Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 13 May 2022

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 13 May 2022 

 


 

 


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

 


 

 


ü  Twitter executives ousted ahead of Elon Musk takeover

ü  Crypto crash: Stablecoin collapse sends tokens tumbling

ü  Shell agrees to sell Russian retail business to Lukoil

ü  Apple iPod creator warns the metaverse will encourage trolls

ü  Africa: AfDB's Lead in Africa's Development Imperative

ü  Ghana: ECG Asked to Promptly Deliver Bills to Customers

ü  Ghana: We Don't Condone Illegal Mining - Adamus Resources Ltd

ü  Ghana: NGO Appeals for Support for Fishermen to Repair Boats, Net in Kedzi, Vodza

ü  Ghana: Pokuase Interchange Is Money Put to Good Use - ADB President

ü  Nigeria: 117,000 Jobs Lost in Nigeria's Textile Industry in 26 Years - Textile Association

ü  Nigeria: Manufacturers Ask Govt for Special Intervention Fund to Boost Local Production

ü  Ghana: Isser Predicts Brighter Post Covid-19 Economic Future

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 

Twitter executives ousted ahead of Elon Musk takeover

Twitter has confirmed that two of its bosses are leaving the social media company in one of the biggest shake-ups since Elon Musk agreed to buy the firm.

 

The executives had been leading Twitter's consumer and revenue operations.

 

>From this week, the firm has also paused most hiring, except for "business critical roles".

 

The move comes as the multi-billionaire Tesla boss moves ahead with a $44bn (£36bn) takeover of the platform.

 

"We are pulling back on non-labour costs to ensure we are being responsible and efficient," a Twitter spokesperson told the BBC.

 

Kayvon Beykpour, who led Twitter's consumer division, and Bruce Falck, who oversaw revenue, both tweeted on Thursday that the departures were not their decisions.

 

Mr Beykpour said that he is currently on paternity leave and was disappointed after being asked to leave by Mr Parag, who "wants to take the team in a different direction".

 

Mr Falck tweeted: "I'll clarify that I too was fired by (Parag)." But he appeared to delete the tweet later. His Twitter bio now says "unemployed".

 

Jay Sullivan, who was leading the consumer unit during Mr Beykpour's leave, will become permanent head of the division. He will also oversee the revenue team until a new leader is appointed.

 

This week, Mr Musk said he would reverse former US President Donald Trump's ban from Twitter if his takeover bid was successful.

 

Appearing at an event on Tuesday he said: "I would reverse the permanent ban but I don't own Twitter yet so this is not a thing that will definitely happen."

 

On Thursday, he tweeted: "Even though I think a less divisive candidate would be better in 2024, I still think Trump should be restored to Twitter."

 

Mr Trump has said that he does not want to return to Twitter, but instead aims to build up his own Truth Social platform.

 

He was banned from Twitter permanently in January 2021 because of the "risk of further incitement of violence" following the storming of the US Capitol, the company said then.

 

Mr Trump has yet to declare whether he will make another run for the presidency in 2024 after losing his re-election bid in 2020.-BBC

 

 

 

Crypto crash: Stablecoin collapse sends tokens tumbling

Crypto-currency markets are being rocked after a popular token lost 99% of its value, dragging down a so-called "stablecoin" with it.

 

The Terra Luna token fell from a high of $118 (£96), last month, to $0.09 on Thursday.

 

The collapse had a knock-on effect on a linked token, TerraUSD, which is normally stable.

 

And spooked investors are now pulling out of major crypto-currencies, sending markets plummeting.

 

The companies behind stablecoins try to ensure they remain in parity with assets such as the US dollar - with one token equalling $1, for example.

 

But on Thursday TerraUSD fell to $0.4 according to the trading website Coin Market Cap.

 

 

Tether, the most popular stablecoin, also fell off its US dollar peg - to an all-time low of $0.95.

 

'The panics'

The term "cryptocrash" has been trending on Twitter and Google Search.

 

And the combined market value of all crypto-currencies is now reportedly $1.12trillion, about a third of its November value, with more than 35% of that loss coming this week.

 

One Bitcoin is now worth about $27,000, its lowest value since December 2020 and down from a high of nearly $70,000 late last year.

 

Ethereum, the second largest coin by value, has lost 20% of its value in 24 hours.

