Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 24 March 2023

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 24 March 2023 

 


 

 


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

 


 

 


 

ü  Do Kwon: Fugitive 'cryptocrash' boss arrested in Montenegro

ü  Jack Dorsey business target of Hindenburg report

ü  TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew's Congress showdown: Five key moments

ü  Interest rate rise: Bank of England more hopeful on UK economy

ü  Evergrande: Crisis-hit Chinese property giant offers debt restructuring
plan

ü  Crewless container ships appear on the horizon

ü  Average Treasury worker 34 despite over-50s back to work push

ü  Is this the last interest rate rise for now?

ü  Inflation to 'drop sharply' from summer, says Bank of England

ü  Malawi: 'Roll-Up Your Sleeves and Get Back to Work for Better Tomorrow' -
Chakwera Urge Malawians

ü  South Africa: IMF Says Power Crisis Threatens Economic Growth 

ü  Uganda's Nytil Gets Deal to Manufacture Uniforms for Equatorial Guinea
Army

ü  Liberia: U.S. Highlights Safety Issues in the Extractive Sector

ü  Kenya: MPs in Uproar Over Different Contracts Issued to Millers

ü  East Africa: Kampala Readies to Host EAC Petroleum Conference, Exhibition

ü  Tanzania: Solar Water Pumps Touted to Deal With Drought

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

Do Kwon: Fugitive 'cryptocrash' boss arrested in Montenegro

South Korea police say that Do Kwon, the fugitive cryptocurrency boss behind
the $40bn (£32.5bn) collapse of the terraUSD and Luna tokens, has been
arrested in Montenegro.

 

He has since been charged with fraud by prosecutors in the US.

 

Earlier this year US regulators accused Mr Kwon and his company Terraform
Labs of "orchestrating a multi-billion dollar crypto asset securities
fraud".

 

The firm did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment.

 

South Korea authorities issued an arrest warrant for Mr Kwon last September
as they believed Terraform Labs had violated capital market rules.

 

They had thought he was in Serbia, and even sent officials to Belgrade to
negotiate, since the two nations do not have an extradition treaty.

 

Mr Kwon has previously denied he was in hiding but never revealed his
location.

 

News of his arrest was first shared by Montenegro's interior minister Filip
Adzic, who said on Twitter that "one of the world's most wanted fugitives"
had been detained at Podgorica's airport.

 

Mr Adzic added that the suspect was allegedly travelling under a false name
with fake documents. Authorities were waiting for official confirmation of
the man's identity, he said.

 

On Friday, South Korea police confirmed that the suspect in Montenegro was
Mr Kwon, after his fingerprints matched official records.

 

Mr Kwon has separately been charged with fraud by US prosecutors.

 

He faces charges of securities fraud, wire fraud, commodities fraud and
conspiracy, according to an indictment made public at the US District Court
in Manhattan on Thursday. Lawyers for Mr Kwon did not immediately respond to
BBC requests for comment.

 

Montenegro does not have extradition treaties with the US or South Korea.

 

In February, US financial regulators said Mr Kwon and Singapore-based
Terraform Labs "failed to provide the public with full, fair, and truthful
disclosure as required for a host of crypto asset securities, most notably
for Luna and TerraUSD."

 

They allegedly repeatedly claimed that the tokens would increase in value,
and misled investors about the stability of TerraUSD.

 

However, the value of the token and its linked Luna cryptocurrency plunged
to close to zero last May.

 

It triggered a sell-off in major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum
and Tether. As a result the term cryptocrash trended online.

 

"I am heartbroken about the pain my invention has brought on all of you," Mr
Kwon said at the time.

 

Globally, investors in TerraUSD and Luna lost an estimated $42bn, according
to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic.-bbc

 

 

 

Jack Dorsey business target of Hindenburg report

Tech billionaire Jack Dorsey is facing scrutiny, after a report accuses the
payments company he leads of inflating user numbers and catering to
criminals.

 

The firm, Block, rejected the claims, which sent its shares tumbling 15%.

 

The report came from short-seller Hindenburg Research, which is known for
taking on high-profile targets such as Indian tycoon Gautam Adani.

 

The company makes money by betting shares will fall and is poised to benefit
from the slide.

 

Block, which former Twitter boss Mr Dorsey co-founded in 2009 and leads as
chief executive, said it was exploring legal action against Hindenburg for
the "factually inaccurate and misleading report".

 

"We are a highly regulated public company with regular disclosures, and are
confident in our products, reporting, compliance programs, and controls. We
will not be distracted by typical short seller tactics."

 

Formerly known as Square, Block made its name with a sleek, small white
credit card reader that became popular among vendors at farmer's markets,
and other small businesses, allowing the firm to fetch a nearly $3bn
(£2.4bn) valuation when it listed on the stock exchange in 2015.

 

Now worth more than $30bn (£24.4bn), it was renamed Block in 2021, to
reflect another, fast growing side of its business: Cash App, a payments app
that was the focus of Hindenburg's report.

 

Hindenburg alleged Block provided misleading statistics on its users which
it claimed had been linked to criminal activity such as sex trafficking.

 

While conducting its research, Hindenburg claimed it had easily created
obviously fake Cash App accounts in the names of Donald Trump and Elon Musk
and made public records requests, which allegedly showed that Cash App was
used to facilitate millions in fraudulent pandemic relief payments from the
government.

 

It said that reflected "key lapses" in compliance processes.

 

"Former employees described how Cash App suppressed internal concerns and
ignored user pleas for help as criminal activity and fraud ran rampant on
its platform," Hindenburg said. "This appeared to be an effort to grow Cash
App's user base by strategically disregarding Anti Money Laundering (AML)
rules."

