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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-ZW link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><div align=center><table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=916 style='width:687.2pt;border-collapse:collapse'><tr><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:solid #D9D9D9 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:33.35pt;line-height:106%'><span lang=EN-US><a href="https://bullszimbabwe.com/"><span lang=EN-ZW style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:windowtext;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=246 height=120 id="Picture_x0020_4" src="cid:image001.png@01D73422.B231A790"></span></a></span><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:32.1pt;text-indent:7.5pt;line-height:105%'><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#002060'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:32.1pt;text-indent:7.5pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US><a href="http://www.bullszimbabwe.com"><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#0070C0;text-decoration:none'>Bullszimbabwe.com </span></b></a></span><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#0070C0'> </span></b><span lang=EN-US><a href="mailto:info@bulls.co.zw?subject=View%20and%20Comments"><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#0070C0;text-decoration:none'>Views & Comments</span></b></a></span><span class=MsoHyperlink><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#0070C0;text-decoration:none'> </span></b></span><span lang=EN-US><a href="https://bullszimbabwe.com/category/blogs/bullish-thoughts/"><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#0070C0;text-decoration:none'>Bullish Thoughts</span></b></a></span><span class=MsoHyperlink><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#0070C0;text-decoration:none'> </span></b></span><span lang=EN-US><a href="http://www.twitter.com/BullsBears2010"><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#0070C0;text-decoration:none'>Twitter</span></b></a></span><span class=MsoHyperlink><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#0070C0;text-decoration:none'> </span></b></span><span lang=EN-US><a href="https://www.facebook.com/BullsBearsZimbabwe"><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#0070C0;text-decoration:none'>Facebook</span></b></a></span><span class=MsoHyperlink><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#0070C0;text-decoration:none'> </span></b></span><span lang=EN-US><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/bulls-n-bears-zimbabwe/57/577/72"><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#0070C0;text-decoration:none'>LinkedIn</span></b></a></span><span class=MsoHyperlink><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#0070C0;text-decoration:none'> </span></b></span><span lang=EN-US><a href="https://chat.whatsapp.com/CF6wllAfScU9Wr6dXxoQnO"><b><span style='color:#70AD47;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW;text-decoration:none'>WhatsApp</span></b></a></span><span class=MsoHyperlink><b><span lang=EN-US style='color:#70AD47;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW;text-decoration:none'> </span></b></span><span lang=EN-US><a href="mailto:info@bulls.co.zw?subject=Unsubscribe"><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#0070C0;text-decoration:none'>Unsubscribe</span></b></a></span><span class=style30><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;color:#00B050'><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> </span><span lang=EN-US><o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'><p class=MsoSubtitle style='margin-left:32.1pt;text-indent:7.5pt;line-height:105%'><span class=style30><b><span lang=EN-US style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> </span><span lang=EN-US><o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:32.1pt;text-indent:7.5pt;line-height:105%'><span class=style30><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#1F497D'>Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 18 April 2021</span></b></span><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span class=style30><b><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> </span><span lang=EN-US><o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:3.0pt'><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:33.35pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US><a href="https://www.nedbank.co.zw/"><span lang=EN-ZW style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:windowtext;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=808 height=267 id="_x0000_i1031" src="cid:image002.jpg@01D73422.B231A790"></span></a><span class=style30><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:3.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> </span><span lang=EN-US><o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:10.05pt'><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:10.05pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:10.05pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:10.05pt'><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:10.05pt'><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:54.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Wingdings;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ü<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>AEXCLUSIVE China’s Ant explores ways for Jack Ma to exit<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:54.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Wingdings;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ü<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Power companies urge Biden to implement policies to cut emissions 80% by 2030<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:54.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Wingdings;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ü<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Nissan to focus on fuel-sipping technology and electrification in China<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:54.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Wingdings;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ü<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>'Roaring Kitty' acquires more shares in GameStop - Bloomberg<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:54.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Wingdings;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ü<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Wall St Week Ahead Tech retakes market lead as investors eye yields, earnings<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:54.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Wingdings;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ü<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>February's cold weather shut more U.S. refinery capacity than Hurricane Harvey<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:54.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Wingdings;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ü<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Pandemic destroyed fewer U.S. businesses than feared, Fed study shows<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:54.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Wingdings;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ü<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Swiss billionaire Wyss decides to drop out of bid for Tribune - Bloomberg, NYT<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:54.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Wingdings;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ü<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Credit Suisse sued over risk exposure to Greensill Capital, Archegos<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:54.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Wingdings;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ü<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Africa: Internet Access Uneven Across Sub-Saharan Africa As Campaign Dubbed #UnmuteTheWorld Launched to Address Gap<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:54.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Wingdings;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ü<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Nigerian Ports Now 70% Digitalised - Shippers' Council<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:54.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span 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style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:54.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Wingdings;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ü<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Sierra Leone Mining Dispute Highlights Pitfalls for U.S. Firms<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:54.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Wingdings;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ü<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Angola: Sonangol Sells Its Shares in Puma Energy At Usd 600 Mln<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:54.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;line-height:115%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:54.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;line-height:115%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:54.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;line-height:115%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:54.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;line-height:115%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:54.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;line-height:115%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:54.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;line-height:115%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpLast style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:54.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;line-height:115%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:10.05pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:10.05pt'><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:10.05pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:36.0pt;line-height:115%;background:white'><span lang=EN-US><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Hyundaizimbabwe/"><span lang=EN-ZW style='color:windowtext;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=713 height=238 id="_x0000_i1030" src="cid:image003.png@01D73422.B231A790"></span></a></span><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:10.05pt'><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:10.05pt'><td width=910 colspan=4 rowspan=3 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:10.05pt'><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst style='background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>EXCLUSIVE China’s Ant explores ways for Jack Ma to exit<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Ant Group is exploring options for founder Jack Ma to divest his stake in the financial technology giant and give up control, as meetings with Chinese regulators signaled to the company that the move could help draw a line under Beijing’s scrutiny of its business, according to a source familiar with regulators’ thinking and two people with close ties to the company.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Reuters is for the first time reporting details of the latest round of meetings and the discussions about the future of Ma’s control of Ant, exercised through a complicated structure of investment vehicles. The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Ma had offered in a November meeting with regulators to hand over parts of Ant to the Chinese government.