Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 16 May 2023

[Bulls n Bears]

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 16 May 2023 

 


 

 


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ü  Elon Musk documents subpoenaed in Jeffrey Epstein lawsuit

ü  Ex US bank bosses call collapse 'unprecedented'

ü  ExxonMobil settles decades-old torture case with Indonesian villagers

ü  'Doomsday': Singapore renters sound the alarm as prices surge

ü  Microsoft's Activision takeover approved by EU after UK veto

ü  Vice and Motherboard owner files for bankruptcy

ü  Scrap tax on sunscreen, say cancer charities

ü  Center Parcs owner Brookfield puts holiday chain up for sale

ü  Nigeria: $1.3bn Zungeru Hydroelectric Plant Completed, Ready for
Inauguration - Govt

ü  Nigeria's N12.1trn 2023 Budget Deficit May Widen As Oil Production
Shrinks By 58m Barrels in Four Months

ü  Nigeria: NNPC's Renewed Fight Against Oil Theft

ü  Nigeria's Inflation Hits 22.22% As Food Prices Rise

 


 

 


 <https://www.cloverleaf.co.zw/>          Elon Elon Musk documents
subpoenaed in Jeffrey Epstein lawsuit

Elon Musk has been subpoenaed by the US Virgin Islands in a lawsuit accusing
a Wall Street bank of enabling Jeffrey Epstein to sex traffic women.

 

It calls on the Tesla boss to hand over any documents showing communication
between him, JP Morgan Chase bank and Epstein, who died in 2019.

 

Mr Musk is not accused of any wrongdoing in the case.

 

On Monday, he also reiterated denials of suggestions that Epstein had
provided him with financial advice.

 

Jeffrey Epstein died in jail in New York in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex
trafficking charges.

 

The Virgin Islands is suing JP Morgan Chase for allegedly helping enable
Epstein's alleged crimes.

 

Its case alleges trafficked women were sexually abused by Epstein and others
on Little St. James, his private island in the territory.

 

The Virgin Islands government has accused the bank of not acting on warning
signs about the alleged crimes. The bank has denied the allegations.

 

As part of the case, a court filing on Monday revealed the territory's
authorities had tried to serve Mr Musk, the multi-billionaire owner of
Twitter, with the subpoena but had been unsuccessful.

 

"The Government [of the US Virgin Islands] contacted Mr. Musk's counsel via
email to ask if he would be authorized to accept service on Mr. Musk's
behalf in this matter, but did not receive a response confirming or denying
his authority," the filing said.

 

The Virgin Islands also asked a Manhattan federal court judge to allow it to
serve Mr Musk with the subpoena with Tesla's registered agent.

 

Mr Musk may have been referred to the Wall Street banking giant by Epstein,
according to the court filing.

 

However, the Virgin Islands did not provide further explanation for its
interest in obtaining documents from Mr Musk.

 

Epstein, a financier, had been a client of JP Morgan from 2000 to 2013. Mr
Musk was also been a customer - with JP Morgan in charge of Tesla's
commercial banking business for several years.

 

Mr Musk tweeted on Monday that the suggestion that he taken advice from
Epstein was "idiotic" and called the late financier a "dumb crook."

 

Epstein, who was convicted in 2008 for soliciting prostitution from a minor,
moved in social circles that included Prince Andrew and former presidents
Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, as well as many key figures of the business
world.

 

Prosecutors in 2019 accused him of running a "vast network" of underage
girls for sex.

 

JP Morgan Chase has denied knowing about Epstein's crimes.-bbc

 

 

 

Ex US bank bosses call collapse 'unprecedented'

The former bosses of two US banks that collapsed in March, sparking global
fears over the state of the financial industry, say the failures were caused
by "unprecedented" circumstances.

 

The remarks come in testimony prepared for a hearing in Washington on
Tuesday.

 

Lawmakers are examining the episode amid debate over what should have been
done to prevent it.

 

Former Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) chief Greg Becker is set to tell Congress
he "never imagined" such events.

 

In his prepared remarks, he blames the bank's downfall on social media
rumours and mixed messages about borrowing costs from the US central bank.

 

"I never imagined that these unprecedented events could happen to SVB and
strongly believe that the leadership team and I made the best decisions we
could with the facts, forecasts, and outside expert advice available to us
at the time," he says.

 

"The takeover of SVB has been personally and professionally devastating, and
I am truly sorry for how this has impacted SVB's employees, clients, and
shareholders."

 

The comments mark Mr Becker's first public statements since SVB was taken
over by regulators in March, after its announcement that it needed to raise
money prompted customers worried about the safety of their funds to withdraw
tens of billions of dollars in hours.

 

The sudden failure of the firm, then America's 16th largest lender, was a
shock to the industry.

 

Share prices in many other lenders plunged and billions of dollars were
transferred out of firms seen as potentially risky.

 

Regulators in the US ultimately seized two other mid-size banks Signature
Bank and First Republic hit by the concerns. In Europe, the turmoil sparked
the forced takeover of troubled Swiss giant Credit Suisse.