 

Shares in Block had already been hit by worries of a slowdown in economic
activity and consumer spending. Cash App also has ties to the world of
crypto currencies, which have seen their values tumble.

 

Mr Dorsey, who had split his time between Twitter and Square, stepped down
as chief executive of the social media company in 2021. Twitter was later
sold to billionaire Elon Musk for $44bn (£35.8bn).

 

.-bbc

 

 

 

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew's Congress showdown: Five key moments

Bruising, damaging, relentless. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew faced
four-and-a-half hours of questioning at a US congressional hearing on
Thursday.

 

As one congressman pointed out, some people run marathons quicker than that.

 

Mr Chew will certainly be feeling it, after a torrid time giving evidence.
Many tech execs have stood before Congress, and they often don't get an easy
ride.

 

But what was exceptional about this hearing was the stubborn, never-ending
line of vicious questioning.

 

Who is TikTok chief Shou Zi Chew?

How a TikTok ban would - or wouldn't - work in practice

>From both Democrats and Republicans, there was no let-up.

 

A spokesperson for TikTok said afterwards the politicians were
"grandstanding". There is most certainly some truth to that.

 

But between the sometimes frustratingly verbose questioning, we did learn a
thing or two.

 

Chew's children do not use TikTok

At one point in the hearing, Mr Chew was asked by congresswoman Nanette
Barragán, a Democrat, whether or not his own children used TikTok.

 

He said they didn't because they live in Singapore. In that country the
version of the app for children younger than 13 is not available.

 

Mr Chew did clarify that the children's version of the app is available in
the US, and he would let his children use it if they were in America.

 

Mr Chew kept talking about a policy called "Project Texas", which will store
all data in the US under the watch of American firm Oracle.

 

However, Project Texas is not fully operational. As of now, Mr Chew
confirmed that ByteDance engineers in China do have access to data.

 

"We rely on global interoperability, Chinese engineers have access to data,"
he said.

 

It was an admission that politicians kept coming back to. Their point was
that if data can be accessed by engineers in China, it's hard to see how the
Chinese government couldn't also access it.

 

Chew has shares in ByteDance

Perhaps Mr Chew's least successful defence was his attempt to distance
TikTok from ByteDance.

 

By any definition the Chinese company owns TikTok. Mr Chew himself used to
be ByteDance's chief financial officer.

 

When initially asked, Mr Chew didn't want to say whether he owned shares in
ByteDance.

 

Pressed by lawmakers, he eventually said he did, but tried to downplay the
connection.

 

What about Cambridge Analytica, folks?

Mr Chew generally pulled his punches. He didn't often take the fight back to
members of Congress. But there were rare moments where he did push back -
and effectively.

 

When quizzed on TikTok's use of user data, he said: "With all due respect,
American companies don't have a great track record with data 
 Just look at
Facebook and Cambridge Analytica."

 

It was a barbed comment, but a reasonable point to make.

 

Harvesting of Facebook users' personal information by Cambridge Analytica, a
British political consultancy, and other third-party apps caused uproar when
it emerged in 2018.

 

There was bipartisan criticism of TikTok to begin with, but the level of
distrust and scepticism from all sides was stark.

 

"Welcome to the most bipartisan committee in Congress," said Republican
congressman Buddy Carter.

 

"Thank you, Mr Chew, for bringing Republicans and Democrats together," said
Dan Crenshaw, a Republican.

 

It was really quite something to see so many politicians - who agree on
practically nothing - agreeing wholeheartedly that TikTok was a security
threat.

 

TikTok complained afterwards that not enough time had been spent focusing on
the platform's measures to keep data safe.

 

"Also not mentioned today by members of the committee: the livelihoods of
the five million businesses on TikTok or the [US Constitution] First
Amendment implications of banning a platform loved by 150 million
Americans," a TikTok spokesperson said.

 

TikTok has apparently been spending millions of dollars in an aggressive
lobbying effort in Washington. If today is anything to go by, they are going
to need to spend a lot more.-bbc

 

 

 

Interest rate rise: Bank of England more hopeful on UK economy

The head of the Bank of England has said he is "much more hopeful" for the
UK economy, as interest rates were raised to their highest for 14 years.

 

The decision to lift rates to 4.25% from 4% came after the inflation rate
rose unexpectedly last month.

 

It also follows the collapse of two US banks and the rescue of Swiss lender
Credit Suisse, but the Bank said the UK financial system was "resilient".

 

The Bank also said the UK was no longer heading into an immediate recession.

 

"We were really a bit on a knife edge as to whether there would be a
recession... but I'm a bit more optimistic now," said Bank governor Andrew
Bailey.

 

However, Mr Bailey warned the UK was "not off to the races", with the
economy expected to grow only slightly in the coming months.

 

Interest rates have been rising steadily in an attempt to tackle rising
prices.

 

Inflation, which is the pace at which prices rise, remains close to its
highest level for 40 years at 10.4% in the year to February - more than five
times the Bank's target.

 

The jump in rates means that mortgage costs for some homeowners will rise
and some savers could get better returns.

 

People on typical tracker mortgage deals will pay about £24 more a month
following the latest increase and those on standard variable rate mortgages
face a £15 jump.

 

The Bank voted to raise rates after the unexpected rise in inflation last
month, but said it still expected the cost of living "to fall sharply over
the rest of the year".

 

It said this was largely due to the government extending energy bill help in
the Budget to maintain typical household bills at £2,500 a year, as well as
falls to wholesale gas prices.

 

However, Mr Bailey refused to say whether he thought UK interest rates had
reached a peak.

