WeWay - a blockchain technology company
that had offices in Russia and Ukraine. After the war broke out, he and his
partners shifted hundreds of employees to Dubai.

 

"The war had a massive impact on our operations. We couldn't continue [as we
were] as we had to move hundreds of people outside of Ukraine and Russia,"
says Fuad, who is a Russian citizen.

 

He adds that they chose to shift their employees to the UAE as it offers a
safe economic and political environment to operate a business.

 

He said Russian businesses were moving out as they were finding it
incredibly difficult to operate due to sanctions. The challenge was even
more acute for companies dealing with international clients and brands, as
most western firms have severed ties with Russian-based enterprises, he
said.

 

Global firms like Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Google that have shut down
offices in Russia, are also relocating some of their employees to Dubai.

 

"There is definitely a brain drain that is happening. A lot of people are
leaving because there are a lot of business restrictions right now," says Mr
Fatulley.

 

Real estate prices soar

Russia's central bank is barred from tapping into the billions of foreign
reserves held overseas in foreign banks. Some Russian banks have been
removed from the Swift financial messaging system.

 

To protect its reserves, the Russian government has enacted capital
restrictions and banned citizens from exiting the country with more than
$10,000 in foreign currency.

 

Finding it difficult to transfer cash, a lot of Russian buyers are making
payments in cryptocurrencies. Some of the purchasers have an intermediary
who will take the payment in crypto and then pass on the cash to the seller
on behalf of the buyer.

 

Gulf states including the UAE and Saudi Arabia have rejected calls from
western governments to impose sanctions on Russia.

 

Abu Dhabi was one of only three countries, along with China and India, to
abstain in a United Nations Security Council vote in February to condemn
Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It also abstained in a General Assembly vote
on 7 April to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council.

 

The rise in Russian investment comes just months after the UAE was placed on
a "grey list" by the Financial Action Task Force (FAFT), a global financial
crime watchdog.

 

It means the country faces increased monitoring of its efforts to counter
money laundering and terrorist financing. The UAE government has claimed to
have taken significant measures to regulate inbound investment, and has
stated that it remains committed to working closely with FAFT on areas for
improvement.-BBC

 

 

 

Uber loses $5.9bn as Asia investment values fall

Ride-hailing and delivery group Uber has made a $5.9bn (£4.7bn) loss, mostly
due to its stakes in other companies.

 

The firm said almost all of the loss was a result of the fall in the value
of investments in businesses including two Asian ride-hailing giants -
China's Didi and South East Asia's Grab.

 

Shares in Didi and Grab have plunged since listing in New York last year.

 

Despite the loss, Uber's boss highlighted its progress in recovering from
the impact of the pandemic.

 

"Our results demonstrate just how much progress we've made navigating out of
the pandemic and how the power of our platform is differentiating our
business performance," chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said.

 

That came as the company said the number of trips taken had risen 18% for
the three months to the end of March, compared to the same period last year.
That helped its revenue rise by 136%.

 

On a net basis, Uber's first-quarter loss soared to $5.9bn from $108m a year
ago, driven by $5.6bn of drops in the value of stakes in other businesses,
primarily Chinese ride-hailing company Didi.

 

However, Uber has enough cash to hold on to those loss-making stakes and
wait for a better time to sell them, chief financial officer Nelson Chai
said.

 

Its shares ended Wednesday's trading session in New York 4.65% lower.

 

In 2016, as it faced tough competition in China, Uber sold its business in
the world's second largest economy to Didi in exchange for an 18% stake in
the Beijing-headquartered firm.

 

Didi's US market valuation has fallen by more than 80% since its $4.4bn
debut on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) last summer.

 

Within days of the listing China's internet regulator ordered online stores
not to offer Didi's app, saying it illegally collected users' personal data.

 

In December, the company announced plans to take its shares off the NYSE and
move its listing to Hong Kong.

 

This week, Didi revealed that it faced an investigation by the US stock
market watchdog about its initial public offering (IPO).

 

In 2018, when both firms were still privately owned, Uber sold its
businesses in South East Asia to Grab for a 27.5% stake in the
Singapore-based company.

 

Grab's shares fell sharply in their debut on New York's Nasdaq trading
platform in December last year.

 

Its stock market valuation has dropped by almost 75% since the IPO, which
was the largest ever US listing by a South East Asian firm.

 

Uber also owns a stake in Indian food delivery firm Zomato, which it got in
2020 in exchange for its Uber Eats operations in India.

 

Zomato's shares have almost halved in value since making a stellar stock
market debut in July.-BBC

 

 

 

Bill Gates on Elon Musk feud and Jeffrey Epstein meetings

In a wide-ranging interview with the BBC's Today programme, Bill Gates says
conspiracy theories about him are "crazy" and that being shouted at in
public is "awful". He also told the BBC's Mishal Husain that meeting Jeffrey
Epstein was a "mistake" and talks about Elon Musk's recent public criticism
of him.

 

Bill Gates used to be the world's richest person. That title is now held by
Elon Musk. The two men, however, don't get on.

 

Last week Mr Musk accused Mr Gates of "shorting" Tesla stock - a way of
making money by betting that a company will lose value. Mr Musk has also
tweeted puerile insults towards Mr Gates on Twitter.

 

"There's no need for him to be nice to me," Mr Gates says.

 

Mr Musk has argued that shorting Tesla, a company that makes electric cars,
undermines Mr Gates' environmental philanthropy.

 

Asked specifically about whether he had bet against Tesla, Mr Gates replied:
"That has nothing to do with climate change. I have ways of diversifying."

 

 

He pushed back against the idea that shorting Tesla was environmentally
damaging.

 

"The popularity of electric cars will lead to more competition for selling
those cars. So there's a difference between electric cars being adopted, and
companies becoming infinitely valuable."

 

Mr Musk has recently had a bid to buy Twitter accepted by the company's
board.

