Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 05 March 2024

Tue Mar 5 10:47:45 CAT 2024

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Major International Business Headlines Brief:::  05 March 2024 

ü  Nigeria: Centra Bank's Missing $4.5 Billion and Need to Reset the Anti-Graft War

ü  East African Community Bloc Dismisses Fake Common Currency

ü  Kenyans Use Humour to Counter Unpopular State Policies - Memes Are the Latest Tool

ü  Uganda: Police Salute Ochola for Improving Efficiency in Force

ü  Nigeria: 'Your Job Is to Sell Nigeria', Ex-Minister Faults Tinubu's Remarks On Bribe-Seeking Officials

ü  Liberia: Over 90 Ghost Names Surface On LNP Payroll

ü  Nigeria: AfDB to Boost Nigeria Agriculture With Climate Resilient Crops

ü  Tanzania: Govt Reinstates Pledge to Business-Friendly Climate

ü  Kenya: Safaricom Sacco to Rebrand As It Sets Sights On Growth

ü  National People's Congress: China sets ambitious 2024 economic target

ü  North Korea hacked South Korea chip equipment makers, Seoul says

ü  Elon Musk sued by former Twitter executives over $128m unpaid severance

ü  Apple fined €1.8bn by EU for breaking streaming rules

ü  Nissan accused of dumping its electric car pioneers

 <https://www.cloverleaf.co.zw/> Nigeria: Centra Bank's Missing $4.5 Billion and Need to Reset the Anti-Graft War

The lack of Nigeria's seriousness in the fight against corruption is epitomised by the EFCC's revival this January, of the N772 billion fraud cases of 13 former governors, who left office in 2007.

There is evidence that a humongous sum of $4.5 billion in Nigeria's Foreign Reserves could not be accounted for, after an audit by the Auditor-General of the Federation in 2022, as stated in a report released last month. Apparently, the big elephant in the room - corruption, is on display, which a former President said will kill Nigeria, if it was not killed. Paradoxically, no administration has demonstrated the resolve to confront this monster squarely.

Since 12 February when the annual report grabbed headlines, the nation seems to have moved on, as it is accustomed to. But this should not be so. It is a most scandalous and embarrassing incident, and a lack of accountability in the public fiscal space, which has put Nigeria in its present forex conundrum.

Besides, the AGF, Shaakaa Chira's report confirmed what is already in the public space - the phenomenon of re-looting recovered looted funds, with also the failure of the Central Bank of Nigeria to account for funds recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) between 2016 and 2019. The last time the bank's books showed recovered loots of $40 million was in 2015. The report noted an "unsubstantiated" decline of $8 billion in foreign reserves between 2019 and 2020. The opacity, it added, "Violates Section 25 of the CBN Act 2007 mandating the bank to endeavour to maintain reserves at levels considered appropriate for the economy and the monetary system of Nigeria."A country where the vaults of its apex bank are not safe, or some of its operators bilk the institution, cannot be taken seriously and a travesty of what a central bank should be. This is more so when the authorities are inured to holding transgressors and their predecessors to account. The misdeed calls to question the internal control mechanisms of the bank and the so-called oversight of its operations by the Senate and House of Representatives committees, for which each member received a Toyota Sports Utility Vehicle worth N167 million each, last year.

It is unimaginable that a CBN worker, Odoh Ocheme, could contemplate, let alone succeed in, forging the signature of a sitting president - Muhammadu Buhari, to steal $6.2 million in the bank's custody, in connivance with two others, who have now been declared wanted. The heist would not have been brought to public knowledge, but for the Special Investigation into the activities of the bank at the behest of President Bola Tinubu on 30 July, 2023. Jim Obazee headed the probe. The N30 trillion Ways and Means advances under the eight-year regime of Buhari was another binge of fiscal abuses by the apex bank, which the very Senate that approved them says it will investigate now. Hypocrisy is made of this!

These banquets of fiscal absurdities, either in the CBN, the bureaucracy or the corporate arena, have taken roots because of the notorious lack of consequences for illicit behaviours in the country. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in his book, My Watch, volume (II), confirmed that by the time he left office in 2007, Nigeria had recovered $2 billion, £100 million and over N10 billion in cash and property locally from the Sani Abacha loot. Under the Goodluck Jonathan administration, $226.3 million and €7.5 million were recovered from Liechtenstein, while the Island of Jersey returned £225 million. Buhari made recoveries too. However, where these funds are, or how they were spent, nobody can say.

This is a huge slur on the so-called anti-corruption crusade. The Federal Government unashamedly confirmed it inadvertently in its response to the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) enquiry sent to the then Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, and the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, under the Freedom of Information Act, on exactitudes of the Abacha loot. The AGF's reply was that government "has no records of the exact amount of public funds stolen by a former military head of state, Sani Abacha, and no records of its spending of about $5 billion recovered loot for the period between 2019 and 2015."