 

"The collapse of TerraUSD has started what we used to call 'the panics', when major financial institutions sold off large chunks of assets and everyone else tried to take their money out as quickly as they could," economist Frances Coppola said.

 

"Panic is exactly what's going on here."

 

On Wednesday, Do Kwon, the founder of Terraform Labs, the company behind TerraUSD and Terra Luna, tweeted: "I understand the last 72 hours have been extremely tough on all of you - know that I am resolved to work with every one of you to weather this crisis and we will build our way out of this."

 

A plan to shore up Terra Luna by creating more tokens was outlined - but having lost large sums, many Twitter users are asking the company to help.

 

Meanwhile, the company's Discord server, a platform where investors congregate to talk through issues, posted a notice saying it had been "locked down so new people can't come in and spread fear, uncertainty, doubt and misinformation".

 

At Tether, the chief technology officer took to Twitter to reassure holders of his token the company had enough cash reserves to pay anyone who wanted to sell.

 

Paolo Ardoino tweeted: "[A] reminder that Tether is honouring [Tether] redemptions at $1 - 300 million redeemed in [the] last 24 hours, without a sweat drop."

 

Robust regulation

Lawmakers and officials in a number of countries have called for stablecoins to be regulated.

 

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen cited the TerraUSD collapse, in a Senate committee meeting on Tuesday, to ask again for robust regulation.

 

"It simply illustrates that this is a rapidly growing product and that there are risks to financial stability and we need a framework that's appropriate," she said.

 

A UK Treasury report last month also laid out plans to regulate stablecoins, which it predicted would become a ""widespread means of payment".-BBC

 

 

 

Shell agrees to sell Russian retail business to Lukoil

Energy giant Shell has agreed to sell more than 400 of its petrol stations in Russia to the country's second largest oil producer, Lukoil.

 

Shell Neft, the firm's subsidiary in Russia, will be sold for an undisclosed sum.

 

Many Western oil and gas firms have been looking to offload their Russian businesses following the country's invasion of Ukraine.

 

Shell said the deal, which includes 411 petrol stations, will protect 350 jobs.

 

The sale also includes a lubricants blending plant around 200km north-west of Moscow. Lukoil is Russia's largest oil producer after state-backed Rosneft.

 

Shell announced in February that it would sell its Russian assets because of the invasion of Ukraine.

 

Earlier this month, it reported record quarterly profits as energy firms continue to benefit from surging oil and gas prices.

 

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

 

But the firm said pulling out of Russian deals, which include the sale of its stakes in all joint business ventures with Russian state energy firm Gazprom, had cost it $3.9bn (£3.1bn).

 

"Under this deal, more than 350 people currently employed by Shell Neft will transfer to the new owner of this business," said Huibert Vigeveno, Shell's downstream director.

 

Maxim Donde, Lukoil's vice president for refined products sales, said: "The acquisition of Shell's high-quality businesses in Russia fits well into Lukoil's strategy to develop its priority sales channels, including retail, as well as the lubricants business."

 

When the conflict in Ukraine broke out, energy firms came under immediate pressure as countries announced bans and curbs on Russian oil and gas in the weeks following the invasion.

 

BP owns a large stake in Russian energy giant Rosneft, but within days of the war starting it had announced the operation would be hived off.

 

It was closely followed by pledges from Shell, ExxonMobil and Equinor to cut their Russian investments following pressure from shareholders, as well as from governments and the public.

 

Total Energies, another big player in Russia, has said it will not fund new projects in the country, but unlike its peers does not plan to sell existing investments.

 

Russia is the world's third biggest producer, after the US and Saudi Arabia.

 

Despite widespread sanctions and many countries reducing their reliance on Russian oil, the country has almost doubled its monthly earnings from selling fossil fuels to the EU, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.

 

The EU has imported about €22bn (£19bn) of fossil fuels per month from Russia since the start of the war as oil and gas prices have soared, compared with an average of about €12bn (£10.2bn) a month in 2021.

 

Multinational firms that announced reductions in their business activities in Russia have begun reporting associated losses.

 

The Lukoil deal is one of the earliest in which a Western firm, UK-listed Shell, has been able to sell off its Russian assets. The sale is still subject to regulatory approval by Russia's anti-monopoly service.-BBC

 

 

 

Apple iPod creator warns the metaverse will encourage trolls

Apple's iPod creator has warned the so-called metaverse risks creating more trolls and damaging human interaction.