 

Asked what he made of the deal, Mr Gates said: "You know, Elon, I guess it's
possible Twitter could be worse. But it also could be better
 So I have a
wait and see attitude."

 

Mr Gates has a particular interest in social media, not because that's how
he made his billions, but because he has become a focus of conspiracy
theories.

 

He has long been an advocate of vaccines - and has pumped billions into
inoculation programmes around the world.

 

That prominence has made him the subject of bizarre and unfounded claims
that he is trying to track people through the jabs. Many of the theories
have been promoted on social media platforms, and took off during the
pandemic.

 

"In some ways, you almost have to laugh because it's so crazy," he says.

 

"I mean, do I really want to track people? You know, I spend billions on
vaccines, I don't make money on vaccines, vaccines save lives."

 

Mr Gates also said he'd been shouted at by conspiracy theorists on the
street.

 

"Only recently I've been out in public, [and] some people yell at me that
I'm tracking them. And that, that's an awful thing."

 

Mr Gates and his wife Melinda French Gates announced that they were getting
a divorce last year. The couple set up the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation -
one of the largest charitable organisations in the world - and had been
married for 27 years.

 

"My life is very different. My kids are gone from the house, the last one
left for college a year ago. The divorce is very hard. It was a tough year,"
he says.

 

The marriage ended with reports that Mr Gates had had an extra-marital
affair. In March Melinda Gates also said that she questioned why he had held
meetings with disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey
Epstein.

 

"I did not like that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, no. I made that
clear to him", she told CBS in March.

 

Asked about the meetings, Mr Gates described talking with Epstein as a
"mistake".

 

"I made a mistake ever meeting with Jeffrey Epstein. You know, maybe her
[Melinda's] instincts on that were keener than mine.

 

"Any meeting I had with him could be viewed as almost condoning his evil
behaviour. So, that was a mistake."-BBC

 

 

 

China lockdown: What do zero-Covid policies mean for UK prices?

Some of China's biggest cities have been hit by major Covid lockdowns this
spring, and it's had a disruptive effect on the country's economy.

 

However, it's not just people in China who are going to be affected.

 

As one of the world's biggest exporters, any halt in production could have
an impact on prices for consumers across the world, including the UK - which
last year imported nearly £70bn worth of goods from China.

 

Phones

China produces more than a third of the world's electronic goods.

 

Mobile phones are one of the top categories of goods that the UK buys from
China. Between 2020 and 2021, the UK imported £7.3bn worth of telecoms and
sound equipment.

 

Several companies that supply components for Apple - Pegatron, Quanta Group
and Compal Electronics - have had to close factories in the Shanghai area
because of Covid lockdowns.

 

By mid-April, the production of three million iPhones had already been
affected, according to analysis from investment firm Wedbush Securities,
with knock-on effects expected on iPads and MacBooks.

 

Chinese telecoms giant Huawei has also delayed opening a new computer chip
(or semiconductor) plant in Shanghai.

 

The city produces about one third of all of China's computer chips, while
the neighbouring province of Jiangsu produces about 10%.

 

The sector was already experiencing supply problems because of a surge in
demand last year.

 

Computers

Lockdowns could also affect the production of computers and printers.

 

This is not just about delays to exports - it is also because China needs to
import key materials in order to produce the semi-conductors in these
devices.

 

Covid restrictions mean that deliveries to Europe have been delayed by an
average of seven days, says Alicia Garcia-Herrero from the Brussels-based
think tank, Bruegel.

 

Currys PC World told the BBC that the impact of lockdowns was yet to filter
through in terms of the availability of products. But it said it was now
seeing increasing costs caused by transport problems in China.

 

China has tried to keep some factories running and ports open by having key
workers stay on the premises, although despite this, it is reported that
Shanghai - the biggest container port in the world - is still not operating
at normal capacity.

 

Lockdowns have also lengthened delivery times because Chinese businesses
have started shipping their products using alternative ports, which are
further away.

 

Joris Teer, from The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies, says retailers in
the UK might be able to temporarily resist any price increases, but that if
costs in China keep rising then consumers will eventually have to pay more.

 

Cars

The UK doesn't buy many cars directly from China but does buy a lot from the
EU, with the bloc accounting for more than 80% of UK vehicle imports in
2020.

 

But EU car production relies heavily on Chinese-made components - for
example, most German tyres and brake pads are made in China, according to
Chinese official data.

 

Manufacturing areas such as Guangdong, Jilin and Shanghai have all been
under various lockdowns in recent months.

 

As with electronic goods, car production was also hit by the global chip
shortage last year. The sector is now having to deal with transport delays
and backlogs caused by lockdowns as well.

 

In March, the prices for some of the most popular cars in the UK were
already as much as 26% higher compared with three years ago, according to
one car-buying website.

 

Garcia-Herrero says if China raises its prices because of increasing costs
from the lockdowns, "the consumer in the UK will end up paying for it".

 

Clothing

Clothing is the fourth largest category of goods imported by the UK from
China.

 

Jiangsu province, 250 km north of Shanghai, accounts for over 12% of China's
clothing production, according to official data.

 

Although many factories remained open by keeping workers in a "closed loop"
system, transport problems have affected exports. In April, the province
closed more than 100 toll booths on the main roads to Shanghai and other
major export hubs, due to Covid restrictions.

 

A spokesperson for Primark told the BBC that "to date, we have managed to
keep any disruption resulting from the lockdown in Shanghai to a minimum".

 

Clothing and footwear prices in the UK rose 9.7% in the year to March 2022,
according to the Office for National Statistics - with price rises due to
global pressures on supply chains and energy costs, according to the UK
Treasury.

 

Cleaning products

China is a major producer of chemicals used widely around the world, and
major global chemical manufacturers have plants located in the Shanghai
area.

