Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 02 August 2023

[Bulls n Bears]

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 02 August 2023 

 


 

 


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

 


 

 


 

ü  Kenya: Govt Unveils Online Platform to Allow Students to Showcase
Innovations

ü  South Africa: Gauteng Legislature Calls for Deployment of SANDF Against
Illegal Miners

ü  Seychelles Fishing Authority Signs Up for Project Designed to Intercept
Drifting Fads

ü  Nigeria: NNPCL Announces Plan to Sustain Nigeria Gas Development Projects

ü  Nigeria: CAC Set to Delist 94,581 Firms From Database

ü  South Africa: Japan-SA Collaboration Set to Improve Quality of Production

ü  Ghana: Harness Expertise of Singaporean Businesses to Enter Asian Market
...African Companies Urged

ü  Ghana: At Mid-Year Budget Presentation - Govt Targets New Growth Strategy
...to Return Economy to Debt Sustainability By 2028, Create Industrial
Parks, Economic Zones for Sustainable Growth

ü  Ghana: High Court Grants Injunction Against Cassius Mining Limited

ü  Ghana: £3.9 Million Initiative Launched to Fight 'Galamsey'

ü  Fitch downgrades US credit rating from AAA to AA+

ü  Uber aims to be wider travel app as it turns first profit

ü  X Corp sues anti-hate campaigners over Twitter research

ü  Why India's rice ban could trigger a global food crisis

ü  MrBeast sues fast food company over 'revolting' burger

 


 

 


 <https://www.cloverleaf.co.zw/> Kenya: Govt Unveils Online Platform to
Allow Students to Showcase Innovations

Nairobi — Tertiary colleges students will now be able to launch innovation
prototypes into the market via partnerships with select companies through
ITATU.

 

The open-source platform, which is also in partnership with the government,
creates nationwide opportunities for local companies to seek partnerships
with select student teams towards development of product-specific
prototypes.

 

Under this, companies will support innovation of new products through access
to relatively low-cost human capital and enable students to gain practical,
on-demand skills and workplace experience.

 

"At the cusp of a significant shift in how economies are organised around
digital and green transitions, innovation is now more crucial than ever,"
MITI Principal Secretary Juma Mukhwana said.

 

"Emerging countries risk being left behind unless they pay attention to how
to create and drive local innovations, and capture the leapfrog
opportunities that these new developments present," Mukhwana added.

 

-Capital FM.

 

 

South Africa: Gauteng Legislature Calls for Deployment of SANDF Against
Illegal Miners

The Gauteng Provincial Legislature's Portfolio Committee on Community Safety
says it will be writing to President Cyril Ramaphosa and Gauteng Premier
Panyaza Lesufi to consider the deployment of soldiers in the province to "to
end the scourge of illegal mining in the province once and for all".

 

This after the discovery of five bodies - suspected to be illegal miners -
were found shot in Riverlea over the weekend, following reports of a gun
battle between illegal miners.

 

Furthermore, last month a gas leak led to the deaths of 17 people in the
Boksburg area.

 

In a statement, the committee said illegal mining is causing "escalating
lawlessness and mayhem" in the province.

 

"The Committee views illegal mining as a form of economic sabotage beyond
just tax evasion, but also illicit financial flows with a devastating
negative effect on the already struggling South African economy. It is also
critical to establish the alleged involvement of Mining companies in illegal
mining and their contribution to bringing an end to this.

 

 

"The Committee further calls upon the Department of Mineral Resources to
assist in holding Mining companies that previously owned these mines legally
obligated and accountable in taking full responsibility of rehabilitating
them," the statement read.

 

According to the committee, it will also be calling leaders in the province
before it to explain what measures are being explored to curb the illegal
scourge.

 

"The Committee has therefore resolved to call on the Gauteng MEC for
Community Safety, together with the Provincial Police Commissioner, to
appear before it and give an account on what measures are being put in place
to end illegal mining in the province.

 

"These measures must have clear action plans and timelines, as the people of
Gauteng can no longer afford to live in fear due to the so called Zama Zamas
who are in their majority illegal foreign nationals. The safety of citizens
should be a priority and we cannot allow lawlessness to continue unabated,"
the statement read.

 

-SAnews.gov.za.

 

 

Seychelles Fishing Authority Signs Up for Project Designed to Intercept
Drifting Fads

The Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA) is to see a boost in fish aggregating
devices (FADs) management capacity within local waters through the signing
of an agreement with leading tuna fishing companies and tuna processors in
the Indian Ocean.

 

The agreement was signed on Monday to formalise and concretise the
collaboration of SFA, Sustainable Indian Ocean Tuna Initiative (SIOTI), and
the Spanish Association of Tuna Freezers (AGAC) on a project designed to
intercept drifting FADs in Seychelles.

 

Called the FAD Watch initiative, the project is a multi-sectorial initiative
developed to prevent and mitigate FAD beaching across islands in Seychelles.
Under the initiative, interception of drifting FADs can be made before they
run the risk of getting stranded in the island nation's shallow marine
habitats.

 

 

SFA's interim chief executive, Philippe Michaud, who signed the agreement,
said that "the whole idea of having this cooperation is to make sure that
the impact on the environment will be as minimum as possible and is a
win-win for both the industry and the environment."