 

The episode continues to unsettle financial markets and has sparked debate
in the US about financial regulation and whether authorities took proper
action.

 

SVB has come in for criticism for depending too much on tech firms for
business and for not having prepared its investment portfolio for the sharp
rise in interest rates that occurred last year. The Federal Reserve has said
its failure was due to "textbook case of mismanagement".

 

Mr Becker's compensation, including sales of the firm's shares, has also
come under scrutiny.

 

In his remarks, Mr Becker defends the bank's investments, which he says were
guided by assertions from the Federal Reserve that price inflation was
likely to be "transitory".

 

He says customers panicked at SVB's announcement in March that it needed to
raise money because they unfairly compared its situation to Silvergate
Capital, a cryptocurrency lender, which said on the same day that it was
shutting down.

 

"Silvergate's failure and the link to SVB caused rumors and misconceptions
to spread quickly online," he says, adding that "SVB and Silvergate were
very different banks", with SVB far less involved with crypto.

 

"I do not believe that any bank could survive a bank run of that velocity
and magnitude," he says.

 

Meanwhile, in his own comments, the former chairman of Signature Bank, Scott
Shay calls the combination of events "truly extraordinary and unprecedented"
and says he disagreed with regulators' decision to take over the firm.

 

"I was confident that Signature Bank could withstand the economic earthquake
that occurred on that day," he says.

 

The two executives are due before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday in
the first of three hearings scheduled related to the failures and oversight
of the banking system.-bbc

 

 

 

ExxonMobil settles decades-old torture case with Indonesian villagers

Eleven Indonesian villagers from Aceh province have reached a confidential
financial settlement with oil giant ExxonMobil.

 

The villagers have been at the centre of a two-decade long legal battle over
alleged human rights abuses.

 

They say they endured torture, sexual assault, and beatings by Indonesian
soldiers contracted by ExxonMobil.

 

ExxonMobil said it condemns such abuses "including those asserted in this
case against the Indonesian military".

 

The villagers allege a number of crimes were committed - these included
witnessing their loved ones being shot.

 

They also said pregnant women were forced to jump repeatedly before being
sexually assaulted, and men were subjected to electric shocks, burns, and
knife-inflicted graffiti on their backs.

 

In a statement, the oil giant said: "It should be noted while there were no
allegations that any employee directly harmed any of the plaintiffs, the
settlement brings closure for all parties."

 

"We express our deepest sympathy to the families and the people who were
involved."

 

The alleged atrocities were said to have taken place in and around
ExxonMobil's operations in the Arun field, North Aceh. This gas field,
referred to as "the jewel in the company's crown", was among the world's
largest natural gas fields.

 

During much of the litigation period, ExxonMobil reported significant
profits.

 

A trial was scheduled to begin at the end of this month in Washington but
has now been averted due to the settlement.

 

The plaintiffs, identified only as Jane and John Doe for their safety, said
they were satisfied with the outcome.

 

File picture 18 February 2001 shows Acehnese children in a field at Ujong
Blang village, Lhokseumawe, Aceh province, in front of holding tanks at the
PT Arun liquefied natural gas facility owned by ExxonMobil

 

 

"While nothing will bring back my husband, this victory delivers the justice
we have spent two decades fighting for and will be life-changing for me and
my family," one of the villagers said.

 

Their lawyer Agnieszka Fryszman praised their bravery in taking on one of
the world's largest and most profitable corporations for more than 20 years.

 

Founder and executive director of International Rights Advocates and the
attorney who filed this case in 2001, Terrence Collingsworth, said he was
"pleased the villagers will have some peace" after the settlement.

 

"Their dedication and commitment to seeking accountability over two decades
is inspiring," he said.

 

Michel Paradis, a lecturer at Columbia Law School, who was not involved in
the case, described the outcome as momentous.

 

"Exxon and its lawyers threw everything they could at them, and they
overcame it. That is a testament not simply to their perseverance, but to
the justness of their cause."

 

"They and their lawyers should take tremendous satisfaction in the fact that
they not only succeeded in getting accountability for what was done to them,
but that they helped advance a sea change of reform to the way corporations
govern themselves that will prevent things like this from happening again."

 

The financial details of the settlement remain undisclosed to protect the
safety of the plaintiffs, who will maintain their anonymity.

 

While the financial settlement marks a resolution in the legal process,
Indonesian human rights activists emphasize that it does not address the
deep psychological trauma endured by the victims.

 

However, they believe that the outcome is significant in that it has brought
the alleged atrocities to the attention of the world.-bbc

 

 

 

'Doomsday': Singapore renters sound the alarm as prices surge

At the end of last year, the lease on Eva Teh's flat in central Singapore
came up for renewal.

 

The Singaporean and her husband were expecting their monthly rent to rise.
What they weren't prepared for was the 60% hike proposed by their landlord.

 

"We immediately went to search for available apartments. What we found gave
us another shock. Rents have soared," she tells the BBC.

 

"The thought of not being able to afford a roof over our heads terrified
us," she adds. "It felt like doomsday."

 

Ms Teh says she had little choice but to negotiate with her landlord for a
better deal.

