<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="469" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/DALL·E-2024-07-04-09.58.06-A-modern-power-utility-facility-in-Africa.-The-scene-includes-a-large-power-plant-with-solar-panels-and-wind-turbines-in-the-foreground.-The-facility--820x469.webp" alt="" class="wp-image-503774" style="width:840px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/DALL·E-2024-07-04-09.58.06-A-modern-power-utility-facility-in-Africa.-The-scene-includes-a-large-power-plant-with-solar-panels-and-wind-turbines-in-the-foreground.-The-facility--820x469.webp 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/DALL·E-2024-07-04-09.58.06-A-modern-power-utility-facility-in-Africa.-The-scene-includes-a-large-power-plant-with-solar-panels-and-wind-turbines-in-the-foreground.-The-facility--300x171.webp 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/DALL·E-2024-07-04-09.58.06-A-modern-power-utility-facility-in-Africa.-The-scene-includes-a-large-power-plant-with-solar-panels-and-wind-turbines-in-the-foreground.-The-facility--158x90.webp 158w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/DALL·E-2024-07-04-09.58.06-A-modern-power-utility-facility-in-Africa.-The-scene-includes-a-large-power-plant-with-solar-panels-and-wind-turbines-in-the-foreground.-The-facility--768x439.webp 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/DALL·E-2024-07-04-09.58.06-A-modern-power-utility-facility-in-Africa.-The-scene-includes-a-large-power-plant-with-solar-panels-and-wind-turbines-in-the-foreground.-The-facility--1536x878.webp 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/DALL·E-2024-07-04-09.58.06-A-modern-power-utility-facility-in-Africa.-The-scene-includes-a-large-power-plant-with-solar-panels-and-wind-turbines-in-the-foreground.-The-facility-.webp 1792w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Representation of a modern power utility. Image by DAL-E. For illustration purposes only.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Global Markets</h2>



Asian stocks achieved their highest levels in 27 months due to softer U.S. economic data, which raised the likelihood of a rate cut in September. This development boosted bonds and commodities while weakening the dollar.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">World Oil Prices</h2>



Oil prices declined in Asia amid investor caution regarding expectations of lower demand, as U.S. employment and business data came in weaker than anticipated—indicating a potential cooling in the world&#8217;s top oil-consuming economy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Country-Specific Updates:</h2>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>South Africa: South African assets saw gains on Wednesday, fueled by optimistic comments from the Federal Reserve chair regarding upcoming U.S. interest rate cuts.</li>



<li>Kenya: The Kenyan shilling slightly firmed on Wednesday, supported by hard currency inflows from tea exporters and diaspora remittances despite ongoing nationwide protests.</li>



<li>Niger: Niger&#8217;s junta has agreed to talks with Benin&#8217;s government, aimed at restoring relations following a 2022 coup which led to border closures and a shutdown of a China-backed oil pipeline.</li>



<li>Congo: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded a sixth and final review of Congo&#8217;s loan program, allowing an immediate disbursement of approximately $224.7 million.</li>
</ul>



<h1 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-top-interviews-on-cnbc-africa">Top Interviews on CNBC Africa</h1>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-1-the-future-of-south-africa-s-automotive-industry">1. The Future of South Africa&#8217;s Automotive Industry</h2>



Renai Moothilal, CEO of the National Association of Automotive Component and Allied Manufacturers (NAACAM), emphasizes the significance of policy continuity within South Africa&#8217;s automotive industrial policy framework. The government aims to reach 60% localization rate by 2035 while transitioning towards electric vehicles.



<a href="https://cnbcafrica.com/media/6356451878112" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Watch the full video on CNBC Africa</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-2-eskom-s-recovery-plan-brings-stability">2. Eskom’s Recovery Plan Brings Stability</h2>



Eskom Chairman Mteto Nyati discusses strategies to improve Eskom&#8217;s financial health, including securing 250 billion rand from the National Treasury and reducing reliance on diesel. The long-term vision involves unbundling the utility into three distinct entities and promoting renewable energy.



<a href="https://cnbcafrica.com/media/6356446398112" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Watch the full video on CNBC Africa</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3-ramaphosa-appoints-new-leadership-for-agricultural-sector">3. Ramaphosa Appoints New Leadership for Agricultural Sector</h2>



Wandile Sihlobo, Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa, discusses the new multi-party leadership in South Africa’s agriculture and land reform ministries. Highlights include land reform, financial support for farmers, and projected sector growth.