A government committed to fighting corruption but that cannot account for the expenditure(s) of about $5 billion recovered loot, should think twice about itself and its anti-graft campaign. It is either it resets the tools for the drive, or totally surrenders to the behemoth.

It is the Federal Government's double standards in the fight against corruption that serves as a perverse incentive to Nigerians, especially public officials, to be corrupt. Otherwise, we don't see how Processes and Industrial Development Company (P&ID), a predatory investor, would, in cahoots with government officials, attempt to defraud Nigeria of $11 billion in a contract scam. Justice Robin Knowles of the Commercial Court of UK, eventually rescued Nigeria from that tenterhooks of sleaze in his October 2023 judgement. "The awards (contracts) were obtained by fraud," and he added that, "Indeed, they were bribing or making corrupt payments to keep the truth concealed..." Yet, no one is in jail here for this economic sabotage that was hatched during the late Umaru Yar'Adua/Jonathan presidency over a decade ago.

The lack of Nigeria's seriousness in the fight against corruption is epitomised by the EFCC's revival this January, of the N772 billion fraud cases of 13 former governors, who left office in 2007. This is 17 years after. The only two who were found guilty and sentenced, accordingly, were released by the Buhari administration in the build-up to the 2023 elections, for reasons that were not altruistic.

Brazenly, crude oil theft is a booming business, oiled by foreign crooks and their local collaborators, because nobody is ever brought to book. It is unfortunate that the Tinubu administration, with its daily assurances to fix the country, is staid or aloof in recovering the $17 billion worth of stolen crude by some oil companies between 2011 and 2014. The paper trails at home and abroad, confirmed by the hypocritical Buhari regime, are there for action. Nigerians are watching.

If this clarion call is not heeded, and those enmeshed in the infamous fuel subsidy scam are not made to face the full wrath of the law and return their ill-gotten loot, the anticorruption crusade, as one of Tinubu's eight-point Renewed Hope agenda, will remain superfluous. Then, the government would have created room for forex scarcity to worsen, with its asphyxiating pressure on the naira, and the attendant hyper-inflation to continue to run amuck.

- Premium Times.

East African Community Bloc Dismisses Fake Common Currency

The secretariat of the East African Community (EAC) regional bloc has dismissed a post on X, formerly Twitter, which claimed that the bloc's member countries have launched a common regional currency.

The post had been shared on Sunday by a fake X account named "Government of East Africa."

"The EAC Secretariat wishes to inform all our stakeholders that the Partner States' journey to a single currency is still a work in progress. Kindly ignore any rumors circulating on social media on the unveiling of new banknotes for the region "the EAC stated.

The account said that the currency was called the East African Sheafra, a combination of the shilling of East Africa and Franc.

The account also shared an image of a fake banknote of the purported single currency.

The post has received over half a million views and was shared by some leading media outlets and online personalities in the region.

- Capital FM.

Kenyans Use Humour to Counter Unpopular State Policies - Memes Are the Latest Tool

Seemingly disillusioned with the country's leadership, Kenyans have taken to new ways of expressing their anger and frustration with their government.

On social media and in everyday conversations, President William Ruto is now referred to as Zakayo, named after the infamous Zaccheaus, the much-hated chief tax collector in biblical Jericho.

Ruto is also called Kaunda Uongoman, which mimics the stage name of a controversial Congolese musician, Kanda Bongoman. The first name is a reference to Ruto's recent penchant for Kaunda suits. The surname is a portmanteau of the Kiswahili word uongo, meaning liar, and man.

These nicknames are examples of the many humorous but pointed and pithy descriptions now widely used by Kenyans, particularly on social media platforms, to ridicule and express defiance towards a president and government whose policy decisions have become deeply unpopular.

Satire and humour have always been legitimate sites for popular engagement with the state in Kenya. But a new weapon in the armoury of those criticising the state is the use of memes. Across social media, Kenyans are employing a range of memes drawn from folk, biblical, global and everyday expressions, as well as videos, screen grabs and photographs riffed off circulating news stories to comment on the government's failings.

Read more: From advertising blackmail to physical threats, Kenya's journalists are under attack - but they must also regain public trust

Memes have become an important feature of Kenya's everyday and discursive political practices. Memes are defined by media scholars Laine Nooney and Laura Portwood-Stacer as

digital objects that riff on a given visual, textual or auditory form and are then appropriated, re-coded, and slotted back into the infrastructures they came from.

I have researched these popular cultural forms particularly within the context of digital media in Africa. I have demonstrated, for example, how Twitter has incubated various cultures of popular expression. These create important "pockets of indiscipline" through which state power is constantly challenged.

Media repression in Kenya has taken new forms. The focus is largely on invisible tactics that don't make the state look bad. These range from the use of advertising blackmail to legal instruments often vaguely defined to facilitate misuse. There's also the creation of a pliant "independent" media council which is partly funded by the government.