 

"The tuna purse seining industry needs FADs to operate and the Seychelles
government and SFA want to make sure that FADs are used in the most
efficient way and that the negative impacts are reduced and mitigated. This
is a start of a very important cooperation that will also help SFA to boost
its capacity when it comes to the management of FADs," said Michaud.

 

FAD Watch was originally launched in 2016 by the AGAC, together with local
island conservation partners and SFA. It was in 2021 that SIOTI joined the
project. The continued collaboration with SFA will enable support for
further deployment of the Seychelles Coast Guard vessel Saya De Malha.

 

 

A representative of SIOTI present at the signing, Jan Robinson, outlined
that "the Saya de Mahla vessel is a large-scale vessel that is able to
collect and recover large numbers of FADs in short time frames and in a safe
way."

 

"It is very important for the industry to have partners like SFA to ensure
not only that our industry is able to meet the requirement of the IOTC
(Indian Ocean Tuna Commission), and Seychelles FAD management plans, but
also to explore ways for the industry to go further than what is required
under those regulations to ensure that the potential for FADs to be lost and
cause impacts in shallow water ecosystems are minimised," said Robinson.

 

He also shared that an online platform developed over the past number of
years by the industry to monitor near real-time the position of FADs, when
they move closer to shallow waters, will be handed over to SFA.

 

Through the initiative, fishing vessel owners supply SFA with online
software and satellite tracking data for drifting FADs that enter coastal
zones around 18 Seychelles' islands.

 

The project also provides enhanced tools to better identify areas of
potential stranding risk, allowing for an efficient interception and
recovery of the drifting FADs to avoid pollution of the islands' beaches as
well as danger to other sea life.

 

FADs are used primarily by tuna purse seiners and the devices have been
shown to contribute to overfishing because they attract juvenile fish as
well as endangered turtles, sharks and marine mammals that get caught up in
purse seiner nets.

 

-Seychelles News Agency.

 

 

 

Nigeria: NNPCL Announces Plan to Sustain Nigeria Gas Development Projects

Mr Kyari said the nation has also seen the emergence of the incorporation of
the national oil company from NNPC to NNPC Limited.

 

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) on Monday said it
plans to sustain and increase aggressive gas development and transportation
projects to achieve affordable and clean energy in the country.

 

According to NNPCL, this is the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal
(SDG) seven, a strategic energy plan towards finding a balance for the
energy trilemma.

 

The NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, disclosed during the
Society of Petroleum Engineers' Annual International Conference & Exhibition
(NAICE) 2023 themed 'Balancing Energy Accessibility, Affordability, and
Sustainability: Strategic Options for Africa', held in Lagos on Monday.

 

 

Mr Kyari, represented by Adokiye Tombomieye, NNPCL's executive vice
president, Upstream, said African countries grapple with strategies of
balancing energy availability with meeting the United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals Number 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and 13 (climate
actions).

 

"To bring the subject matter home, three keywords pertain to Africa and
Nigeria in particular. Energy accessibility means ensuring all citizens can
access reliable, modern energy, irrespective of their location or
socio-economic status.

 

"Energy affordability entails ensuring energy and its infrastructure are
priced so they can be obtained without financial strain by Africans, while
Energy sustainability implies that our energy use does not harm the local
environment or exhaust resources, affecting future generations," he said.

 

This, he said, is indeed a trilemma situation and the delicate balance
between political will, technological innovation, effective market
mechanisms, well-crafted policy interventions, and capacity building.

 

"It also demands a multi-stakeholder approach, one that involves government,
the private sector, civil society, host community and the public at large."

 

In the past few years, the Nigerian energy industry has witnessed strategic
transformation which has given birth to viable industry legislation, the
PIA, and a long-term gas-centred energy transition plan, he said.

 

On the policy front, Mr Kyari said the nation has also seen the emergence of
the incorporation of the national oil company from NNPC to NNPC Limited.

 

 

He explained that the PIA also provides for NNPCL to engage in the renewable
energy business; just as the Nigerian Climate Act gives room for
mainstreaming climate change actions to achieve low emissions, inclusive
green growth, and sustainable economic development.

 

He said Nigeria is not transitioning away from hydrocarbons, however, they
hope to see an increase in the footprint of alternative cleaner energy
sources in the foreseeable future amid fossil fuel dominance.

 

"We use what we have to get to our desired destination. This is the reason
that NNPC Limited has identified gas as a transition fuel and we are
expanding our gas development and gas infrastructure across the country to
increase energy accessibility," he said.

 

Natural Gas

 

He said Nigeria has about 209.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves
with a potential upside of up to 600 TCF, and this is an enormous resource
that would drive a cleaner and affordable energy vision.

 

"Other alternative energy sources such as solar and wind are faced with
technology limitations. They are still not affordable and cannot meet the
high energy demands of our industries, cities and remote environments.

 

"NNPC Limited plans to sustain and increase our aggressive gas development
and gas transportation projects to achieve affordable and clean energy which
is the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), Goal No. 7, as our
strategic energy plan towards finding a balance for the energy dilemma," Mr
Kyari said.

 

He also encouraged all industry stakeholders and the professional body (SPE)
Nigeria Council to contribute to ensuring the provision of affordable,
clean, and efficient energy options to stakeholders comprising over 200
million Nigerians, under a just and equitable transition.

 

"This includes not only our efforts in harnessing the existing energy
resources but also in innovative research, development, and adoption of new
and emerging technologies in the energy sector.