<a href="https://cnbcafrica.com/media/6356446665112" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Watch the full video on CNBC Africa</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-4-scaling-up-green-housing-solutions-in-east-africa">4. Scaling Up Green Housing Solutions in East Africa</h2>



Shiv Arora, CEO of Superior Homes Kenya, explains the drivers behind the adoption of sustainable building practices in East African real estate. Challenges and strategies for broader implementation of green housing solutions are discussed.



<a href="https://cnbcafrica.com/media/6356446525112" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Watch the full video on CNBC Africa</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-5-eu-kenya-economic-partnership-agreement-boosts-msmes">5. EU-Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement Boosts MSMEs</h2>



Victor Otieno, Managing Director of Viffa Consult, discusses opportunities and challenges for Kenyan MSMEs under the new Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU, aiming to enhance trade and investment flows sustainably.



<a href="https://cnbcafrica.com/media/6356445453112" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Watch the full video on CNBC Africa</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-6-economic-crossroads-in-east-africa">6. Economic Crossroads in East Africa</h2>



Pamela Akidi from Stanbic Bank Uganda analyzes economic factors affecting East Africa such as inflation, exchange rates, and market performance, with a focus on Kenya and Uganda.



<a href="https://cnbcafrica.com/media/6356444415112" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Watch the full video on CNBC Africa</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-7-multinationals-exiting-nigeria-opportunities-for-local-industries">7. Multinationals Exiting Nigeria: Opportunities for Local Industries</h2>



Chika Mordi from United Capital Group discusses the challenges and opportunities for Nigeria’s manufacturing sector following the exit of multinational companies, emphasizing localization and cost optimization.



<a href="https://cnbcafrica.com/media/6356440442112" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Watch the full video on CNBC Africa</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-8-insights-on-access-holdings-rights-issue">8. Insights on Access Holdings’ Rights Issue</h2>



Morounke Olufemi and Roosevelt Ogbonna discuss Access Holdings&#8217; rights issue, part of their 2023-2027 strategic plan, aiming to meet regulatory requirements and deliver value to shareholders.



<a href="https://cnbcafrica.com/media/6356431885112" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Watch the full video with Morounke Olufemi</a> <a href="https://cnbcafrica.com/media/6356428921112" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Watch the full video with Roosevelt Ogbonna</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-9-vetiva-research-on-inflation-in-nigeria-and-ghana">9. Vetiva Research on Inflation in Nigeria and Ghana</h2>



Ibukun Omoyeni from Vetiva Research provides insights into the potential moderation of inflation in Nigeria and Ghana during H2 2024, highlighting the undervaluation of the naira and the role of external funding.



<a href="https://cnbcafrica.com/media/6356428985112" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Watch the full video on CNBC Africa</a>

DALL·E 2024-07-04 09.58.06 – A modern power utility facility in Africa. The scene includes a large power plant with solar panels and wind turbines in the foreground. The facility

Before the bell: Today’s Business News

<h1 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-you-need-to-know-today">What you need to know today</h1>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-absa-pmi-improves-for-second-consecutive-month">ABSA PMI Improves for Second Consecutive Month</h2>



The seasonally adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers&#8217; Index (PMI) showed signs of improvement in June 2024, rising to 45.7 from 43.8 in May. Despite the increase, the index remains below the critical 50-point threshold. Economist Sello Sekele from Absa Group discussed the sector&#8217;s challenges, including declining business activity and subdued demand. Positively, cost pressures have eased thanks to the strong rand and decreasing fuel prices.



<a href="https://cnbcafrica.com/media/6356173611112" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Watch the full interview with Sello Sekele</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-state-intel-report-evolving-investment-strategies-of-african-institutional-investors">State Intel Report: Evolving Investment Strategies of African Institutional Investors</h2>



Dolapo Omidire, Research Director at State Intel, shared insights from a report highlighting a shift among African institutional investors towards longer-term holding of income-producing assets. The report also noted a surge in ESG-linked financing activities and the significant interest in the hospitality sector in regions like French West Africa.



<a href="https://cnbcafrica.com/media/6356167714112" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Watch the full discussion with Dolapo Omidire</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rockefeller-foundation-s-mission-300-initiative">Rockefeller Foundation&#8217;s Mission 300 Initiative</h2>



Rajiv Shah, President of the Rockefeller Foundation, discussed the Mission 300 initiative, aimed at providing electricity to 300 million Africans, with a particular focus on Nigeria. The initiative plans to replace diesel generators with renewable energy sources and expand mini-grid systems to boost energy access in remote areas.