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Officials from the central bank, People’s Bank of China (PBOC), and financial regulator China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) held talks between January and March with Ma and Ant separately, where the possibility of the tycoon’s exit from the company was discussed, according to accounts provided by the source familiar with the regulators’ thinking and one of the sources with close ties to the company.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Ant denied that a divestment of Ma's stake was ever under consideration. "Divestment of Mr. Ma's stake in Ant Group has never been the subject of discussions with anyone," an Ant spokesman said in a statement.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Reuters could not determine whether Ant and Ma would proceed with a divestment option, and if so, which one. The company hoped Ma's stake, which is worth billions of dollars, could be sold to existing investors in Ant or its e-commerce affiliate Alibaba Group Holding Ltd without involving any external entity, one of the sources with company ties said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>But the second source also with company connections said that during discussions with regulators, Ma was told that he would not be allowed to sell his stake to any entity or individual close to him, and would instead have to exit completely. Another option would be to transfer his stake to a Chinese investor affiliated with the state, the source said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Any move would need Beijing's approval, both sources with knowledge of the company's thinking said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The accounts provided by all the three sources are consistent in terms of the timeline for how discussions have evolved over the past few months. On the company side, one source said Ma met regulators more than once before the Chinese New Year, which was in early February. And the second source said Ant started working on options for Ma's possible exit about a couple of months ago. The source familiar with the regulators' thinking said Ant had told officials during a meeting sometime before mid-March that it was working on options.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The source familiar with the regulators' thinking has direct knowledge of conversations between Ant and officials, while one of the sources with company ties has been briefed on Ma's interactions with regulators and Ant's plans. The other one has direct knowledge of Ant's discussions about options. They requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The Ant spokesman did not provide any comments from Ma. Alibaba referred questions to Ant. Jack Ma's office did not respond to Reuters' request for comment made via Ant. The State Council Information Office, PBOC, and CBIRC, also did not respond to requests for comment.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The high-stakes discussions come amid a revamp of Ant and a broader regulatory clampdown on China's technology sector that was set in motion after Ma's public criticism of regulators in a speech in October last year.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Ma's exit could help clear the way for Ant to revive plans to go public, which stalled after the tycoon's speech, both sources proximate to the company said. Ant, which was about to raise an estimated $37 billion in what would have been the world's largest initial public offering, aborted plans the day after Ma's Nov. 2 meeting with regulators.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>'TOO BIG FOR THEIR BRITCHES'<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Since then Beijing has unleashed a series of investigations and new regulations that have not only reined in Ma's empire but also swept across the country's technology sector, including other high-profile, billionaire entrepreneurs.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>For Ma, 56, who also founded Alibaba and once commanded cult-like reverence in China, the consequences have been particularly severe. The tycoon completely withdrew from the public eye for about three months and has continued to keep a low profile after a brief January appearance.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>China’s antitrust regulator fined Alibaba a record $2.75 billion on April 10 following an antimonopoly probe that found it had abused its dominant market position for several years. A couple of days later Ant was asked by the central bank to become a financial holding company, bringing it under the ambit of banking rules that it had managed to avoid so far and allowed it to grow rapidly.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"China still likes to promote its technology firms as global leaders just as long as they don't get too big for their britches," said Andrew Collier, managing director of Orient Capital Research.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>CONTROLLING STAKE<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Although Ma had previously stepped down from corporate positions, he retains effective control over Ant and significant influence over Alibaba.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>While he only owns a 10% stake in Ant, Ma exercises control over the company through related entities, according to Ant's IPO prospectus.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Hangzhou Yunbo, an investment vehicle for Ma, has control over two other entities that own a combined 50.5% stake of Ant, the prospectus shows. Yunbo can decide all matters related to Ant and exercise the combined voting power of the three entities, the prospectus shows.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Ma holds a 34% equity interest in Yunbo, the prospectus shows.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>One of the sources with company ties said there's "a big chance" Ma would sell his equity interest in Yunbo to exit from Ant, ultimately paving the way for the fintech major to move closer to completing its revamp and reviving its listing.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Reuters could not reach Yunbo for comment. Ant did not provide a comment on behalf of Yunbo.-The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Power companies urge Biden to implement policies to cut emissions 80% by 2030<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>A group of U.S. electricity companies wrote to President Joe Biden this week saying it will work with his administration and Congress to design a broad set of policies to reach a near-term goal of slashing the sector's carbon emissions by 2030.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Washington should implement policies, including a clean energy standard, or CES, to ensure the electricity industry cuts carbon emissions 80% below 2005 levels by 2030, the group of 13 power interests, including generators Exelon Corp (EXC.O), PSEG(PEGPP.UL) and Talen Energy Corp, said in a letter to Biden.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The letter, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, did not mention Biden's goal to fully decarbonize the power sector by 2035 as part of his strategy to fight climate change. But it said the 2030 timeline is consistent with Biden's wider goal of decarbonizing the entire economy by 2050.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"A federal policy framework can be designed to support the power sector’s deployment of strategies that are technically feasible, ensure reliability, and maintain affordability for customers," said the letter, sent to Biden on Friday.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The 2030 goal was consistent with Evergreen Action, an advocacy group that proposed a CES in February. Sam Ricketts, a co-founder, said utilities should worry less about the 2035 goal, and focus on early wins as the last portion of emissions cuts is the hardest to achieve. read more<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Several lawmakers, including Democrats U.S. Representative Frank Pallone and Senator Tina Smith, have introduced legislation that includes a CES.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The standard would set gradually rising targets for the power industry to cut emissions until they hit net-zero, with a range of methods from adopting wind and solar power, using existing and advanced nuclear energy, or sucking up carbon from coal and natural gas plants before they reach the atmosphere.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The White House this month included a CES in its $2.3 trillion infrastructure package, without detailing how it would work.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Some plans for a CES include flexibilities such as allowing utilities to earn bankable credits for over-achieving in early years that could be used for compliance in later years when progress on cutting emissions becomes more difficult.-The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Nissan to focus on fuel-sipping technology and electrification in China<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Japan's financially challenged Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) is expected to show off a new "must-succeed" car and explain its green-car strategy for China at the Shanghai auto show which starts on Monday, two company officials told Reuters.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The car Nissan plans to show off at the motor show is the significantly redesigned X-Trail sport-utility vehicle (SUV). A similar SUV called the Rogue hit the U.S. market last year. The new X-Trail will be available in China later this year.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The new car is powered by a fuel-sipping three-cylinder, petrol-powered turbo engine, which one of the sources said might face an uphill battle in gaining acceptance in China where similar technologies have proven unpopular.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The car is a "must succeed, a must win car for us," one of the two sources said. Both sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak with reporters.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>In addition to the X-Trail's China debut, Nissan's chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta is expected to tell reporters in Shanghai virtually from Japan on Monday that Nissan's green car strategy is two-pronged: the company will focus on fuel efficiency-enhancing petrol-electric hybrid technology, as well as battery electric cars to make its lineup of vehicles in China greener.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>In January, Nissan said all its new vehicles in key markets, including China, would be electrified by the early 2030s, as part of its efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The strategy comes as regulatory pressure in China grows on carmakers to slash emissions.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>China is a key pillar of Nissan's turnaround strategy, which involves focusing on producing profitable cars for China, Japan and the United States, rather than chasing all-out global growth pursued by ousted boss Carlos Ghosn.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The company is scrambling to slash its production capacity and model line-up by a fifth and to cut fixed costs by 300 billion yen ($2.8 billion). Nissan aims to achieve a 5% operating profit margin and a sustainable global market share of 6% by the end of fiscal year 2023<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>It wasn't immediately clear how much detail Nissan plans to share on its China strategy on Monday.