 

"Our collective success will be defined by how we deliver an affordable wide
range of energy sources sustainably," he said.

 

He said "all of these cannot be achieved if we do not have security of our
operations. We will continue to further deepen collaboration amongst all the
relevant stakeholders; government security agencies, host communities and
others to enhance our energy security.

 

"This will require provision of adequate and timely investments to build
resilient energy systems capable of delivering energy to support
socio-economic development in a sustainable manner," he added.

 

-Premium Times.

 

 

 

 

Nigeria: CAC Set to Delist 94,581 Firms From Database

Once struck off, a company will be legally prohibited from carrying on
business unless it obtains a formal restoration order from the federal high
court.

 

The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) said it has commenced the process of
striking off companies that did not comply with the provisions of the
Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 from its register in accordance with
the requirements of the account.

 

A statement by the commission published on its verified Twitter page on
Monday said the names of the companies to be struck off have been published
on the commission's website.

 

 

About 94,581 firms are being prepared for striking off, according to a
public notice on the list of affected companies published on its website on
Monday.

 

According to the commission, companies and the general public are advised to
check the website for the list of the affected companies.

 

"The affected companies should note that any company that fails to comply
with the provisions of the Act by taking steps to file its annual returns up
to date within 90 days of publication on the commission's website shall be
struck off the register," it said.

 

Once struck off, a company will be legally prohibited from carrying on
business unless it obtains a formal restoration order from the federal high
court.

 

"The general public is advised that it shall be unlawful for any company
struck off the register to carry on business unless it is first restored to
the register by an order of the Federal High Court.

 

"This notice is pursuant to Section 692 (3) and (4) of the Companies and
Allied Matters Act 2020," the commission said.

 

-Premium Times.

 

 

 

 

South Africa: Japan-SA Collaboration Set to Improve Quality of Production

The Chief Director of Automotives at the the Department of Trade, Industry
and Competition (the dtic), Mkhululi Mlota says the Quality and Productivity
Improvement (QPI) training programme will help give South Africa an edge
over its competitors in manufacturing in the automotive sector.

 

He was speaking at the launch of the QPI project, also known as Kaizen, in
Johannesburg earlier yesterday.

 

The project was born out of a partnership and consolidated through a
Memorandum of Understanding between the dtic and the Japanese International
Cooperation Agency (JICA).

 

 

It is mainly aimed at improving quality and productivity in South Africa on
lower tier component products in the automotive value chain, which also
extends to the plastics and metals sectors.

 

The training will be done across the country and will be implemented through
a network of organisations that form part of the dtic's National Quality and
Productivity Network (NQPN).

 

Among these, are the training institutions and service providers that
support business management and skills support for the companies.

 

Mlota said one of the key objectives of the project is to strengthen the
competitiveness of the suppliers in the automotive sector, in line with the
South African Automotive Masterplan 2035.

 

"To realise some of the benefits of the project, including strengthening
business competiveness and creating job opportunities, it is imperative that
all stakeholders and beneficiaries embrace the common values of QPI
promotion in South Africa.

 

 

"Kaizen is hands-on and practical expertise developed through a
participatory, learning-by-doing, human-focused, and process-oriented
approach. I trust that participants will fully apply themselves and work
hard to develop their own capabilities which will subsequently ensure that
we improve competitiveness of the industry," Mlota said.

 

The Chief Representative of JICA in South Africa, Mr Karou Okada said
improving productivity was critical in helping South Africa emerge from the
current economic challenges, partly exarcebated by the COVID pandemic
period.

 

"There are more than 250 Japanese companies in South Africa and since this
project is focusing on the automotive value chain, although not limited to,
some of the training sites are those of suppliers of Japanese companies.

 

"This project will create a win-win relationship between the government of
South Africa and Japanese private sector companies through the sharing of
knowledge, skills and benefits," he said.

 

-SAnews.gov.za.

 

 

 

 

Ghana: Harness Expertise of Singaporean Businesses to Enter Asian Market
...African Companies Urged

The Sub-Saharan African Director of Enterprise Singapore, Mr Ragul Ghosh,
has emphasised the need for companies in Africa to tap into the expertise of
their counterparts in Singapore in order to penetrate the Asian market.

 

According to him, Asia and Africa had similar development trajectory, as
such it was important for industry players to understand how Asia became a
global powerhouse in the arena of business development.

 

Speaking at a media briefing on Singapore's economic partnership with West
Africa via zoom last Wednesday, Mr Ghosh said it was important to emphasise
that trade between Africa and Asia had been growing steadily over the years
and everything must be done to sustain the mutual benefits for all.

 

 

He said there was a great deal of experience that could be shared from
Singapore with their West African counterparts to enable them further
increase their operations as well as boost trade for companies in Asia.

 

"With this partnership, more companies in Africa will be able to deploy
their solutions in Asia and use Singapore as a gateway to the Asian market,"
he emphasised.

 

On her part, the Regional Director of Enterprise Singapore, West Africa, Ms
Jean Ng, announced plans to set up a Singapore-branded supermarket and an
online e-commerce mall in Ghana by the last quarter of this year.

 

She said the initiative would be done in collaboration with a Singaporean
company, Vega, Maxmart supermarket and e-commerce platform, Jumia, which
would attract more than 50 Singapore brands to Ghana.