 

Today's interest rate rise could be the last. The pace of rises is slowing
and inflation is now predicted to fall faster than expected, in part as a
result of the government's help for energy bills.

 

The Bank repeated language that further rises would be required "if there
were evidence" of more inflationary pressures. The Bank's discussions
suggested that some of that pressure, for example from wage growth, was
declining even after Wednesday's shock inflation number. The next meeting in
May is now a key point, where new quarterly forecasts for the economy and
inflation could underpin a pause in rate rises.

 

While the British economy is better than feared, with no immediate recession
expected, there are concerns about the impact of global financial fragility.
The UK remains resilient. But that is another cloud weighing over the Bank's
decisions, with some memories of the quickly-reversed rises made by the Bank
even after the credit crunch started in 2007.

 

However, absent that new cloud there is some good news about the UK economy
here. The consumer seems to be more resilient to what was an extraordinary
energy shock. Unemployment is not now expected to rise. The economy may
still be flat, but given the size of the energy shock, it could have been
much worse.

 

The Bank's governor says the recent rise in inflation is due to "one off
elements"

 

The high price of energy has been the main driver behind the rise in the
cost of living over the past year, with gas and oil prices surging in the
aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

 

Other factors such as worker shortages and food costs have also fuelled
price rises.

 

The nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee agreed on a to raise rates
by a majority of seven to two, with the Bank saying "cost and price
pressures have remained elevated".

 

The Bank noted in its report that there had been "large and volatile moves
in global financial markets" since the failure of Silicon Valley Bank in the
US and the rescue deal for Credit Suisse, but Mr Bailey said he did not
think the turmoil was likely to result in a re-run of the 2008 financial
crisis.

 

In response to the rise in rates, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the government
supported the decision.

 

"With rising prices strangling growth and eroding family budgets, the sooner
we grip inflation the better for everyone," he said.

 

But shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said higher interest rates would cause
concern for families.

 

"The government thinks the cost of living crisis is over, but the reality is
that too many families are dealing with a Tory mortgage penalty and battling
with soaring food prices," she said.

 

Neil Sutton's monthly mortgage payments were £255 before they started going
up in January 2022, but they will rise to £1465 from next month.

 

"There's not a lot that you can do other than to try and work that much
harder to find the extra £150 odd a month. I don't really have an awful lot
of choice," he said.

 

"You know, you just despair, quietly, inwardly, but you know, I can't let
that show."

 

Mr Sutton's 20-year mortgage comes to an end next March and he does not
think he will be able to afford to remortgage.

 

"I guess the bottom line is that we're going to have to move," he added.-bbc

 

 

 

Evergrande: Crisis-hit Chinese property giant offers debt restructuring plan

Embattled Chinese property giant Evergrande has announced plans for
restructuring around $20bn (£16.2bn) in offshore debt, which could be seen
as a model for other struggling developers.

 

The firm said the measures will help "efforts to resume operations and
resolve issues on shore".

 

Evergrande has more than $300bn in liabilities and defaulted on its debts in
late 2021.

 

The crisis has spooked traders who fear contagion in China's property
sector.

 

"The proposed restructuring complies with international restructuring norms
and best practices," Evergrande said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock
Exchange on Wednesday.

 

The firm added that it would "use its best endeavours to restore a healthy
ecosystem of capital and business, repair its capital structure and
stabilise its business operations".

 

Under the proposal, creditors will swap Evergrande bonds for new bonds and
equity-linked investments backed by the company and two Hong Kong-listed
subsidiaries.

 

Earlier this week, Evergrande said a key group of offshore bondholders had
agreed to the proposal.

 

It plans to seek the approval of other bondholders by the end of this month,
ahead of the restructuring on 1 October.

 

The company's overdue financial reports for 2021 and 2022 will also be
released in the coming months.

 

Trading of its Hong Kong-listed shares will remain suspended in the
meantime.

 

How China is trying to limit the Evergrande crisis

Deadline looms as crisis-hit Evergrande bosses quit

Evergrande, which is the world's most indebted property developer, was once
China's top-selling developer.

 

The firm had expanded aggressively to become one of China's biggest
companies by borrowing more than $300bn.

 

However, Chinese officials introduced new rules in 2020 to control the
amount owed by big real estate developers.

 

This led Evergrande to offer its properties at major discounts to ensure
money was coming in to keep the business afloat. It has since struggled to
meet interest payments on its debts.

 

In December 2021, Evergrande missed a crucial deadline and failed to repay
interest on around $1.2bn of international loans.

 

Major credit rating agencies declared Evergande in default, a move that
could hamper restructuring talks with investors.

 

China's property market is under pressure from a slowing economy and a
serious cash crunch. It accounts for around a third of economic output in
the world's second largest economy.-bbc

 

 

 

Crewless container ships appear on the horizon

Cruising quietly through the Frier Fjord in southern Norway, the Yara
Birkeland looks like an ordinary small ship.

 

However, by the end of the year, the number of crew on board will be reduced
from five to two and then, if all goes well, in two more years the vessel's
bridge will be removed and there won't be any crew on board at all.

 

Until then, Captain Svend Ødegård is at the helm of the 80m-long ship. "We
are taking big steps towards autonomy," he tells the BBC. "There's a lot of
installed technology there, that is not on existing ships."

 

Eventually the Yara Birkeland will navigate aided by sensors, including
radar and cameras, which will feed data to an artificial intelligence, which
will detect and classify waterborne obstacles.

 

"We have situational awareness - cameras on the side, front and stern of the
ship," the captain explains. "It can decide whether to change its path
because something is in the way."

