Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 26 June 2024

[Bulls n Bears]

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Major International Business Headlines Brief:::  26 June 2024 

 


                                                                                  

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 


 

ü  Kenya: Ruto Speaks Tough As UN Urges Restraint Amid Kenya Protests

ü  South Africa: Namaqualand Community Raises the Alarm Over Copper Mining in Their Small Town

ü  Nigeria: Tinubu's Govt Worst in Anti-Labour Policies - ASUU

ü  Nigeria: Expedite Action On New Minimum Wage, Labour Tells Tinubu As FEC Steps Down Memo

ü  Uganda: Striking Gold, Bitcoin Mining and Energy Exploration in Uganda

ü  Nigeria: CBN Will Support Eurobond Issue, Measures to Boost External Reserves - Cardoso

ü  Kenya: ICT Authority Calls for Respect for Data Privacy As AI Adoption Grows

ü  Liberia: Senate Probes Firestone Workers' Livelihood

ü  Nigeria's Oil Block Bidding Process Will Spur Investment, Increased Production - Experts

ü  Nigeria's $5m From Gold, Mirror On Mining Sector Leakage

ü  Kenya Seeks Bigger Share of U.S. Tea Market

ü  VW to invest up to $5bn in Tesla rival Rivian

ü  Fashion giant Shein closer to London listing

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


Kenya: Ruto Speaks Tough As UN Urges Restraint Amid Kenya Protests

Kenya's President William Ruto has vowed to take firm action against protestors undermining peaceful demonstrations, even as the United Nations urges the government to avoid excessive force and calls on citizens to hold peaceful protests.

 

In a televised address to the nation last night, President Ruto asserted that the government would not tolerate the vandalism of private property and government installations by Kenyans who are opposed to the Financial Bill 2024, which seeks to enhance taxes.

 

He condemned criminals posing as peaceful protesters for terrorising people, elected representatives, and institutions.

 

 

"The breach of parliament is treasonous," Ruto declared, promising a crackdown on the organisers and financiers of the protests, now in their fifth day.

 

"I hereby put on notice the planners, financiers, orchestrators, and abettors of violence and anarchy that the security infrastructure established to protect our republic and its sovereignty will be deployed to secure the country and restore order and normalcy," he said.

 

"We must isolate crime from democratic expression and separate criminals from people exercising their freedom of expression and divergent opinion."

 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed sadness over the situation in Kenya, urging restraint.

 

"I am deeply saddened by the reports of deaths and injuries - including of journalists and medical personnel - connected to protests and street demonstrations in Kenya," Guterres said."I urge the Kenyan authorities to exercise restraint, and call for all demonstrations to take place peacefully."

 

 

Foreign missions in Kenya also condemned the violence that has marked the ongoing demonstrations, which have resulted in deaths, injuries, and claims of abductions.

 

In a joint statement, 13 countries expressed concern over the violence witnessed across the country since the demos began last week.

 

"We are deeply concerned by the violence witnessed in many parts of the country during the recent protests, and are especially shocked by the scenes witnessed outside the Kenyan Parliament," the statement read.

 

Kenyan protesters breached parliament's barricades on Tuesday and entered the parliament complex, which houses the National Assembly and the Senate, as lawmakers debated contentious tax increases that have sparked widespread anger.

 

- Business Day Africa.

 

 

 

 

South Africa: Namaqualand Community Raises the Alarm Over Copper Mining in Their Small Town

The Department of Mineral Resources will visit Concordia in July to assess the mine's compliance with dust mitigation and other issues

 

Residents of Concordia in the Northern Cape have raised the alarm over increased mining at several copper mines in and around their small town in recent months.

They say the company's large trucks are destroying their roads in and around the town and creating a dust hazard.

Tensions between residents and Copper 360 and subsidiary Shirley Hayes-IPK (SHiP) have risen since the arrest of protesters at the mine last year.

The Department of Mineral Resource and Energy will visit Concordia in July to assess their complaints.

 

People living in the Namaqualand town of Concordia say their worst fears have become a daily reality as mining activities in the small town are ramping up.

 

Residents describe how the mining company's large trucks are destroying roads in and around the town, creating a dust hazard.

 

The mining company, Copper 360, and its subsidiary Shirley Hayes-IPK (SHiP) has been extracting copper from several mines in the Northern Cape town. Increased mining in recent months has caused conflict between residents and the company, which the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) is trying to mediate.

 

The Rietberg, Homeep, Koeëlkop, and Jubilee mines are located outside the town and Hester Maria and Wheal Julia mines are located inside the town where residents live.

 

It's been nearly 11 months since 29 Concordia residents were arrested during a protest outside Copper 360's Jubilee mine, which GroundUp reported on.

 

 

Residents are worried about how the nearby mining will affect their homes and communal land owned by the Concordia Communal Property Association.

 

Residents say large trucks have been passing through the town nearly every day, for months, creating dust and destroying the roads.

 

"The trucks are a big problem ... They are driving our town flat," says Shereen Fortuin, a community leader. Fortuin says their homes get covered in dust.

 

GroundUp first sent questions to Copper 360 on 13 June, which were acknowledged but had still not been responded to at the time of publication.

 

According to DMRE spokesperson Ernest Mulibana, in order to curb the dust issue, water is being extracted from the Jubilee mine to douse the roads and prevent excess dust.

 

But this too has raised concerns among residents about whether the mine water that is used to douse their roads is polluted, says Nuchey van Neel, chair of the Concordia Communal Property Association (CPA).