 

The virtual reality-based metaverse removes the ability "to look into the other person's face," Tony Fadell said.

 

"If you put technology between that human connection that's when the toxicity happens," he said.

 

The metaverse is a virtual reality realm where it is envisioned people can create avatars of themselves to interact with others in online worlds.

 

It will be used for playing games but also in spaces such as work and music concerts and often accessed through a virtual reality headset.

 

Facebook co-creator and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg is investing billions of dollars and hiring thousands of workers to create a metaverse.

 

Tony Fadell: "We need to regain control of that human connection."

Facebook, which also owns Instagram, Whatsapp and Oculus among others, changed the name of its parent company to Meta last year.

 

While Mr Fadell said the technology behind the metaverse has merit: "When you're trying to make social interaction and social connection, when you can't look into the other person's face, you can't see their eyes you don't have real humanistic ways of connecting.

 

"It become disintermediated and you have the ability at that point to create more trolls, people who hide behind things and then use that to their advantage to get attention."

 

He added: "We need to regain control of that human connection, we don't need more technology between us."

 

Tech giant Microsoft and Epic Games, the owner of the computer game Fornite, are also both investing heavily in the metaverse.

 

Microsoft is adding 3D virtual avatars and environments to its Teams chat system which are expected to go live this year.

 

Mr Zuckerberg has said the metaverse is "an embodied internet where instead of just viewing content - you are in it".

 

He said told The Verge that people should not be living through "small, glowing rectangles" such as their phones.

 

"A lot of the meetings that we have today, you're looking at a grid of faces on a screen. That's not how we process things either."

 

However, the metaverse has also prompted criticism and concerns over safety due to the ability of people to create and hide behind avatars.

 

Ken Kutaragi, who invented Sony's PlayStation game console, said: "You would rather be a polished avatar instead of your real self? That's essentially no different from anonymous message board sites."

 

Mr Fadell said: "We had the same problem with text-based commenting and with blogs, we've had it with videos now we're going to have it in metaverse."

 

Mr Fadell was speaking after Apple said it will discontinue the iPod Touch.

 

The portable music device, which has launched 21 years ago, revolutionised the way that people listen to and store songs. Mr Fadell also co-created Apple's iPhone.

 

Commenting on the end of the iPod, Mr Fadell said: "I've been in the technology business long enough to know the drum beat of technology and the march of technology never ends and so, that was an amazing period of time for the iPod but unfortunately that's the business we're in so I've got used to that situation."-BBC

 

 

 

Africa: AfDB's Lead in Africa's Development Imperative

Ghana, for the first time since the inception of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and its allied agencies in 1963, is going to host in Accra the bank's Annual General Meeting (AGM) from May 23 to 27.

 

Interestingly, the AGM marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the continental bank.

 

Launching the forthcoming AGM, the Minister of Finance, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, said the mission of the bank was more relevant today than another looking at the current situation in which the global economy finds itself.

 

Illustrating the situation, he said for example that about 41 African economies had been severely affected by three concurrent crises of rising food prices, rising energy costs and tightening financial conditions, including rising inflation, said to have recorded a decade high of 6.0 per cent in February.

Mr Ofori Atta said the unbridled inflation had caused many central banks to signal increases in interest rates, inevitably leading to higher debt servicing costs, and that the number of people experiencing hunger on the continent had increased by 46 million.

 

A digital report prepared by the African Union Commission, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the UN Economic Commission for Africaand posted online on December 14, 2021 has it that in 2020, undernourished Africans were 281.6 million, an increase of 89.1 million over the 2014 figure.

 

This can be said to support the position that the hunger level on the continent keeps rising.

In fact, it is recorded elsewhere that 21 per cent of the 1.3 billion Africans suffer hunger and it is fortunate that the continent is recovering from the devastation of COVID-19 otherwise the situation would have been more sorrowful.

 

The Ghanaian Times agrees with the Finance Minister that the spread and scope of Africa's challenges requires collective and coordinated action at the regional level for solution.

 

That is to say that the various organisations and institutions specifically put in place to seek the welfare and wellbeing of Africa should play their specific role with all seriousness to meet the varied needs of the continent to ensure its development and progress for its people to wean themselves from poverty, disease and squalor.