Memes aren't completely insulating users from potential state harassment and legal transgressions. Nevertheless, they are making it possible for Kenyans to expand their spaces and boundaries of popular expression, and to navigate some of the existing legal barriers to free expression.

Resistance legacy in Kenya

Satire and humour have historically been important forms of political practice in Kenya. The tradition has existed in different forms across various platforms, including broadcast and print media, as well as in popular cultural forms such as music and drama.

For example, in the 1980s and 1990s a satirical newspaper fiction column, Wahome Mutahi's column Whispers, became a must-read. Through satirical and humorous accounts of a fictionalised Kenyan family, Mutahi was able to openly criticise the government, commenting on state policies and failings in a way that mainstream press couldn't.

This was at the height of the terrifying reign of the late Kenyan president Daniel arap Moi, when criticism of the government was dangerous. Journalists were routinely jailed, exiled or even killed for it.

Kenyans are again tapping into this history using new media technologies to creatively challenge power.

The political context in the country is different from that of the 1980s. Nevertheless, the government continues to exert influence on mainstream media. Its main means of doing so is through the control of advertising revenue. The state is the largest single advertiser in the country's media, and organisations regarded as hostile are denied government advertising.

As a result, social media platforms have become alternative critical debating spaces. This is despite efforts by the state to undermine free speech in various communication platforms.

As rights group Article 19 has argued, content-based restrictions on free expression that are incompatible with international human rights law and standards remain in Kenya's penal code. Another problematic law is the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, which the government has routinely used to punish those on social media exposing instances of state corruption. Bloggers and political activists have been subjected to some of these laws.

Game of cat and mouse

In an environment where the government seems determined to control public communication spaces, and has the means to do so, alternative cultures of defiance that have been known to elude state capture should thrive.

Yet, even as the use of memes, especially for political accountability, proliferates, there is always the fear that the state can simply ignore their spread and "vitality", or appropriate them. This would weaken their subversive intent. For example, during a recent foreign trip to Japan, Ruto "accepted" his nickname Zakayo, insisting that he wouldn't backtrack on his unpopular tax policies.

When the state takes "ownership" of this language of resistance, it presents an interesting paradox, one which the Cameroonian scholar Achille Mbembe once likened to a form of "mutual zombification". This is where the ruler and the ruled "rob each other of their vitality, leaving both impotent".

In other words, none is left the stronger.

George Ogola, Professor of Media Industries, University of Nottingham

Uganda: Police Salute Ochola for Improving Efficiency in Force

Police have hailed outgoing Inspector General, John Martins Okoth Ochola as one who helped improve the force's efficiency.

"Mr.John Martins Okoth Ochola has led police to great success . In the past six years he has led police to higher levels of achievements with his talent and managerial skills. His tenure was marked by improved efficiency in police services and modernization of the force," Police spokesperson, Fred Enanga said.

Enanga was on Monday speaking about the handover ceremony by Ochola to his deputy, Maj Gen Geoffrey Katsigazi.

Ochola, who was appointed as Inspector General of Police in 2018 replaced his then boss, Gen Kale Kayihura and has since served for two three-year terms.

The latest term expired today, March, 4, 2024.

According to the police spokesperson, the Monday handover ceremony at the Police headquarters in Naguru was also attended by the Police Advisory Committee.

The force will now wait for President Museveni, who is also the commander in chief of the armed forces to appoint the next Inspector General of Police .

Biography

A career police officer with 30 years' experience, Ochola has risen through the police ranks to the highest office in the force.

Born 1958, in Agumiti village, Mulanda sub-county, West Budama County, in Tororo District, Ochola attended Abweli Primary School, then Rock View Primary School and Kisoko Boys Primary School, where he sat his primary leaving examinations. He attended Namilyango College, where he obtained his high school diploma.

He studied at Makerere University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1983.

The following year, he obtained a postgraduate diploma in legal practice, from the Law Development Centre.

Ochola applied and was admitted into police as a cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police in 1988 to begin a journey in the force.

He would later in February 1989 be posted at Entebbe International Airport as the officer-in-charge of Airport Security and 10 months later, he was taken to Entebbe Police Station as he new officer in charge of prosecutions.

He didn't last long in this position and a month later he was appointed as the officer in charge of prosecutions at Buganda Road Chief Magistrates Court.

In 1993, Ochola was transferred to Kampala Extra region as the staff officer for the Criminal Investigations Department(CID) but was later transferred to the police headquarters as the acting assistant commissioner of police in the legal department.

In 1996, Ochola was promoted to the rank of superintendent of police and in 1998 he was promoted to senior superintendent of police .

Ochola was in 2001, appointed as the deputy director of criminal investigations until 2008 when he was promoted to commissioner of police.

The then Inspector General of Police, Gen Kale Kayihura then elevated him to the position of the director of CID but remained in acting capacity August 2008 when he was confirmed as director.