 

Stalemate

 

Talks between residents and the company have reached a stalemate.

 

The company issued a notice in terms of section 54 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act in August saying that CPA members prevented the company from accessing its Wheal Julia mine. This means that a dispute resolution process will have to be mediated by the department.

 

The department confirmed that officials have met with community members "on a regular basis" and "issues raised have been taken up with the rights holder in order to resolve such matters".

 

But Van Neel says the process is taking too long. People living near the mines, particularly those living close to the Hester Maria mine in the town and the farmers close to the Rietberg mine, have been left in the dark.

 

Marco Benson, a resident of Concordia, said, "There is a lot of unhappiness in what is going on here. It is our land. The community is not being recognised."

 

In March some Concordia residents marked Human Rights Day with a march through the town, calling for a moratorium on all new and existing mining applications and permits until affected Namaqualand communities are meaningfully consulted.

 

Mulibana said the department will do a physical compliance inspection in July to "determine compliance" with the relevant mining right. This will include compliance checks for dust mitigation, he said.

 

- GroundUp.

 

 

 

 

Nigeria: Tinubu's Govt Worst in Anti-Labour Policies - ASUU

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Ilọrin chapter, on Tuesday described the President Bola Tinubu-led administration as the worst in anti-labour policies.

 

The union disclosed this while addressing newsmen shortly after a peaceful protest to lament the state of the nation and the educational system.

 

Speaking during the event, the branch chairman of the union, Comrade Felix Akanmu, said that barely a year ago when the present administration was inaugurated, hopes were high on a timely resolution of their demands and revolutions. He added that their expectations were premised on pseudo democratic roles played by some prominent elements who are now in government.

 

 

"We were deceived by bringing on board people who led protests in this country. But thaey are now acting contrary to nature and have been more anti-labour in their operations.

 

"As we speak, despite several efforts, the present government has not deemed it fit to meet ASUU officially. But we have a country to rescue and we shall overcome," he noted.

 

He added that "The government, instead of committing itself to negotiated welfare packages and revitalisation/proper funding of our institutions, has conscientiously maintained lines of frustration, blackmail and use of hunger as weapons to demystify the essence of our struggles.

 

"The illegally dissolved and reconstituted governing council and boards of universities have been replaced by politicians," Akanmu alleged.

 

 

Meanwhile, ASUU has issued a four-week ultimatum to the Federal Government to respond to its demands or face industrial action.

 

Addressing newsmen after a peaceful protest at the Federal University of Kashere (FUK), Gombe state, ASUU chairman, Comrade Shehu El-Rasheed, said they staged the protest over the non-payment of their Earned Academic Allowances (EAA), withheld salaries, lack of payment of promotion arrears and total rejection of the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) and would embark on strike at the expiration of the ultimatum.

 

In a related development, the ASUU in Benue State University (BSU), on Tuesday, protested an alleged total negligence by the Tinubu-led government towards public universities in the country.

 

The union, displaying placards with different inscriptions as they marched around the BSU campus, called on spirited Nigerians who have the interest of public universities at heart to intervene before it leads to another prolonged strike action.

 

- Daily Trust.

 

 

 

 

Nigeria: Expedite Action On New Minimum Wage, Labour Tells Tinubu As FEC Steps Down Memo

As the contentious issue of new minimum wage for Nigerian workers lingers, one of the two main labour centres in the country, Trade Union Congress (TUC), yesterday, appealed to President Bola Tinubu to hasten the process of transmission of the new minimum wage to the National Assembly and its subsequent signing into law.

 

The appeal by TUC came as the Federal Executive Council (FEC), yesterday, stepped down a memorandum on the report of the Tripartite Committee on New National Minimum Wage for further consultation.

 

Equally yesterday, the organised private sector, under the auspices of the Nigeria Employers Consultative Assembly (NECA), gave conditions for its acceptance of the N62,000 new minimum wage being proposed by the federal government.

 

 

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, who disclosed the stepping down of the memo to newsmen after the FEC meeting presided by Tinubu, said this was done to enable the president to consult wider on the issue.

 

At the end of the tripartite committee's meeting on new national minimum wage recently, the government team and the organised private sector had offered N62,000 from the current N30,000, but organised labour, comprising Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and TUC, demanded N250,000 living wage.

 

But Idris explained that the council took the decision based on the fact that the issue of the national minimum wage was not just for the consideration of the federal government, but involved other stakeholders, like the state governments as well as the organised private sector.

 

 

He said the president needed to interact with other wage-paying entities to factor their contributions and circumstances into the executive bill on the matter that will be passed on to the National Assembly for passage into law.

 

Idris stated regarding the stepping down of the minimum wage memo, "I want to inform Nigerians here that FEC deliberated on that and the decision is that because the new national minimum wage is not just that of the federal government, it is an issue that involves the federal government, the state governments, local governments, and the organised private sector, and, of course, including the organised Labour.

 

"That memo was stepped down to enable Mr. President to consult further, especially with the state governors and the organised private sector, before he makes a presentation to the National Assembly, before an executive bill is presented to the National Assembly.

 

"So I want to state that on the new national minimum wage, Mr. President is going to consult further so that he can have an informed position because the new national minimum wage, like I said, is not just an issue of the federal government."

 

 

Idris said the president had studied the report of the tripartite committee on minimum wage and wanted to consult wider before a final submission would be made to the National Assembly.