 

One institution on the continent that has an onerous task to perform in the circumstances is the AfDB.

 

The continent's premier development finance institution, headquartered in Côte d'Ivoire has as its mission to help reduce poverty, improve living conditions for Africans and mobilise resources for the continent's economic and social development.

 

A report posted online on Dec 8, 2021 states that on the average, the proportion of African households with a consumption level below the $1.9$ per day poverty line was 34 per cent in 2019; below $3.2 was 59 per cent; and at below $5.5 was 80 per cent.

 

Bringing the calculations home to the various countries, the figures would fall, taking the minimum wages in the various countries as the basis.

 

For instance, in Ghana the minimum wage is currently GH¢13.53 and this converts into $1.78, using an exchange rate of GH¢7.60 to a dollar.

 

The AfDB is doing its bit but needs to be highly futuristic and strategise to stem the pangs of poverty on the continent.

 

This is not to say that the burden is on the continental bank alone.

 

African governments have shirked their responsibilities to their peoples for quite a long time, making them poor and lack the opportunities to improve their lot.

 

It is time to change the status quo, which is why it is important to give particular attention to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's call to African countries to give AfDB greater support to make it able to support the development of the continent instead of resorting to global financial institutions like the World Bank.

 

Truly, AfDB has deeper understanding of African issues and therefore can lead in financing Africa's development better.-Ghanaian Times.

 

 

 

Ghana: ECG Asked to Promptly Deliver Bills to Customers

Koforidua — The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has been advised to deliver bills on time to post-paid customers in the Eastern Region to prevent accumulation of bills.

 

According to the Eastern Regional Director of the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC), Mr Jude Aduamoah-Addo, some customers had accumulated bills between six months and 10 years.

 

Mr Aduamoah-Addo noted "some complained that it becomes difficult to pay such high bills and do not have enough money to take care of it".

 

The Regional Director, who made the call in an interview with the Ghanaian Times in Koforidualast Tuesday, said customers expressed dissatisfaction at the way the ECG was handling the situation at a public awareness creation and outreach, at Akim Oda.

He, therefore, called on the ECG to address the issue, saying accumulation of bills could result in loss in revenue for the company.

 

Mr Aduamoah-Addo said "With these large sums of monies locked up because customers are not captured into the system, a lot of outstanding bills that must be captured into the revenue system in order to make up for production cost will not be captured."

 

The Eastern Regional Manager of the PURC was worried the situation could prevent the ECG from meeting its revenue target.

 

He advised the ECG to undertake a special exercise to capture all customers and retrieve the huge sums of monies locked up due to accumulation of bills.

 

Mr Aduamoah-Addo advised ECG to initiate payment arrangements for such customers since they may not be able to pay the huge amounts due to the accumulation.

 

He asked post-paid customers, who have not received bills to visit any ECG office or PURC and lodge their complaints for the necessary action.

 

Mr Aduamoah-Addo said "such customers can also check their average consumption from previous bills given them and pay their bills whiles they wait for their bills to be delivered to them.

 

"For those who are receiving bills and are also not paying, we urge the ECG to disconnect all of such persons to prevent them from causing financial loss to the state".

 

He said under a Self Help Electrification Project (SHEP) some 454 customers in Asuom, Ekoso, Addokwanta, Apinamang in the Eastern Region through the PURC received ECG bills, and advised the public to channel grievances to the PURC.-Ghanaian Times.

 

 

 

Ghana: We Don't Condone Illegal Mining - Adamus Resources Ltd

Adamus Resources Limited, a mining company operating in the country, has stated that it would not engage, support, or condone illegal mining in its host communities.

 

"As a law-abiding corporate citizen, the mine cannot engage in, support, or condone illegal mining and this has been a cardinal principle in our engagements with our host communities for the last 12 years."

 

This was contained in a statement issued by the Communications Department of the company on Monday, May 9, 2022, in response to allegations by a youth group at Nzema in the Western Region where Adamus undertook its mining activities.

The group alleged that the company was restricting the local people from farming.

 

"We state, without equivocation, that the company applied and was legally granted concessions to mine and explore for gold in parts of the Ellembelle and Nzema East Districts in line with the Minerals and Mining Act 2006 (Act 703), and its associated Regulations."