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The two sources said Nissan nonetheless plans to start taking "pre-orders" in China for its upcoming electric Ariya SUV before the end of this year.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Nissan also plans to launch a hybrid "e-Power" version of the Sylphy compact car this year and an e-Power X-Trail as early as next year.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>A company spokeswoman said Nissan plans to showcase in Shanghai the redesign X-Trail crossover, as well as the introduction of Nissan's e-power petrol-electric hybrid technology to China. She declined to comment otherwise.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>($1 = 108.7700 yen)- The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>'Roaring Kitty' acquires more shares in GameStop - Bloomberg<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The man known as "Roaring Kitty" on social media, whose online posts helped spark January's trading frenzy in GameStop Corp (GME.N), exercised call options on the stock to acquire 50,000 more shares at a strike price of $12, Bloomberg reported.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Bloomberg cited a screenshot of Keith Gill's portfolio showing that he exercised 500 GameStop call options expiring Friday, when the stock closed at $154.69.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The screenshots were posted on Reddit by Gill, and his mother confirmed the posts to Bloomberg. Reuters could not immediately reach the Gills for comment on Saturday.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>His total investment in GameStop is now worth more than $30 million, giving him a profit of nearly $20 million, Bloomberg said. Gill has 200,000 shares in the company, the report said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Gill was a key figure in the so-called "Reddit rally," which saw shares of GameStop surge 400% in a week before crashing back to pre-surge levels.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>He began sharing his positions on Reddit's popular Wallstreetbets trading forum in September 2019, posting a portfolio screenshot indicating he had invested $53,000 in GameStop.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>By late January, Gill, known as "Roaring Kitty" on YouTube and "DeepF***ingValue" on Reddit, was up over 4,000% on stock and options investments in the company. read more<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Last month, Gill appeared before Massachusetts securities regulators to testify as part of an examination into his activities.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin, the state's top securities regulator, had subpoenaed Gill, who touted GameStop stock in his spare time while he was a registered broker and working at the insurer MassMutual.-The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Wall St Week Ahead Tech retakes market lead as investors eye yields, earnings<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>U.S. technology and growth stocks have taken the market's reins in recent weeks, pausing a rotation into value shares as investors assess the trajectory of bond yields and upcoming earnings reports.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Technology (.SPLRCT) has been the top-performing S&P 500 (.SPX) sector in April, rising 8% versus a 5% rise for the benchmark index. Big tech-related growth stocks in other S&P 500 sectors such as Amazon Inc (AMZN.O), Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) and Google-parent Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) have also charged higher.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The gains have followed a months-long rotation in which tech stocks were outpaced by shares of banks, energy companies and other economically-sensitive names that have surged since breakthroughs in COVID-19 vaccines late last year.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The increases in many of these so-called value stocks have slowed lately, while U.S. Treasury prices have come galloping back in April after a sharp first-quarter sell-off. This suggests that some investors may have already priced in a rapid growth spurt that is showing up in economic data.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"Tech and growth has started to pick up a little bit because people are getting a little more cautious," said Lindsey Bell, chief investment strategist at Ally Invest. "Investors are in this wait-and-see mode ... at least until earnings get underway."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>One of the key drivers of the move in tech has been the Treasury market, with the benchmark 10-year note yield falling about 15 basis points in April to about 1.6% on Friday.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Higher bond yields are particularly challenging for the performance of tech and other shares with high valuations and high expected future profits, as rising yields reduce the stocks' values in many standard models. The 10-year yield rose about 83 basis points in the first quarter.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"People are probably taking a little bit of a deep breath and saying, 'OK, maybe rates aren't going to go straight to (2.50%),'" said Chris Galipeau, senior market strategist at Putnam Investments.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Shares of tech and other companies with strong "stay-at-home" businesses could also strengthen if there are snags in the countrywide vaccination drive or other problems with the recovery, investors said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>For example, a call by U.S. health agencies this week to pause use of Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ.N) coronavirus vaccine spurred a move into some stay-at-home stocks and out of travel names tied to the economic reopening. read more<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Investors also pointed to the impending influx of quarterly reports as key to determining market leadership, with Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) and Intel Corp (INTC.O) among the major tech and growth company earnings due next week.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Many investors think the recent market shift is just a pause, with value and cyclical stocks due to regain command after years of lagging, as investors seize on shares expected to benefit most from what the Federal Reserve expects will be the strongest economic growth in nearly 40 years. read more<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"My guess is we will see more of this internal rotation where growth takes a break and then it comes on and then value takes a break and then it comes on," Galipeau said. "It won't surprise me if that continues for a couple of years."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Others have become more wary of the equity market in general. Strategists at BofA Global Research recently issued a report listing five reasons for caution on stocks, including high valuations and outsized returns over the past year. The bank kept its year-end S&P 500 target at 3,800, some 9% below current levels. The index has risen 11% this year.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"Amid increasingly euphoric sentiment, lofty valuations, and peak stimulus, we continue to believe the market has overly priced in the good news," BofA's strategists wrote.- The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>February's cold weather shut more U.S. refinery capacity than Hurricane Harvey<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>A severe cold spell in mid-February knocked out a third of U.S. oil refining capacity, according to data compiled by Reuters and Wood Mackenzie.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>A sharp drop in temperatures that lasted five days shut individual units and sometimes entire plants at 25 refineries in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Tennessee.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Six million barrels per day (bpd) of national refining capacity was out of production before refineries in Beaumont, Corpus Christi and Port Arthur, Texas, began restarting on Feb. 22.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Bt comparison, Hurricane Harvey idled a fifth of national refining capacity at the end of August 2017.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The last major unit shut by the storm, the 38,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) vacuum distillation unit (VDU) at Chevron Corp’s (CVX.N) 112,229 bpd Pasadena, Texas, refinery, restarted on Wednesday, according to sources familiar with plant operations.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>But like in a hurricane, problems inside the plants were compounded by outages of larger systems on which the refineries rely.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Problems began on the night of Feb. 14 when the 30-degree drop to 15 degrees Fahrenheit froze instrumentation needed to operate production units, said sources familiar with operations at several refineries.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Crews struggled throughout the night maintaining minimum levels of production, but on the Feb. 15 utilities failed, including industrial gas supplies, natural gas for power and steam production as well as external power, forcing complete shutdowns at many of the plants, the sources said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Oil companies have begun describing the financial cost of the freeze.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) said at the end of March that the shutdown of its refineries in Baytown and Beaumont, Texas, accounts for as much as a quarter of the estimated $800-million loss the company incurred in February.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The nation’s second largest refiner, Valero Energy Corp (VLO.N), said last week it will take a charge between $520 million and $535 million for higher electricity and natural gas costs in the first quarter.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Eight of Valero’s 12 U.S. refineries were shut by the storm.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Phillips 66 (PSX.N) said its loss for the first quarter could reach $865 million, but up to $210 million of that is due to a pre-tax impairment for a pipeline project.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Pandemic destroyed fewer U.S. businesses than feared, Fed study shows<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Fewer than 200,000 businesses in the United States may have failed during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, a lighter toll than initially feared and one that may have had relatively little impact on unemployment, according to Federal Reserve research.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The figure contrasts with the early forecasts that the pandemic would leave America's"Main Street" desolate as well as with polls that continue to show large percentages of U.S. small business owners are worried about their survival.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Perhaps 600,000 businesses, most of them small firms, fail in any given year, and U.S. central bank researchers estimated that from March 2020 through February of this year the figure has been perhaps a quarter to a third higher.