 

However, TUC appealed to Tinubu to hasten the process of transmission of the new minimum wage to the National Assembly.

 

TUC stated that the expectation of organised labour was that the new minimum wage bill should be signed into law before July.

 

The union also urged the states and other employers of labour to start making plans on how they would absorb the additional expenditure after the approval of the new minimum wage.

 

President of TUC, Comrade Festus Osifo, made the assertions yesterday in Abuja, when he received top officials of the Kogi State government, led by Special Adviser to the Kogi State Governor on Labour Matters, Mr. Onuh Edoka, at the headquarters of the union.

 

Osifo said TUC expected the new minimum wage to be ready latest July. He said organised labour was already mobilising to enforce the payment of the new minimum wage state-by-state as soon as it was approved.

 

He stated, "We also call on the president, the National Assembly, and every stakeholder to expedite action in passing the new national minimum wage into law.

 

"As you are aware, we as labour, have submitted a report of N250,000 while government and the organised private sector have offered N62,000. Let all parties come together to resolve the differences and have a common front so that the president would be able to send the bill to the National Assembly for us to have a new national minimum wage."

 

On the categorisation of Kogi State as a defaulter in minimum wage payment, Osifo said TUC had clarified that the state was among the states paying the approved minimum wage.

 

He commended the Kogi State governor, Alhaji Usman Ododo, for achieving the feat of consistently paying workers' salaries as and when due since assumption of office in January this year.

 

Osifo, however, said organised Labour had gone beyond the payment of N30,000, saying expectations are that by early July, a new minimum wage Act would have been in place.

 

The TUC president said, "For both labour centres, what we are hoping is that on or before July we should have a new minimum wage that must have passed through the processes and assented to by the president, so that the plight of the workers will reduce drastically, so that the current economic challenges we are currently facing in the country will be ameliorated."

 

Osifo appealed to states to start preparations for the new minimum wage, including making savings, to be able bear the additional financial burden.

 

 

Earlier, Edoka said the newly appointed Kogi State officials, made up of former labour leaders in the state, were at the TUC headquarters to solicit the understanding and cooperation of its leadership for the new administration in Kogi State.

 

He stated that Kogi State had become a lot more labour-friendly now, adding that workers have benefited from a number interventions being implemented by Ododo.

 

Edoka said the era of frosty relations with workers was gone. He also listed some labour-friendly interventions already carried out under the present administration to include prompt payment of salaries to Kogi workers; payment of 100 per cent to pensioners at both the state and local government levels; implementation of 35 per cent hazard allowance to all categories of state health workers; and payment of six months Health Insurance Scheme for all state workers as take off for the workforce.

 

President of NLC, Joe Ajaero, had said organised labour was expecting Tinubu to reach out to members of the tripartite committee to harmonise the figure.

 

Ajaero hinged his position on the fact that there was a stalemate at the end of the tripartite committee meeting.

 

In the meantime, speaking in an interview with journalists on the side-lines of a two-day national summit organised NECA, Director General of the association, Mr. Adewale Oyerinde, said one of the conditions given by NECA was that the new electricity tariff should be suspended.

 

Oyerinde said, " For us, we have said before, the N62,000 that the employees agreed to was a painful concession and it was based on some premises and three of those premises are that the new electricity tariff should be suspended, there should be an embargo on tax, and there should be no introduction of new tax."

 

He also said the National Assembly should drop plans to legislate on corporate social responsibility, adding that it would amount to another form of tax if businesses are compelled through legislation on what to deliver as social responsibility.

 

He said, "These are some of the conditions we gave for us to agree on the N62,000 minimum wage. NECA warned that if the minimum wage is set above N62,000, the federal government would have set the tone for non-compliance.

 

"You would have created a problem for the judiciary because all employers that are not satisfied have the right under the Act to go to the National Industrial Court. Imagine 1,000 or 5,000 employers going to the industrial court, how long will the court take to dispense the cases."

 

Adeniyi also stated that any figure above the N62,000 would lead to loss of jobs.

 

- This Day.

 

 

Uganda: Striking Gold, Bitcoin Mining and Energy Exploration in Uganda

On May 23, 2018, Uganda hosted the first-ever African Blockchain Conference, and crypto-currency was among the discussion topics.

 

The Bank of Uganda warned Ugandans against holding and using cryptocurrencies, citing volatility and the inability of cryptocurrencies to operate as money. The late governor cautioned, "The bubble will burst, and Ugandans will lose their money."

 

However, President Museveni, at the conference, called for the bank to consider a "flexible and less-dogmatic" approach while dealing with cryptocurrencies. Banks, as centralized systems, are the backbone of our financial transactions. However, if not managed effectively, they can lead to systematic shocks, as we vividly remember from the 2008 financial crisis.

 

 

On the other hand, Bitcoin is a decentralized peer-to-peer payment network and the world's first cryptocurrency, emerging in 2009. It is designed to enable transactions without needing an intermediary, such as a bank, but rather a public ledger (a blockchain) that verifies and records all transactions, empowering individuals with direct control over their transactions.

 

Bitcoin is "mined" not by laborers in hard hats but by computers (miners) that record and validate Bitcoin transactions on the blockchain. This is how new Bitcoins are created. Mining Bitcoin consumes a lot of energy.

 

Human development is driven by affordable and accessible energy. Uganda is awash with energy resources, including solar, hydropower, biofuels, wind energy, and fossil fuels, which can and are being used all over the globe to promote sustainable energy and diversify revenue sources for governments and private investors.