 

"That-notwithstanding, actual mining was limited in areas where gold was discovered in economic quantity. These areas were fully compensated and declared restricted mining areas (where economic activity such as farming is restricted but not prohibited)."

 

The statement said that the mining areas constituted about 30 per cent of the total concession areas and that irrespective of the size of the concession the mine did not stop farmers or groups of people from exercising their lawful rights to undertake their livelihoods within a large chunk of the lease holders concession (areas which are yet to be explored or fully compensated).

 

The statement said allegations by the youth group suggesting abuse and preventing the group from engaging in community mining were untrue.

 

It said that Adamus, mindful of the unemployment challenge in the country, had employed hundreds of Nzema indignes and granted about four (4) Small Scale Concessions to the community through the Minerals Commission.

 

The company said it had contributed to the development of host communities in addition to paying U$7.5 million to the Anwia-Teleku Bokazo Trust Fund.

 

"The company also pays taxes, levies, duties, and royalty to central government for the development of Ghana. The mine invariably contributes to the Minerals Development Fund (MDF), from which Ellembelle can boast of several MDF funded projects in educational infrastructural development.

 

The statement continued: "earnings of our employees remain the backbone of the local economy. Undoubtedly, the bulk of these earnings are retained in the local economy.

 

Adamus has thus partly transformed the Nzema community to a larger extent than any other contributor. The stakeholders from the local government and communities have attested to this fact".

 

It said there were ongoing discussions in respect of additional concessions for community mining, adding that; 'We are collaborating with the other stakeholders to realise the community mining and social license objectives in that regard."-Ghanaian Times.

 

 

 

Ghana: NGO Appeals for Support for Fishermen to Repair Boats, Net in Kedzi, Vodza

Ghanaians have been implored to support the people of Kedzi and Vodza in the Volta Region to raise an estimated amount of GH¢259, 690 to repair their canoes and nets that were destroyed by a storm last month.

 

This comes off at the back of a storm that destroyed the nets and canoes of fishermen who went fishing last two weeks Tuesday in that area.

 

The Executive Director of the Youth for Coastal Development, Volta Region, Wonder Setsofia Deynu, who made the appeal, noted that the fisher folks were on the verge of losing their livelihoods for which reason they needed the assistance.

He was speaking in a telephone interview on Accra based television station, TV Africa, last Monday, monitored by the Ghanaian Times.

 

Mr Deynu stated that the people of Kedzi and Vodza were in a devastating state as they could not go about their daily activities.

 

He said the residents of these towns, after the storm, were able to retrieve some of their fishing tools earlier this month after several attempts.

 

The Executive Director of the Youth for Coastal Development stressed that the estimated amount needed was for the purchase of woods, fibre, nets, nails and the payment fees for repairing the canoes and nets.

 

Mr Deynu called on the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture to come to the aid of the people and make the fishing tools available for them.

 

He proposed that the ministry could have stores in the Metropolitan Municipal District Assemblies (MMDAs) across the country where these fishing tools were given on credit to assist fisher folks who needed such assistance.

 

Mr Deynu also entreated banking institutions to offer soft loans and other grants to these fisher folks to help them get back on their feet.

 

"We need help from any one. So we are appealing to all well-meaning individual to come to the aid of the people of Kedzi and Vodza," he added.- Ghanaian Times.

 

 

 

Ghana: Pokuase Interchange Is Money Put to Good Use - ADB President

Pokuase — The President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, has commended the government for putting the Pokuase Interchange money to the benefit of the country.

 

The $84 million the bank gave the Government of Ghana was for a Three-Tier interchange, but that same amount was used to construct all four tiers, a feat that must be commended, he stated.

 

Mr Adesina made this remark on Wednesday when accompanied by officials of the bank to inspect and finally hand over the completed project to the government.

 

He said the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo must be commended for his commitment, and vision at the speed at which he was operating in order to transform the country.

Mr Adesina applauded the country for putting the project money to good use which would go a long way to determine the direction the country was heading.

 

The President of the bank stated that the decision by officials of the Ministry of Roads and Highways, implementation agency of the project, and the banks consultants to act in the interest of the people to further promote their socio-economic welfare, clearly exhibited that there were more fruitful years ahead of the country.