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>That included 100,000 "excess" failures among firms engaged in close-contact services such as barber shops and nail salons, a sector described by the Fed research group as the sector hardest hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>While potentially devastating for the owners and employees of those firms, "relative to popular discussion ... our results may represent an optimistic update to views about pandemic-related business failure," the authors wrote.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Offsetting the hit to those services-oriented businesses, they noted, carry-out restaurants, grocery stores and outdoor recreation companies seemed to suffer fewer failures than usual, with the net result being a smaller-than-anticipated blow to the overall economy.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"Many industries have likely seen lower-than-usual exit rates, and exiting businesses do not appear to represent a large share of U.S. employment," the researchers wrote.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>FEDERAL AID<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The study was the latest to sound a positive note on an economic recovery that has proceeded faster than expected, with top Fed officials confident that much of the potential permanent damage had been avoided. Earlier research had anticipated widespread business failures due to the pandemic, with 400,000 or more small firms going dark.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Census and other surveys continue to reflect stress among some firms that continue to operate, and the Fed researchers acknowledged that more failures could occur if, for example, banks, landlords and creditors become less flexible with their business tenants as conditions return to normal.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Nor does the study account for the millions of still-lost jobs at surviving firms that cut staff or reduced operations, or for the disproportionate losses felt among racial or ethnic groups over-represented in the most devastated industries.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>But it does start to put some scope around one of the potential economic scars from the pandemic, and suggests that small businesses appear to have been both more resilient than anticipated, and were propped up effectively by loans from the Paycheck Protection Program and other federal aid.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The Fed and the U.S. government began flooding the economy with credit and outright grants for businesses and households last spring, so much so that personal incomes actually rose even as unemployment spiked to historical levels.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The funding included $755 billion in forgivable PPP loans spread across more than 9.5 million firms. Although the roughly 30 million U.S. small businesses are diverse, the vast bulk involve sole practitioners who have no employees, with the remainder employing only a handful. So the failures of these businesses, even in large numbers, don't register deeply in terms of overall employment.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Official government statistics on business failures typically lag the actual demise of those firms by a year or more. The Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Commerce Department's Census Bureau have not yet released any formal estimates on the pandemic's final toll on companies and their workers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>To augment the scarce data, the Fed researchers coupled available government information with high-frequency, alternative measures such as cellphone location data mapped onto retail locations, records from payrolls processor ADP, and other sources.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>They found that while the early fears of a large COVID-19 hit may have been warranted given the numbers of businesses that shut down in the spring of 2020, by the end of August there was "no evidence of excessive, ongoing business inactivity; in fact shutdown was well below normal by late 2020."-The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Swiss billionaire Wyss decides to drop out of bid for Tribune - Bloomberg, NYT<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Swiss billionaire Hansjoerg Wyss has decided to drop out of a group that was bidding for Tribune Publishing Co (TPCO.O), the New York Times and Bloomberg News reported on Saturday.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The decision was made in recent days after Wyss' associates examined the Tribune's finances as part of a due diligence process, according to the NYT report, which cited people with knowledge of the matter.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Wyss had come to believe it would be difficult for him to realize his ambition of transforming The Chicago Tribune, the paper he was most interested in, into a national publication, the New York Times said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Earlier this month, Tribune Publishing received a $680 million takeover offer from Newslight LLC, a bid that trumped an earlier proposal from hedge fund Alden Global Capital for the owner of the Chicago Tribune and the New York Daily News.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Tribune said in a statement on April 5 that its board had determined that the $18.50 per share proposal from Newslight, jointly owned by Choice Hotels International Inc Chairman Stewart Bainum and Wyss, was superior to Alden's bid.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Bainum has also done due diligence on the deal and remains committed to a bid, Bloomberg reported on Saturday, citing a source.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The Bloomberg report added that Bainum is exploring alternative partnerships and financing, and has received inquiries in recent weeks from potential investors.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Tribune Publishing did not respond to a request for comment on Saturday.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Credit Suisse sued over risk exposure to Greensill Capital, Archegos<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>A pension fund filed a lawsuit against Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.S) on Friday in a U.S. court, accusing the Swiss bank of misleading investors and mismanaging risk exposure to high-risk clients, including Greensill Capital and Archegos Capital Management.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The pension fund, City of St. Clair Shores Police & Fire Retirement System, based in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, filed the class action lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan, alleging violations of federal securities laws.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"Specifically, defendants concealed material defects in the Company's risk policies and procedures and compliance oversight functions and efforts to allow high-risk clients to take on excessive leverage, including Greensill Capital and Archegos Capital Management, exposing the company to billions of dollars in losses," the lawsuit said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Switzerland's second-biggest bank has been reeling from its exposure to the collapse first of British fund Greensill and then U.S. investment fund Archegos within the course of one month.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Reuters reported last month that Credit Suisse was considering compensating investors hit by the collapse of funds linked to Greensill. read more<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Credit Suisse's asset management unit last month was forced to shut $10 billion of supply chain finance funds that invested in bonds issued by Greensill after the British firm lost credit insurance coverage shortly before filing for insolvency. read more<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Huge losses at Archegos last month prompted Credit Suisse to replace its heads of investment banking and of compliance and risk after it said it would book a $4.7 billion first-quarter charge from exposure to the stricken firm. read more<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Archegos, a single-family office run by former Tiger Asia manager Bill Hwang, defaulted on margin calls by its lenders, in turn causing lenders to sell big blocks of securities to recoup what they were owed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The head of Switzerland's financial regulator, FINMA, had questioned Credit Suisse over risks in its dealings with Greensill Capital "months" before the bank was forced to close $10 billion of funds linked to Greensill, Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung reported on Sunday.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Africa: Internet Access Uneven Across Sub-Saharan Africa As Campaign Dubbed #UnmuteTheWorld Launched to Address Gap<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Nairobi — A campaign dubbed #UnmuteTheWorld, has been launched to make internet access a fundamental right and ensure 3.7 billion people are connected virtually.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The campaign launched last week called for action on the digital divide especially since COVID-19 has exacerbated the challenge as connections and opportunities increasingly happen online.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Nearly half of the world's population lack internet access, hindering access to jobs, education, healthcare, connections and critical information.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>According to UNICEF and Intensive Therapy Unit (ITU), access to internet is uneven across Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2019, only 10 of 45 African countries tracked by the Alliance for Affordable Internet were able to afford internet connectivity. Nine out of 10 school-aged children in the region are not connected to the internet at all.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced lockdown restrictions and serious health challenges to the region, has made internet access even more essential to sustain livelihoods, support education and maintain social contact.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>#UnmuteTheWorld is a collective effort to raise awareness of this issue and accelerate action to bridge the digital divide within sub-Saharan Africa and around the world.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"In this increasingly virtual world, internet access should not be a luxury but a human right," said David Gold, CEO of Global Health Strategies and virt.com - a new crowd-sourced platform that helps users find the most meaningful virtual meetings from around the world."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"The goal of#UnmuteTheWorld is to spur awareness and action on the digital divide that is silencing billions of voices and diverse insights that we need to solve today's biggest challenges."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The #UnmuteTheWorld campaign was launched on the inaugural Virtual Meeting Day, established to mark the anniversary of the first two-way video call, which took place 91 years ago between AT&T's lab and headquarters in New York City.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Nearly a century later, virtual meetings are a daily norm for many, with 87% of people in wealthy countries connected to the internet. Yet only 47% of people are connected in developing nations, and just 19% of people in the least developed countries have access to internet connection.