He was promoted to the rank of Assistant Inspector General of Police in 2009.

In August 2011, President Museveni appointed him the Deputy Inspector General of Police, a position he served in until 2018 when he was appointed as Inspector General of Police.

- Nile Post.

Nigeria: 'Your Job Is to Sell Nigeria', Ex-Minister Faults Tinubu's Remarks On Bribe-Seeking Officials

A former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, has faulted President Bola Tinubu's comment on bribe-seeking officials in government, stating that the president's job is to 'sell Nigeria' and not de-market the country.

During a meeting in Qatar, Tinubu urged a gathering of investors to report any Nigerian official soliciting bribes, emphasising that the country is eliminating all barriers to investment.

Speaking during an appearance on Channels TV's Politics Today on Sunday, Osita described Tinubu's comments as "unfortunate."

His words: "It was an unfortunate statement. I was shocked and embarrassed that he was continuing Buhari's type of de-marketing of Nigeria.

"There are many Nigerians who will not ask for a bribe or disturb people. The people who will probably ask you for a bribe are in the minority. The job of the president is to sell Nigeria, to be the chief spokesperson and chief salesperson of Nigeria.

"I think this is the lacuna that comes when there is a poor briefing from the agencies of government. I don't really blame the president. I blame the inability of people like the Minister of Information and Foreign Affairs for the theme of the government.

"The government has to have a theme like we are pro-investment; we want to attract foreign exchange.

Our mission is to deodorise Nigeria, to tell a good story about Nigeria, to tell Africa's rising narrative, and to say that this change of government is a new mandate that tells you how Nigeria has been able to sustain democracy for 24 going to 25 years now.

"So the story about Nigeria is not a story of bribery and corruption. And we don't want a president who people are calling from Qatar to report a bribe. They should report them to the police, EFCC, ICPC, or any other office of government that deals with that."

- Vanguard.

Liberia: Over 90 Ghost Names Surface On LNP Payroll

Police Inspector General, Colonel Gregory Coleman has disclosed that several individuals' names were added to the police payroll though not being officers of the Liberia National Police.

Updating the media on the workings of the police, the Inspector General of the Liberian National Police confirmed that 96 individuals were added to the Police payroll without the knowledge of the LNP leadership.

He also noted that all of the 96 individuals are not affiliated with the LNP in any way.

Since the inception of the Joseph Boakai administration, it has continuously being alleged that the former ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) government placed several persons who were not part government or civil servants on payroll at several government ministries and agencies.

This according to the new government, adds to its huge burden left behind by the previous CDC government.

It was also reported that the former ruling party added names of several Liberian musicians and others' names on the payroll of the National Port Authority (NPA) some of who were receiving huge salaries without being employed by government.

Whether the names of those illegally placed on government payroll at various institutions will be removed is the baffling question as many will consider this as a with-hunt of the CDC government.

- New Republic.

Nigeria: AfDB to Boost Nigeria Agriculture With Climate Resilient Crops

The president of the Africa Development Bank (AFDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has said the bank would be supporting Nigeria with high tolerance of maize, wheat, soya bean, among other crops to boost food security amidst climate change challenges.

He said the bank is supporting Nigeria in this year's dry season to cultivate 118,000 hectares of heat tolerant wheat varieties and about 150,000 hectares of maize in the wet season that is coming, adding that, they have also been given 134 million dollars to support the cultivation of 300,000 hectares of rice, another 300,000 hectares of maize, 150,000 hectares of cassava and 50 hectares of soybeans.

The AFDB President made this known at the weekend when he visited the Centre for Dryland Agriculture at the Bayero University, Kano after he was conferred with a honorary Doctorate Degree by the University during their 38th convocation ceremony.

Dr. Adesina explained that climate change, in which Africa accounts for only three percent of global emissions, has no other alternative but to adapt to it by using crops that are tolerant and resistant, getting farmers inform with appropriate and timely information as well as supporting research institutions.

He said, "The fact that you have climate change doesn't mean to be scared, the AFDB supported Ethiopia with heat tolerant wheat varieties that in three years allowed them to become totally self-sufficient and now a net exporter of wheat.

"Therefore the issue is we have to make sure we help our farmers to know when it is going to rain, how much is going to rain, what crop to plant and when to plant and how to adapt if the weather is not very very good.

"We are all putting out hands around Nigeria and the Bayero University will play a big role here, so I don't think climate change has to be a dead sentence, we know how to support farmers to adapt in the face of climate change and I can tell you that this centre will play a big role in that.

"We would work with them to become one of the key centres to get technology such as water efficient maize for farmers, to get heat tolerant wheat varieties to farmers at the scales of millions, that is the only scale that matters.

"We would work with them to become a centre in which we can use to do modelling work so that we can know how to predict weather patterns and get that information to farmers to plant better.