 

The project, which he said was the first in West Africa and the second in Africa clearly exhibited how the government optimised the grant from the Bank, adding its benefit was gratifying because it would reduce travel time for the socio-economic transformation of the local economy where the project was located.

 

Mr Adesina urged the strict enforcement of the traffic regulations and the laws to prevent unnecessary accidents on the transformed roads.

 

"This called for the vigilance of the various transport unions, the communities and spirited individuals to report drivers who misconduct themselves to be disciplined to serve as deterrent to others," He added.

 

He commended the various women groups whose testimonies clearly exhibited that the bank was also concerned about the country's presidential needs of the communities where the transformational projects were being executed.

 

The Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Kwesi Amoako-Atta, on behalf of the government expressed gratitude to the Bank for the confidence reposed in its administration, and assured that future facilities would be effectively utilised for the benefit of the people

 

Work on the project begun in July 2018, to be completed in 36 months and involved the construction of the 6.5-kilometre Awoshie -Pokuase Road, an interchange at the intersection of ACP Junction to Awoshie to Nsawam road, two footbridges, the widening of the Nsawam Road by some two kilometres (km), drainage works, the provision of streetlights and the construction of 12km off town roads.

 

Other components are the rehabilitation of the Pobiman Women's Group Centre to train women in pastry, bread, soap and bead making; the rehabilitation of the Manchie Gari Factory for the processing of cassava into gari and starch.

 

Also in the scope of the project are the protection of the three-hectare Gua Sacred Forest; the provision of ICT laboratories for 14 basic schools, which will help train some 10,000 basic school children within the Ga North, South, Central and West municipalities, in the knowledge of information and communications technology (ICT).-Ghanaian Times.

 

 

 

Nigeria: 117,000 Jobs Lost in Nigeria's Textile Industry in 26 Years - Textile Association

The Nigerian Textile Manufacturers Association (NTMA) has revealed that over 117,000 jobs in the nation's textile industry have been lost in the past 26 years. According to the association, the textile sector could lose more jobs if the federal government does not intervene urgently to salvage the ailing industry.

 

NTMA President, Mr. Folorunsho Daniyan, at a press briefing on the state of the textile industry in Nigeria and its lack of competitive edge, noted that the industry used to be the highest employer of labour, apart from the federal government in the 1980s. At its peak, the textile industry had a manpower of 500,000 workers.

He added that its membership had shrunk from 175 firms in 1985 to less than 20 in 2022.

 

"Employment-wise, the number of jobs provided by the industry took a dive from 137,000 jobs in 1996 to 24,000 jobs in 2008. Today the number of jobs provided in the industry is less than 20,000 jobs," explained Daniyan.

 

The NTMA president also stated that Nigerian textiles used to be exported to West and Central Africa but suffered a setback between 2003 and 2008.

 

"Textile exports reached their lowest ebb in 2006. However, it recovered some lost ground in 2007 and 2008. Today, the situation is even worse as our exportability is next to zero," he added.

 

Highlighting the major factors responsible for the industry's declining export capacity, Daniyan narrowed them down to the loss of preferential market access in the EU and US, inconsistent implementation of Export Expansion Grant policy, particularly a perennial backlog of EEG claims, and the inconsistencies in the implementation of ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme.

However, the NTMA boss said the promised benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AFCFTA) would elude Nigeria if the illegal imports of textile fabrics and other products Nigeria can produce locally continue to find their way into its markets unchecked.

 

"We also demand the establishment of a Presidential task force made up of relevant stakeholders, including the textile manufacturers and union, with the power to confiscate goods smuggled into the country and recall that a similar task force existed during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo," explained Daniyan. "However, the NTMA, along with our labour union, wishes to acknowledge some measures by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and the Bank of Industry (BOI) aimed at the textile industry revival and called for urgent stakeholders meeting that must include the Union to objectively review some of these measures to ascertain the level of success as well as the challenges."

The NTMA boss said the lack of patronage despite Executive Order 003 on the patronage of locally-produced goods also hindered the growth of the textile industry. He called on relevant government agencies to comply with the executive order by patronising locally-made textiles to avert further factory closures and job loss.

 

"We are also calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure holistic implementation of the Cotton Textile Garment (CTG) policy. The textile industry remains a critical plank for addressing the current high level of unemployment and attendant security challenges in the country," Daniyan said.