 

For the UK, they represent the fifth biggest category of imports from China,
and one of the most used chemicals is bleach.

 

Some of the major industry players have said they've been able to keep
factories open, but they are not always operating at full capacity.

 

A spokesperson for Unilever, which makes brands such as Cif cleaning
products and Domestos bleach, told the BBC that although the costs of raw
materials were now at their highest for a decade, but so far there has been
relatively little impact from lockdowns in China.-BBC

 

 

LIC: How the dead helped a salesman to become a star agent

For decades, Bharat Parekh has scanned death notices in daily newspapers and
staked out crematoriums in India's central city of Nagpur to sell life
insurance, one of the world's oldest financial products.

 

"You don't need funeral invitations in India. You identify the bereaved
family by the people carrying the bier. You approach relatives and friends
of the deceased and introduce yourself. You tell them you are offering your
free services to settle any claims on life insurance the dead person had.
And you leave behind your visiting card," Mr Parekh says.

 

After the end of the customary mourning period, some families call him. But
mostly he knocks on their doors. Mr Parekh makes sure that the death claim
is settled in time. He finds out how the death has affected the family
financially - are there unsettled debts, do they have adequate insurance,
savings and investments?

 

"I understand death and its impact on families. I lost my father when I was
very young."

 

Mr Parekh, 55, is one of 1.36 million agents of Life Insurance Corporation
of India, the country's largest insurer. With 286 million policies and more
than 100,000 employees, the 66-year-old state-owned behemoth - which has now
made a much-hyped stock market debut - is a household name. More than 90% of
its policies are sold by agents such as Mr Parekh.

 

Mr Parekh is also one of the firm's star agents. He is an avuncular and
neatly dressed man who speaks with the enthusiasm of a salesman and the zeal
of a preacher of thrift. He has sold $324m (£248m) worth of life insurance,
almost all of it in and around Nagpur, a city famous for its oranges. He
says he "serves" some 40,000 policies - he earns commissions on nearly a
third that he has actually sold. The rest he services - collecting premiums,
settling claims - for free.

 

 

In a profession with no celebrities, Mr Parekh is one. Breathless media
reports talk about him earning more than the chairman of the LIC. For nearly
three decades, he has been a member of the Million Dollar Round Table, a
group of the world's leading life insurance and financial services
professionals. He's invited to talks at schools, colleges, banks and
management schools. One of his motivational speeches, which he once sold on
audio cassettes, is unabashedly titled: Meet the No. 1, Be the No. 1.

 

Thirty-five people work for Mr Parekh in his busy office, which offers a
bouquet of financial services. Insurance, of course, comprises the bulk of
his business. He lives in a sprawling apartment in an upscale neighbourhood
with his wife, Babita, herself an insurance agent. One recent evening in
Nagpur, Mr Parekh came to pick me up in his shiny new electric SUV, which he
loves taking on long drives after 18-hour-work days. "Look, how fast she
revs up," Mr Parekh said with childlike glee.

 

His rise has been swift as well. He has written a book, part memoir and part
savings advisory. In it he quotes Walt Disney: "If you can dream it you can
do it."

 

This is clearly a thought in hindsight. The son of a textile mill worker and
a homemaker mother, Mr Parekh had literally no room to dream: he shared his
family's rented one-room 200sqft home in a squalid neighbourhood with eight
others, including his parents, four siblings and a widowed aunt. Life was
tough: the siblings packed joss sticks into boxes to make both ends meet.

 

When he turned 18, Mr Parekh began selling insurance after his morning
college classes. He would hire a cycle and cold call prospective clients,
while his sister would look after the paperwork. His sales pitch was laced
with homespun metaphors. "Life insurance is like a spare tyre when you have
a puncture and your vehicle breaks down," he told a motor parts dealer, one
of his first clients. He took out a policy and Mr Parekh earned 100 rupees
(about $1.30; £1) as commission.

 

In the first six months, Mr Parekh sold six policies. At the end of his
first year, he had earned about 15,000 rupees in commissions, which would go
to keep the home. "It was difficult to sell life insurance. I would
sometimes go home and cry," Mr Parekh recalled.

 

Insurance agents often have a bad reputation, and are regarded as vultures,
preying on insecurities of clients. None of this has deterred Mr Parekh.
Over the years he got smarter. He realised tracking the dead worked better
than cold calling the living. His clients range from street vendors to
businessmen. He forged relationships and networks.

 

One of Mr Parekh's clients is Basant Mohta, a fifth-generation textile mill
owner, who works and lives 90km (55 miles) from Nagpur. He says 16 members
of his joint family - at 88, his mother is the oldest and his year-old
grandchild the youngest - have taken out life insurance through Mr Parekh.
The two met on a flight. "I think life insurance is important. And more
important is an agent you can fully trust and depend on," Mr Mohta says.

 

Mr Parekh believes part of his success is down to the fact that he has been
ahead of the curve and spent on himself. He imported a Toshiba laptop from
Singapore and computerised his records as early as 1995. He spent a fortune
on getting finance training courses abroad. He bought one of the earliest
mobile phone connections in India when call charges were prohibitive, and
gave his employers pagers. He invested in an office, cloud-based technology
and now has his own personal app. He puts up daily adverts in the obituary
pages of local papers. He even sponsors fetes for children and their parents
to "catch them young".

 

Indians have traditionally taken insurance to protect themselves against the
risk of dying early and also for tax rebates and bonus pay-outs from the
firm's profits. But times are changing. The LIC, by its own admission, is
facing "stiff competition" from "mutual funds, bank deposits and small
savings instruments, besides physical savings".

 

The insurer now plans to ramp up its digital presence, so that more clients
can buy insurance online. Will this mean a diminishing role for people like
Mr Parekh? "Not so," says Singarapu Srinivas, president of Life Insurance
Agents Federation of India. "Agents will be always there. Selling life
insurance requires face-to-face meetings with clients, who ask a lot of
questions."