<a href="https://cnbcafrica.com/media/6356161701112" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Watch Rajiv Shah&#8217;s insights</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-imf-approves-67-million-for-benin">IMF Approves $67 Million for Benin</h2>



The IMF has approved $67 million in funding for Benin, signaling a positive outlook for the country&#8217;s economic stability and growth. Constant Lonkeng Ngouana, IMF Mission Chief to Benin, emphasized the importance of domestic revenue mobilization and subsidy reforms to achieve sustainable growth.



<a href="https://cnbcafrica.com/media/6356160545112" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Watch the discussion with Constant Lonkeng Ngouana</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-south-africa-s-energy-transition-the-role-of-natural-gas">South Africa&#8217;s Energy Transition: The Role of Natural Gas</h2>



Dele Kuti of Standard Bank discussed South Africa&#8217;s progress towards stabilizing its power grid and highlighted the role of natural gas in the country&#8217;s just energy transition. He emphasized the need for continued investment in renewable energy and efficient energy management to meet growing demand while reducing carbon emissions.



<a href="https://cnbcafrica.com/media/6356155734112" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Watch the full interview with Dele Kuti</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-president-ghazouani-s-re-election-in-mauritania">President Ghazouani&#8217;s Re-election in Mauritania</h2>



Robert Besseling of Pangea-Risk analyzed the re-election of Mauritania&#8217;s President Ghazouani, noting the likely continuation of policy stability and investment attraction. Key areas of focus include commodities market development and boosting foreign direct investment to address socio-economic challenges.



<a href="https://cnbcafrica.com/media/6356151403112" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Watch the analysis with Robert Besseling</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-african-tech-vc-funding-trends-and-outlook">African Tech VC Funding: Trends and Outlook</h2>



Despite a 56% drop in funding in the first half of 2024, experts remain optimistic about African tech startups. Oswald Guobadia and Raj Kulsaingham discussed the need for tailored funding models, diversification in sectors like climate tech, and the role of local investors in supporting innovation.



<a href="https://cnbcafrica.com/media/6356149707112" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Watch the insights from Oswald Guobadia and Raj Kulsaingham</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ramaphosa-names-government-of-national-unity-cabinet">Ramaphosa Names Government of National Unity Cabinet</h2>



South Africa&#8217;s President Ramaphosa has announced a new, larger cabinet as part of the Government of National Unity. Louw Nel of Oxford Economics examined the strategic decisions behind key appointments and their potential impact on policy stability and future electoral outcomes.



<a href="https://cnbcafrica.com/media/6356146914112" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Watch the briefing with Louw Nel</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rainbow-chicken-s-jse-main-board-listing">Rainbow Chicken&#8217;s JSE Main Board Listing</h2>



Rainbow Chicken&#8217;s stock has surged nearly 30% following its listing on the JSE main board. Managing Director Marthinus Stander discussed the company&#8217;s strategies for maintaining profitability and competitiveness amidst sector challenges.



<a href="https://cnbcafrica.com/media/6356146714112" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Watch Marthinus Stander&#8217;s insights</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-south-africa-s-business-reaction-to-new-gnu-cabinet">South Africa&#8217;s Business Reaction to New GNU Cabinet</h2>



Business leaders Mtho Xulu (SACCI) and Cas Coovadia (BUSA) shared their perspectives on South Africa&#8217;s new GNU cabinet. They emphasized the need for unity, effective governance, and collaboration between the private sector and the government to drive economic growth and address socio-economic challenges.



<a href="https://cnbcafrica.com/media/6356147776112" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Watch the full discussion with Mtho Xulu and Cas Coovadia</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-india-expands-search-for-critical-minerals">India Expands Search for Critical Minerals</h2>



India is actively engaging in discussions with countries in Africa and Latin America to secure critical mineral blocks on a government-to-government basis. Veena Kumari Dermal, joint secretary of the Ministry of Mines, highlighted this at an industry event. These talks are also extending to Australia with the aim of securing lithium blocks. Indian state-owned firm Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL) has already set up operations in Argentina and signed a $24 million lithium exploration pact for five blocks in January. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-south-african-markets-update">South African Markets Update</h2>