 

He mentioned that a fully revived textile industry would create millions of jobs and address insecurity, improve internally generated revenue, reduce billions of dollars in import bills incurred annually on textile and apparel, and ensure foreign exchange earnings.

 

"We also urge the state governments to complement the federal government's efforts through complimentary bold industrial policies that will revive closed factories in their localities such as the provision of infrastructure, granting of genuine tax incentives, and patronage of made-in-Nigeria products," he added.

 

Also speaking, Textile Union President, John Adaji, said the union had lost about 3,000 members in the past 12 months. According to him, as of 2008, it had about 24,000 members, which had shrunk to 13,000 in 2020.

 

He lamented the sector's inability to compete favourably at the international due to inadequate infrastructure, pointing out that the N100 billion textile fund by the federal government in 2019 to salvage the ailing textile sector was difficult to access.

 

"We are appealing to the conscience of Mr. President to come to our rescue because we are losing our patience, and our next level of action would be to storm Abuja," Adaji warned.-This Day.

 

 

Nigeria: Manufacturers Ask Govt for Special Intervention Fund to Boost Local Production

Abuja — Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), yesterday, called on the federal government to set up a special intervention fund for them to facilitate access to foreign exchange.

 

MAN stressed that 90 per cent of materials used for manufacturing in Nigeria were imported.

 

Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc, Matthew Azoji, made the call on the side-lines of the 19th National Productivity Day Celebration and Conferment of National Productivity Order of Merit Award (NPOM) on 48 eminent Nigerians and organisations in both the public and private sectors.

Azoji said, "The challenges we would like government to pay attention, we (Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc) are a local manufacturer of pharmaceutical products. And the foreign exchange is a major issue for us. We want to ask the government to support the pharmaceutical manufacturers, a group of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, to improve access to foreign exchange, because it has been a major problem. More than 90 per cent of input materials for manufacturing in Nigeria are imported.

 

"If there is a special intervention that the government can do for local manufacturers, particularly, pharmaceutical manufacturers that are improving access to medicines for the ordinary Nigerians.

 

"So, if you have better access to foreign exchange, it will improve the availability of medicines and in a cost effective manner, because foreign exchange has become a major cost of increasing cost of pharmaceuticals in Nigeria."

While appreciating President Muhammadu Buhari for the productivity award, Azoji said it would spur him to work harder and pursue excellence for the benefit of Nigerians.

 

On what he did to merit the ward, Azoji said, "In all the organisations I have worked, I have committed myself to excellence and improving the outcome that is achieved. Within the three years I have been a Managing Director/CEO, the company has gone from a period of loss to period of profitability. We have been able to achieve a situation where the company paid dividends, after 10 years of non-dividend payments.

 

"For the last two years, we have paid dividends. And for the past four years there has been consistent growth in profitability, consistent growth in turnover, and service delivery to Nigerians."

 

Speaking also, another awardee and President of Erisco Foods Limited, Eric Umeofia, regretted that Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) were not doing enough to encourage local production of goods and commodities.

Umeofia alleged that some agencies charged with the responsibility of enforcing ban on imported products were not doing the job effectively, saying their inefficiency is sabotaging government's efforts to encourage local manufacturers.

 

While calling on the people to patronise locally manufactured products, the Erisco boss said not doing so would only create jobs for foreigners with consequent use of scarce foreign exchange for importation of products that were being manufactured locally.

 

He raised fears that with the influx of imported goods, like tomato pastes banned several years ago, local manufacturers might be forced to close shop. This he said would lead to job losses.

 

He urged the people to encourage manufacturers by patronising locally made goods, which would in turn lead to enhanced job and wealth creation.

 

On the award, the Erisco boss said he was happy with the recognition given to him by the government. He said such would spur him to do more.

 

On his part, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, said the special Award for COVID-19 conferred on him was a moral burden to do more for the nation and government.

 

According to him, "It puts an additional moral burden of doing more for the nation and the government. It comes with a lot of feelings.

 

"You know, my award is within the category of the Special Award for COVID-19. And most of you were active participants in the response.

 

"And I believe that this award is dedicated to all the people that were involved."

 

Mustapha saluted members of the national response team on COVID-19, people who were on COVID-19 production, the media, saying they "worked assiduously in very difficult, hard times and dangerous in itself.