 

Now, they pay S$2,900 ($2,185; £1,732) a month for their one-bedroom home,
up from S$1,950 before the rent hike.

 

How a tote bag sparked a class debate in Singapore

'Revenge partying' in strait-laced Singapore

"To cope with the increase in rent, I'm forcing myself to work harder so I
can make more money," Ms Teh, who is a media freelancer, says.

 

"In months where I can't make ends meet, I will have to dip into my savings.
Fortunately, we have an emergency fund for days like this."

 

She is not alone. Surging rents have become a major issue in the South East
Asian country.

 

Private housing rents, which rose last year at the fastest pace in over a
decade, have continued to climb in recent months.

 

Prices are rising across the city-state's property market, with rents for
properties in public housing blocks and high-end homes heading higher.

 

According to real estate consultancy Knight Frank, Singapore now has the
fastest rising luxury property rents, after overtaking New York.

 

Heated market

Rents have jumped as the pandemic delayed building projects and brought more
locals into the market, the country's Housing and Development Board (HDB)
and Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) tell the BBC.

 

"Rental demand has also increased as non-residents are returning to
Singapore to work amidst the robust recovery from Covid-19," they add.

 

The country's rental market has long been dominated by foreigners. This is
because the majority of Singapore's 5.6m residents have bought long leases
on subsidised public housing.

 

Traditionally, Singaporeans would not leave their family home until they got
married, but that's now changing.

 

There is an increasing trend for younger Singaporeans choosing to rent, Tan
Tee Khoon from the PropertyGuru real estate portal says.

 

"They wish to have their own space and live among a like-minded community.
For that reason, co-living has become a more popular choice in recent
times," he adds.

 

When Singapore's pandemic restrictions were in place in 2021, Pearlyn Siew
moved into a co-living property, where she had her own room and shared
amenities, including bathrooms, a kitchen and laundry facilities.

 

"I needed space from my family after being in the same house throughout
Covid. It felt really suffocating," she tells the BBC.

 

"My parents were not agreeable and we were on pretty bad terms," she adds.
"But my relationship with them improved after I got the space to take care
of my own mental well-being. I was able to connect with them with a
healthier nervous system."

 

Meanwhile, Asher Chua moved out after struggling to work from a flat that he
shared with his parents and three siblings.

 

"When your siblings are not working and you're living in the same room, your
schedules tend to conflict. It becomes quite tough to live together when you
are not in the same life stages," he says.

 

Both Asher and Pearlyn are unmarried and under the age of 35, which means
that they do not yet qualify for public housing.

 

"The eligibility rules limit access to affordable housing for singles,
regardless of the individual's aspiration to have a place of one's own,"
says sociologist Chua Beng Huat.

 

"Families have a greater need for housing than single individuals, when the
HDB is always trying to catch up with demand," Mr Chua adds.

 

The rent increases have also hit the LGBT community, who make up a
significant portion of renters.

 

Same-sex marriages are not recognised in the country. It only recently
repealed the controversial 377A law which banned sex between men.

 

"While housing policies which affect singles also affect the LGBT community,
the community has its own set of problems," real estate agent William Tan
says.

 

"Many people are not able to stay at their family home because of an
unfriendly, dangerous or toxic environment. This forces them to rent," Mr
Tan adds.

 

Promised supply

There is some good news though, as rents are expected to fall with "a
significant housing supply coming onstream over the next few years," HDB and
URA says.

 

Close to 40,000 public and private homes are scheduled to be completed this
year. That is the most in five years, according to official estimates.

 

Another 60,000 homes are expected to be completed by 2025.

 

"As the supply comes onstream, Singaporeans who are temporarily renting
while waiting for the completion of their new homes will vacate their rental
units, and help ease the rental market," HDB and URA adds.

 

"The government will continue to monitor the property market closely and
adjust our policies as necessary."

 

However, Ms Teh will have to keep renting until her public housing apartment
is ready in three years time.

 

"We talked through every single option that we had. Moving in with our
family was not an option because our parents live overseas," she says.

 

"I'm hopeful that rents will go down as more new flats are completed. I
think nobody could have prevented this from happening, because nobody could
stop Covid from spreading."-bbc

 

 

 

Microsoft's Activision takeover approved by EU after UK veto

EU regulators have approved Microsoft's $69bn (£55bn) attempt to purchase
Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard.

 

The European Commission (EC) said Microsoft had addressed their concerns on
competition issues.

 

It comes three weeks after the UK blocked the deal over worries it would
hurt competition in the emerging cloud gaming business.

 

The proposed takeover is poised to be the biggest deal in gaming history but
has split global regulators.

 

In order for the deal to go through Microsoft and Activision need approval
from regulatory bodies in the UK, EU and the US.

 

The US Federal Trace Commission filed a lawsuit in December to block the
deal - a judge's decision is unlikely before the end of the year.

 

Microsoft's big deal - what you need to know

The EC have approved the acquisition, saying that Microsoft's offer of 10
year free licensing deals - which promise European consumers and cloud game
streaming services access to Activision's PC and console games - mean there
would be fair competition in the market.