 

 

Ms Ng said the collaboration would create employment for Ghanaians,
especially the youth, and create an enabling environment for more
partnerships between Ghanaian and Singaporean companies for increased trade.

 

>From our keen interaction with industry leaders in the building and
construction space, we have noticed that there has been general increase in
awareness, and they want to incorporate the green agenda in commercial
developments in the region," she said.

 

She explained that Enterprise Singapore recently facilitated business
matching, leading to the signing of a two-year distributorship agreement
between Rigel and Water Comfort for distribution of bathroom sanitary wares
in Ghana.

 

In addition, she explained that with the implementation of the African
Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Enterprise Singapore would continue to
seek collaboration in economic diversification and trade, Fast Moving
Consumer Goods (FMCG), processing and manufacturing.

 

Ms Ng used the occasion to announce details of an upcoming Africa Singapore
Business Forum (ASBF) scheduled for August 29 - 31, 2023, which would be
held in Singapore.

 

She said her outfit was working to drive private sector business
collaborations on the continent, and the forum offered this opportunity to
businesses and enterprises in the country.

 

This year's edition is on the theme "Driving Africa's Growth through
Digitalisation, Manufacturing and Sustainability".

 

Enterprise Singapore, the government agency championing trade between Africa
and Singapore and connecting Africa to the Asian market, has established
three overseas centres in Africa.

 

-Ghanaian Times.

 

 

 

 

Ghana: At Mid-Year Budget Presentation - Govt Targets New Growth Strategy
...to Return Economy to Debt Sustainability By 2028, Create Industrial
Parks, Economic Zones for Sustainable Growth

The government has announced a new growth strategy to support critical
sectors of the economy which have high propensity for growth, and to drive
the industrialisation agenda of the country.

 

The "Ghana Mutual Prosperity Dialogue Framework", forms part of new measures
to sustain the turnaround of the economy, after Ghana opted for the
International Monetary Fund programme for a $3 billion balance of payment
support in 2022.

 

The new growth strategy will enhance shared growth anchored on job creation,
food security, exports and import substitution, towards supporting the
government's agenda of returning the country to the path of debt
sustainability by 2028.

 

 

Presenting the Mid-year review of the 2023 budget statement and economic
policy of government to Parliament yesterday, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta said the new
growth strategy would be finalised in August this year.

 

He added that it would, among others, be hinged on accelerating scaling-up
and aggregation in agriculture and value-addition for key staples such as
rice, poultry, maize, soya, tomatoes.

 

The minister said the objective of the programme was to support the creation
of Industrial Parks and Economic zones that promoted innovation and positive
spillovers, and promote the efficiency for key sectors such as the
automotive, pharmaceutical, technology, and textile and garment industries.

 

Mr Ofori-Atta indicated that promoting tourism to attract international and
domestic tourists to boost incomes and create jobs; deepening the
digitalisation of Public Services to promote efficiency in service delivery
and protecting the public purse as well as the deepening financial
intermediation programmes to enhance inclusion and entrepreneurship would be
the focus of the new strategy.

 

 

"Given the limited fiscal space as well as our determination not to
accumulate new arrears, our growth agenda will be mainly financed from
domestic and external private sector investments as well as a
rationalisation of ongoing programmes. The approach is to prioritise
existing programmes that are critical for growth and can be implemented to
deliver quick results without huge demands on the available budgetary
resources," Mr Ofori-Atta stated.

 

The Finance Minister said the new growth strategy, which formed part of the
Post-COVID-19 programme for Economic Growth PC-PEG, government's medium-term
programme to restore macroeconomic and debt sustainability, being supported
by the IMF required strong fiscal consolidation.

 

That, he explained, was to quickly return the country to an era of
macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability, the preconditions necessary
for high long-term economic growth, job creation and rapid transformation.

 

He said the focus of the PC-PEG was inclusive growth, and pointed out that
government's renewed push for growth was informed by the usual experience
that fiscal consolidation tended to have negative impact on growth.

 

"Mr Speaker, we need to be deliberate and strategic in our actions if we are
to exceed our pre-CoVID-19 strong economic growth which averaged seven per
cent, compared to 4.5 per cent and 2.6 per cent in Lower Middle-Income
Countries (LMIC) and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), respectively," he stated.

 

The presentation to parliament of the Mid-Year Review of the Budget
Statement and Economic Policy of the Government and Supplementary Estimates
for the 2023 Financial Year is in accordance with Section 28 of the Public
Financial Management Act, which mandates the minister to undertake the
exercise not later than July 31.

 

It is the first Mid-year budget statement to the legislature since Ghana
secured a US$3-billion extended credit facility from the International
Monetary Fund for the balance of payment support.

 

The 2023 budget dubbed 'Nkabom' budget, the seventh to be delivered by the
government was on the theme: "Restoring and Sustaining Macroeconomic
Stability and Resilience through Inclusive Growth and Value Addition."

 

-Ghanaian Times.

 

 

 

 

 

Ghana: High Court Grants Injunction Against Cassius Mining Limited

The Accra High Court yesterday granted an injunction against Cassius Mining
Limited, an Australian-owned mining company.

 

This was after the Attorney-General (A-G) and Minister of Justice, Mr
Godfred Yeboah Dame, moved an application at the Commercial Division of the
High Court, Accra, on July 12 for an order of interim injunction against the
mining company.