 

The captain's job will move onto dry-land, to a remote operation centre more
than 80km (50 miles) away, where several ships could potentially be
monitored at the same time. If necessary, humans will be able to intervene
by sending commands to alter the speed and course.

 

Owned by fertiliser giant Yara, the Yara Birkeland has been sailing twice
weekly for last several months from the firm's enormous plant near Porsgrunn
to the port of Brevik, carrying up to 100 containers and collecting data
along the 13km (8 miles) route.

 

"Vessels which operate along short, regular and fixed routes offer good
opportunities to introduce autonomous ship technologies," says Sinikka
Hartonen, Secretary General of One Sea Association, an alliance of maritime
companies and experts working in autonomy.

 

The project's technology provider, Kongsberg is working on another two
battery-powered autonomous barges in the Oslo Fjord, with Norwegian grocery
wholesaler Asko, and a fourth, small container ship, near Ålesund.

 

"Some of the technology has already been around for many years. So it's
really putting it together," says An-Magritt Ryste, director for next
generation shipping at Kongsberg Maritime.

 

According to Ms Ryste, there's also interest in using autonomous navigation
in fishing, passenger ferries and military vessels.

 

Kongsberg already makes autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), which largely
carry out seabed mapping tasks for customers in offshore energy, ocean
research and defence.

 

Recently, the firm delivered an 8m, unmanned surface vessel (USV) that
detects fish stocks, using acoustic sonars and navigating by AI, cameras,
radar, and GPS.

 

"They're also supervised by humans, who can intervene. But they are fully
autonomous," says Bjørn Jalving, Kongsberg's Senior Vice President of
Technology.

 

Kongsberg has been scaling up the technology for larger vessels. "Eventually
I think limitations will not be technical, it's a matter of making it safe
and secure in compliance with regulations, and good business for the
operators," says Mr Jalving.

 

Of course one of the big attractions for shipping firms, is the costs saved
by not having a crew aboard. One team could potentially monitor several
ships, says Mr Jalving. Plus it's safer for a crew to be on land, rather
than at sea.

 

Other companies are also working on autonomous shipping projects.

 

Last year in Japan, a 222m car ferry self-navigated and docked using
technology by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Company.

 

Meanwhile, a commercial ship completed a month-long voyage from Texas to
South Korea, navigating autonomously for about half of the 20,000km route.

 

The ship's optimal route choice saved fuel and emissions, according to the
ship's technology provider, Avikus, part of the ship building firm HD
Hyundai.

 

"You can use autonomy to limit tasks that are dangerous or boring," says
Marius Tannum, an Associate Professor of Applied Autonomy at the University
of South-Eastern Norway.

 

"The Yara Birkeland project and the Asko barge project are pushing the
technology out into the real world, and not just in research labs, like we
have been doing for many years."

 

When it comes to safety, crewless vessels need to perform as well, if not
better than captained ships says Prof Tannum, who believes there will always
needs to be a backstop - someone monitoring who could intervene if
necessary.

 

"Since this is very new technology and not tested in real life that much, we
need this transitional period with crew on board," Prof Tannum says. "Then
gradually, we can trust the autonomy to do more."

 

Autonomy opens up possibilities for new designs though, he adds. "Without
crew you can have more capacity for goods, because you don't need the living
quarters, galley, heating, air conditioning and other systems," Prof Tannum
adds.

 

There's scepticism whether large unmanned ships could be crossing oceans any
time soon, though. "First the legal challenges must be resolved. And then
the ships needs robust energy and propulsion systems that require very
little maintenance," points out Prof Tannum.

 

One of the biggest hurdle is regulation and new rules will have to be drawn
up.

 

"Current legislation has been developed based on the presumption that the
equipment onboard a ship is fully manually controlled," says Sinikka
Hartonen, adding that the International Maritime Organization is now working
towards a framework.

 

"The regulation is totally new territory for the marine authorities and
politicians in Norway. What they do will have consequences internationally,"
says Yara project manager Jon Sletten.

 

Whatever happens, progress in autonomous shipping is likely to move more
quickly than autonomous cars and trucks, according to Prof Tannum.

 

"Autonomous cars move in high-speed close to both dynamic and static
obstacles, road conditions vary and the complexity that cars in regular
traffic faces is more challenging than ships.

 

"Unmanned autonomous ships with a fixed route and a remote operation center
(ROC) will be operating with less risk than unmanned autonomous trucks
driving in regular traffic," he says.-bbc

 

 

 

Average Treasury worker 34 despite over-50s back to work push

The chancellor is urging over-50s back into work but the average age of
Treasury staff is 33.6, the BBC has learned.

 

Just under 10% of Treasury staff are over 50, it revealed. This age group
makes up 32% of the UK workforce, the Office for National Statistics said.

 

Charities warn over-50s do want to work but often face ageism from
recruiters.

 

The Treasury said its recruitment processes were "fair, open and based on
merit".

 

The BBC used a Freedom of Information request asking to see the ages of all
applicants to roles at the Treasury over the past five years.

 

The results revealed that far fewer over-50s apply for jobs at the Treasury
than younger workers.

 

Those over-50s that were invited for interviews, were less likely to be
offered a job than younger workers.

 

On average over the past five years, 17% of over-50s who got interviews at
the Treasury, were successful at getting job offers. The figure is 20% for
people in their thirties, and 22% for under-30s.

 

Chart showing success rate of applicants to Treasury.

Taken as a whole, the average age of Treasury staff is 33.6, as of December
2022.

 

That is well below the average age of workers in the UK, which is 42,
according to the International Labour Organisation. This is based on the
latest available data from 2021.