 

 

Africa sits at the bottom of an energy chasm, "more energy is used by kitchen appliances in the US each year than all of the energy used by every person in Africa combined." In a 2020 case study of the State of the Global mini-grids market report, Uganda had installed 34 mini-grids that served 20,000 households. That constituted less than 1% of the country's 7.3 million households.

 

Mini-grids are small-scale electricity generators interconnected to a distribution network that supplies electricity to a small, localized group of customers, mostly in remote areas. Uganda's rural areas have few or no home appliances; electricity demand is too low to efficiently use the power generated by mini-grids, leaving "surplus/ wasted" energy." Bitcoin mining with mini-grids addresses the " wasted energy" issue by utilizing the grid's excess supply.

 

 

Gridless, a Bitcoin mining company in East Africa, co-locates Bitcoin miners with mini-grids, proving the miners' location-agnostic nature, meaning they can be placed anywhere. This sounds like a flexible approach to fusing Bitcoin mining and energy production in Africa.

 

As a disclaimer, this is not a mini-grid and Bitcoin parade but a few insights on sustainable ways of utilizing energy resources to advance digital and technology infrastructure.

 

EZ Blockchain is a company that converts one of the by-products of oil and gas mining (methane) into electricity to mine Bitcoin. Exxon Mobil mines Bitcoin as a part of its plans to reduce emissions. Uganda's oil and gas sector may explore such synergies to reduce emissions as part of the industry-wide effort to meet environmental demands.

 

As of 2022, 57.2% of Ugandans in urban areas had access to electricity, dropping to 10% in rural areas and only 22.1 % nationwide. With a 559 MW surplus, a GDP of 56,3 billion (2024), and less than 30% nationwide electricity coverage, Uganda stands to gain significantly from expansive and effective energy utilization. One way to do so is to participate in a flight to quality through mining Bitcoin, especially at excess energy centres.

 

This nuanced approach is gathering traction globally. Last month, Kenya signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Marathon Digital Holdings to monetize Kenya's underutilized energy resources. This partnership sets the foundation for leveraging Kenya's surplus energy for Bitcoin mining and technological development.

 

On May 23, 2018, the price of one Bitcoin was $8,500, and this article was written with the price of one Bitcoin at $71,110 (a 737.65% price gain). Bitcoin and innovation are tools of the new world. At sixteen years old, Bitcoin is scarcer than gold and is the best-performing asset of the decade (2011- 2021) Uganda's lax approach towards harnessing innovation delays her arrival to this new world.

 

The underutilization of resources, especially energy and financial resources, in a globalized economy is catastrophic. Uganda should develop its power infrastructure to attain prosperity and pay attention to the winds of digital innovation.

 

A principle of energy conservation is that energy is neither created nor destroyed, it simply changes states. Uganda should change lest it is outstripped by technological advancement and digital innovation.

 

- Observer.

 

 

 

Nigeria: CBN Will Support Eurobond Issue, Measures to Boost External Reserves - Cardoso

·Rules out further naira volatility ·Says FX reforms has stabilized nation's currency

 

Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso yesterday said that the apex bank will support measures to boost the nation's external reserves including the proposed Eurobond issue by the Federal Government.

 

Cardoso stated this in an interview with Bloomberg TV, saying, "We should have a diversity of sources. It shouldn't just be the eurobond market, it shouldn't just be foreign portfolio investors, it should be a hodgepodge of different things."

 

 

Speaking further, Cardoso said that the CBN is "relatively pleased" with the progress it has made in stabilizing the naira and believes the excessive volatility may be a thing of the past.

 

"I do believe that we have more or less seen the worst in terms of volatility.

 

"We are also very alive to observing the way and manner in which that market operates and ensuring that it gives the best value that that can be accomplished using certain tools," he said.

 

Cardoso said reviving confidence in the naira is crucial for the Nigeria to lure investors. Since Cardoso assumed office as in September, the CBN has increased interest rates by 750 basis points to 26.25%, cleared a foreign-exchange backlog and overhauled the country's exchange rate policies - effectively devaluing the naira. That's helped stabilize the naira, even though it's still the world's worst performing currency this year after the Lebanese pound.

 

"Our thoughts align with those of the governor," said Olumide Sole, analyst at Lagos-based Vetiva Capital Management Ltd. "Based on the purchasing power parity model, the naira is currently valued at 900 naira levels, which is far less than the current market price."

 

The naira has been trading in a narrow range between N1,473 and N1,490 per dollar this month. It fell 0.3% to 1,492.71 to the dollar on Tuesday.

 

"We're relatively pleased with where we are," Cardoso said. Even so, he said the central bank needs to do more. "It's continuous work in progress. And we will do everything possible to ensure that we continue to manage the macroeconomic fundamentals that affect that."

 

- Vanguard.

 

 

 

Kenya: ICT Authority Calls for Respect for Data Privacy As AI Adoption Grows

Nairobi — The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Authority of Kenya has stressed the need to respect data privacy as the country makes strides in embracing artificial intelligence (AI) in various sectors.

 

Speaking during the East African Nations Chart A.I. Course at the UNESCO-backed Forum, the Secretary of the ICT Authority, Mary Karema, emphasized that data owners should be allowed to decide how their data should be used.