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The campaign calls for a range of actions to address the digital divide:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Governments & Multilateral Agencies must recognize the internet as a fundamental right, and invest in the necessary policies, programs and infrastructure--from expanding online bandwidth to investing in widespread digital literacy and adoption--to ensure that all people can access, afford, use and benefit from digital technologies, regardless of who they are, where they live or how much money they have.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Donors & Funders should increase financial assistance to programs seeking to bridge the digital divide, listen to what communities deem most important and support local champions. Ensuring equitable access to, and adoption of, internet is one of the smartest investments of the 21st century.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Tech Companies should design innovations, products and initiatives with accessibility and inclusivity in mind to maximize positive impact. They should also invest in digital literacy and mentorship programs and support underrepresented communities.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Event organizers must create virtual events that are accessible and inclusive by offering multiple ways to participate to accommodate different bandwidths and devices, and by eliminating any registration or subscription fees that could present barriers to entry. They should also promote events on diverse channels to broaden their audience.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Everyone can raise awareness of the digital divide and share the solutions that would be most impactful where they live.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Organizations and individuals are invited to learn more about the campaign and get involved at www.unmutetheworld.org.-Capital FM.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Nigerian Ports Now 70% Digitalised - Shippers' Council<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers' Council (NSC), Mr Hassan Bello, on Friday disclosed that the ports in the country had attained 70 per cent digitalisation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Bello made this known at a news conference on the first quarter activities of the council in Lagos.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>He said that the 70 per cent digitalisation was lower than 90 per cent targeted by the council in the first quarter of 2021.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>According to him, the council targeted 90 per cent digitalisation in the first quarter of the year, unfortunately, did not achieve it although it was still pursuing it in earnest.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"Most of the ports in the world are digitised, Nigeria cannot be an exception. We cannot have a multitude of people going into the ports every day, human contact in the ports is very dangerous, it is anti-efficiency and once there is human contact, there will be corruption and then delay.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"Some people don't even have any business to go to the port but you see them there, what are they doing?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"We have been working with shipping companies and terminal operators to ensure we make the deadline we set for the first quarter but we saw it was not feasible to attain 90 per cent digitalisation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"What we were able to do on the average was 70 per cent, but digitisation of the ports is a process in the making. We want this to happen as quickly as possible," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>He said that the port was not a place for contact, as one could move millions of tons of cargo with a computer adding that they were happy to announce that the council was on course.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Bello noted that a non-contact port was the solution to many problems in the system such as delay which caused demurrage, diversion of money, corruption and revenue leakages.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>He said that digitisation would make our ports more competitive, noting that the country had competitors in West and Central Africa sub-regions.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Bello said that it was not easy to get to the 70 per cent port digitalisation, adding that they had the scorecards of every terminal and shipping companies that led to the tremendous improvement.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Speaking on the level of digitalisation of shipping companies, he said that Grimaldi had 88 per cent, Ocean Network Express 76 per cent, and CMA CGM 63 per cent, among others.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>He added that some of those that scored 70 per cent had 20 per cent initially, but improved with the guidance of the council.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>For seaport terminals, Bello said PTML had 92 per cent, and in Port Harcourt, Intels, BUA and Wact had 70 per cent digitalisation each.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"Where we are having problems is on reforms and claims processes which is mostly manual but we have some that scored 50 per cent.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"Also, the second phase is the integration of systems because anybody can have online but there is a need to integrate with the banks for example and even the Nigeria Customs Serivces, " he said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>He said that digitalisation would promote cleanliness in the port environment and as well tackle illegal trading activities that degrade the environment.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"We are going to clear the whole port environment, we are going to work with the Nigerian Ports Authority and the Ports and Offences Act will be cited to clear the place.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"You cannot go and be selling food or diesel at the corridors of the port because some of these trucks stop requesting for them and a five minute stop will cause a lot of problem so we cannot afford to have such.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"The port is a special place that requires speedy execution of transactions, we cannot have people selling engine oil," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>He said that for Nigeria to define its role in the transport sector, which would be very significant, there was the need to accommodate bigger ships in our ports and that was the role the Lekki Deep Seaport would play.-Vanguard.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Nigeria: Solar Home System for 25 Million Nigerians Not Free - Govt<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Abuja — The federal government has stressed that the 25 million Nigerians to be electrified through the ongoing N240 million Solar Home System project have to pay some fair bills.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, according to a statement, made this clear at the recent launch of 100,000 Solar Home System in Jangefe community, Kazuare Emirate, Jigawa State.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Osinbajo, who commended the management of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) Limited for playing leading role, describing it as catalyst in government's plan to provide electricity to 25 million Nigerians through off-grid connections to 5 million homes, said the project which would be financed by a N140 billion fund would be paid for by the beneficiaries.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>He said: "Another challenge which became an opportunity for us was the Covid-19 and our response to that which as many know was Economic Sustainability Plan.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"The President's vision around that plan was that rather than have situations where people lose jobs and opportunities, we could take the opportunities of Covid-19 to create more job opportunities for the Nigerian people.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"So the President approved that we should do these five million solar home connections across the country which would mean that 25 million Nigerians would have power," adding that by this development, those who would manufacture, assemble the solar systems, supply, install, and maintain them respectively would have jobs.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>He said: "The power provided is not free but we have put in place structures to make sure that the connections are affordable to those connected."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Explaining that the programme is a partnership with the private driving the connections, supported by concessionaire lending by the Central Bank of Nigeria and commercial banks, he said the N140 billion finance programme is to support private developers to provide power to the households.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Also speaking at the launch, the Minister of Power, Engr Sale Mamman said the programme when fully implemented will generate additional N7 billion in tax revenue per annum and $10 million in annual import substitutions.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Engr. Mamman said the Ministry would supervise the programme to ensure the expansion of off-grid connections across the country.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>On his part, Jigawa State governor, Badaru Abubakar, thanked President Buhari for choosing the state as the starting point of the programme, pledging the support of the state government in ensuring its success.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Speaking earlier, the Managing Director/CEO, NDPHC, Mr. Chiedu Ugbo said the company had already provided 20,000 units of solar home systems to households across the country.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"Those 20,000 are working as we speak and then the government asked us to do another five million solar connections, including solar home systems and mini-grid, off-grid solutions," he added.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>He explained that the 100,000 solar home systems launch is the second phase of NDPHC's beyond the grid project.- Leadership.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Nigeria: The Much-Awaited Dangote Oil Refinery<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Abuja — Few years ago, any economic pundit that thought of the possibility of a privately-owned petroleum refinery that would have the capacity to meet the needs of Nigeria's downstream sector, and still export to neighboring countries, would have been tagged a dreamer; hallucinating in the reveries of fantasies. Even if the prediction came out of the mouth of a known expert, many people would still not had believed him. It would not had been because of pessimism but history of failures of government-run refineries and the inability of the licensed private refineries to hit the ground running, after many years of getting approval.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) recently slammed its sledge hammer on investors who defaulted on the terms and conditions embedded in the award of licences for refineries. The regulatory watchdog revoked thirty-two licences for failure of those companies to achieve stipulated milestones, pegged with certain time frame. DPR in the same vain, listed some privately-owned refineries whose licences were still valid--including Dangote Oil Refinery that is 80.3 percent completion. I imagined that even Alhaji Aliko Dangote, himself, must have doubted the possibility of the idea of building the biggest refinery in Africa, when it first flashed in his mind like a lightening.