"We have a program that is called the African disaster risk insurance facility which supports farmers and countries in the face of climate change, this centre will play a big role," he stated.

While restarting the the bank's commitment to deepening it's work, the AFDB President said he will ensure that the CDA is given a priority by the Global Centre on Adoption on which he sits on the board together with former UN Secretary General Banki Moon because the Centre is doing exactly what they want to see - supporting farmers in the face of climate change.

He also encouraged students to participate in its agriculture program called Agric pitch by generating brilliant ideas that can earn them grants of up to 120,000 dollars.

Dr. Adesina also thanked the management of BUK for honouring him alongside the deputy senate president, senator Barau Jibrin with honorary doctorate degrees.

In his remarks the Director of the centre, Prof. Jibrin M. Jibrin, said the centre which was established in 2012 has enrolled 1,153 PhD and MSC students and has trained more than 50,000 people in short professional courses who cut across 15 countries.

He added that the Centre run programs on Natural resource management and climate change; crops and cropping system; livestock production and range management; agricultural economics and MSC in Agricultural technology, noting that they are planning to make the program to be in a more modular format and move them online in order to make them more flexible and competitive around the world.

- Leadership.

Tanzania: Govt Reinstates Pledge to Business-Friendly Climate

THE government has reinstated its commitment to continue creating a conducive business environment to attract more investment in the country.

The Minister of State in the President's Office Prof Kitila Mkumbo said peace, tranquility and political stability cemented the government's commitment to its bid to woo investors.

"The government is committed to creating various friendly investment climates to attract more investors in the country," Prof Mkumbo said when officiating the 25th anniversary of ICEA Lion General Insurance in Dar es Salaam over the weekend.

"I see this insurance firm continue investing in the country more years to come," said the Minister.

The country boosted its campaign of wooing investors giving its population of over 60 million people its links with more than eight countries in the East, Central and Southern African region.

"We assure you of government support to continue doing business to offer the best insurance services in the country," Prof Mkumbo said.

Tanzania Insurance Regulatory Authority (TIRA)'s Commissioner General, Dr Baghayo Saqware, challenged investors in insurance to invest in other sectors like agriculture which stands as a potential area to venture into.

"For example, we are in the process of establishing the agricultural insurance scheme in the country...hence the need for protection because some 70 per cent of the population depends on," he said during the event.

Ilala District Commissioner Edward Mpogolo said the government is ready to cooperate with insurance service providers to spread insurance awareness and knowledge.

"The government is therefore ready to cooperate with other stakeholders to educate people on insurance because many people are not insured," he said.

ICEA LION Director General Jared Awando said in the last 25 years the firm attracted some 80 brokers and over 25 agents to reach customers in Arusha, Mwanza, Mbeya, Morogoro, Dar es Salaam, Dodoma and its recent entry in Zanzibar.

- Daily News.

Kenya: Safaricom Sacco to Rebrand As It Sets Sights On Growth

Nairobi — Safaricom Sacco has announced an upcoming rebranding initiative after significant growth since its establishment in 2001.

"Since our establishment in 2001, we have grown from a 200-membership drawn from Safaricom PLC to 18,000 members spread across the globe with an ambition of reaching 70,000 members by the end of year 2028," Safaricom Sacco stated.

Sacco's assets have grown to Sh11.5 billion; member deposits, loans, and advances stood at Sh8.3 billion and Sh8.1 billion, respectively, by the end of the financial year 2023.

Initially focused on Safaricom PLC employees, its common bond has expanded to include various technology companies, groups, and individuals.

In 2011, Sacco obtained a license from the Sacco Society Regulatory Authority (SASRA) to operate Front Office Services Activity (FOSA) under the Sacco Societies Act, 2008.

Following this, the Sacco broadened its common bond to include other technology-related firms, chamas or groups, corporate entities, and individual members.

By December 2023, Safaricom PLC employees accounted for 32 percent of the membership, while the remaining 68 percent comprised members from diverse organizations forming the Sacco's common bonds, along with individual members.

The rebranding aims to enhance connections with stakeholders while maintaining the commitment to providing secure, affordable financial services.

The strategic plan for 2024-2028 focuses on expanding the brand's reach, increasing membership, enhancing member satisfaction, and growing assets to Sh20 billion.

- Capital FM.

National People's Congress: China sets ambitious 2024 economic target

China has set an ambitious growth target of around 5% for this year, as it outlined a series of measures aimed at boosting its flagging economy.

Premier Li Qiang made the announcement at the opening of the annual National People's Congress (NPC) on Tuesday.

Mr Li acknowledged that China's economic performance had faced "difficulties", adding that many of these had "yet to be resolved".

It comes as China struggles to reinvigorate its once-booming economy.

"Risks and potential dangers in real estate, local government debt, and small and medium financial institutions were acute in some areas," he said. "Under these circumstances, we faced considerably more dilemmas in making policy decisions and doing our work."