 

"As we embrace AI, let's not leave the human out of the equation. Let's give the data owners the opportunity to decide how they want their data to be used. Technology is supposed to benefit us. The global north should only give us solutions that benefit us," she stated.

 

 

Likewise, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences, Gabriela Ramos, stressed the need for East African nations, especially Kenya and Tanzania, to emerge as regional tech hubs and prioritize and respect human rights and cultural diversity as they incorporate AI.

 

According to James Njogu, the acting Secretary General and CEO of the Kenya National Commission for UNESCO, Kenya is leading in the development and ethical use of AI tools across various sectors, including education, research, the natural sciences, culture, and communication.

 

However, UNESCO has stressed the need for regulatory frameworks to ensure that the incorporation of artificial intelligence in the region is positive and does not endanger the citizens' lives.

 

"As we embrace AI, we must ensure it respects human rights, and cultural diversity, and promotes inclusive growth," she stated.

 

According to UNESCO, Kenya's move to embrace AI, particularly in the agricultural sector, has gained some significant outcomes since farmers can now access crucial information about crop health, potentially averting disasters that once seemed inevitable.

 

"The AI-powered app Nuru, for instance, without requiring internet connectivity, helps farmers identify crop diseases by simply taking a photo, significantly reducing crop losses and improving food security for thousands of small-scale farmers," it stated.

 

- Capital FM.

 

 

 

 

Liberia: Senate Probes Firestone Workers' Livelihood

The Senate heard that the children of workers at Firestone rubber plantation do not go to school because the school Firestone runs cannot accommodate them.

 

The Liberian Senate has instructed its Committee on Labor and Judiciary to probe the conditions of workers at Firestone.

 

The Senate's investigation was triggered by Margibi County Senator Nathaniel F. McGill's communication, which drew Senators' attention to a growing complaint by workers at the Firestone rubber plantation.

 

Many workers are under contract because Firestone outsourced most of its farms to contractual management agreements.

 

 

According to him, aggrieved workers have consistently complained about unjust labor, odd hours without pay, and no benefits such as school and medicals for workers and their families.

 

They have also complained about unsafe working conditions, and dehumanizing labor practices by their contractual managements.

 

"I request the indulgence of the Liberian Senate to invite the Firestone management to bring before this Senate the management of all contractual service providers under whose management these employees are working," McGill requested.

 

He wants the company to provide an explanation and context on Liberian citizens' complaints.

 

He added that when Firestone first came to the country, the Liberian people were employed and they had benefits.

 

Later, McGill noted, Firestone couldn't manage the farm, so it turned it over to contractors, who made Firestone workers contractors.

 

Sen. McGill said that most of those contractors do not have guarantee contracts. He lamented that some of the Liberian contractors who are now managing those farms employed citizens and deprived them of their benefits.

 

"They worked so hard, and some said when their return comes at tokens, they walked away with about US$5 per month," McGill explained.

 

"Their children do not attend school because the Firestone school can not accommodate those contractors' children."

 

"I guess situations like these are happening in other plantations, and it's good that the Senate has seized the matter. I hope the committees work fast to have it under control."

 

He noted that if the Senate does not act fast, there will be some disturbances in the county.

 

- New Dawn.

 

 

 

 

Nigeria's Oil Block Bidding Process Will Spur Investment, Increased Production - Experts

Experts and stakeholders in the oil and gas sector have said the current oil block bidding process recently initiated by the federal government, with emphasis on production bonus, would spur investment.

 

Daily Trust reports that the federal government has re-engineered Nigeria's oil bidding process, with emphasis on production bonus targeted at enabling investors to channel their scarce resources into immediate development and early production.

 

It would be recalled that many investors at the local and international levels had been discouraged by the high signature bonus in the past.

 

 

This development also made it difficult to begin oil and gas production and the attendant benefits.

 

But under the new arrangement, the industry regulator, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), has removed entry barriers, including the reduction of the signature bonus.

 

The signature bonus is a single, non-recoverable lump sum payment made upfront by oil companies to the government for the rights to develop an oil block commercially after successfully winning in the licence bid round.

 

In the current bidding process, the signature bonus has been reduced to only $10 million for deepwater assets and $7 million for shallow water and onshore assets.

 

The move, it was learnt, was to deepen Nigerian content development and attract foreign direct investment, thereby contributing to long-term global energy sufficiency, expanding opportunities for gas utilisation and creating employment opportunities.

 

 

Stakeholders, however, hailed the move, which they said would lead to a rise in capital expenditure going into funding renewables in the spirit of the global energy transition.

 

The executive chairman, African Energy Chamber, NJ Ayuk, said the current bidding process was promising for Nigeria, in terms of foreign direct investment.

 

He said, "Nigeria has established a robust framework that is set to attract foreign exploration companies with modernised fiscals that are competitive for deepwater exploration. We the AEC believe the most lucrative balancing point between creating a welcoming environment for international companies and achieving Nigeria's own national goals is important.

 

"Key to this bidding round will be the role of independents and indigenous players when it comes to exploration. The bidding round also paves the way for gas monetisation that will bring amazing benefits to Nigeria and international markets."

 

 

The national president of Oil and Gas Service Providers Association of Nigeria (OGSPAN), Mazi Colman Obasi said, "Investors need a conducive environment to put their money. Once the right environment exists, foreign capital will begin to flow in."

 

Also, the executive director, Emmanuel Egbogah Foundation for Petroleum, Prof Wumi Iledare said: "A high signature bonus is regressive. It makes a petroleum province with a high signature bonus less attractive."