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Like every great accomplishment in the history of mankind, it first get conceptualized, incubated and birthed. During the gestational stages, the carrier of the idea gets increasingly overwhelmed by its possibilities, which gradually metamorphose into an obsession--a healthy one. At this point, the vessel encapsulating the idea, can no longer stop himself, because he has been overtaken by the monumental concept. If you cannot stop yourself, what else will stop you? nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>This is how great accomplishments are born. Aliko Dangote, Africa's biggest industrialist cum richest man, has blazed a trail in a new frontier. It took more than money and courage to embark on these tedious, tumultuous and humongous projects of building largest refinery in Africa, with world's biggest single-train facility, simultaneously with a granulated urea fertilizer plant with name-plate annual capacity of three million tonnes of urea and ammonia; making it the largest combined fertilizer facility in the world.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>These two major projects, along side other ones, have made Dangote Petrochemical Complex's Lekki Free Zone the biggest construction site in Nigeria, in the last few years. Money played a huge role, courage gave life to the idea, experience kept it going, spirit of resilience sustained it, but grace made it happened. Give another individual all the monies, experiences and government support like Aliko Dangote, without the grace of this pathfinder, he will still not achieve these giants feats. This is my perception.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>It takes grace to build 650,000 barrels/day refinery in a country where government's four refineries; with combined production capacity of 445,000, have been fumbling for many years now, albeit sadly. Alhaji Aliko Dangote, as a single individual, took on one of the major challenges successive governments could not solved. Petrol crisis has been a hydra-headed monster confronting Nigeria for decades now. Nigeria, with production capacity of 2.5m barrels/day, ranks as largest producer of crude oil in Africa and 6th in the world. Ironically, Nigeria is the only OPEC-member country importing refined petroleum products. In fact, in the last few years, Nigerian government has spent more money in subsiding imported refined products than it would have taken to build state-of-the-art refineries.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>A whooping sum of $26.5 billion has been spent so far via Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) for the four refineries, with little or nothing to show for it--the reason the current contract of $1.5 billion signed by Federal Government for Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of Port Harcourt Refinery has outraged many concerned Nigerians who viewed it as an colossal waste.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Many are of the opinion that we cannot keep reinforcing failures and funding corruption, while other critical sectors are starved of limited funds. The recycled failures of our four refineries is what made Nigeria the only crude oil producing country that depends on imported refined products--a big and crying shame!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>This incapacitation in local refining capacity created a bottomless pit of corruption called subsidy regime, where the nation was (still being) hemorrhaged profusely by a cartel of economic saboteurs that took corruption to stratospheric level in the petroleum sector. Importation of petrol has really stretched the nation's economic string beyond its elastic limit. Our foreign reserves has been seriously depleted, and this has limited the capacity of the Apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria, to stabilize the local currency, the naira. These abnormalities have created uncertainties with its attendant vulnerability and volatility in the downstream sector.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>An average Nigerian in the street is always terrified and worry-wary of when the next fuel scarcity will hit the town. Petrol sufficiency has eluded this nation for long; we are always few days away from the next scarcity, with its downward spiral of sufferings in the land. Festive seasons are usually riddled with petrol crises, turning supposed moments of celebration to groaning. Increments in petrol prices usually trigger inflation, simultaneously, thereby making life harder for already impoverished masses.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>There is light at the end of the tunnel. Dangote Oil Refinery, according its chairman, will be completed by end of 2021, to begin operation in the first quarter of 2022. This is indeed a cheering news to be celebrated by Nigerians. When operational, the 650,000 per day refinery has the capacity to fill the void; i.e enough capability to meet the nation's consumption demand of less than 600,000 per day of refined products and still export to other countries.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>A country of over 200 million people--the most populous black nation, will for once become self-sufficient in its refining capacity. This is really a landmark breakthrough in the nation's chequered history. When this Refinery comes on stream, pressure on our foreign reserves will reduce, naira will become stronger; hundreds of thousands of jobs created for teeming unemployed Nigerians.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>And by extension, insecurity will reduce, because mass unemployment cannot be divorced from ravaging insecurity in the country. When a youth is gainfully busy, he will not have the luxury of time to dabble in social vices. Dangote Group owns this refinery but Nigeria and Nigerians will be the highest beneficiaries of the new order that this great national asset is about to herald in our downstream sector. Indeed, Dangote Refinery is coming to the rescue.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Alhaji Aliko Dangote, like him or loathe him, has proven to be a quintessential industrialist and iconic entrepreneur in the contemporary history of African industrial evolution. He did it in cement sector, repeated it in sugar refining; revolutionized commodity productions, and is about to do it again in the petroleum downstream sector.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>He is the biggest individual employer of labor after government in Africa. Hundreds of thousands of families get taken care of economically, via jobs created by this visionary goal-getter and audacious investor. Sometimes, I do look at his pictures; and wonder whether he has two heads. how does he manage to carry the pressure of being in this enviable position? I am awed!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>There is a school of thought that has attributed most of Aliko Dangote's achievements to being close to corridors of power that grants him unhealthy monopolistic advantage over his competitors. Even me, I used to harbor this flawed opinion that "Dangote is government pikin". My perceptive began to change when I started paying close attention to this economic titan and entrepreneurial enigma, several years after leaving the university.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Some of the prejudices, innuendoes and conjectures about African most successful industrialist started fallen off my eyes like a facade. The fallacious propaganda that he is where he is today because of his ethno-religious affinity was punctured, when it dawned me that Alhaji Aliko Dangote has been geometrically rising in profile irrespective of who is Nigeria's president--whether he is from the north or south.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>I realized that Dangote has come to symbolize excellence cum success because greatness is nothing but repeated excellence powered by eagle-eyed vision and unquenchable spirit of resilience. Just imagine for a moment that the consortium led by Aliko Dangote was allowed to take over Port Harcourt and Kaduna Refineries in 2007; should we have been where we are today as a nation regarding refining of petroleum products?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>As Nigerians await expectantly to welcome this Refinery on stream few months from now, it is indeed a new dawn in the nation's downstream sector. The national goal of achieving self-sufficiency in local refining capacity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), has become reality via the vision of one man--Alhaji Aliko Dangote, GCON. Thunderous applause!-This Day.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Sierra Leone Mining Dispute Highlights Pitfalls for U.S. Firms<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The decision by Sierra Leone to shut down the operations of U.S.-owned SL Mining has called into question that government’s commitment to the rule of law with regard to foreign investors.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Since the mid-1990s, the U.S. Government has initiated various programs to boost U.S.-Africa trade and investment - from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to the Prosper Africa initiative that was launched in 2018. The success of these initiatives depends in part on American companies receiving fair treatment in their dealings in Africa.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Prosper Africa “brings together services and resources from across the U.S. Government” to promote U.S. business activity in Africa, but how can there be robust U.S. investment on the continent if the legitimate interests of American companies are not respected and the U.S. government doesn’t take action to support American business interests?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Consider Sierra Leone.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>In December, the Millennium Challenge Corporation – a U.S. government agency - selected Sierra Leone for a five-year grant program “to reduce poverty through targeted investments that increase economic growth.” The announcement of the MCC compact, was welcomed by President Julius Bio, who said: “We have achieved this because of the tremendous gains we have made in controlling corruption, investing in people, protecting democratic rights and enabling economic freedoms.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>SL Mining, a Sierra Leone company wholly owned by the Gerald Group, one of the world’s largest metal trading companies, was granted a mining license agreement (MLA) that was ratified by Sierra Leone’s parliament in December 2017. Shortly after, the company started construction of the first phase of its Marampa iron ore project in Lunsar in the Port Loko district.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The project was commissioned in January 2019, reviving an historically distressed mine to produce the highest quality iron ore concentrate in Africa. One month after SL Mining began exports in June 2019, the Sierra Leone government imposed an export ban on the project and, soon after, cancelled the company’s mining license, alleging breaches under the MLA.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>SL Mining denied the charges and - as prescribed under the MLA - filed for dispute arbitration with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), which issued peremptory orders and partial final awards compelling the government to allow the company to continue to operate. Sierra Leone challenged those orders before the English High Court, which two months ago dismissed Sierra Leone’s claim and upheld the ICC’s partial final award, concluding that SL Mining “wins on each issue.