 

The A-G asked the court presided over by Justice Akua Sarpomaa Amoah, to
stop the mining company from instituting or pursuing any arbitration outside
the jurisdiction of Ghana, under the Prospecting Licence Agreement of
December 28, 2016, entered into between the Government of Ghana and the
Cassius Mining Limited.

 

 

Mr Dame wanted the court to stop the company from taking any step
whatsoever, in international arbitration against the

 

Governmen t of Ghana until the arbitration instituted by Cassius Mining
Limited against Government of Ghana at the Ghana Arbitration Centre in 2018,
has been heard and determined.

 

Early this year, the company instituted international arbitration against
the Government of Ghana at the Permanent Court of Arbitration, claiming
about US$300 million.

 

But, the case was suspended by the court following objections raised by the
A-G.

 

After the suspension of the arbitration by the Permanent Court of
Arbitration, the company had resorted to other international arbitration
forum to fight its case against the Government of Ghana.

 

The facts according to the A-G are that, on October 12, 2016, Cassius Mining
Limited applied for a prospecting licence from the Government of Ghana
covering 13.791 km of the Gbane/Datoko area in Talensi, Upper East Region of
Ghana.

 

 

Mr Dame said this was granted by the government on December 28, 2016, for a
term of two years expiring in December, 2018.

 

The A-G contends that clause 21 of the Prospecting Licence Agreement
specifically required any question or dispute that arises regarding the
rights, powers, duties and liabilities of the parties thereto, to be
referred to arbitration in accordance with the Alternative Dispute
Resolution Act, 2010 (Act 798) of Ghana.

 

Mr Dame said following allegations by Cassius Mining of what it considered
to be unlawful and arbitrary actions by the Government of Ghana, the company
by a letter dated June 14, 2018, notified the A-G of its referral of the
dispute between the parties to arbitration under the auspices of the Ghana
Arbitration Centre in accordance with the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act
703) and clause 21 of the Agreement between the parties.

 

He said on June 26, 2018, the Australian-owned company referred the dispute
to arbitration at the Ghana Arbitration Centre pursuant to clause 21 of the
Prospecting Licence Agreement and the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act,
2010 (Act 798).

 

Mr Dame said the company filed a statement of claim at the Ghana Arbitration
Centre claiming a number of reliefs, and on January 9, 2019, Ghana filed a
response to Cassius Mining's Arbitration at the Ghana Arbitration Centre.

 

-Ghanaian Times.

 

 

 

 

Ghana: £3.9 Million Initiative Launched to Fight 'Galamsey'

A £3.9 million initiative to enhance Ghana's fight against illegal mining
has been launched in Accra.

 

The initiative which is a joint collaboration between the governments of
Ghana and United Kingdom is dubbed 'UK-Ghana Gold Mining Programme.'

 

To be implemented in the Ashanti, Savannah and Western Regions, the
initiative seeks to eliminate illegalities associated with the small scale
mining sector by increasing community resilience, promoting regulatory
reform and supporting law enforcement.

 

Launching the programme, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel A.
Jinapor, commended the UK government for the support, saying it was a boost
to government's interventions being rolled out to curb illegal mining.

 

 

He said initiative would complement others being implemented by government
to fight illegal mining, including the National Alternative Employment and
Livelihood Programme (NAELP), the Community Mining Schemes, and other law
enforcement measures.

 

He assured the preparedness of the ministry to work effectively with the UK
team to realise the objectives of the programme.

 

The minister noted that the small scale mining sector was a strategic sector
in the economic development of the country, adding that the interventions
being made by government were aimed at addressing illegal activities and
promoting sustainable and eco-friendly small-scale mining sector.

 

"The relationship between Ghana and the UK has been long-standing. The
Ghanaian government has taken the issue of illegal mining seriously because
apart from the impact on our economy, its impact on the environment is dire.
The government has taken some very bold steps like NAELP, Community Mining
Scheme to ensure that we have community miners who adhere to be highest
level of operational measures," he said.

 

 

Mr Jinapor lauded the continuous collaboration between the two countries
which had led to the execution of socio-economic policies and initiatives
that have led to improvement in the lives of the citizenry.

 

The United Kingdom's Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and
Development Affairs, James Cleverly, noted that the crackdown on illegal
mining was a bold step by government to protect Ghanaians and the
environment from the negative impact of illegal mining.

 

He said the UK government was ready to support Ghana by committing resources
and personnel to ensure the menace was curtailed.

 

The programme, he noted, would see the UK and Ghanaian government work
together to increase community resilience, promote regulatory reform and
support law enforcement.

 

"Experts and officials from the UK government will work with a Technical
Team at the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to ensure the
workability and effectiveness of the program," Mr Cleverly.

 

-Ghanaian Times.

 

 

 

 

 

Fitch downgrades US credit rating from AAA to AA+

The US government's credit rating has been downgraded following concerns
over the state of the country's finances and its debt burden.

 

Fitch, one of three major independent agencies that assess creditworthiness,
cut the rating from the top level of AAA to a notch lower at AA+.

 

Fitch said it had noted a "steady deterioration" in governance over the last
20 years.

 

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called the downgrade "arbitrary".

 

It was based on "outdated data" from the period 2018 to 2020, she said.

 

Investors use credit ratings as a benchmark for judging how risky it is to
lend money to a government. The US is usually considered a highly secure
investment because of the size and relative stability of the economy.

 

However, this year saw another round of political brinkmanship over
government borrowing.