 

"The commitments fully address the competition concerns identified by the
Commission and represent a significant improvement for cloud gaming as
compared to the current situation," the EU competition watchdog said in a
statement.

 

It said an in-depth market investigation indicated that Microsoft "would not
be able to harm rival consoles and rival multi-game subscription services".

 

And it said cloud game streaming service providers "gave positive feedback
and showed interest in the licences", with some having already entered into
agreements with Microsoft based on their proposals.

 

Significant hurdles

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) shock veto of the deal last
month had experts warning the deal now faces significant hurdles in order to
be successful.

 

Microsoft and Activision filed an appeal and have reportedly hired
high-powered lawyers who have previously represented British Royals to fight
that decision.

 

On Thursday the CMA dealt a further blow by restricting Microsoft and
Activision Blizzard from acquiring stakes in each other without "prior
written consent".

 

Reacting to the European Commission's statement, CMA chief executive Sarah
Cardell said they stood by their decision.

 

"Microsoft's proposals, accepted by the European Commission today, would
allow Microsoft to set the terms and conditions for this market for the next
10 years," she added.

 

"They would replace a free, open and competitive market with one subject to
ongoing regulation of the games Microsoft sells, the platforms to which it
sells them, and the conditions of sale.

 

"This is one of the reasons the CMA's independent panel group rejected
Microsoft's proposals and prevented this deal."

 

Cloud gaming - is it the future?

The deal is important for Microsoft who are trying to play catch-up with its
main competitors Sony. They have been the more successful of the two in
recent years when it comes to sales in the console market.

 

However, this attempted massive investment from Microsoft can been seen as a
play for the future of games rather than its present. Microsoft is betting
big on its Gamepass service, which can be described as a Netflix of games.

 

They think the future lies in players having subscriptions to libraries
rather than making one off purchases - which is the predominant way of
accessing games at the moment.

 

Their Gamepass offering is compelling but lacking the volume and calibre of
new titles to fully transform the way most people play. This deal would give
it control of some of the world's most popular games such as Call of Duty,
World of Warcraft and Overwatch. Being in charge of titles like that could
be a big boost to the service.

 

Cloud gaming is an extension of that principle allowing people to stream
their game on any device they own - form a phone to a console or high-end
PC. Just like watching Amazon Prime or Disney+ but with video games.

 

Currently this is a small and emerging part of the games industry because of
the technological requirements of making it work. It is however seemingly
growing with the number of people playing this way in the UK having tripled
between 2021 and 2022 according to the CMA.

 

Microsoft have invested in this space and so combined with its Gamepass
offering it is in a good position to lead the way, should cloud gaming go on
to become a significant part of the industry.

 

That is why the CMA decided to block the decision in the UK, arguing it
would put Microsoft in too dominant a position in this up-and-coming sector.

 

However many within the games industry have disagreed with their analysis -
especially given how small the cloud gaming sector is in the grand scheme of
things and given it is not be guaranteed to become the dominant way of
accessing games in future.

 

Post-Brexit friction?

The American technology giants have not taken the setback in the UK quietly.
Microsoft President Brad Smith said the CMA decision was "bad for Britain".

 

"It does more than shake our confidence in the future of the opportunity to
grow a technology business in Britain than we've ever confronted before," he
said in an interview with the BBC last month.

 

"There's a clear message here - the European Union is a more attractive
place to start a business than the United Kingdom."

 

The drama is far from over and there is a lot of money on the line.
Activision Blizzard, for example, will still get $3bn from Microsoft if the
deal fails.

 

The EU taking an opposing position on the mega-deal could be read by some as
a reflection of post-Brexit frictions with the UK.

 

It is believed that Microsoft's recent 10-year licensing agreements with
cloud streaming rivals Nvidia's GeForce Now, Ukraine's Boosteroid and
Japan's Ubitus, played a role in the EC decision.

 

Nintendo and Sony are also being promised access to keep Call of Duty on
their gaming consoles - the Switch and PlayStation. This non-exclusivity for
the Activision Blizzard game has helped smoothed the path.

 

But the Xbox-maker hasn't agreed a compromise with Valve Corp which owns the
world's largest video game distribution platform Steam, however it's boss
Gabe Newell said he didn't need to sign a deal as he trusted their
intentions.-bbc

 

 

 

 

Vice and Motherboard owner files for bankruptcy

The company behind the websites Vice and Motherboard has filed for
bankruptcy in the US and is set to be sold to a group of its lenders.

 

Vice Media Group - which was valued at $5.7bn (£4.5bn) in 2017 - could be
taken over for $225m.

 

The youth-focused digital publisher said it will continue to operate during
the bankruptcy process.

 

It added that it "expects to emerge as a financially healthy and stronger
company in two to three months".

 

Launched in 1994 as a fringe magazine called Voice of Montreal by Shane
Smith, Gavin McInnes and Suroosh Alvi, Vice currently operates in more than
30 countries.

 

It was once heralded as part of vanguard of companies set to disrupt the
traditional media landscape with edgy, youth-focused content spanning print,
events, music, online, TV and feature films.