 

The Treasury also had the lowest median age out of the entire civil service
in 2022, an Institute for Government analysis showed.

 

'Ageism in the labour market'

The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt - who is 56 - has been calling for over-50s to
return to employment, to help tackle staff shortages across the economy.

 

In his Budget last week, Mr Hunt said rather than labelling over-50s "older"
workers they should instead be considered "experienced".

 

He pledged £63m for programmes to encourage this group back to work with
"returnerships" and skills boot camps.

 

How are pension rules changing?

But charities have warned that while many over-50s do want to return to
work, they often face discrimination from recruiters.

 

"There is definitely a lot of ageism in the labour market," said Chris
Brooks, Head of Policy at Age UK.

 

"We hear regularly from people who say they feel overlooked unfairly in the
recruitment process."

 

The Treasury uses blind hiring, which means assessors don't see applicants'
ages. This can be "really helpful at the early stages," Mr Brooks said, when
sifting through CVs and applications.

 

"But you still need to train recruiters to ensure they're minimising biases
when they're face-to-face with candidates in an interview," he added.

 

'Desperately want to work'

Chris Walsh, chief executive of the Wise Age charity, which supports older
workers seeking jobs, said the Treasury's record of employing over-50s was
"disappointing".

 

There were "real benefits from having an age diverse workforce," he added.
"Especially in the current tight labour market, it's detrimental to
employers not to hire diversely."

 

A Treasury spokesperson said: "Our recruitment processes are fair, open and
based on merit. We run a "blind" recruitment process, which means
applicants' personal details, including age, are not shown to assessors.

 

"We're committed to ensuring our staff come from a range of backgrounds,
skills and expertise."-bbc

 

 

 

Is this the last interest rate rise for now?

The signs are that the Bank of England is coming in to land on rate rises,
and today's could be the last.

 

The pace of rises is slowing and inflation is now predicted to fall faster
this year than expected, in part as a result of the government's help for
energy bills.

 

The Bank repeated language that further rises would be required only "if
there were evidence" of more inflationary pressures. Its discussions
suggested that some of that pressure, for example from wage growth, was
declining even after yesterday's shock inflation number.

 

The Bank's governor, Andrew Bailey, confirmed that he had seen private wage
growth begin to "even off", which was "obviously a good sign in terms of
inflationary pressure".

 

The next Bank meeting in May is now a key point, where new quarterly
forecasts for the economy and inflation could underpin a pause in rate
rises.

 

While the British economy is better than feared, with a predicted recession
now anticipated to be swerved, there are concerns about the impact of global
financial fragility. The UK remains resilient. Mr Bailey told broadcasters
that "this is not a repeat of 2008". But that is another cloud weighing over
the Bank's decisions, with some memories of the quickly-reversed rises made
by the Bank, even after the credit crunch started in 2007.

 

Bank 'more hopeful' on UK economy as rates rise

What the interest rate rise means for you

There's a three-way balancing act going on right now between surprisingly
strong double-digit UK inflation, stagnant growth and the fragility in the
global banking system which, while not centred in the UK, could have
knock-on impacts on the funding of banks.

 

Absent that new cloud however, there is some good news about the UK economy
here.

 

The consumer seems more resilient to what was an extraordinary energy shock.
Unemployment is not now expected to rise, further underpinning consumers.
The economy may still be flat, but given the size of the energy shock, it
could have been much worse.

 

May looks set to be the time for a pause, if some of these uncertainties
don't intrude.

-bbc

 

 

 

Inflation to 'drop sharply' from summer, says Bank of England

Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, says the recent rise in
inflation is due to "one-off elements" and will drop from the summer.

 

His comments come as the Bank decided to raise interest rates again.-bbc

 

 

 

Malawi: 'Roll-Up Your Sleeves and Get Back to Work for Better Tomorrow' -
Chakwera Urge Malawians

President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera says following the devastating effects of
Tropical Cyclone Freddy, Malawians cannot afford to mourn with hands folded
on, but rather roll up their sleeves and get back to work to rebuild the
country for a better tomorrow.

 

Presenting Cyclone Freddy assessment report before parliament Wednesday in
Lilongwe, Chakwera said in this dark hour, we cannot afford to allow anyone
in our midst to bury their heads in the sand and pretend that what is before
us is a temporary challenge.

 

The Malawi leader emphasized that if we are to see the light of a new dawn
again, we must take necessary steps now for safeguarding a brighter
tomorrow.

 

"This is one of the darkest hours in the history of our nation and if we are
going to emerge from this dark hour and see the joy of a new dawn in the
future, we must all roll up our sleeves and get to work," he said.

 

"If we are going to see the light of a new dawn again, we must take stock
not only of what we must do together as a nation but also of the things we
simply cannot afford to do."

 

On this point, the president also advised Malawians to do away with
political rhetoric and finger pointing but only concentrate on issues that
add value to the situation at hand.

 

Said the Malawi leader, "The only questions that matter in this moment are,
what has the cyclone done to our country and people? and what must we each
do to meet the challenge until we rise from this calamity."

 

-Nyasa Times.

 

 

 

South Africa: IMF Says Power Crisis Threatens Economic Growth 

 

South Africa's growth is set to decelerate sharply in 2023 due to power
cuts, the International Monetary Fund warned on Wednesday March 22.
EyeWitness News reports that an IMF team visiting the country said: "South
Africa's economic and social challenges are mounting, risking stagnation
amid an unprecedented energy crisis, increasingly binding infrastructure and
logistics bottlenecks...Real GDP growth is projected to decelerate sharply
to 0.1% in 2023 mainly due to a significant increase in the intensity of
power cuts, as well as the weaker commodity prices and external
environment.". In January, South Africa's central bank said it expected the
economy to grow by 0.3% in 2023, down from 2.0% in 2022. EWN is also quoting
a local economist as saying that the rotational power cuts known as load
shedding are contributing to a 13.6% rise in food inflation - which accounts
for the largest portion of the total consumer inflation. Statistics South
Africa on Wednesday announced that inflation edged higher to 7% for February
as load shedding continued to add to the cost of food production.