 

"Because we were dealing with a virus that was unknown to ensure that lives and livelihoods of Nigerians were protected. And the process, we were able to deal with the adverse effects of COVID-19, one that deals with the economy.

 

"The economic sustainability plan was able to cause us to exit the recession in a very, very, very quick time, addressing the changes in governance because COVID-19 came with his difficult ways of oppression, we had to really do a switch to virtual meetings, virtual way of running government activities, with very little face to face contact.

 

"So I believe that this award will spur us to greater achievements in the future."

 

Another awardee and Clerk of the Senate, Chinedu Francis Akubueze, said he felt greatly honoured "by my country for the conferment of this award on me, I am very grateful to God for this singular privilege; I'm grateful to my country, Nigeria for this honour".

 

He said as the award implied productivity; "I can only be spurred towards more of my work at the National Assembly."-This Day.

 

 

 

Ghana: Isser Predicts Brighter Post Covid-19 Economic Future

Winneba — The Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) of the University of Ghana, predicts brighter future for Ghana's economy in post-COVID-19 era, despite the challenges, Professor Peter Quartey, Director of the institute, has revealed.

 

That, he said, was dependent on government continuing with prudent measures put in place to enhance economic growth.

 

"Yes, the economy is growing in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth but at the same time we face some challenges. Inflation, exchange rate and unemployment, among others are going up," he said.

 

Though it was a global trend, he said, the government had to put in policies that would cushion Ghanaians against this external and internal shocks.

 

He said "Ghana is among the world fastest growing economy and I believe that if we manage our prospects well we can go far as a nation."

 

Prof.Quartey was speaking during a stakeholder engagement organised by ISSER in collaboration with the Faculty of Social Sciences Education of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) at Winneba.

 

The engagement was on the topic:"The State of Ghanaian Economy Report and Ghana's Social Development Outlook."

 

It was to discuss Ghana's economy and get fresh and tap new ideas to strengthen the economy.

 

Prof. Quartey stated that, the nation's GDP was growing steadily after COVID-19 but there were more things to be done to reduce the economic-related hardships among the large section of Ghanaians.

 

"The Government should pull breaks on Euro-Bond market and intensify revenue mobilisation in the country such as introduction of E-VAT and E-Poverty rate among others," he said.

Additionally, he said "It can also reduce the E-levy tax to widen the tax net, saying, "As at now, though E-Levy tax bill has been passed, there is much more to be done to enhance revenue mobilisation."

 

On the E-Levy, Prof. Quartey noted that the public education on it was poorly done.

 

"ISSER has suggested to government to take a second look at the various tax exemptions that is draining the country's coffers and also reintroduce the tollbooths to generate income," he said.

 

He further said "We are also much more concerned about the inability of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to mobilise resources from property rates but always depends on the Central Government for Common Fund before embarking on developmental projects."

 

Touching on the review of Ghana Social Development Outlook, Rev. Professor AddobeaYaaOwusu, a leading member of ISSER indicated that the government had successfully managed the COVID-19 situation in the country.

 

She also applauded the government for progress in water and sanitation, especially through Toilet For All policy in some selected Communities in Greater Accra, Central, Volta and other regions thus reducing environmental related diseases.

 

She noted that ISSER was, however, not happy when it comes to Water For All policy, explaining that, nearly three million people lack potable drinking water.

 

"On governance, our report state that government performed below average on the corruption index meaning the fight against corruption is getting out of hand and we must do something about it as early as possible," she said.

 

She said, despite the fact that there were signs of progress in education, health, energy, agriculture and other sectors of the economy, there was the need for the government to improve in those areas.

 

The Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba, Professor Andy Ofori- Birikorang, who chaired the occasion lauded ISSER for the thought provoking presentation on the National Economy.

 

He encouraged Government to tackle the issue of unemployment situation in the country because it was gradually becoming a security threat to the citizenry.

 

Present were the Omanhene of the Effutu Traditional Area, NeenyiGhartey VII, Head of URO-UEW, Dr Obaapanyin Adu Oforiwa, Head of Social Division of ISSER, Dr Martha Awo and the Municipal Chief Executive for Effutu, Alhaji Zubairu Kassim.-Ghanaian Times.

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


 


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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