 

After a visit to the Brooklyn-based firm's office in 2012, media mogul
Rupert Murdoch tweeted: "Who's heard of VICE media? Wild, interesting effort
to interest millennials who don't read or watch established media. Global
success."-bbc

 

 

 

 

Scrap tax on sunscreen, say cancer charities

Value added tax - better known as VAT - should be scrapped on sunscreen to
make it more affordable, say several UK cancer charities.

 

Sunscreen is classified as a "cosmetic" product and carries a 20% tax,
adding around £1.50 to the cost of a bottle.

 

Charities want high-factor protective creams to be VAT exempt, citing the
cost-of-living crisis which has seen many struggling to buy essential items.

 

Most skin cancers are caused by sun damage.

 

There are several types of skin cancer, and melanoma is the most dangerous,
as well as the most common type among young people in the UK - with cases on
the rise.

 

If untreated, the cancer can spread to other areas of the body.

 

Sunbeds also increase the risk of skin cancer, with some delivering greater
doses of UV rays than the midday tropical sun.

 

Sunbed use at age 16 my biggest regret, says man with cancer

I thought being black meant I couldn't get skin cancer

"Few realise that getting painful sunburn just once every two years can
triple your risk of skin cancer," said Dr Louise Soanes, Chief Nurse,
Teenage Cancer Trust.

 

"Preventing skin cancer by using an effective sun cream is essential - and
sun cream shouldn't be a luxury that only some can afford."

 

Cruise ship dancer Kass Barker, who says she used to be "really into
sunbathing", was diagnosed with melanoma in October 2020, at the age of 22.

 

She had gone for a check-up of a mole on her wrist that had been worrying
her.

 

"I just had a gut-feeling something was wrong," says Kass, from Tyne and
Wear.

 

Kass wants to warn others about how serious melanoma can be.

 

"If there was a cream that people said could prevent breast cancer, then
everyone would be buying it - but for some reason people do not see skin
cancer as such a threat.

 

"I'm a dancer and I love being tanned, but is it worth your life? I see
people on social media joking about getting sunburnt, but it's no joke.
Melanoma can kill."-bbc

 

 

 

 

Center Parcs owner Brookfield puts holiday chain up for sale

UK holiday village chain Center Parcs has been put up for sale by its owner,
the Canadian private equity firm Brookfield.

 

The company is looking to raise between £4bn and £5bn from the sale
according to the Financial Times.

 

Brookfield bought the business for about £2.4bn in 2015.

 

Center Parcs runs six holiday villages in the UK and Ireland which attract
more than two million visitors every year.

 

They are particularly popular with families as they offer a range of
activities on-site, with an indoor waterpark as the central attraction and
wooden cabins set in cycle-friendly forests.

 

The first UK location opened in 1987, at Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire.
There are now holiday villages at Elveden Forest, Longleat Forest, Whinfell
Forest and Woburn Forest.

 

In 2019, it opened its first site in Ireland, with Center Parcs Longford
Forest close to the town of Ballymahon in County Longford.

 

The Financial Times said that Brookfield had appointed investment bankers to
sound out potential buyers, including other private equity firms.

 

Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said there still
appeared to be strong demand for Center Parcs holidays for now, with some
wealthier holidaymakers trading down from holidays abroad.

 

"During the pandemic Brits rushed to snap up sought after places, but even
with cash-strapped families ditching the extra 'staycation' in favour of one
holiday, it's clear by the prices and availability that there's still more
than enough business to go around - so far," she said.

 

But rising mortgage costs and the difficult economic climate did raise a
question over future growth, she added.

 

Earlier this year, Center Parcs scrapped plans to develop a new holiday
village in West Sussex.

 

In July 2021, the company had secured an option agreement to acquire
Oldhouse Warren, a privately-owned woodland on the outskirts of Crawley.

 

However, Center Parcs said a "rigorous" environmental survey had revealed
that the site was not suitable for development.

 

Environmentalists had argued that the site would destroy established
woodland and damage the habitats of rare birds.

 

At the end of last year Center Parcs said occupancy rates were at 97.3%, and
broadly in line with pre-Covid levels.

 

Revenue of £426.6m between April and December last year represented a 20%
increase compared to the same period a year earlier, and 18% higher than
before the pandemic.

 

Last year, Center Parcs was forced to backtrack over a decision to ask
guests to leave its sites on the day of the Queen's funeral.

 

When it announced the move, it said the decision was made "as a mark of
respect" and to allow employees to "be part of this historic moment".

 

But the move prompted angry complaints from holidaymakers as it would have
meant some guests would have had to leave part-way through their break and
return afterwards.

 

Center Parcs UK is a separate business from Center Parcs Europe, which has
holiday villages in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and France. The
European business is still owned by Blackstone Group which sold the UK part
of the business to Brookfield in 2015.-bbc

 

 

 

Nigeria: $1.3bn Zungeru Hydroelectric Plant Completed, Ready for
Inauguration - Govt

Abuja — The Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, has revealed that the 700
megawatts Zungeru Hydroelectric power project has been completed, stressing
that the facility will be able to send power to the Transmission Company of
Nigeria (TCN) soon.