 

It would be recalled that the NUPRC, penultimate week held a pre-bidding conference in Lagos, with its chief executive, Gbenga Komolafe, an engineer, confirming the removal of barrier to encourage local and foreign investors.

 

At least no fewer than 12 oil blocks, as well as seven deep offshore blocks from the 2022 Mini-Bid Round Exercise, which covers an area of approximately 6,700 km in water depths of 1,150m to 3,100m, are covered in the current process.

 

He said, "President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Minister of Petroleum Resources, Nigeria, have embarked on a transformative agenda that aligns with the most stringent global standards and commitments. The recent presidential executive orders issued in March this year, aimed at improving the efficiency and attractiveness of Nigeria's oil and gas sector, were generously targeted to incentivise oil and gas development, introduced measures to balance the implementation of Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, 2010 to ensure that oil and gas development is not hindered by local content bottlenecks.

 

"The executive orders also include directives on the reduction of contracting costs and timelines to enhance the global competitiveness of our oil and gas industry and achieve a higher rate of return on oil and gas investments.

 

"Nigeria is endowed with abundance of crude oil and condensate reserves, as well as natural gas reserves, representing above 30 per cent and 33 per cent respectively of the entire oil and gas reserves in Africa, aside from an abundant mix of other renewable energy resources.

 

"In a bid to exploit and optimise these abundant hydrocarbon resources, section 7(t) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) empowers the NUPRC, the industry regulator, to conduct bid rounds for the award of PPLs and PMLs under the act and applicable regulations.

 

"It is on this premise that the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the NUPRC, recently announced the commencement of the 2024 Licensing Round, both in-country and outside the shores of the country. It would be recalled that we commenced the announcement at the maiden edition of the NEITI Dialogue Session, 2024, where the bid processes were thoroughly interrogated by civil society and the media.

 

"This was subsequently followed by the announcement of the commencement of the bid round at the 2024 OTC in Houston, the road show in Miami, organised by Zeste Advisory, African Energies Summit in London, organised by Frontier Network, and Invest in Africa Energy Summit in Paris, organised by Energy Capital Power.

 

"The commission aims to project and attract robust local and foreign investors who will be participating in the bid exercise."

 

He also said: "The NUPRC, on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is committed to conducting the licensing round in a fair, competitive and transparent manner and ensuring a level playing field for both indigenous and international investors. Our approach is underpinned by the robust legal framework of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021(PIA), which ensures compliance with best practices to boost investors' confidence.

 

"In keeping with the provisions of the PIA and regulations made under the Act, the commission has issued a licensing round guideline and published a licensing round plan for the blocks. This round introduces some meticulously selected blocks across diverse geological spectra from the fertile onshore basins to the promising continental shelves and the untapped depths of our deep offshore territories. Each block has been chosen for its potential to bolster our national reserves and stimulate economic vitality..."

 

- Daily Trust.

 

 

 

 

Nigeria's $5m From Gold, Mirror On Mining Sector Leakage

A proud minister of solid minerals development, Dele Alake, had the honour of presenting to President Bola Tinubu Nigeria's gold bars, produced through the efforts of our artisanal and small-scale miners. The Solid Minerals Development Fund refined the gold. Putting these two facts together, we get a picture of the possibilities that have remained hidden or elusive for so long, yet are easily within our reach.

 

In the mining world, the day of the first pour of the viscous, molten gold into the receptacle with the shape of a gold bar is usually a day of celebration. As he presented the gold bars to the President, Alake could have said in his mind, to quote Bambulu in This is Our Chance, that "This is the product of my brain, the materialisation of my inventive genius". Certainly, maximising the benefits of Nigeria's extractive industry requires a fresh approach, different from the model that has been applied to it so far. That model has been defined by policy incoherence and lack of focus.

 

 

In summary, the missing link in the mining sector has been good management or leadership; and that could have been taken care of by the establishment of the right legal and operational frameworks that recognised the rights of these small-scale miners.

 

The Solid Minerals Development Fund was established in 2017 with a take-off fund of N30 billion. Seven years later, we are being told that the system has produced results. Why couldn't the establishment of the Fund produce tangible results before now? So far, artisanal miners have dominated our mining scene, with no tangible results to the economy, except the wanton degradation of the environment and rising cases of sicknesses caused by the unhealthy practices. Indeed, one of the things that have been missing is an effective mechanism to link the miners with a fund or an enabler that would help them operate in an organised structure. The other is a structure or framework within which they can be regulated for results.

 

 

The challenge of artisanal mining is almost a universal phenomenon in all nations endowed with solid minerals. Yet countries that have achieved success in this sector have found ways around the problem by turning the challenge into an opportunity. The measures adopted by or being advocated for these countries have been detailed in the World Bank's report, 2023 State of the Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Sector.

 

Citing a 2014 study by G. Hilson and J. McQuilken, "Four decades of support for artisanal and small-scale mining in sub-Saharan Africa: A critical review," the World Bank reports that legal frameworks and policies for the mining sector have tended to miss and not make space for ASM. That is changing drastically as countries learn from their past mistakes.

 

 

The report presents the roles that ASM is playing in the lives of women across the globe toward the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 5, which seeks to achieve gender equality and empower women and girls. Countries are achieving this in the mining sector through new mining laws and regulations that recognise the roles of women groups. South Africa, a country with an established mining history, has a National Association of Artisanal Miners, and Women in Artisanal Scale Mining; in Sierra Leone, the 2018 Artisanal Mining Policy was designed to promote the formalisation of the group.