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The judgment by the court, widely seen as reaffirming the role of arbitration in dispute resolution, was welcomed by the international investor community. However, the Sierra Leonean government has so far refused to comply with the ICC orders, forcing the project to remain dormant.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>In the global marketplace, these negative developments have significantly hampered the country’s standing. "Iron ore from Sierra Leone is becoming increasingly less relevant," said Erik Sardain, a principal consultant with Roskill. "It's too much struggle for producers who have invested time and effort and find they have no way of dealing with the government."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The impact of SL Mining’s shutdown is also being felt by Sierra Leonean families locally as well as nationally, as thousands of jobs relied on the large-scale mining operation. Prior to the shutdown, the Marampa project employed around 1,500 Sierra Leoneans. In Lunsar, the mine was the town’s economic backbone, and the loss of income from the mine, including royalties to the town, stalled community projects.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Like many in the community, Abdullai Bangura has paid a huge price. Bangura worked as a plant electrician, earning a stable income, but now he farms cassava and groundnuts, barely enough to support his family in Rogbanneh Village. Locals have a good relationship with SL Mining, and they want the company back.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>According to the agreement that the parliament ratified, the Sierra Leone government is obligated to lift the export ban and allow SL Mining to operate the mine while the dispute is resolved through arbitration. Yet the government has elected to put 1,500 people out of work, jeopardizing the livelihoods of another 15,000 people who depended on that income. In addition, the government deprived itself of over $100 million in income in the form of taxes and royalties from the project at current iron ore prices.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The government further tried to intimidate SL Mining employees, most notably with the unjustified temporary detention of management, including Gerald Group’s Chairman and CEO, a U.S. citizen. The detention not only drew the condemnation of the U.S. Embassy, but the British and Indian High Commissions as well.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The country’s legal dispute with SL Mining is a concern in Washington as Ambassador David Reimer begins his assignment in Freetown. The well-regarded diplomat arrived in the country a few months after the MCC Board of Directors selected Sierra Leone for the compact aimed at reducing poverty.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Sierra Leone’s MCC’s scorecard, a part of the compact approval process, was a priority of the former American ambassador, Maria Brewer, who was commended by President Bio for helping secure the compact when she departed in February. The government has welcomed the MCC compact.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>However, recent experience suggests that a successful MCC compact is not guaranteed. Sierra Leone was selected for a similar program in 2012, before it was rescinded a year later after the government failed the MCC scorecard indicator for corruption. If the new compact proceeds, it will take several years before the MCC disburses substantial funds to Sierra Leone under its current compact. Resolution of the SL Mining issue by the two parties is likely to be an important MCC consideration moving forward.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Meanwhile, China’s activity in the African mining sector is a recurrent concern of U.S. policymakers, and Chinese mining operations in Sierra Leone have a demonstrably poor track record. In 2019, the government’s decision to grant a license to China’s Kingho for the Tonkolili mine in northern Sierra Leone sparked a parliamentary inquiry over the deal’s lack of transparency. In January, Kingho shipped its first batch of iron ore from the Tonkolili mine, despite lacking a parliament-ratified MLA.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Reimer’s tenure represents an opportunity for both countries to address these concerns and build the bilateral relationship. “We remain deeply committed to Sierra Leone's success as a democratic nation and to the wellbeing of its people,” he is quoted as saying during a ceremony last month at State House where Bio celebrated the successes of the MCC $44 million Threshold Program, which began in 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Reimer indicated his commitment to seeking resolution of the SL Mining dispute when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations for his confirmation hearing in December. Responding to a question by then-chairman James Risch (R-ID), who asked how he would respond to the SL Mining case, Reimer committed to “engaging on the SL Mining case directly” with the government while also working to make the country a more attractive location for American investment. Concern about corruption in Sierra Leone was also raised during the hearing by Bob Menendez (D-NJ), who now chairs the Committee, which has oversight of the MCC.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The Biden administration has stated a commitment to promoting U.S. business interests in Africa, along with transparency and the rule of law. An essential element of the rule of law is honoring commercial contracts, but relations between Sierra Leone and the United States are currently clouded by the dispute involving SL Mining.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The dispute touches all of the priorities of the Biden administration in Africa and its timely resolution could help Sierra Leone address underlying issues, from poverty and slow social development to the absence of a strong private sector to drive economic growth. It also would strengthen the rule of law, which is not only a key pillar for the U.S.-Sierra Leone relationship but also is essential to attract investment to a country struggling to better the lives of its people.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The SL Mining case presents a major test for U.S. trade and investment policy. Will the administration continue to allow Sierra Leone to enjoy duty-free, quota-free trade benefits under AGOA if the government refuses to honor contracts or respect internationally binding court decisions? Will the MCC use its authority to withhold disbursement of funding on a compact with a government that disregards international law?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>I saw these tools used effectively to promote better trade and investment performance during my time in government, and I hope the commercial rights of American companies will be defended by the U.S. government in this and other cases.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Gregory Simpkins is Executive Director of the African Merchants Association and writes the Africa Rising 21st Century blog. He recently retired from the U.S. government where he last served as Senior Advisor in the U.S. Agency for International Development Agency’s Africa Bureau. Prior to that government service, he was Staff Director for the U.S. House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Angola: Sonangol Sells Its Shares in Puma Energy At Usd 600 Mln<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Luanda — Angolan Oil Firm (Sonangol) has agreed, in a tripartite agreement, to sell its 31.78 percent of its assets held in Puma Energy to Trafigura at USD 600 million.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>In another transaction, the national oil company acquired through Sonangol Holdings some of the most important strategic assets of the Puma Energy.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>They include Pumangol retail network of service stations, airport terminals in Luanda, Catumbela, Cunene and Lubango.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>In its note delivered to Angop, the company states to have acquired the Terminal Store of the Fishing Port at Luanda Bay and the Angobetumes company at the same amount.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The conclusion of sale of Sonangol shares in Puma Energy to Trafigura and the subsequent acquisition of Pumangol will last between 6 to 8 months.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The parties agreed a period of transition of a year for the replacement of Pumangol logo.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>In total, Sonangol has to sell over 50 assets and shares held in the companies of Real Estate, Tourism, Petroleum, Telecommunications and Finance sectors.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>In another transaction, the national oil company acquired through Sonangol Holdings some of the most important strategic assets of the Puma Energy.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>They include Pumangol retail network of service stations, airport terminals in Luanda, Catumbela, Cunene and Lubango.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>In its note delivered to Angop, the company states to have acquired the Terminal Store of the Fishing Port at Luanda Bay and the Angobetumes company at the same amount.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The conclusion of sale of Sonangol shares in Puma Energy to Trafigura and the subsequent acquisition of Pumangol will last between 6 to 8 months.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The parties agreed a period of transition of a year for the replacement of Pumangol logo.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>In total, Sonangol has to sell over 50 assets and shares held in the companies of Real Estate, Tourism, Petroleum, Telecommunications and Finance sectors.-ANGOP.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpLast style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'> </span><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:10.05pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:10.05pt'><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:10.05pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:10.05pt'><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:10.05pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:10.05pt'><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:10.05pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%;background:white'><i><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Invest Wisely!