On Monday, South African assets gave up some of their initial gains following the formation of a new cabinet by President Cyril Ramaphosa. Specifically, the Top-40 index on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange closed around 0.2% weaker, while the country&#8217;s benchmark 2030 government bond yield fell by 3 basis points to 9.955%. The government is also planning to hold its weekly auction of long-term bonds. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-african-markets-key-developments">African Markets&#8217; Key Developments</h2>



Multiple factors are currently affecting African markets. In Kenya, activists have scheduled another week of anti-government protests, compelling President William Ruto to reconsider his unpopular tax hikes. The Kenyan shilling remains steady but under pressure due to increased demand for hard currency by importers and manufacturers. In Somalia and Ethiopia, Turkey is mediating discussions over a port deal signed with the Somaliland region. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund has revised its 2024 growth forecast for Ghana upwards due to improved economic stability. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the state miner Gecamines has declined to approve the sale of Chemaf SA&#8217;s cobalt assets to Norin Mining. Lastly, Nigeria&#8217;s Dangote oil refinery is increasing gasoil exports, impacting European refiners.

South African Rand coins are seen in this illustration picture

Daily Open: ABSA PMI’s Positive Streak Amid Persistent Challenges, GNU Cabinet Announced

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-1500828633-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-449138" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-1500828633-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-1500828633-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-1500828633-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-1500828633-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-1500828633.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">ACCRA, GHANA &#8211; JUNE 18: Mr. Aliko Dangote, Chairman and CEO, Dangote Group during the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) Annual Meeting on June 18, 2023 at the Accra International Conference Center in Accra, Ghana. The event is to mark the high point of the bank’s year-long 30th-anniversary celebrations, under the theme “Delivering the Vision. Building Prosperity for Africans”. (Photo by Ernest Ankomah/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>


<a href="https://www.forbes.com/lists/africa-billionaires/?sh=313d024924d5">Forbes just released their annual rich list</a>, featuring the return of Nigeria’s Femi Otedola to the list. Also in Nigeria, Aliko Dangote returned to the top of the list, after briefly losing the number one spot for part of last year to Johann Rupert and family. 
Notably, the list excludes lawyer and banker, Adebayo Ogunlesi, <a href="https://www.theafricareport.com/333471/who-is-adebayo-ogunlesi-the-nigerian-who-charmed-blackrock/">whose fortune is estimated at $2.3bn</a> if the BlackRock acquisition of his firm Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) for $12.5bn is concluded.
The biggest gain belongs to Egypt’s Nassef Sawiris, who added $1.6 billion to $8.9 billion. 
<h3>Here is the full list of African Billionaires:</h3>
1. Aliko Dangote Net worth: $13.9 billion Net worth in 2023: $13.5 billion Origin of wealth: Cement and Sugar Age: 66 Country: Nigeria
2. Johann Rupert and family Net worth: $10.1 billion Rank in 2023: 2 Net worth in 2023: $10.7 billion Origin of wealth: Luxury goods Age: 73 Country: South Africa
3. Nicky Oppenheimer &amp; family Net worth: $9.4 billion Rank in 2023: 3 Net worth in 2023: $8.4 billion Origin of wealth: Diamonds Age: 78 Country: South Africa
4. Nassef Sawiris Net worth: $8.7 billion Rank in 2023: 5 Net worth in 2023: $7.2 billion Origin of wealth: Construction and Investments Age: 63 Country: Egypt
5. Mike Adenuga Net worth: $6.9 billion Rank in 2023: 6 Net worth in 2023: $5.6 billion Origin of wealth: Telecom and Oil Age: 70 Country: Nigeria
6. Abdulsamad Rabiu Net worth: $5.9 billion Rank in 2023: 4 Net worth in 2023: $7.6 billion Inherited and growing Origin of wealth: Cement and Sugar Age: 63 Country: Nigeria
7. Naguib Sawiris Net worth: $3.8 billion Rank in 2023: 8 Net worth in 2023: $3.3 billion Inherited and growing Origin of wealth: Telecom Age: 69 Country: Egypt
8. Mohamed Mansour Net worth: $3.2 billion Rank in 2023: 10 Net worth in 2023: $2.8 billion Self-made Origin of wealth: Diversified Age: 76 Country: Egypt
9. Koos Bekker Net worth: $2.7 billion Rank in 2023: 11 Net worth in 2023: $2.6 billion Origin of wealth: Media, Investments Age: 71 Country: South Africa
9. Patrice Motsepe Net worth: $2.7 billion Rank in 2023: 9 Net worth in 2023: $3.1 billion Origin of wealth: Mining Age: 61 Country: South Africa
11. Issad Rebrab &amp; family Net worth: $2.5 billion Rank in 2023: 7 Net worth in 2023: $4.6 billion Origin of wealth: Food Age: 80 Country: Algeria
12. Mohammed Dewji Net worth: $1.8 billion Rank in 2023: 15 Net worth in 2023: $1.5 billion Origin of wealth: Diversified Age: 48 Country: Tanzania
12. Strive Masiyiwa Net worth: $1.8 billion Rank in 2023: 12 Net worth in 2023: $1.9 billion Origin of wealth: Telecom Age: 62 Country: Zimbabwe
14. Aziz Akhannouch &amp; family Net worth: $1.7 billion Rank in 2023: 14 Net worth in 2023: $1.5 billion Origin of wealth: Petroleum, Diversified Age: 63 Country: Morocco
15. Othman Benjelloun &amp; family Net worth: $1.4 billion Rank in 2023: 16 Net worth in 2023: $1.3 billion Origin of wealth: Banking, insurance Age: 91 Country: Morocco
16. Youssef Mansour Net worth: $1.3 billion Rank in 2023: 13 Net worth in 2023: $1.5 billion Origin of wealth: Diversified Age: 78 Country: Egypt
17. Yasseen Mansour Net worth: $1.2 billion Rank in 2023: 19 Net worth in 2023: $1.1 billion Origin of wealth: Diversified Age: 62 Country: Egypt
17. Christoffel Wiese Net worth: $1.2 billion Rank in 2023: 18 Net worth in 2023: $1.1 billion Origin of wealth: Retail Age: 82 Country: South Africa Residence: Cape Town
19. Michiel Le Roux Net worth: $1.1 billion Rank in 2023: 17 Net worth in 2023: $1.2 billion Origin of wealth: Banking Age: 74 Country: South Africa
19. Femi Otedola Net worth: $1.1 billion Origin of wealth: Gas stations, Utilities Country: Nigeria