A series of other measures to help tackle the country's slow recovery from the pandemic were also announced, including the development of new initiatives to tackle problems in the country's crisis-hit property sector. Beijing also aims to add 12 million jobs in urban areas.

Regulation of financial markets will also be increased, said Premier Li, while research will be stepped up in new technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and life sciences.

Along with measures to boost the economy, defence spending will be increased by 7.2% this year.

Beijing's defence budget is closely watched by its neighbours and the US, due to concerns over its intentions as tensions remain high over Taiwan.

For decades the Chinese economy expanded at a stellar rate, with official figures putting its gross domestic product (GDP) growing at an average of close to 10% a year.

Can a rubberstamp parliament help China's economy?

On the way it overtook Japan to become the world's second largest economy, with Beijing claiming that it had lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.

Beijing says that last year the economy grew by 5.2%, which even at that level is low for China. However, some critics argue the real figure could be less than a third of that.

"I think the next five or 10 years is going to be difficult," Andrew Collier Managing Director from China research firm Orient Capital Research told the BBC.

"A lot of economists think the numbers are completely fabricated. The idea of 5.2% or 5.5% growth is much likely wrong. It's more like 1% or 2%," he added.

Employees work on a washing machine at a factory in Qingdao, in eastern China's Shandong province on 18 February, 2024.

Whichever figures are accurate, it is clear that this vast country and its leaders face a daunting array of economic challenges.

That list includes a property market in crisis, a shaky stock market, high youth unemployment and the threat of deflation as consumer prices continue to fall.

Those immediate problems are compounded by longer term issues from trade and geopolitical tensions to China's falling birth rate and aging population.

Economic challenges

One of the most serious of these challenges are associated with the housing market, which according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) accounts for around 20% of the economy.

It is a major problem "not just for property developers but also the regional banks that are highly exposed to it," Dan Wang, chief economist of Hang Seng Bank (China), said.

The real estate industry crisis was highlighted last week when the country's biggest private developer Country Garden was hit with a winding-up petition in Hong Kong by a creditor.

It came just a month after debt-laden rival Evergrande was ordered to liquidate by a court in the city.

And while much of the rest of the world has struggled with soaring prices in the wake of the pandemic, China was one of the few major economies to avoid high inflation.

Now though it is having to deal with the opposite problem - persistently falling prices or deflation.

Consumer prices in China fell in January at the fastest pace in almost 15 years, marking the fourth month in a row of declines.

It was the sharpest drop since September 2009, when the world economy was still reeling from the effects of the global financial crisis.

What China's economic problems mean for the world

A restless Gen Z is reshaping the Chinese Dream

Deflation is bad for economies as it can mean that people keep putting off buying big ticket items, like washing machines or cars, on the expectation that they will be cheaper in the future.

It also has an impact on people and businesses with debts. Prices and incomes may fall, but debts do not. For a company with falling revenue, or a household with a declining income, debt payments become more of a burden.

All of this means China is lacking something vital to a strong economy: confidence. And authorities have been scrambling to reassure investors and consumers.

"Messaging from policymakers continues to be about restoring confidence and domestic demand," Catherine Yeung from Fidelity International told the BBC.

So far that has meant a series of relatively small measures targeting different parts of the economy.

This year alone, borrowing costs have been cut and direct support offered to developers along with other actions to tackle the property crisis.

Earlier this month, in a shock move, the head of China's stock market regulator was replaced, in what was seen as a signal that the government was ready to take forceful measures to end the rout in its $8 trillion stock market.

Officials have also moved to clamp down on traders betting against shares in Chinese companies, and imposed new rules on selling shares at the start and end of the trading day.

An aging China at odds with West

Beyond these immediate issues China also faces a number of more far-reaching challenges, including slowing productivity growth and an aging population.

"The demographic dynamics are quite unfavourable, with the population aging fast due to the one-child policy," Qian Wang, chief Asia-Pacific economist at investment firm Vanguard said.

"Unlike Japan that got rich before it got old, China is getting old before it gets rich," she added.

There is also the seemingly intractable geopolitical issue of Taiwan.

What is the 'One China' policy?

Love and longing across the Taiwan Strait: The view from China

Beijing sees self-ruled Taiwan as a breakaway province that will eventually be part of China, and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve this. But Taiwan sees itself as distinct from the Chinese mainland.

Taiwan is a key flashpoint in the tussle between China and the US for supremacy in Asia.

This, at the very least, greatly complicates China's relations with the US and many other major Western economies.

There is also the ongoing trade dispute with the US, which started in 2018 under then-president Donald Trump and has shown no sign of easing during the Biden administration.

A potential second term in office for Mr Trump could well see tensions ramp up between Washington and Beijing.

A potential second term in office for Mr Trump could well see a ramping up of tensions between Washington and Beijing

Mr Trump, in characteristically hawkish comments about China, said he would impose more tariffs on its goods if he wins the US presidential election in November.