 

Mr Parekh welcomes the insurer's modernisation moves. "Business will grow
further. And we will have more work to do," he says.

 

And it's a lot of work. For example, when Mr Parekh and his employees are
not tracking down the dead, they are celebrating the living. After scanning
death notices, he begins sending wishes to his clients on WhatsApp. "I have
to send so many birthday, wedding anniversary greetings every day."

 

On the day we meet, he checks his phone and shows me what looks like a neat
list of names, addresses, numbers and occasions. These are the 60 clients
who are having their birthdays on the day, and 20 who are celebrating their
wedding anniversaries. "I have to wish them all. Some I will send gifts," he
says.

 

I ask him how he keeps track of the lives and moments of some 40,000
insurance policy holders.

 

"It's a secret," he says with a chuckle.-BBC

 

 

 

US makes biggest interest rate rise in 22 years

The US central bank has announced its biggest interest rate increase in more
than two decades as it toughens its fight against fast rising prices.

 

The Federal Reserve said it was lifting its benchmark interest rate by half
a percentage point, to a range of 0.75% to 1% after a smaller rise in March.

 

With US inflation at a 40-year high, further hikes are expected.

 

The push marks the latest effort to contain spiking costs being felt by
households around the world.

 

India's central bank on Wednesday announced a surprise increase to its
benchmark rate, while Australia's central bank recently enacted its first
interest rate hike in more than a decade.

 

The Bank of England is also widely expected to raise rates on Thursday,
which would be the fourth increase since December.

 

"Inflation is much too high and we understand the hardship it is causing,"
Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said in a press conference in
Washington on Wednesday.

 

"We are moving expeditiously to bring it back down."

 

By raising rates, banks will make it more expensive for people, businesses
and governments to borrow.

 

They expect that to cool demand for goods and services, helping to ease
price inflation.

 

But their actions also risk triggering a sharp economic slowdown, especially
as new challenges emerge, such as the war in Ukraine and recent Covid
shutdowns in China.

 

"It's a narrow path they have to walk," said economist Donald Kohn, who
previously served on the Fed's rate-setting committee. "It's going to be a
very difficult task."

 

'Behind the curve'

Inflation in the US hit 8.5% in March, the sharpest annual rate since 1981,
driven by accelerating costs for food and energy.

 

That is well above the bank's 2% target and has become a growing political
issue for US President Joe Biden.

 

Many economists say the Fed has been slow to respond to the problem, which
has been fuelled by a mix of factors, including Covid-related supply
shortages, a shock to energy markets from the war in Ukraine, and in the US,
massive government spending - including direct cheques to households - to
support the economy after the pandemic hit.

 

"They are well behind the curve. I think most central banks are," said
Thomas Hoenig, senior fellow at George Mason University's Mercatus Center,
who spent nearly 40 years at the Fed.

 

"But if they try to correct that error with another error - that is to shock
the economies with very large interest rate increases - I think they'll pay
a pretty big price in terms of a probable recession from that."

 

The rate increase announced on Wednesday was a unanimous decision. It will
push what the Fed charges banks to borrow to a range of 0.75% to 1%, with
the higher costs rippling out to consumers in the form of more expensive
mortgages, credit cards and other loans.

 

In addition, the bank detailed plans to remove economic support by winding
down its balance sheet, which swelled during the pandemic as it purchased
assets, including US government debt and mortgage-backed securities, to
boost the economy.

 

Starting in June, the bank said it would reduce its holdings by $47.5bn per
month, increasing to $95bn in September.

 

Some people, like first-time homebuyer Mia Navarro, are already feeling the
effects of the changes. She sped up her hunt for a one-bedroom apartment in
Washington, DC, as she started to see higher mortgage costs limit what she
could afford.

 

"When I originally started my search, I definitely had a bigger budget,
based off of what the rates were at the time," said the 25-year-old, who
this month bought a one-bedroom apartment for $325,000, with a mortgage rate
below 5%.

 

"I immediately decided that I needed to move quickly...and get in there
before they hiked too much out of my range and something that I can still
afford."

 

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The actions by the bank in charge of the world's largest economy are
expected to have widespread repercussions, as many countries and commodity
markets rely on the dollar. On Wednesday Gulf states, whose currencies are
tied to the dollar, responded to the Fed with interest rate rises of their
own.

 

Mr Powell said further rate hikes were planned. He added that officials
agreed that boosting rates by half a percentage point "should be on the
table" in the future, but moving more aggressively was not under active
consideration.

 

US stock markets soared following the press conference, which played out
largely as investors had expected.

 

Mr Powell said he was confident the US economy was strong enough to handle
the bank's more aggressive stance, pointing to the tight job market, in
which openings outnumber available workers by nearly two to one.

 

But he acknowledged that the supply shocks from the war in Ukraine and Covid
lockdowns in China have presented officials with a tough task - and might
force them to move more aggressively to curb demand than they would
otherwise.

 

"We can't really affect oil prices or food and commodity prices - things
like that," he said.

 

But, he added, "We have to ensure that inflation expectations remain
anchored - that's part of our job too."

 

"It puts any central bank in a very difficult situation."

 

Managing soaring inflation is proving a tall order. Central banks around the
world are raising interest rates to lower prices.

 

And the latest aggressive move by the world's most powerful central bank,
the US Federal Reserve is one that will reverberate around the globe.

 

Not only will it raise borrowing costs for Americans on everything from
credit cards to mortgages, it will also push up the value of the US dollar.
In turn, that will push up commodity prices and make it more expensive for
emerging economies that borrow in dollars.

 

It is also being felt in financial markets, where asset prices were buoyed
by the unprecedented levels of stimulus showered on the economy during the
pandemic. As that support is removed, you have already seen more turbulence.