 

 

Commuter Rail Agency Goes Shopping for Ammunition

 

News24's Phillip de Wet is reporting that the Passenger Rail Agency of South
Africa (Prasa) is shopping for ammunition. The agency's shopping list
includes 15 000 rubber bullets, 65 000 rounds for 9mm pistols, and 155 000
shotgun rounds. The state-owned enterprise would not answer any questions
about the tender, De Wet writes, telling News24 that it is "a security
matter" on which it cannot speak publicly. Prasa has previously noted that
it battles criminal syndicates, gang violence and attacks by taxi operators.
During the 2022 financial year, Prasa's overall spending on security jumped
by more than 145%, to R620 million.

 

 

DA to Return to Drawing Board After Phala Phala Motion Defeat

 

The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) says it will return to the drawing
board after its proposed motion to establish a parliamentary Ad Hoc
Committee to investigate the Phala Phala saga was defeated, the SABC
reports. On Wednesday, Members of Parliament voted against the DA's motion.
The saga, which relates to a burglary that happened at President Cyril
Ramaphosa's Phala Phala farm in Limpopo in 2020, has stimulated robust
public debate, the state broadcaster reports.

 

Joburg Water Sends Water Tankers to Assist Areas Suffering Water Outages

 

Week-long water outages have seen Joburg Water deploy 18 water tankers to
areas affected by the severe shortages, Eyewitness News reports. Joburg
Water attributed the outages to a single failed Rand Water pump and
vandalism to several systems. Some Johannesburg residents have complained
that the tankers are not enough to meet their needs given the range of
affected areas.

 

Putin Will Not be Arrested When He Visits South Africa for the Brics Summit
- Malema

 

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has said that Russian
President Vlamidir Putin will not be blocked or arrested when he visits
South Africa for the BRICS summit set for August, IOL reports. The
International Criminal Court (ICC), which South Africa is signatory to,
issued a warrant for Putin's arrest over alleged war crimes committed by
Russia and its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. This follows a similar scenario
in 2015 when South Africa was compelled to arrest former Sudanese president
Omar al-Bashir when he visited the nation for the African Union Summit
despite an arrest warrant also issued by the ICC.

 

South African News

 

 

 

Uganda's Nytil Gets Deal to Manufacture Uniforms for Equatorial Guinea Army

President Museveni has flagged off the export of military consignments
manufactured by Southern Ranger Nyanza Limited(Nytil)to Equatorial Guinea.

 

The consignment included 5,400 cartons of army uniforms and accessories for
the Equatorial Guinea army manufactured in Uganda.

 

The items were first displayed to President Museveni before the Minister for
Defence, Vincent Ssempijja officiated at the flagging off ceremony at
Entebbe Air base.

 

Speaking at Entebbe, Ssempijja applauded the presidents of Uganda and
Equatorial Guinea for the initiative.

 

 

I wish to specifically thank His Excellency Obiang Nguema Mangue who has
been behind this strategic effort to link our brotherly countries in the
sphere of trade and investments," Ssempijja said.

 

According to Ssempijja, Uganda and Equatorial Guinea have been cooperating
in different areas including the defence and security .

 

He added that the scope of the cooperation has expanded to include trade
which will result into increased revenue for the socio-economic development
and mutual benefit of the African People.

 

The minister encouraged other sectors to borrow a leaf from Nytil by
exploiting the available market opportunities in the region and far so that
together as a country, they are able to build a resilient economy.

 

The Picfare Industries Limited Managing Director, Mitul Jobanputra,
applauded President Museveni for his commitment to help grow the local
manufacturing sector.

 

 

"Since the advent of Buy Uganda , Build Uganda(BUBU)in, Nytil has invested
in excess of US$ 20 million to either increase production capacity or
diversification of product range that has seen us get a fully-fledged
medical division that produces personal protective equipment and medical
sundries like medical grade cotton wool and gauze," Jobanputra said.

 

"In line with the agro manufacturing strategy under NDP3, Nytil has expanded
its production capacity for armed forces uniforms and accessories that has
enabled us to become one of the largest and finest suppliers in Sub Saharan
Africa."

 

He said Nytil produces uniforms, tents, ponchos, sweaters, warm suits,
T-shirts, overalls, over coats, sleeping mats, magazine pouches, towels, bed
sheets among others.

 

"We have therefore been able to leverage on our two decades of supply to the
armed forces in Uganda to make strategic market entry into Equatorial
Guinea."

 

He said exporting 5400 cartons of military uniforms and other accessories to
Equatorial is done under provisions of the Continental Free Trade Area.

 

The Nytil Managing Director noted that they aim at reaching other regional
markets beyond East Africa with support from government.

 

"Such initiatives are critical in reducing the trade deficit of Uganda,
knowing that Uganda imported goods and services worth USD10 billion in 2022
while she exported only about USD 6.0 Billion resulting into the USD 4.0
billion deficit that must be addressed by exporters in Uganda."

 

Last year, when the Equatorial Guinea Vice President, Obiang Nguema visited
Uganda, he among others visited the Nytil factory and was impressed by the
work done.