In an interview with Fox News, he said the tariffs could be in excess of 60%: "We have to do it," he said.

While that may make for plenty of headlines, Ms Yeung suggests financial markets may be able to take this in their stride.

"Most of this negative news has already been factored in to share valuations," she said.

Whether Mr Xi's long-term plans for China will turn around his country's fortunes remains to be seen.

What is clear though is that its more than 1.4 billion people are unlikely to enjoy a return to double digit annual growth, and the prosperity that comes with it, anytime soon.-BBC

North Korea hacked South Korea chip equipment makers, Seoul says

North Korean hackers have broken into South Korean chip equipment makers, according to South Korea's spy agency.

Pyongyang is trying to make semiconductors for its weapons programmes, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) says.

It comes a month after President Yoon Suk Yeol warned North Korea may stage provocations such as cyber attacks to interfere with upcoming elections.

Last year, North Korea hacked into the emails of an aide to President Yoon.

"We believe that North Korea might possibly be preparing to produce its own semiconductors in the face of difficulties in procuring them due to sanctions," the NIS said in a statement.

It added that Pyongyang's efforts could be driven by the need to have chips for its weapons programmes, including satellites and missiles.

The NIS believes North Korea penetrated the servers of two chip equipment companies in December and February, stealing product designs and photographs of their facilities.

It also warned other companies in the chip making industry to take precautions against cyber attacks.

However, the spy agency did not name the firms effected and or suggest that North Korea was able to obtain anything of value.

The NIS said South Korea's companies had been a key target of North Korean hackers since late last year.

It believes hackers employed a technique called "living off the land," which minimises malicious codes and uses existing, legitimate tools installed within servers, making it difficult to detect with security software.

Last month, President Yoon's office said that the breach of an aide's email account was caused by a violation of security regulations and that its official system had not been hacked.

Pyongyang has always denied involvement in cyber-crimes but Seoul has blamed North Korean hackers for stealing large sums of money, often in cryptocurrency, to fund the regime and its nuclear weapons programme.

North Korea is estimated to have stolen as much as $3bn (£2.36bn) since 2016.

It is also thought to carry out hacks with the purpose of stealing state secrets, including details of advanced weapons technology.

The country, which is subject to extreme international sanctions, is becoming increasingly more sophisticated in the way it carries out cyber attacks.-BBC

Elon Musk sued by former Twitter executives over $128m unpaid severance

Elon Musk is facing a lawsuit from Twitter's former top brass, who say he owes them more than $128m (£100m) in unpaid severance.

The four executives, including former chief Parag Agrawal, said Mr Musk fired them as he took over Twitter, now X, "without reason, then made up fake cause" to avoid handing over the money.

They said the move was part of a "larger pattern" of refusing to pay former staff what they were due.

Mr Musk did not immediately comment.

Mr Agrawal filed the lawsuit with former chief financial officer Ned Segal, former chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde and former general counsel Sean Edgett.

In the lawsuit, they contend that under a years-old severance plan they are owed one year's salary and stock awards. That would total more than $57m for Mr Agrawal; more than $44m for Mr Segal; more than $20m for Ms Gadde; and more than $6m for Mr Edgett.

Mr Musk purchased Twitter in 2022 for $44bn. The billionaire attempted to get out of the acquisition, but he eventually went ahead with the contentious agreement under threat of a lawsuit.

He then moved within minutes of the deal closing to fire key leaders, which included the four executives.

According to the lawsuit, the four men were told they had been sacked for "gross negligence and willful misconduct". Examples that were given included signing off on retention bonuses for Twitter employees, thousands of whom were also fired in the wake of the takeover.

But the lawsuit alleges Mr Musk was angry about being forced to complete the purchase. It further claims he has attempted to avoid paying the millions he owed the leaders, dismissing the severance plans that laid out compensation if the executives lost their jobs without cause.

The two sides have been fighting over the money ever since and have now exhausted the administrative process, the lawsuit said.

X has previously said staff were paid in full. Mr Musk's attorney, Alex Spiro, did not respond to a request from the BBC for comment.

In the lawsuit, however, the executives accused Mr Musk of turning the company into an entity that flouts the law and does not pay its debts.

"Musk doesn't pay his bills, believes the rules don't apply to him, and uses his wealth and power to run roughshod over anyone who disagrees with him," according to the filing in federal court in California.

Last year, a former human resources officer at the platform filed a class action lawsuit accusing the company of failing to pay roughly $500m (£385m) in severance pay owed to former staff.

The roughly 20 people working for the company in Ghana at the time of the takeover, which took place roughly 16 months ago, told the BBC in February that they had only recently received the money they were due.

The four executives' lawsuit has attempted to paint Mr Musk as an individual who avoids paying his debts and treats his employees poorly.