 

But the Fed has little choice. Inflation has consistently burned hotter than
expected. The question is, can it successfully tame inflation without a
recession.

 

As economists often like to say: "Expansions don't die of old age".-BBC

 

 

 

Ukraine: UK cuts Russia off from management services

Russia has been banned from using British management consulting, accounting
and PR services in new sanctions announced by the UK.

 

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the ban will cut off service exports
"critical to the Russian economy".

 

Ms Truss said the ban will "help ensure Putin fails in Ukraine".

 

Other sanctions among the 63 introduced on Wednesday target Russian media
organisations and those working for them.

 

The government said UK accountancy, management consultancy and PR services
account for 10% of Russian imports in these sectors.

 

"Doing business with Putin's regime is morally bankrupt and helps fund a war
machine that is causing untold suffering across Ukraine," said Ms Truss.

 

 

"Cutting Russia's access to British services will put more pressure on the
Kremlin and ultimately help ensure Putin fails in Ukraine."

 

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng added: "Our professional services exports
are extraordinarily valuable to many countries, which is exactly why we're
locking Russia out.

 

"By restricting Russia's access to our world-class management consultants,
accountants and PR firms, we're ratcheting up economic pressure on the
Kremlin to change course."

 

Legislation is now in force requiring social media and internet services to
block content from Russian state-controlled media RT and Sputnik.

 

Tech and Digital Economy Minister Chris Philp said: "For too long RT and
Sputnik have churned out dangerous nonsense dressed up as serious news to
justify Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

 

"These outlets have already been booted off the airwaves in Britain and
we've barred anyone from doing business with them.

 

"Now we've moved to pull the plug on their websites, social media accounts
and apps to further stop the spread of their lies."

 

Ever since Russian forces invaded Ukraine, Britain has imposed unprecedented
sanctions on Russia.

 

Assets frozen, banks cut off, oil imports curbed, luxury goods exports
banned, oligarchs targeted.

 

So in that context, stopping British public relations executives having
Russian clients might seem small beer.

 

Many of the big accountancy firms have already reduced their business in
Russia and farmed off local staff.

 

And - if you look at the small print - these latest sanctions do not apply
to the whole of the UK service sector.

 

There is no mention of the lawyers and the estate agents and the rest which
have, in the past, helped smooth the path of Russian money and influence
into the UK.

 

But UK officials insist more restrictions on the service sector are to come
and similar curbs are also being agreed by the EU.

 

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In March RT disappeared from all broadcast platforms in the UK after UK
access to the TV network was affected by a ban imposed by the European
Union.

 

Media regulator Ofcom also revoked its licence to broadcast in the UK.

 

Media organisations facing sanctions include All Russia State Television and
Radio Broadcasting.

 

Other media companies sanctioned include news agency InfoRos, disinformation
website SouthFront and the online journal Strategic Culture Foundation.

 

War correspondents, including those embedded with Russian forces in Ukraine,
are also on Wednesday's list.

 

They include Evgeny Poddubny, a war correspondent for the All-Russia State
Television and Radio Broadcasting Company; Alexander Kots, a war
correspondent for Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda; and Dmitry
Steshin, a Russian journalist and special correspondent for Komsomolskaya
Pravda.

 

Others sanctioned include those working for Channel One a major state-owned
outlet in Russia, which described the invasion of Ukraine as a "special
military operation".

 

The UK has now sanctioned over 1,600 individuals and entities since the
Russian invasion of Ukraine.

 

The latest sanctions come as Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said it was
"inconceivable" that the UK would not help Finland or Sweden if they were
attacked by Russia, even if they had not joined Nato.

 

The two countries are expected to make a bid to join the alliance.

 

Speaking on a visit to a military exercise in Finland, Mr Wallace said it
was up to Finland to decide whether or not to join.

 

"I cannot conceive a time when we wouldn't come to support Finland and
Sweden no matter where they were with the Nato debate or where they are with
agreements," he said.-BBC

 

 

 

RBI repo rate: India central bank hikes interest rates after two years

India's central bank has raised the benchmark interest rate for the first
time in two years in an attempt to rein in high consumer prices.

 

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised the repo rate - at which it lends
money to commercial banks - by 40 basis points to 4.4%.

 

The rate had been reduced to a record low of 4% during the Covid-19
pandemic.

 

RBI governor Shaktikanta Das made the surprise announcement during an online
media briefing on Wednesday.

 

The RBI also announced a 50 basis point increase in the cash reserve ratio -
the percentage of cash that banks need to keep in reserve against their
total deposits - to suck out excess liquidity from the system.

 

The decision came amid soaring prices of food and fuel, with inflation at an
18-month high and higher global prices filtering through into India.

 

"Inflation-sensitive items relevant to India such as edible oils are facing
shortages due to the conflict in Europe and export bans by key producers.
The jump in fertiliser prices and other input costs has a direct impact on
food prices in India," Mr Das said.

 

RBI believes this, coupled with lockdowns in major production hubs such as
China, is likely to "accentuate global supply chain bottlenecks while
depressing growth", and pose further upside risks to India's inflation
trajectory.

 

He added that food inflation is expected to remain high as "spillovers from
global wheat shortages are impacting domestic prices, even though domestic
supply remains comfortable".

 

But despite lingering global headwinds and intensifying geopolitical
headwinds, RBI believes domestic growth will be supported by a broad rebound
in economic activity, the forecast of a normal monsoon and a revival in the
investment cycle and exports.

 

According to economists, the RBI's decision, which came ahead of the US
Federal Reserve's meeting later on Wednesday, was slow to come, given
inflation is at its highest levels in several decades in many developed
economies. They also forecast more rate hikes in the year ahead.

 

"We do foresee an additional 35-60 bps of rate hikes in the remainder of H1
FY2023," said Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist, ICRA Limited, in a press
statement.