<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-1257441607-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-449137" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-1257441607-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-1257441607-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-1257441607-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-1257441607-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-1257441607.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Femi Otedola, chairman of Geregu Power Plc, during the commissioning ceremony of the Dangote Industries Ltd. oil refinery and fertilizer plant site in the Ibeju Lekki district of Lagos, Nigeria, on Monday, May 22, 2023. Aliko Dangote, Africa&#8217;s richest person, announced the opening of a mega refinery in Nigeria seven years late to a backdrop of skepticism about how fast it will really be able to ramp up. Photographer: Benson Ibeabuchi/Bloomberg via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>

Nigeria’s $21 Billion Dangote Mega Oil Refinery Opening

Africa’s Billionaires 2024

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/LYW554QLQNJ4RACN24N6DUUM3E-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-430732" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/LYW554QLQNJ4RACN24N6DUUM3E-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/LYW554QLQNJ4RACN24N6DUUM3E-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/LYW554QLQNJ4RACN24N6DUUM3E-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/LYW554QLQNJ4RACN24N6DUUM3E-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/LYW554QLQNJ4RACN24N6DUUM3E-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/LYW554QLQNJ4RACN24N6DUUM3E-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A general view of Shaft 11 at Impala Platinum Mine, in Rustenburg, South Africa, November 28, 2023. REUTERS/Sumaya Hisham</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Nov 28 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Impala Platinum&nbsp;IMPJ.J&nbsp;on Tuesday temporarily halted operations at its Rustenburg mining complex in South Africa after 11 workers died and 75 were injured in what the CEO said was &#8220;the darkest day&#8221; in the company&#8217;s history.



The Johannesburg-based platinum miner said in a statement that 86 workers were involved in the incident at its No. 11 shaft. All the injured had been admitted to four hospitals in the area. The company spokesperson said medical physicians classified 14 workers in the hospital as&nbsp;&#8220;high priority&#8221;.



&#8220;Today is the darkest day in the history of Impala and our hearts are heavy for the lives lost and the individuals affected by this devastating incident,&#8221; CEO Nico Muller said in a statement.



Impala said workers were being brought to the surface at the end of their shift on Monday, when the conveyance system, which carries workers up and down an underground shaft 1,000 meters (3,280.84 ft) deep, started a rapid descent.