 

THISDAY learnt that the project worth over $1.3 billion, is being
constructed by CNEEC and SINOHYDRO in Niger state, Nigeria. It is said to be
the second-largest hydroelectric power project in the country behind the 760
megawatts (1,020,000 hp) Kainji hydroelectric power project.

 

The minister, who spoke while on inspection visit of the project in the
company of members of the Senate committee on Power chaired by Senator
Gabriel Suswam and the governor of Niger state, Abubakar Sani Bello, pointed
out that all the turbines had been tested and plans were being concluded for
the official launch of the project.

 

 

Aliyu said the last time a project like Zungeru Hydroelectric Power project
was executed by the Nigerian government was in 1960's, adding that the huge
investment in Zungeru power plant was part of the federal government's
commitment to improving electricity supply across the country.

 

Aliyu who also posted images from the visit on his social media handles,
added that apart from giving more power to Nigerians, the project is
currently providing employment for many Nigerians and will provide flood
control, irrigation, as well as water supply to the people.

 

Also speaking, the Governor of Niger state, Bello, commended President
Muhammadu Buhari for the completion of the project.

 

In his remarks, the Chairman Senate Committee on Power, Suswam, expressed
satisfaction with the project, noting that the senate mandated his committee
to inspect the project and report back to the Upper Chamber of the National
Assembly.

 

-This Day.

 

 

 

 

Nigeria's N12.1trn 2023 Budget Deficit May Widen As Oil Production Shrinks
By 58m Barrels in Four Months

Abuja — Nigeria's already high budget deficit of N12.1 trillion may widen in
2023, following the country's underproduction of crude oil to the tune of 58
million barrels in the first four months of this year, THISDAY analysis of
data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has
shown.

 

While the country has a benchmark oil production of 1.69 million bpd for the
year, Nigeria has barely managed to produce 70 per cent of that figure
between January and April.

 

A review of the data indicated that while Nigeria was supposed to produce an
average of 202.8 million barrels for the period under consideration, going
by the budget projection, but the country was able to drill 144.8 million
barrels, leaving a deficit of 57.94 million in the first four months.

 

 

With the production benchmark set by the National Assembly, Nigeria is
supposed to have an output of 50.7 million barrels every month. However, it
has fallen short consistently below that figure this year, even though it's
an improvement on production for most of 2022.

 

The national assembly had also increased Nigeria's crude oil benchmark to
$75 per barrel from the previous $70 per barrel. At the time , the federal
said the country will be able to fund the 2023 budget if Nigeria met the
1.69 bpd benchmark.

 

But it now appears from data coming out of the industry that that aspiration
remains a pipedream.

 

In all, the country's output was 39 million barrels in January, 36.5 million
barrels in February and 39.3 million barrels in March. April was the
most-hit in terms of the volume of oil drilled, with Nigeria only able to
produce 29.95 million barrels out of the over 50 million barrels expected
cumulative production for the month.

 

 

Last week, THISDAY reported that after a period of seeming respite,
Nigeria's crude oil production fell to a seven-month low of 998,602 barrels
per day in April, a blow to recent gains made from the renewed efforts by
the federal government to tackle oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the
Niger Delta.

 

But the depleted production figure last month was partly connected with the
shutting down of oil platforms and declaration of force majeure by Exxon
Mobil in Nigeria mid last month, especially at the Qua Iboe asset.

 

The decision to declare force majeure followed an industrial action by the
company's in-house workers union, the company said in a statement in April.
The NUPRC data revealed that the last time Nigeria had production less than
1 million was in August last year when it produced 972,394 barrels per day.

 

 

On January 3, President Muhammadu Buhari signed the N21.83 trillion 2023
Appropriation Bill into law, the largest in Nigeria's budget in history. It
was based on a N10.49 trillion revenue, N12.1 trillion deficit and N6.31
trillion estimate for debt servicing.

 

>From the total revenue of N10.49 trillion, independent revenue had the
highest share of N2.62 trillion, non-oil revenue had N2.43 trillion, while
N2.23 trillion was expected from oil revenue.

 

The key assumptions included an oil price benchmark of $75 per barrel;
exchange rate at N435.57 per dollar; oil production of 1.69 million barrels
per day and inflation rate of 17.16 per cent.

 

Many experts, including the Chief Executive Officer of Cowry Asset
Management, Mr. Johnson Chukwu, had recently expressed dissatisfaction over
the budget deficit figure.

 

According to him, the 2023 budget was about 4.3 per cent deficit of
Nigeria's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), adding that such budget deficit may
plunge Nigeria into huge borrowing capable of creating economic setback for
the country.

 

Chukwu who spoke on 'The Morning Show' on ARISE NEWS Channels, the broadcast
arm of THISDAY Newspapers, said the implications of the N12.1 trillion
budget deficit in is that it would compel Nigeria to continue to borrow and
increase her debt profile.

 

The latest industry data further showed that Qua Iboe was massively
negatively impacted in April, with production slumping from 4.2 million
barrels in March to 1.9 million barrels. In Bonny terminal, production also
fell from 3.2 million barrels total production in March to 2.2 million
barrels in April.