 

According to the real estate consultancy, the hike signals "an imminent end
to the all-time low interest regime, which has been one of the major drivers
behind home sales across the country since the pandemic began," and will
dampen housing demand to some extent.

 

It will also raise the borrowing costs of companies, which have already
begun passing these on to consumers. According to industry bodies, this will
end up hurting consumer and business sentiments at a time when the economy
is still recovering from the pandemic.

 

"Any increase in the interest rate will further impact the cost of doing
business, which is already high viz-z-viz high raw material cost," said
Pradeep Multani, president, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

 

Indian households have been struggling to stretch their budgets over the
past few months as prices of daily household items such as cooking oil and
lemons soar. Economists point to a number of reasons - from higher
transportation costs to supply side bottlenecks, and a weakness in the jobs
market that suppresses disposable incomes.

 

After the rate hike announcement, the Indian markets closed the day in the
red with a 1,300 point loss on the benchmark 50-share Sensex.-BBC

 

 

 

Klarna shopping habits will affect credit report

Buy-now-pay-later firm Klarna will start telling credit agencies who pays on
time and who falls behind.

 

The firm said the move could help or hinder its customers' ability to get
credit for loans such as mortgages.

 

>From June, banks and credit card firms will be able to see people's Klarna
habits when making credit checks.

 

Citizens Advice said buy-now-pay-later "can be like quicksand - easy to get
into but difficult to get out of" amid fears it encourages people into debt.

 

Buy Now Pay Later: 'I'm stressed over debt'

Klarna, the biggest buy-now-pay-later company in the UK, lets customers buy
from retailers including Boohoo, H&M and Asos.

 

It will start sharing customers' payment histories with credit reference
agencies from 1 June.

 

 

The Swedish firm already shares information with credit reference agencies
when customers use Klarna Financing for longer term loans.

 

But from next month it will also share customer data for its Pay in 3
(instalments) and Pay in 30 (days) products.

 

Debt risk

Matthew Upton, director of policy at Citizens Advice, said buy-now-pay-later
"lures shoppers in with split payments at the checkout".

 

"Too often consumers don't understand what they're signing up for and we've
found people who've used it accidentally," he said.

 

Last year, the Citizens Advice charity said one in 10 shoppers who use
buy-now-pay-later credit end up being pursued by debt collectors.

 

At the moment, Klarna customers who fall behind on payments could be pursued
by debt collection agencies, but the firm said this does not affect how easy
it is to get credit. However, this will change from 1 June.

 

For shoppers, buy-now-pay-later seems to be everywhere. It has been used by
17 million people in the UK, including 30% of those aged in their 20s, but
it has never been the most visible of credit products.

 

Consumer groups say BNPL can create a slippery slope to unmanageable debt
which is largely hidden, to all but those getting into a financial mess.

 

So this move by Klarna is significant, albeit one that the company was
forced into with stricter regulation on the horizon. Expect other providers
to follow suit.

 

It will test the claim by BNPL providers that their customers are almost
always able to keep to the "pay later" part of the deal.

 

What may be even more interesting to watch is the response of other lenders.

 

Will they consider applicants' use of BNPL products as a sign of financial
stress and be more reluctant to provide loans and mortgages to them?

 

Or will they decide that use and prompt repayment of BNPL is a positive
signal of a responsible borrower?

 

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Buy-now-pay-later firms have been under pressure from watchdogs over
contract terms and conditions and they information they give to credit
agencies.

 

Klarna said it had been working with the agencies for two years so they
could adapt reporting systems which are set up for credit card companies.

 

Borrowing levels

The Klarna announcement was made as official figures revealed that UK
consumers had borrowed £800m more in March on credit cards.

 

This marked a rise of more than 10% compared to a year earlier, data from
the Bank of England showed.

 

However, the increase in credit card borrowing, alongside a rise in the use
of other loans too, puts borrowing back to levels seen before the pandemic.

 

Repayments massively outstripped new borrowing during Covid lockdowns when
cardholders had much less opportunity to go out and spend money.-BBC

 

 

 

Ghana: University of Ghana, Spain-Ghana Chamber of Commerce Partner for
Internship Training

The University of Ghana (UG) and the Spain-Ghana Chamber of Commerce (SGCC)
have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for students of the
University to undertake internship programmes with companies that are
members of the SGCC.

 

The SGCC is a non-profit association of Spanish and Ghanaian companies which
aims to promote the commercial and professional ties between Ghana and
Spain.

 

President of the SGCC, Joaquin Roura Lama, in his remarks after signing the
MoU in Accra on Monday, said the MoU would allow students from the Spanish
section of UG to get a first-hand experience from Spanish companies where
they would learn how Spanish companies work.

He said the Chamber has about 10 companies in different sectors of the
economy and those companies were interested in working with students from
the University of Ghana.

 

Mr Lama said the chamber was poised in assisting any initiative that would
strengthen the ties between the two countries at the industrial and
commercial levels for which reason the internship programme was established.

 

The Ambassador of Spain, Javier Gutiérrez, said the MoU would offer highly
motivated and competent students of the UG the opportunity to gain practical
work experience and improved skills, which hopefully would give them access
to the job market.

 

He said the companies participating would also have benefits, as the
students would bring new perspectives and innovative ideas on board, adding
that "the programme will also be a valuable tool for the companies in their
recruitment processes in Ghana."

 

The Vice-Chancellor of UG, Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, expressed the
University's gratitude to Spain, the Embassy of Spain, and the SGCC for the
initiative, adding that, "we look forward to many more areas of
collaboration with mutual benefit for both Spain and the Republic of Ghana."

 

She said the university was excited about the collaboration not only because
of the hands-on industrial experience that would be acquired but also the
cross-cultural exposure that would be experienced during the internship
period and the job opportunities which would be available to the graduates.

 

She said the signing ceremony was the first in a series of planned
programmes to strengthen the existing cordial relationship between the
University and Spain.