 

The report says Nigeria is on a group known as Women In Mining in Nigeria, which has established a group of young girls known as Women in Mining Training Institute (WIMTI). Both groups need sustained efforts to make the mark as seen from other countries.

 

In Ghana, as discussed in the World Bank report, one of the case studies is a project involving access to finance through a pilot project with women gold miners in the former Gold Coast. In the late 1990s, while I covered Ghana's mining sector, artisanal mining posed a challenge to the authorities. Sometimes, the artisanal miners would encroach into mining concessions already allocated to mining companies, including Ashanti Goldfields. They normally would leave behind a landscape in need of remediation that posed a danger to both the environment and human life. Because artisanal mining is essentially surface mining, they ended up degrading large areas of land as they searched for whatever precious metal they were after. However, over time, the government is solving that problem.

 

Extrapolating this scenario to the wider economy, the message from the cheering news is that the Nigerian economy must be organised, planned, and managed for it to yield the results that all citizens yearn for. And this applies to all sectors. An economy left to the wind is an economy that has been consigned to stunted growth and underdevelopment.

 

The visit by Alake to the President with the gold bars shows once again that the Nigerian economy can indeed be diversified away from the current level of dependence on oil. Oil came to Nigeria and converted us into a nation of rent collectors. That this has not been done up until now means that as a nation, we have fallen short of striking the right cord in this regard.

 

With this, the oft-repeated goal of economic diversification as a national policy should be given new traction. It requires nothing extra-ordinary, but simply seeing things through a new prism that shows the new realities and how Nigeria can key into them.

 

- Daily Trust.

 

 

 

 

Kenya Seeks Bigger Share of U.S. Tea Market

Kenya is striving to secure a larger share of the US market for its tea, aiming to capitalize on the ongoing trade deal between Washington and Nairobi.

 

Despite the United States' large population, it imports only a small quantity of Kenyan tea. Last year, Kenya exported 2.2 million kilogrammes of the beverage to the US, compared to 209 million kilos shipped to its top buyer, Pakistan, according to the sector regulator.

 

The Board of Directors of the East African Tea Trade Association (EATTA), which manages the world's second black tea auction in the world, recently held discussions with representatives from the United States trade department, aiming to enhance Kenya's tea exports to the US market.

 

 

The EATTA's primary objective is to broaden market access for Kenyan tea in the United States, seeking to increase its market share in one of the world's largest consumer markets.

 

This move is anticipated to boost the visibility and consumption of Kenyan tea, which is renowned for its quality.

 

The talks also focused on maximising trade opportunities under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

 

AGOA provides duty-free access to the US market for eligible products from Sub-Saharan Africa. By leveraging this framework, Kenya aims to strengthen its competitive position and increase tea exports to the US.

 

Additionally, the EATTA is exploring collaboration with the American trade department and potential US investors to enhance the tea value addition segment.

 

This includes improving packaging, branding, and product development to increase the market value and appeal of Kenyan tea.

 

Strategic partnerships and investments in these areas are expected to drive innovation and improve the overall quality of tea products, according to the agency.

 

Historically, Kenya has had a robust trade relationship with the United States under the AGOA window. The recent engagement aims to build on this relationship, focusing on market expansion, leveraging AGOA benefits, and fostering strategic partnerships to boost the tea sector.

 

- Business Day Africa.

 

 

VW to invest up to $5bn in Tesla rival Rivian

The tie-up comes as competition intensifies between EV makers and Western countries move to impose tariffs on Chinese imports.

 

Under the agreement, VW said it will initially invest $1bn in the electric truck and SUV maker, with another $4bn to be put into the company by 2026.

Founded in 2009, Rivian has not yet posted a quarterly profit. In the first three months of 2024 the company saw a net loss of more than $1.4bn.

 

VW, like other motor industry giants, has come under pressure from rivals like Tesla and China's BYD as it tries to make the shift from fossil fuel-powered vehicles.

Meanwhile, some EV start-ups have struggled to make headway in the highly competitive market and as higher interest rates hit demand for big ticket purchases.

The partnership will give VW immediate access to Rivian's software allowing the German car maker to use it in its cars.

 

Motor industry giants like VW have also been facing growing competition from Chinese EV makers, which have been expanding globally.

Earlier this month, the European Union (EU) warned that it will raise tariffs on Chinese EV imports by as much as 38%.

Officials from China and the EU have held talks ahead of a 4 July deadline.

A months-long investigation by the European Commission found that Chinese EV companies had been "unfairly subsidised".

 

In response, China said the tariffs violated international trade rules and described the investigation as "protectionism".

The plan came just a month after the US said it will increase import levies on Chinese EVs from 25% to 100%.

This week, Canada said that it was considering a similar move to align itself with allies.

Separately on Tuesday, Tesla said it would recall most of its Cybertrucks sold in the US over issues with their windscreen wipers and exterior trim.

The recalls cover more than 11,000 of the vehicles, which first went on sale at the end of November last year.-BBC

 

 

 

 

Fashion giant Shein closer to London listing

Chinese fast fashion firm Shein has filed initial paperwork taking it a step closer to listing on the London Stock Exchange, the BBC understands.

 

The online retail giant, which is based in Singapore but has extensive operations in China, filed the confidential papers with UK regulators recently, according to sources close to the process.