 

It is here that the deal was agreed upon and the Wednesday export was the
first consignment sent to Equatorial Guinea and it also includes uniforms of
the police for the central African country.

 

Nytil also produces uniforms for Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and
South Sudan armies.

 

 

 

Liberia: U.S. Highlights Safety Issues in the Extractive Sector

Monrovia — The United States has pointed out health, safety, and
environmental problems that occurred last year in Liberia's extractive
industries, criticizing the Liberian government for human casualties and the
lack of accountability in the sectors.

 

"Hazardous occupations were especially dangerous in the informal sector,
such as illegal fishing, logging, and mining, where the lack of regulation
and remediation contributed to fatalities and obscured accountability," the
U.S. State Department's annual report, released Monday, said.

 

"The government did not keep records of industrial accidents, but evidence
pointed to mining, construction, forestry, fishing, and agriculture as the
most dangerous sectors," it added.

 

 

The report said businesspeople exploited unsafe and unregulated artisanal
mines. It added widespread illegal mining activities resulted "in the deaths
of several persons every year, and that "No official entity provided social
protections for informal-sector workers."

 

It said workers added earnings from subsistent farming, artisanal mining and
other informal businesses to their pay from the formal sector.

 

Corruption

 

Officially known as the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices,
the U.S. State Department has released the publications, which cover 198
states, for the last five decades. It gauges countries' political, civil
rights and workers' rights under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and other international instruments.

 

The report shined a light on land and other natural resources-related
conflicts in rural Liberia and cited a media report of alleged sexual
harassment at the Maryland Oil Palm Plantation.

 

It spoke of "significant" human rights abuses in the country from
"obstruction" of press freedom and "serious" problem with the Judiciary to
unlawful killings and the lack of accountability in the country.

 

"There were numerous reports of government corruption during the year," the
report said. It mentioned the resignations of Minister of State for
Presidential Affairs Nathaniel McGill, Solicitor General and Chief
Prosecutor Sayma Syrenius Cephus, and National Port Authority Managing
Director Bill Twehway, who were sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department
in August.

 

"Officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity."

 

This story was originally published by The DayLight and has been republished
her by permission.

 

-FrontPageAfrica.

 

 

 

Kenya: MPs in Uproar Over Different Contracts Issued to Millers

Nairobi — A mega scandal is brewing in the Ministry of Agriculture over the
maize subsidy program after it emerged that millers were awarded different
contracts to supply subsidized flour.

 

Revelations that emerged before the National Assembly Committee on
Agriculture showed that the contractual obligations in the contract given to
the Cereal Millers Association and Grain Owners Millers Association were
different.

 

Millers under the Grain Owners Millers Association who are mainly
small-scale millers were required to distribute subsidized maize flour at Sh
100 directly to the consumers in their contractual obligation.

 

 

However, the millers contracted under the Cereal Millers Association were
not obliged to ensure subsidized flour supplies get to the consumers at a
subsidized price.

 

MPs have raised eyebrows that the omission in the contract was to ensure
money was swindled from Kenyans under the program.

 

"We have two sets of contracts that were submitted by the millers and those
submitted by the Ministry. The contract submitted to us today is not the
contract signed by the millers. They are different like day and night," said
John Mutunga, Committee Chair.

 

Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture Mithika Linturi has however defended his
docket saying the National Treasury under the stewardship of Former Cabinet
Secretary Ukur Yatani made a critical decision on the maize subsidy program.

 

"Our report is so clear that MOA was never involved, we were not party to
it. We haven't been able to get the deliberations of those meetings and we
don't know how the agreements were done and implemented," Linturi said.

 

 

"Invoke your powers and ask those people that sat at Treasury as we were not
able to access the minutes of the deliberations that took place outside the
Ministry of Agriculture. We are answering issues that are not clear to us,"
he added.

 

Evidence tabled before the John Mutunga-led committee revealed that 129
millers had been contracted to supply subsidized flour in the Kenyan market
out of which only 119 millers supplied the commodity using different
contracts.

 

The Ministry of Agriculture has however told MPs that there was only one
contract that was entered with millers according to their record saying any
other contract might have been falsified.

 

CS Linturi mentioned that the four-week contract entered between is only one
refuting the claim that two different contracts were issued to millers.

 

 

"What I provided is a draft contract that was supposed to be signed. I have
no copy of the signed contract which would make me believe that the contract
attached here by the millers was approved by the Attorney General," he said.

 

The lawmakers expressed that highly ranked officials at the Ministry of
Agriculture and National Treasury embezzled public funds using the subsidy
program exonerating millers from the allegation that they falsified the
contracts.

 

"It's not satisfactory what CS Linturi is telling us by exonerating himself
and so we want to know who gave the millers these contracts? Is it the
Ministry of Agriculture or Treasury or is it something that they signed for
themselves?" said Wajir West MP Yussuf Farrah.

 

"The contract was approved by the Attorney General and therefore we wonder
this other contract where did it come from and who approved?" said Soi MP
David Kiplagat.

 

"It will be highly unlikely that a miller would sit down to tamper with a
contract. At what point do the makers of that contract choose to deal with
Okello separately and Linturi separately on the same contractual
obligation?" posed Nyando MP Jared Okello.

 

"If at all there is a contract it came from the attorney general office and
it can only be one. Maybe we need someone from the Attorney General's office
to tell us which contract is authentic," said Borabu MP Patrick Kibagendi.

 

Variance in payment

 

Equally significant was the amount of money allocated and disbursed for the
maize subsidy program which had great variance with MOA quoting Sh
7.2billion while the millers were quoting Sh 6.6billion.