 

Prof. Amfo indicated that mechanisms including clinical, internships,
workshops and seminars have been put in place as part of efforts to
complement the training of the university students with practical learning
opportunities to make them job-ready.

 

"The University has developed policies which seek to streamline and
synchronise such practical sessions including internships, to derive the
best outcomes," she added.-GhanaToday.

 

 

Ghana: Organised Labour Urged to Be Resolute in 2023 Wage, Salary
Negotiations

The Former President of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT),
Ms Philippa Larsen, has urged the leadership of organised labour, to be
vigilant and resolute in negotiating for the 2023 National Daily Minimum
Wage and salaries.

 

She has entreated the leadership not to accept any percentage increase below
the country's inflation rate.

 

Ms Larsen made the call at the Greater Accra Regional May Day celebrations,
last Sunday, which was held under the theme: "Protecting Jobs and Incomes in
the Era of COVID-19 and beyond."

 

The celebrations was also to award some persons of national unions,who
demonstrated exceptional skills at their workplaces.

Mrs Larsen said the "Majority of Ghanaian workers cannot save to do anything
better for themselves. We have to depend on loans. TheGhanaian worker is
suffering. We also deserve better. Things arereally hard".

 

She, therefore,called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to as a
matter of urgency institute measures to address the plight of workers.

 

Mrs Larsencongratulated the award winners for demonstrating exceptional
skills at their workplaces, adding that "let the awards spur you and the
other workers on to higher levels."

 

She encouraged members of the organised labour to continue to work hard to
increase productivity, to enhance the growth and development of Ghana.

 

Ms Freda Frimpong, Regional Secretary, Trade Union Congress (TUC), indicated
that it was time salaries in both private and public sectors are equated to
inflation in order to avoid worsening living standards among workers and
their families.

 

Labour unions that received awards, included the Public Services Workers
Union (PSWU), Ghana Mine Workers Union (GMWU), Judicial Services Staff
Association (JUSAG), Public Utilities Workers Union (PUWU) and the Health
Services Workers Union (HSWU).

 

Others were the Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU), Industrial
and Commercial Workers Union (ICU), National Association of Registered
Midwives (NARM) and the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU).-Ghanaian
Times.

 

 

Ghana: Sefwi Bibiani Gets New Primary Sub-Station

The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) on Friday inaugurated a primary
sub-station, at SefwiBibiani, in the Western North Region, to improve power
supply.

 

With a capacity of 2X20/26 Megavolt Ampere (MVA), valued at about
GH¢65,810,302.11, the new sub-station would serve 36 towns within the
BibianiDistrict.

 

The communities include Anhwiaso, Chirano, Wenchi, Pataboase, Bibiani,
Nyinahin, Ntobroso, Barniekrom, Agogoso, Akonfri, Nkrumah Nkwanta,
Debrahkrom, Serebuorso and Amangoase.

 

Other key institutions to benefit from the primary sub-station are Mensin
Goldmines, Ekomyeya Community mining and sawmill and plywood manufacturing
companies.

 

The Managing Director of ECG, Kwame Agyeman-Budu, said the company was
customer-oriented and that, "a satisfied customer-base is key to us."

 

He said "These projects and various injections into our network system have
created flexibility and relief to overloaded feeders, improvement in voltage
profiles and back up capacity geared towards accommodating the demand of our
customers in all our operational areas".

 

Mr Agyeman-Budusaid before the construction of the primary sub-station, the
Bibiani district had a booster station, which supplied electricity to
residents.

 

However, with the ever-increasing electricity demand due to
industrialisation, especially the government of Ghana's One District One
Factory (1D1F) agenda,ECG decided "to provide a more solid and state of the
art reliable source of power supply to meet the electricity requirement of
the district."

 

Mr Agyeman-Budu announced that ECG's 2022 approved budget for projects to
improve service delivery in the Western and Western North regions totalled
about GH¢24.7million.

 

He said projects, which had begun included the construction of Elubo Bulk
Supply Point, construction of 2x20MVA Primary station, reconstruction of
Axim Switching Station, reconstruction of Sefwi Dwenase Primary Sub-station.

 

Mr Agyeman-Budusaid "ECG has a mission to provide quality, reliable and safe
electricity to customers, and for the socio-economic growth and development
of Ghana."

 

Omanhene Abusuapanin, Sefwi Anhwiaso, Nana Kyem Kofi AnkoanaII, expressed
appreciation to the ECG for initiating moves to improve power supply to the
area.

 

He, however, appealed to the ECG to extend power to all remote areas of
Sefwi.

 

The Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Alfred Amoah, said the provision of
primary sub-station and bulk supply point, was in fulfillment of the NPP
government's promise to provide reliable power supply ".

 

"You solve dumsor by improving the existing network. You improve the
existing network by building systems with huge capacity like this
sub-station,"he added.-Ghanaian Times.

 

 

 

Ghana: Implementation of E-Levy Insensitive - CPP

The Convention People's Party (CPP) has raised concerns over the
introduction and implementation of the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy)
which took effect on May 1, 2022.

 

It said the introduction of the levy in the midst of economic hardships was
ill-timed and insensitive to the plight of the citizenry.

 

The party said the government commenced the implementation of the
controversial levy despite widespread condemnation of the tax policy
however, it was reduced from 1.75 per cent to 1.5 per cent after several
protests by the opposition political parties and some civil society
organisations.

Sylvester Sarpong-Soprano, the Director of Communications for CPP, indicated
that the party was against the E-Levy as it would further worsen the plight
of Ghanaians saying "we feel that it is one thing creating jobs for citizens
and imposing extra taxes on them, and another further burdening them when
the government has been unable to create enough jobs.