Shein became one of the biggest fashion retailers in the world during the pandemic, but has faced criticism over the environmental impact of its business model.

 

The firm has also come under fire for some of its working practices, which include allegations of forced labour in its supply chain – something the company denies.

Both Shein and the UK regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), declined to comment on a potential London listing, which could value the company at about £50bn.

 

US warning to UK

A company wishing to sell its shares in the UK must first apply to the FCA for a prospectus containing detailed financial information to be approved.

The filing of papers is the first stage of that process and brings the company a step closer to a listing in the UK – selling shares in the business on the London Stock Exchange – but doesn't necessarily mean it will end up listing there.

In fact, it was initially thought that a listing in the US was the most likely route for Shein after the firm filed papers there late last year, but the move came under close scrutiny from both Republican and Democrat politicians amid concerns about the company’s close links to China.

Earlier in June, Marco Rubio, a leading Republican on the US Senate Intelligence Committee, and an ally of Donald Trump, wrote to UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt warning him about "grave ethics concerns" and Shein’s "deep ties to the People’s Republic of China".

“Slave labor, sweat shops, and trade tricks are the dirty secrets behind SHEIN’s success,” Mr Rubio wrote in his letter to Mr Hunt.

 

“The United Kingdom has a storied tradition of abolitionism, from Wilberforce and Cowper to the Modern Slavery Act in our day. I trust you will treat these allegations against SHEIN with the utmost seriousness, investigate them fully, and take appropriate action to protect investors,” he added.

A spokesperson for the company said: "SHEIN has a zero-tolerance policy for forced labour and we are committed to respecting human rights. We take visibility across our entire supply chain seriously and we require our contract manufacturers to only source cotton from approved regions."

Getty Images Influencer and model Arabella Chi poses at a Shein event in front of a pink backdrop with 

 

Arabella Chi is another Love Islander who promotes Shein

 

UK MPs have also expressed concern, but Labour’s shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds indicated on Monday that he would welcome Shein listing its shares in London, as it would open the company up to closer scrutiny.

In a business election debate, hosted by Bloomberg, Mr Reynolds said he had met representatives from the company.

 

“My view on any business of this sort is that if they’re doing business in the UK, we should ideally seek to regulate them from the UK.

“The kind of expectations we would have, whether that is on labour market or regulatory compliance, or tax - that is best done from them being based in the UK.

“So if a listing was to be considered, I would want that, because I would know that is the way we can enforce the high standards we would expect,” he added.

 

His opponent in the debate, the Conservative Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch, said she had concerns over a potential listing but added: “It doesn’t mean we don’t want them.”

Admitting that she was yet to meet anyone from the company, Ms Badenoch said one concern was around Shein’s business model of sending smaller packages direct to customers in the UK. Under customs rules, duties are not paid on goods under £135 and she said that could mean “quite a lot lost in terms of taxes” for the government.

Ms Badenoch also said she would "want to look at" allegations around forced labor.

“The City is regulated and we have regulators that do that. I’m talking specifically about this business and what we’d want to see.

 

“We don’t want a situation where the business secretary is interfering in every single listing… but those are my specific problems with Shein,” Ms Badenoch said.

The rise and rise of fashion giant Shein

Shein to kick off plans for £50bn UK float

Shein suppliers still work 75-hour weeks - report

 

Some parts of the fashion sector in the UK have also urged caution. The British Fashion Council (BFC), which represents companies such as Burberry and Mulberry, said a stock exchange listing for Shein would be “of significant concern to UK fashion designers and retailers”.

 

“Fashion businesses, including Shein, must embrace corporate due diligence in their supply chains. The BFC would encourage the UK government, the Financial Conduct Authority and the London Stock Exchange to ensure that any business listing in London is an active, responsible leader in this regard and is able to evidence addressing compliance and sustainability concerns in all areas, from worker treatment to material sourcing to citizen engagement in disposable fashion,” said Caroline Rush, the chief executive of the BFC.

Despite the criticism, a potential Shein listing would be seen by many as a big boost for London, which has seen a number of high-profile companies leave the city for the US.

 

In an interview with the BBC last month, the head of the London Stock Exchange, Julia Hoggett, said the move would ensure the company became more transparent.

 

“Any company that wishes to put itself through the scrutiny of being on public markets - that is the opportunity for them to raise the bar in the way that they approach their corporate governance and the way they approach investors, and I think that is very much the value that public markets have,” she said.-BBC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


 


 Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

 

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INVESTORS DIARY 2024

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


Companies under Cautionary

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


CBZH

GetBucks

EcoCash

 


Padenga

Econet

RTG

 


Fidelity

TSL

FMHL

 


 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 


DISCLAIMER: This report has been prepared by Bulls ‘n Bears, a division of Faith Capital (Pvt) Ltd for general information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for any securities. The information contained in this report has been compiled from s believed to be reliable, but no representation or warranty is made or guarantee given as to its accuracy or completeness. All opinions expressed and recommendations made are subject to change without notice. Securities or financial instruments mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors. Securities of emerging and mid-size growth companies typically involve a higher degree of risk and more volatility than the securities of more established companies. Neither Faith Capital nor any other member of Bulls ‘n Bears nor any other person, accepts any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this report or its contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith. Recipients of this report shall be solely responsible for making their own independent investigation into the business, financial condition and future prospects of any companies referred to in this report. Other  Indices quoted herein are for guideline purposes only and d from third parties.

 


 

 


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