 

In August 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture paid the millers Sh 4billion
remaining with a pending bill of Sh 3.2billion according to their records.

 

In December 2022, they wrote to the Treasury Principal Secretary Chris
Kiptoo requesting Sh 3.2bilion to pay the millers their outstanding dues
which were accruing interest.

 

Details submitted by the millers on their payment owed by the government was
Sh 6.6billion which shows a variance of Sh 600million.

 

The Ministry of Agriculture explained that the variance over the funds
required for payment was an error incurred on double invoices.

 

"After we did all the reconciliation that needed to be done we identified
that the difference between Sh 3.2billion and Sh3 billion was an issue of
repeated invoices and the actual figure stands at Sh 3billion,"said Linturi.

 

-Capital FM.

 

 

 

East Africa: Kampala Readies to Host EAC Petroleum Conference, Exhibition

UGANDA Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Dr Ruth Ssentamu has
confirmed preparations were in the final stages as Uganda readies to host
the 10th East African Petroleum Conference and Exhibition, 2023.

 

"I take this opportunity to welcome our distinguished guests and
participants from all the seven partner states and beyond to the 10th
edition of the East African Petroleum Conference and Exhibition that Uganda
will host from May 9th to 11th this year in Kampala," said the minister.

 

The 2023 edition of the conference under the theme East Africa as a hub for
Investment in Exploration and Exploitation of Petroleum Resources for
Sustainable Energy and Socioeconomic Development, aims at showcasing the
East African Community as a destination of choice for oil and gas investment
opportunities to enhance socio-economic transformation.

 

 

"Uganda is proud and honoured to host the 10th edition of EAPCE," Dr
Ssentamu added.

 

The EAC Secretary General, Dr Peter Mathuki noted that EAPCE'23 is in line
with the community's broad goal to achieve economic, social and political
integration, so as to create wealth in the region and enhance
competitiveness through increased production, trade and investment in the
oil and gas sector.

 

"The conference will give the partner states an opportunity to showcase the
potential for oil and gas that exists in the region and report on the
ongoing activities in exploration, development and production of the two
commodities," said the Secretary General.

 

The Secretary General further noted that during the conference the partner
states will share their policy, legal and regulatory frameworks and other
initiatives aimed at continually improving the enabling and facilitative
environment for the industry.

 

Held biennially since 2003, the East African Petroleum Conferences have
provided increasing awareness of the potential for petroleum production in
the region and other important issues in the petroleum sector, including
technological advancements in exploration, development and production.

 

The last nine Petroleum Conferences have proven a valuable forum for
governments and petroleum industry players from around the world to
dialogue.

 

Delegates can expect high quality technical presentations, exhibitions from
a wide spectrum of players from the petroleum sector.

 

The conference programme integrates a pre-conference workshop, field
excursions to selected sites in each partner state for delegates to see the
rich geological variety that the region possesses as well as the tourist
attractions that the region is well known for.

 

EAPCE'23 will take place at a time when the EAC has embarked on a journey to
implement the EAC Vision 2050.

 

The objective of the energy sector development under the EAC Vision 2050 is
to ensure sustainable, adequate, affordable, competitive, secure and
reliable supply of energy to meet regional needs at the least cost.

 

By 2050, the region's target is to transform the energy landscape to be
characterised by efficient distribution of petroleum products with
sufficient strategic reserves.

 

-Daily News.

 

 

 

Tanzania: Solar Water Pumps Touted to Deal With Drought

AS Tanzania joined the rest of the world in marking World Water Day on
Wednesday, water and energy solutions experts have called for more
investments in solar water pumps in the wake of unreliable rainfall and dry
weather.

 

They argued that the use of solar water pumps will help the country build
more resilience by creating a strong resistance to shifts in rainfall caused
by climate change or unreliable seasonable patterns.

 

Tanzania and the Horn of Africa are staring at a record sixth year of
drought, threatening the region's food security with reports indicating Horn
of Africa rainfall totals in 2022 were the lowest in 70 years.

 

 

Director of Davis & Shirtliff Mr Edward Davis said the trend could be
averted in future through technology that helps in sustainable pumping,
water harvesting, treatment and recycling.

 

"Solarised water pumping has proven to be operationally, financially, and
environmentally sustainable, bringing the cost of access to clean and safe
water down tremendously for both household and industrial use including
importantly farming," said Mr Davis.

 

Millions of Tanzanians still live with limited access to water with many
communities relying on hand pumps or electric water pumps that are costly to
maintain.

 

"Before, the major hindrance to acquisition of solar power was definitely
cost, but in recent years, the cost of solar technology has dropped
tremendously making them more accessible. In addition, these panels last
around 20 years, requiring little maintenance throughout their lifetime,"
Davis added.

 

World Water Day 2023's focus is on accelerating change to solve the water
and sanitation crisis.

 

Celebrated annually on 22 March, World Water Day raises awareness and
inspires action to tackle the water and sanitation crisis.

 

World Water Day became a UN observance day in 1993. It seeks to focus
attention on the global water crisis.

 

-Daily News.

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


 


Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

 

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INVESTORS DIARY 2023

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

Good Friday

 

April 7

 


 

Easter Saturday

 

April 8

 


 

Easter Sunday

 

April 9

 


 

Easter Monday

 

April 10

 


 

Independence Day

 

April 18

 


 

Workers’ Day

 

May 1

 


 

Africa Day

 

May 25

 


 

 

 

 

 


Companies under Cautionary

 

 

 


CBZH

TSL

Fidelity

 


Willdale

FMHL

ZBFH

 


GetBucks

Zimre

Seed Co

 


 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


 <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
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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
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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.

 


 

 


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