 

Forcados also witnessed a fall from 5.7 million in March 2023 to 4.8 million
last month, while Escravos reduced from 4.3 million barrels to 3.8 million
barrels.

 

Data from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), in May
showed that Angola overtook Nigeria to emerge top African crude oil producer
for the month of April.

 

According to the April 2023 Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) published by
the oil cartel, Angola recorded 1.06 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude
production in April, up from 972,000 bpd recorded in March. However, Nigeria
recorded an output of 999,000 bpd in April compared to 1.3 million bpd the
previous month.

 

Aside other several challenges like the workers' strike in April, Nigeria
has had to battle the menace of oil theft and pipeline vandalism as well as
waning investment in the oil sector.

 

-This Day.

 

 

 

Nigeria: NNPC's Renewed Fight Against Oil Theft

Emmanuel Addeh writes that the results of recent renewed effort by the Group
Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited,
Mele Kyari, and activities to redirect the national oil company, appear to
be attracting positive feedback from industry operators

 

Although oil theft and pipeline vandalism are not new phenomena in Nigeria,
the twin menace has recently assumed a new dimension, depriving Nigeria of
taking advantage of current favourable international oil prices.

 

In all of the turbulence, mostly in the eye of the storm was the national
oil company, the NNPC, led by Mallam Mele Kyari. In August last year, to
underscore the severity of the problem, Kyari disclosed that Nigeria was
losing $1.9 billion monthly to crude oil theft.

 

 

Kyari who spoke when a delegation on an anti-oil theft team led by the then
Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, visited the Governor
of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, said that Nigeria was hardly meeting its
production quota due to the activities of the pipeline vandals and oil
thieves.

 

"As a country, we hardly meet our OPEC production...which is currently being
threatened by the activities of these economic saboteurs.

 

"This has done extensive damage to the environment, and losing $1.9 billion
every month is colossal, considering the nature of the global economy at the
moment," Kyari said.

 

Kyari emphasised that the team needed the support and buy-in of the states
because stopping oil theft required the concerted efforts of the federal and
state governments as well as oil companies and security agencies.

 

 

Aside several visits to the creeks and collaboration with local groups and
security agencies to stop the menace, Kyari's team also visited several
other leaders, including Hope Uzodinma, governor of Imo, among others to
seek their buy-in into the right against oil theft.

 

The problem was so pronounced at the time that Businessman and Chairman
Heirs Holdings, Mr Tony Elumelu, bemoaned the fact that Nigeria was losing
over 95 per cent of its oil production to thieves.

 

"How can we be losing over 95 per cent of oil production to thieves? Look at
the Bonny Terminal that should be receiving over 200,000bpd barrels of crude
oil daily, instead it receives less than 3,000 barrels, leading the operator
, Shell to declare force majeure.

 

"Why are we paying taxes if our security agencies can't stop this? It is
clear that the reason Nigeria is unable to meet its OPEC production quota is
not because of low investment but because of theft, pure and simple!," he
lamented at the time.

 

 

Elumelu wasn't the only person who made public comments about the menacing
problem at the time. Mostly reticent respected cleric, Pastor Enoch Adeboye
also lent his voice to condemning the growing theft of Nigeria's
commonwealth.

 

"Who is stealing the oil? Where is the money going? What do they want to do
with the money? Who are the foreign nations buying this stolen oil? How many
of these nations of the world are your friends?" he asked, noting that if
the issue of oil theft was not resolved, Nigeria could go bankrupt.

 

SEIZING THE GAUNTLET

 

Aware that the problem was getting out of hand, the leadership of the NNPC
decided to seize the gauntlet, going beyond its call of duty to
collaborating with federal security forces, local security groups,
communities and government heads in the states to curb the rising trend.

 

Aside that, it floated a whistle-blowers policy which would see people who
discreetly report oil theft in their communities handsomely rewarded.
There's also now some form of online real-time monitoring of activities on
some of the nation's oil assets.

 

In addition, it began consultations with international regulators to ensure
that aside detecting stolen Nigerian crude oil, buyers of illegally sold oil
are punished.

 

RESULTS

 

It wasn't long before the results started to roll in. Nigeria boosted its
oil production from sub 1 million barrels per day to over 1.4 million
barrels per day. The figure was growing until April this year when
extraneous factors, including the workers' strike by Exxon Mobil employees
negatively impacted production and causing a setback.

 

TURNAROUND & PLAUDITS

 

Industry operators and business owners who were hitherto frustrated by the
seemingly unstoppable crude oil theft are now beginning to acknowledge how
much things have changed since Kyari began coordinating the effort to rid
the country of assets vandalism or at the least reduce it and revamping the
firm.

 

The Chairman of Heirs Holding, Elumelu, who last year raised the alarm on
how oil theft and vandalism were disrupting his business has taken notice of
the efforts by Kyari.

 

According to Elumelu, due to the efforts of NNPC Ltd, Heirs Oil & Gas has
now witnessed 96 per cent recovery rate.