 

In June the government succeeded in lifting the debt ceiling to $31.4
trillion (£24.6 trillion) but only after a drawn-out political battle, which
threatened to push the country into defaulting on its debts.

 

When Congress returns from its summer recess, lawmakers will have to work to
reach an agreement on next year's budget before the end of September to
prevent a government shutdown.

 

"The rating downgrade of the United States reflects the expected fiscal
deterioration over the next three years, a high and growing general
government debt burden, and the erosion of governance" relative to peers,
said Fitch in a statement.

 

"In Fitch's view, there has been a steady deterioration in standards of
governance over the last 20 years, including on fiscal and debt matters,
notwithstanding the June bipartisan agreement to suspend the debt limit
until January 2025," the rating agency said.

 

Ms Yellen said she "strongly" disagreed with Fitch's decision.

 

"Treasury securities remain the world's preeminent safe and liquid asset,
and... the American economy is fundamentally strong," she said in a
statement.

 

The timing and rationale behind the downgrade has taken many economists by
surprise.

 

Former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said Fitch's decision is "bizarre
and inept," particularly as the US economy "looks stronger than expected,"
he said in a post on Twitter, now known as X.

 

Mohamed El-Erian, the chief economic adviser at financial services giant
Allianz, said the Fitch announcement was "a strange move".

 

"This announcement is more likely to be dismissed than have a lasting
disruptive impact on the US economy and markets," he posted on the Threads
social media platform.

 

Fitch also said it expects the US to slip into a mild recession later this
year.

 

However, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman said "the biggest
economic news over the past year has been America's remarkable success at
getting inflation down without a recession".

 

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‘accept and continue’.

 

Alec Phillips, the chief US political economist at Wall Street bank Goldman
Sachs said: "The downgrade mainly reflects governance and medium-term fiscal
challenges, but does not reflect new fiscal information."

 

The move "should have little direct impact on financial markets as it is
unlikely there are major holders of Treasury securities who would be forced
to sell based on the ratings change," he added.

 

Others questioning the timing of the Fitch announcement included Jason
Furman, who was an economic adviser to former US president Barack Obama. He
called it "completely absurd."-BBC

 

 

 

 

Uber aims to be wider travel app as it turns first profit

Tour operators in the UK are on notice: Uber wants to take your business.

 

The ride-hailing company, famous for upending the global taxi business,
wants to do the same for holiday travel, by expanding the services available
on its app.

 

Boss Dara Khosrowshahi discussed his ambitions to make Uber a go-to travel
platform as the firm reported its first-ever global operating profit.

 

The milestone came as a record number of Uber trips were taken this spring.

 

Uber said about 25 million trips were made on the platform per day on
average in the April to June period, up 22% year-on-year as travel in North
America finally recovered from the pandemic.

 

That amounted to nearly 2.3 billion total rides during the quarter.

 

Mr Khosrowshahi said recovery in the travel business had opened an
opportunity for Uber to become a bigger player - especially in the UK, where
travel agencies still play an outsize role compared with other markets such
as the US.

 

Flight bookings via the Uber app became available in the UK in May. It
enabled train and coach bookings in the UK last year.

 

"Travel is a very important eco-system for us, both in terms of pick-ups and
drop-offs, so we said hey, why can't we go after this tour operator market?"
Mr Khosrowshahi said. "Essentially we are building up services that we think
rival traditional tour operators."

 

So far, the new offerings have shown few signs of hurting demand for its
core taxi service, as had been feared, he added.

 

Mr Khosrowshahi, formerly boss of the online booking firm Expedia, was
brought in as chief executive in 2017 to steady the company as it was
grappling with the fallout from privacy and sexual harassment scandals and
the ouster of founder Travis Kalanick.

 

Mr Khosrowshahi has been pushing the company to improve its bottom line,
emphasising cost discipline, with layoffs and other measures, efforts that
he said were paying off.

 

The underlying ride-hailing, food delivery and freight business posted a
profit of $326m in the April-June period, compared with a loss of $713m in
the prior year.

 

"For most of our history, 'profitable' wasn't the first thing that came up
when you asked someone about Uber," he said. "But we knew they were wrong."

 

Revenue grew 14% year-on-year to $9.2bn, while costs climbed only about 2%.

 

Revenue growth was strongest outside US and Canada, which were hit by a
decline in the company's small freight unit.

 

But the firm's taxi business, which suffered when travel plunged during the
pandemic and later struggled due to limited drivers, is growing healthily
again, while food deliveries have remained robust.-BBC

 

 

 

X Corp sues anti-hate campaigners over Twitter research

The firm that owns Twitter, now called X, is suing an anti-hate organisation
whose research criticised the platform.

 

X Corp has accused the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), which has
offices in the US and the UK, of "unlawful acts" to "improperly gain access"
to its data.

 

In response CCDH accused X Corp owner, Elon Musk, of trying to silence
anyone who criticised him.

 

Mr Musk has previously said that he is a "free speech absolutist".

 

CCDH is a not-for-profit organisation that researches and campaigns against
online hate. Its reports have been widely cited in the press, including by
the BBC. Conservative MP Damian Collins serves on its UK board.

 

The chief executive of CCDH, Imran Ahmed, said in a statement: "Elon Musk's
latest legal threat is straight out of the authoritarian playbook - he is
now showing he will stop at nothing to silence anyone who criticises him."