 

"Ghanaians are distressed and it is unfair and insensitive of the government
to force this cruel tax on us Ghanaians amidst hardships, besides, how do we
expect to have any compassion for Ghanaians? The government has no idea what
the ordinary Ghanaian is going through and the party is totally against the
implementation of the levy," Mr Sarpong-Soprano decried.

 

He indicated that the government had hoped to rake in about GH¢7.6 billion
from the collection of the 1.5 per cent levy on mobile money and other
electronic transactions, but the figure was revised downwards to about GH¢4
billion recently.

 

According to him, the levy was double taxation and counterproductive but the
government had insisted that it was burden-sharing initiative adopted to
shore up the country's internal revenue instead of depending on foreign
aid.-Ghanaian Times.

 

 

Ghana: We Need Crude Oil From Jubilee Field to Refine - Tor Union Demand

Workers of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) are calling on the government to make
available crude from the jubilee oil fields in the Western Region, for the
refinery to process into finished petroleum products, for the local market.

 

They argued that TOR had the capacity to refine crude oil to meet 60 per
cent of the country's petroleum requirement, thereby preventing Ghana from
spending millions of United States dollars in foreign exchange on Petroleum
Distribution Companies (PDCs) to import finished products.

 

According to the Chairman of the Senior Staff Union of TOR, Mr Bright
Adongo, petroleum importation was a highly capital intensive venture, which
at the end of the day led to high fuel prices the ordinary Ghanaian had to
pay for at the pump.

Speaking to the Ghanaian Times in an exclusive interview during the May Day
fanfare at the Independence Square in Accra on Sunday on the state of the
country's premier oil refinery which was lying idle, he implored Ghanaians
to compel the government to recapitalise the facility to enable it fulfill
its mandate of producing quality premium finished protroleum products.

 

According to him, TOR was refining crude oil when Ghana had not discovered
oil, saying why should we after discovering oil still continue to export the
crude when this same could be refined by TOR, he asked.

 

Just three years ago, TOR, was refining crude from Takoradi but, "today the
story is different for which we want the situation and have the refinery
empowered to process our own crude."

 

Mr Adongo, added, "look at the PDC's trade, if they incur forex losses, it
is the government who pays for these losses," questioning why the government
should continue to give foreign currency to PDC's when TOR could perform the
task.

 

Mr Adongo said TOR was a strategic national asset, which Ghana must keep and
invest in substantially, citing the case of Russia that threatened to shut
gas flow to Europe and the chaos the threat would result into, if carried
out.

 

"But when you have your own refinery and crude oil, you will not be
disturbed to a large extent, because you will have your refinery running and
keeping the industries running as well," he added.

 

"Mr Adongo commended President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, for putting in
a new board and management for TOR, who were now going through the process
of doing their bids, hoping that the government would give the new team the
needed support to get the refinery regain its former glory.

 

"When TOR is back, there will be job security, fuel security, an end to
scarce forex being used to import refined products which would eventually
lead to Ghanaians buying fuel at affordable prices at the pump", he
concluded.-Ghanaian Times.

 

 

 

 

Ghana: Premium Foods Limited Exports Super Cereal to Burkina Faso

Premium Foods Limited, an agro-processing company at Ejisu-Kwaso in Ashanti,
operating under government's One-District-One Factory initiative, has begun
the export of Super Cereal to Burkina Faso, under the United Nations World
Food Programme (WFP).

 

The Company, inaugurated by President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in June
2021, is supported by WFP through the Canadian government, to process Super
Cereal, a specialised nutritious food to Burkina for WFP's global
operations.

 

Funding from the Canadian government enabled WFP to invest 2.5 million US
Dollars in Premium Foods Limited, with the firm itself topping it up with
working capital and CAPEX loans of 25 million US Dollars, for the processing
of the porridge solely for Burkina Faso.

In 2021, WFP placed a pilot order of 600 metric tonnes from Premium Foods
Limited for their (WFP) operations in Burkina Faso, which served to test the
factory's systems, machinery, quality and all parameters spelt out by WFP,
including delivery timeliness.

 

The second order of 1,800 metric tonnes is estimated at 350,000 US Dollars
for transportation to Burkina Faso.

 

Super Cereal, is a specialised nutritious food, a blend of cereals, wheat,
soya, and sugar mixed with extra vitamins and minerals which improves
nutrition.

 

These came out when the 1,800 metric tonnes of the consignment were
dispatched to Burkina Faso on Wednesday, April 27, 2022 at a special
ceremony at the factory site.

 

WFP's Country Director to Ghana, Ms Barbara Clemence, noted that WFP's work
in Ghana aligned with the Ghana Beyond Aid vision for national economic
self-reliance, which identified agriculture and agro-processing as key
priorities and the United Nation's development support for the country.

 

She indicated that WFP had embarked on transformative programmes that
supported the government and people of Ghana to engage competitively with
the rest of the world, by ensuring strong linkages to improve food security
and nutrition of the most vulnerable.

 

Ms Sara Nicholls, Minister-Counsellor and Senior Director (Development
Programme) of the Canadian High Commission, on her part said Canadian
government had not regretted investing in Premium Foods Limited.

 

She said it was the desire of Canada to ensure agro processors in Ghana were
able to access export markets and to develop an industrialised inclusive and
resilient economy to impact on zero hunger.

 

Mr Tom Gambrah, Managing Director of Premium Foods, was full of praise for
both Canadian government and WFP for the support.

 

He said though the Super Cereal was for WFP, the firm would soon hit the
market with Maizoya, a porridge blend of wheat, soya and sugar, so
nutritious and nourishing for both children and adults, saying that, it was
the firm's determination to ensure food security in Ghana.-Ghanaian Times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


 


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INVESTORS DIARY 2022

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


Companies under Cautionary

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


ART

PPC

 

 


Starafrica

Fidelity

Turnall

 


Medtech

Zimre

Nampak Zimbabwe

 


 

 

 

 


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