"Musk's refusal to pay ... is part of a larger pattern of refusing to pay Twitter's former employees the benefits and other compensation they are due," Mr Agrawal and his former colleagues alleged in the lawsuit.-BBC

Apple fined €1.8bn by EU for breaking streaming rules

Apple has been fined €1.8bn (£1.5bn) by the EU for breaking competition laws over music streaming.

The firm had prevented streaming services from informing users of payment options outside the Apple app store, the European Commission said.

Competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said Apple abused its dominant position in the market for a decade.

She ordered the US tech giant to remove all the restrictions. Apple has said it will appeal against the decision.

The European Commission's decision was triggered by a complaint by Swedish music streaming service Spotify, which was unhappy about the restriction and Apple's 30% fee..

Ms Vestager said Apple had restricted "developers from informing consumers about alternative, cheaper music services available outside of the Apple ecosystem".

"This is illegal under EU antitrust rules," she said.

However, Apple said it would appeal, adding there was no evidence consumers had been harmed.

"The decision was reached despite the Commission's failure to uncover any credible evidence of consumer harm, and ignores the realities of a market that is thriving, competitive, and growing fast," the company said in a statement.

"The primary advocate for this decision, and the biggest beneficiary, is Spotify, a company based in Stockholm, Sweden.

"Spotify has the largest music streaming app in the world, and has met with the EC [European Commission] more than 65 times during this investigation," it said.

Spotify attacks Apple's 'outrageous' 27% commission

Spotify called the fine handed out to Apple "an important moment" and said it sent "a powerful message" that "no company, not even a monopoly like Apple, can wield power abusively to control how other companies interact with their customers".

Apple said the Swedish company pays no commission to them as it sells its subscriptions on its website and not on the app store.

Spotify had argued that the restrictions benefit Apple's rival music streaming service, Apple Music.

Digital Markets Act

In January, Apple announced plans to allow EU customers to download apps outside of their own app store, as the introduction of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) drew closer.

The aim of the European Union's DMA is to help competition in the technology sector and to try to break down the stronghold the likes of Apple and Google have on the market.

The tech companies were given six months from August last year to comply with a full list of requirements under the new legislation, or face a fine of up to 10% of their annual turnover.

The firms have until later this week to comply with a raft of changes announced since the start of the year, as Apple, Meta and TikTok pursue challenges to aspects of the law.

Law professor at EDHEC, Anne Witt, told the BBC the DMA will have a "significant impact" on the way designated platforms operate within the EU.

"It is a more effective but also much blunter legal tool in the fight against market concentration in the digital economy," she said.

Last week, Spotify and 33 other companies operating across a wide range of digital sectors wrote to the European Commission with a renewed attack on Apple's "lack of compliance" with the DMA.

"Apple's new terms not only disregard both the spirit and letter of the law, but if left unchanged, make a mockery of the DMA and the considerable efforts by the European Commission and EU institutions to make digital markets competitive," it said.-BBC

Nissan accused of dumping its electric car pioneers

Owners of Nissan Leaf electric cars have accused the firm of "dumping its pioneers" after it announced its app would stop working for older vehicles.

The firm says the app - which allows remote control of functions such as heating - is stopping because the UK's 2G network is being switched off.

But customers have reacted with anger, telling the BBC they did not expect it to be withdrawn.

Experts expect the issue to affect more electric vehicles as the market grows.

Around 3,000 Nissan Leaf and e-NV200 cars made before 2016 are affected by the app being withdrawn.

These older vehicles are fitted with 2G control units which communicate with the app.

Nissan told the BBC: "The NissanConnect EV app currently linked to Nissan Leaf and e-NV200 vehicles produced up until 2016 will shut down from 1 April 2024 in preparation of the 2G technology sunset."

It added: "Owners will, however, still be able to use key features such as Climate Control Timer and Charging Timer directly from their car's Navigation System."

UK to phase out 2G and 3G by 2033

Payment fears delay smart meter roll-out, MPs warn

Affected drivers have told the BBC of their disappointment - in part because mobile network operators will not be phasing out 2G until the end of the decade.

"I was very surprised," said Max Siegieda, a 2013 Nissan Leaf owner in Manchester.

"I would have expected at least six months, 12 months, something like that to arrange alternatives. This is a key feature of the car that's going away."

He said the app's remote access for features such as heating the car or charging remotely at cheaper times was "a major selling point" when he bought the car second-hand in 2022.

He was already considering upgrading but now says he would be "reluctant" to buy another Nissan "because of the lack of notice" they gave about the app shutdown.-BC

 Invest Wisely!

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INVESTORS DIARY 2024

Company

Event

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Art

AGM

virtual (escrow platform)

March 7. 2:30

2024 auction tobacco marketing season opens

13 march

Good Friday

march 29

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1 April

Independence Day

April 18

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1 May

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CBZH

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Fidelity

TSL

FMHL

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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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