 

CCDH research had shown that hate and disinformation was "spreading like
wildfire on the platform under Musk's ownership", Mr Ahmed claimed.

 

He accused the X Corp boss of attempting to "shoot the messenger".

 

News of the Tlegal case filed on Monday, emerged shortly after a fiery
exchange of legal letters - the first, threatening legal action, from X Corp
lawyer Alex Spiro was followed by a forthright response from CCDH's US
attorney Roberta Kaplan.

 

While Mr Spiro's letter focused on alleged inaccuracies in a piece of CCDH
research - which the organisation denied - the case filed on Monday in the
US District Court for the Northern District of California by a different law
firm made a number of new allegations.

 

It seeks damages - the amount is unspecified - against the not-for profit
organisation and claims that the centre's critical reports cost X Corp "at
least tens of millions of dollars" in lost advertising revenues.

 

It also proposes to amend the case to name CCDH's backers - who it claims
may include "foreign governments with ties to legacy media companies" - when
their identities are discovered.

 

CCDH has produced a number of reports critical of Twitter. For example, a
report, heavily criticised in the legal letter from Mr Spiro, suggested that
Twitter "fails to act on 99%" of hateful messages from accounts with Twitter
Blue subscriptions.

 

The complaint criticises CCDH's research and its methodology. It alleges
that the organisation "intentionally and unlawfully" scraped data from X in
violation of its terms of service, in order to produce its research.

 

It also claims that the CCDH gained "unauthorised" access to X's data
through a software tool called Brandwatch which helps customers monitor
conversations about brands on social media.

 

The lawsuit alleges that an unnamed third party improperly shared its
Brandwatch login details with the CCDH allowing them to gain unauthorized
access to data.

 

The BBC has approached Brandwatch for comment.

 

It is also alleged that the CCDH's goal was to censor contrary viewpoints
with which it disagreed, on topics such as Covid-19 vaccines, reproductive
healthcare and climate change.

 

As a result of CCDH reports "a number of companies who advertised on X on an
ongoing basis immediately paused spending for advertising on X", the case
claims.-BBC

 

 

 

 

Why India's rice ban could trigger a global food crisis

What happens when India bans exports of a food staple that is essential to
the diets of billions around the world?

 

On 20 July, India banned exports of non-basmati white rice in an attempt to
calm rising domestic prices at home. This was followed by reports and videos
of panic buying and empty rice shelves at Indian grocery stores in the US
and Canada, driving up prices in the process.

 

There are thousands of varieties of rice that are grown and consumed, but
four main groups are traded globally. The slender long grain Indica rice
comprises the bulk of the global trade, while the rest is made up of
fragrant or aromatic rice like basmati; the short-grained Japonica, used for
sushi and risottos; and glutinous or sticky rice, used for sweets.

 

Can India feed the world during Ukraine war?

India is the world's top rice exporter, accounting for some 40% of the
global trade in the cereal. (Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan and the US are the
other top exporters).

 

Among the major buyers of rice are China, the Philippines and Nigeria. There
are "swing buyers" like Indonesia and Bangladesh who step up imports when
they have domestic supply shortages. Consumption of rice is high and growing
in Africa. In countries like Cuba and Panama it is the main source of
energy.

 

Last year, India exported 22 million tonnes of rice to 140 countries. Of
this, six million tonnes was the relatively cheaper Indica white rice. (The
estimated global trade in rice was 56 million tonnes.)

 

Indica white rice dominates around 70% of the global trade, and India has
now ceased its export. This comes on top of the country's ban last year of
exports of broken rice and a 20% duty on non-basmati rice exports.

 

Not surprisingly, July's export ban has sparked worries about runaway global
rice prices. IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas reckons the ban
would drive up prices and that global grain prices could rise up to 15% this
year.

 

Also, India's export ban has not come at a particularly propitious time,
Shirley Mustafa, a rice market analyst at the UN's Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO) told me.

 

The ‘cheesy’ row over pizza toppings tax in India

For one, global rice prices have been steadily rising since early 2022, with
an increase of 14% since last June.

 

Second, supplies are under strain, given that the arrival of the new crop in
the markets is still about three months away.

 

Inclement weather in South Asia - uneven monsoon rains in India and floods
in Pakistan - has affected supplies. Costs of growing rice have gone up
because of a rise in prices of fertilisers.

 

The devaluation of currencies has led to increased import costs for numerous
countries, while high inflation has elevated borrowing costs of the trade.

 

India is the world's top rice exporter, accounting for some 40% of the
global trade in the cereal

"We have a situation where importers are constrained. It remains to be seen
whether these buyers will be in a position to cope with further price
increases," says Ms Mustafa.

 

India has a stockpile of an eye-popping 41 million tonnes of rice - more
than three times the buffer requirement - in public granaries for its
strategic reserve and the Public Distribution System (PDS), which gives more
than 700 million poor people access to cheap food.

 

Over the past year, India has grappled with nagging food inflation -
domestic rice prices have risen more than 30% since last October - resulting
in increased political pressure on the government ahead of general elections
next year. Also, with a host of state-level elections in the coming months,
the escalating cost of living poses a challenge to the government.

 

"I suspect that the action to ban non-basmati rice exports is largely
precautionary and hopefully it will prove temporary," Joseph Glauber of
International Food Policy Research Institute (Ifpri) told me.