 

"When I listened to the Group CEO speak today, talking about us moving to
2.5 million barrels, we challenged him to do more. I believe that it is
achievable. From losing 97 per cent of our 50,000 barrels production,
interestingly and it will be bad of me to have this platform and not share
this here.

 

"That day, I got a call from the GCEO and I thought he was going to kill me
for speaking up, to my greatest surprise, he said to me Tony, we are sorry
about what is happening, we are doing something about it, it will be
corrected.

 

"They worked as a team and the Board of the NNPC, the federal government,
the security agencies, and last month, our recovery factor was 96 per cent.
So GCEO NNPC, you have delivered.

 

"I speak from experience, a beneficiary and one who cried out before and
today standing up today to say we have improved our production and that is
what we need to encourage more investments in the industry.

 

"Today, we lift 501,000 barrels of oil (per month) bringing our total
lifting this year alone to 2.6m barrels of oil. I am a great beneficiary of
the new NNPC," Elumelu stressed.

 

DANGOTE TOO

 

Africa's richest man and the Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote , has
also been speaking on the changing fortunes at the NNPC. Noting that the
NNPC has what it takes to become the African version of Saudi Arabia's
Aramco, Dangote pointed out that he believes that the oil giant can generate
billions of dollars in revenue if the right decisions are made.

 

Dangote and other speakers made the remarks on at the 2023 Upstream
Investment Management Services Ltd (NUIMS) Annual Value Assurance Review
(AVAR) workshop in Lagos.

 

"I truly believe that NNPC should be our African Aramco. You have what it
takes to take you up there and I am very happy. There is nothing that is
impossible. You can make it possible and don't let anything scare you," he
added.

 

"We need to look at our infrastructure and see how we can take ourselves to
the next level and it has to be driven by NNPC because they are the largest
conglomerate and whatever happens to NNPCL their assets, it actually happens
to us either directly or indirectly...Without you doing well, the country
cannot do well," he noted.

 

TOTALENERGIES TESTIFIES

 

Also, the Deputy Managing Director, Deepwater Asset, TotalEnergies Upstream
Nigeria Limited (TUPNI), Mr. Victor Bandele, has expressed appreciation to
Kyari, over what he described as his patriotic intervention that unlocked
30,000 barrels per day of new oil from the Egina and Akpo fields expected
before the end of the year 2023.

 

Specifically, he thanked Bandele, for enabling the deepwater PSC to engage
the services of Gerry De Souza Drillship to commence the long-due drilling
campaign of seven development wells and one exploratory well to arrest
production decline on the asset and unlock up to 30,000 barrels.

 

Bandele, said this as a guest at the NNPC said arresting production decline
has helped in generating more value for stakeholders, improve the capacity
utilisation of the best-in-class Egina Floating, Production, Storage and
Offloading (FPSO) Vessel and ensuring the attainment of the desired benefits
from the attractive crude oil prices in the market.

 

Bandele lauded NUIMS for always being a step ahead while pledging the
commitment of the OML 130 partners to complete the ongoing drilling
campaign, close out the lease renewal discussions, and turn the focus to
aggressively executing the Preowei and Egina West projects.

 

The deputy managing director also announced to the gathering that his
organisation has secured the alignment of all the partners on OML 130 to
progress with the lease renewal with a target to close out before the end of
May 2023.

 

The lease renewal would pave the way to firm up discussions on the Preowei
and Egina West projects lined up by TUPNI and the OML 130 partners to
introduce additional volumes to the Egina FPSO, he said.

 

According to him, the company is also on course to hitting the milestone of
1 billion barrels of crude oil production on the Akpo field within a period
of 15.5 years.

 

He attributed this success to excellent reservoir management and the
instrumental role played by NUIMS and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum
Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) in providing the necessary support.

 

-This Day.

 

 

Nigeria's Inflation Hits 22.22% As Food Prices Rise

Food inflation rose to 24.61 per cent in April 2023 from 24.46 in March.

 

Nigeria's annual inflation rate rose to 22.22 per cent in April from 22.04
per cent in the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said
Monday.

 

The statistics office said the April 2023 inflation rate showed an increase
of 0.18 per cent points when compared to March 2023 headline inflation rate.

 

The NBS said on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was
higher, compared to the rate recorded in April 2022, which was 16.82 per
cent.

 

"This shows that the headline inflation rate on a year-on-year basis
increased in April 2023 when compared to the same month in the preceding
year (i.e., April 2022)," it said.

 

Meanwhile, Food inflation rose to 24.61 per cent in April 2023 from 24.46 in
March.

 

More details later......

 

Premium Times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


 


Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

 

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INVESTORS DIARY 2023

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

Africa Day

 

May 25

 


 

Heroes’ Day

 

Aug 14

 


 

Defence Forces Day

 

Aug 15

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


Companies under Cautionary

 

 

 


CBZH

GetBucks

EcoCash

 


TSL

Econet

Turnall

 


First Capital Bank

ZBFH

Fidelity

 


Zimplow

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
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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
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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.

 


 

 


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+263 77 344 1674

 


 

 

 

 

 

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