</span></i><span lang=EN-US style='mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%;background:white'><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Bulls n Bears </span></b><span lang=EN-US style='mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%;background:white'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'> </span><span lang=EN-US style='mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%;background:white'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Cellphone: </span><span lang=EN-US><a href="tel:%2B263%2077%20344%201674" target="_blank"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>+263 77 344 1674</span></a></span><span lang=EN-US style='mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%;background:white'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Alt. Email: </span><span lang=EN-US><a href="mailto:info@bulls.co.zw"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>info@bulls.co.zw</span></a></span><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'> </span><span lang=EN-US style='mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%;background:white'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Website: </span><span lang=EN-US><a href="http://www.bullszimbabwe.com"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>www.bullszimbabwe.com</span></a></span><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'> </span><span lang=EN-US style='mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%;background:white'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Blog: </span><span lang=EN-US><a href="https://bullszimbabwe.com/category/blogs/bullish-thoughts/" target="_blank"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>www.bullszimbabwe.com/blog</span></a></span><span lang=EN-US style='mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%;background:white'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Twitter: @bullsbears2010</span><span lang=EN-US style='mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%;background:white'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>LinkedIn: Bulls n Bears Zimbabwe</span><span lang=EN-US style='mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%;background:white'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Facebook: </span><span lang=EN-US><a href="http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FBullsBearsZimbabwe&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGhb_A5rp4biV1dGHbgiAhUxQqBXA" target="_blank"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>www.facebook.com/BullsBearsZimbabwe</span></a></span><span lang=EN-US style='mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Skype: Bulls.Bears </span><span lang=EN-US style='mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:33.35pt;line-height:106%'><span lang=EN-US><img border=0 width=278 height=111 id="_x0000_i1028" src="cid:image004.png@01D73422.B231A790"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</xml><![endif]--></span><span lang=EN-US style='mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%'><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:36.0pt;line-height:115%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:10.05pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr><td width=910 colspan=4 style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><strong><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#345883'>INVESTORS DIARY 2021</span></strong><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:3.25pt'><td width=175 style='width:131.3pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:12.6pt;line-height:105%'><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'>Company</span></b><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=207 style='width:155.5pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'>Event</span></b><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=353 style='width:264.7pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'>Venue</span></b><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=175 valign=bottom style='width:131.3pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'>Date & Time</span></b><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:3.25pt'><td width=175 valign=top style='width:131.3pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=207 style='width:155.5pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=353 style='width:264.7pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=175 valign=top style='width:131.3pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:72.0pt;text-indent:-72.0pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:3.25pt'><td width=175 valign=top style='width:131.3pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=207 style='width:155.5pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif'>Independence Day<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=353 style='width:264.7pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=175 valign=top style='width:131.3pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif'>18/04/21<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:72.0pt;text-indent:-72.0pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:3.25pt'><td width=175 valign=top style='width:131.3pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=207 style='width:155.5pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif'>Public Holiday in lieu of Independence Day falling on a Sunday<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=353 style='width:264.7pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=175 valign=top style='width:131.3pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif'>19/04/21<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:72.0pt;text-indent:-72.0pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:3.25pt'><td width=175 valign=top style='width:131.3pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=207 style='width:155.5pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif'>Workers Day<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=353 style='width:264.7pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=175 valign=top style='width:131.3pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif'>01/05/21<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:72.0pt;text-indent:-72.0pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:3.25pt'><td width=175 valign=top style='width:131.3pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US>FCB<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=207 style='width:155.5pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif'>AGM <o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=353 style='width:264.7pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US>virtual<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=175 valign=top style='width:131.3pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif'>06/05/21 : 3pm<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:72.0pt;text-indent:-72.0pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:3.25pt'><td width=175 valign=top style='width:131.3pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=207 style='width:155.5pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif'>Africa Day<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=353 style='width:264.7pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=175 valign=top style='width:131.3pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif'>25/05/21<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:72.0pt;text-indent:-72.0pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:3.25pt'><td width=175 valign=top style='width:131.3pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=207 style='width:155.5pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=353 style='width:264.7pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=175 valign=top style='width:131.3pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:72.0pt;text-indent:-72.0pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:3.25pt'><td width=382 colspan=2 valign=top style='width:286.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#D9D9D9;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Companies under Cautionary<o:p></o:p></span></b></p></td><td width=353 style='width:264.7pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#D9D9D9;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p></td><td width=175 valign=bottom style='width:131.3pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#D9D9D9;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:3.25pt'><td width=382 colspan=2 valign=top style='width:286.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=353 style='width:264.7pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=175 valign=bottom style='width:131.3pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:3.25pt'><td width=382 colspan=2 valign=top style='width:286.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'>ART<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=353 style='width:264.7pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'>PPC<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=175 valign=bottom style='width:131.3pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'>Dairibord<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:3.25pt'><td width=382 colspan=2 valign=top style='width:286.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'>Starafrica<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=353 style='width:264.7pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'>Fidelity<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=175 valign=bottom style='width:131.3pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'>Turnall<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:3.25pt'><td width=382 colspan=2 valign=top style='width:286.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'>Medtech<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=353 style='width:264.7pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'>Zimre<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=175 valign=bottom style='width:131.3pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'>Nampak Zimbabwe<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:3.25pt'><td width=382 colspan=2 valign=top style='width:286.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=353 style='width:264.7pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=175 valign=bottom style='width:131.3pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:99.35pt'><td width=910 colspan=4 style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:99.35pt'><p class=MsoBodyText align=center style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:center;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US><a href="mailto:info@bulls.co.zw"><span lang=EN-ZW style='color:windowtext;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=804 height=272 id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image005.jpg@01D73422.B231A790"></span></a></span><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:99.35pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#1F497D;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><i><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#1F497D;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><i><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:white'>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 sources 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 sourced from third parties.</span></i><i><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></i></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><i><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:white'><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'>(c) 2021 <b>Web</b>:</span><span lang=EN-US><a href="http://www.bullszimbabwe.com"><span style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'> www.bullszimbabwe.com </span></a></span><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'>Email:</span></b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> </span><span lang=EN-US><a href="mailto:info@bulls.co.zw"><span style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>info@bulls.co.zw</span></a></span><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> <b>Tel:</b> +263 4 2927658 <b>Cell:</b> +263 77 344 1674<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=bottom style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr></table></div><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>