 

Onionomics: Peeling away India's food economy

Devinder Sharma, an expert in agriculture policy in India, says that the
government is trying to get ahead of an anticipated production shortfall,
with rice-growing regions in the south also exposed to risks of dry rain as
the El Nino weather pattern sweeps through later this year.

 

Many believe India should avoid rice export bans as they are detrimental to
global food security.

 

More than half of the rice imports in around 42 countries originate from
India, and in many African nations, India's market share in rice imports
surpasses 80%, according to Ifpri.

 

In top consuming countries in Asia - Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka, for example - the share of rice
consumption in total calorie intake a day ranges from 40% to 67%.

 

Schoolchildren from Ankileisoke Primary School eat lunch, offered by the
World Food Programme's Under-nutrition Prevention Programme, in the
Amboasary-South district of southern Madagascar, on December 14, 2018.

 

 

"These bans hurt the vulnerable people most because they dedicate a larger
share of their incomes to buying food," says Ms Mustafa. "Rising prices
could compel them to reduce the quantity of food they consume or switch to
alternatives that are not nutritionally good or cut expenses in other basic
necessities like housing and food." (To be sure, India's ban does permit
some government shipments to countries on the basis of food security.)

 

Food export bans are not new. Since last year's Russian invasion of Ukraine,
the number of countries imposing export restrictions on food has risen from
from three to 16, according to Ifpri. Indonesia banned palm oil exports;
Argentina banned beef exports; and Turkey and Kyrgyzstan banned a range of
grain products. During the first four weeks of the Covid pandemic, some 21
countries implemented export restrictions on a range of products.

 

Why McDonald's dropped tomatoes from Indian menus

But experts say India's export ban poses greater risks. It would "surely
cause a spike in global prices of white rice" and "adversely affect food
security of many African nations", warn Ashok Gulati and Raya Das of the
Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (Icrier), a
Delhi-based think tank.

 

According to them, in order for India to become a "responsible leader of the
Global South in G-20", it should strive to avoid such abrupt bans. "But the
bigger damage," they say, "will be that India will be seen as a very
unreliable supplier of rice."-BBC

 

 

 

MrBeast sues fast food company over 'revolting' burger

Top YouTuber Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson is suing the company behind his fast
food chain, and says fans called the food "revolting".

 

Donaldson, the biggest YouTuber in the world with 172 million subscribers,
opened MrBeast Burger in 2020.

 

He claims Virtual Dining Concepts - the company behind the burger - is
hurting his brand and reputation by serving a subpar product.

 

He is asking a judge to give him the right to terminate the arrangement.

 

Donaldson is known for his philanthropy, as well as videos featuring huge
prizes and cash giveaways.

 

The legal action, filed in New York on Monday, accuses Virtual Dining
Concepts of not ensuring the quality of the burgers, claiming they were at
times "inedible".

 

"As a result, MrBeast Burger has been regarded as a misleading, poor
reflection of the MrBeast brand," the lawsuit claims, going on to say it
"has caused material, irreparable harm to the MrBeast brand and MrBeast's
reputation".

 

It also claims Donaldson "has not received a dime" from the partnership.

 

The BBC has approached Virtual Dining Concepts for comment.

 

Donaldson has previously apologised to fans on Twitter who were disappointed
by their food, and said he "can't get out of" his deal with the company.

 

 

MrBeast Burger delivers from more than 1,000 so-called "ghost kitchens"
worldwide.

 

Also known as dark kitchens or virtual restaurants, these are food delivery
services which operate out of the kitchens of other businesses.

 

For example, in early 2022 fans in London could have a MrBeast Burger
delivered to them from Shoreditch, in the east of the city, where it was
made in the kitchen of a different burger joint - Dirty Bones.

 

It drew national media attention in September 2022, when Donaldson filled a
shopping centre in the US with thousands of fans for the opening of his
first bricks-and-mortar burger restaurant.

 

Fans queued for hours for a burger, and a chance to meet him at the
location, in New Jersey.

 

Donaldson has the second-largest YouTube channel in the world, and is the
most-subscribed individual creator on the platform.

 

The only channel bigger than his belongs to Indian record label T-Series,
which features thousands of Hindi-language music videos.

 

In 2021, he launched a separate philanthropy-themed YouTube channel, which
itself has more than 10 million subscribers, and he has a licensed charity
that functions as a food bank to feed communities across the US.-BBC

 

 

 

 

-bbc

 

 

 

 

 


 


 


Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

 

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INVESTORS DIARY 2023

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


ZHL

AGM

206 Samora Machel Avenue

July 28 2023 | 10am

 


Delta

AGM

Virtual | Head Office, Northridge Close, Borrowdale

July 28 2023 | 12:30pm

 


 

Heroes’ Day

 

Aug 14

 


 

Defence Forces Day

 

Aug 15

 


zIMBABWE

 

2023 harmonised elections

August 23

 


Companies under Cautionary

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


CBZH

GetBucks

EcoCash

 


Padenga

Econet

RTG

 


Fidelity

TSL

FMHL

 


 

 

 

 


 <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 s 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 d from third parties.

 


 

 


(c) 2023 Web: <http://www.bullszimbabwe.com>  www.bullszimbabwe.com Email:
<mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> bulls at bullszimbabwe.com Tel: +263 4 2927658 Cell:
+263 77 344 1674

 


 

 

 

 

 

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