All mining operations at the Rustenburg complex in South Africa&#8217;s North West province were suspended on Tuesday. The halt could be extended to Wednesday to allow the company to &#8220;mourn and heal emotionally&#8221;, Johan Theron, Impala&#8217;s spokesperson said.



He also said investigations into the cause of the accident had begun.



Impala&#8217;s shares in Johannesburg declined 6.74% at 0847 GMT.



South Africa has some of the world&#8217;s deepest, oldest and most costly platinum and gold mining shafts.



The deaths at Rustenberg add to the 41 fatalities that had been recorded in South Africa&#8217;s mining industry this year so far. Last year, 49 workers died in South Africa&#8217;s mines, which was the lowest number of fatalities to date, Minerals Council South Africa, the industry lobby group, said.



Spokesman Theron said he could not be precise about the impact of the stoppage on Impala&#8217;s metals output.



&#8220;It&#8217;s impossible to quantify the impact on production save to say (the) shaft on its own is a very large complex and contributes roughly 15% of Impala Rustenburg&#8217;s production,&#8221; Theron said.



&#8220;To the extent that it&#8217;s stopped for any length of time, it will have a corresponding impact on the entire company.&#8221;



(Reporting by Felix Njini and Nelson Banya; Editing by Kim Coghill, Jamie Freed, Louise Heavens and Barbara Lewis)

A general view of Shaft 11 at Impala Platinum Mine, in Rustenburg

Impala Platinum halts some South African mines after 11 workers died

Geneva, Switzerland, 28 November 2023&nbsp;– Transitioning to a more sustainable and carbon-neutral future, $13.5 trillion in investments will be needed by 2050, particularly in the production, energy and transport sectors, according to a new World Economic Forum report.



The&nbsp;Net-Zero Industry Tracker 2023, published in collaboration with Accenture, takes stock of progress towards net-zero emissions for eight industries – steel, cement, aluminum, ammonia, excluding other chemicals, oil and gas, aviation, shipping and trucking – which depend on fossil fuels for 90% of their energy demand and pose some of the most technological and capital-intensive decarbonization challenges.



The report, published the same week as the United Nations called at COP28 for “dramatic climate action” to close an “emissions canyon”, outlines pathways to accelerate the decarbonization of emission-intensive production, energy and transport industries.&nbsp;While the pathway to net zero in these sectors will differ based on unique sectoral and regional factors, investments in clean power, clean hydrogen and infrastructure for carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) will be needed to accelerate industrial decarbonization across most sectors.



“Decarbonizing these industrial and transport sectors, which emit 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions today, is essential to achieving net zero, especially as demand for industrial products and transport services will continue to be strong,” said Roberto Bocca, Head of Centre for Energy and Materials, World Economic Forum. “Significant infrastructure investments are required, complemented by policies and stronger incentives so industries can switch to low-emission technologies while ensuring access to affordable and reliable resources critical for economic growth.”



According to the report, the $13.5 trillion in investments is derived from average clean power generation costs of solar, off-shore and on-shore wind, nuclear and geothermal, electrolyzer costs for clean hydrogen and carbon transport, as well as storage costs.



The Net-Zero Industry Tracker proposes a comprehensive framework of emissions drivers and enablers to measure progress and identify gaps, scorecards for each industry, and opportunities for cross-sector collaboration. Building on the 2022 edition, the updated report includes transportation sectors and applies the framework to identify strategies for net-zero industrial transformation.



The report’s findings underscore the urgency for creating a robust enabling environment, including low-emissions technologies, infrastructure, demand for green products, policies and investments. In addition to increasing capital expenditures to decarbonize existing industrial and transport asset bases, further investment is needed to build a clean-energy infrastructure.



Share of global GHG emissions for heavy industrial and transport sectors



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="956" height="856" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/WEF_Image_Graph.jpg" alt="W" class="wp-image-430686" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/WEF_Image_Graph.jpg 956w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/WEF_Image_Graph-300x269.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/WEF_Image_Graph-820x734.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/WEF_Image_Graph-101x90.jpg 101w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/WEF_Image_Graph-768x688.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 956px) 100vw, 956px" /></figure>



The majority of the technologies needed to deliver net-zero emissions are expected to reach commercial maturity after 2030, highlighting the need for collaborative approaches to research, develop and scale them. This includes substituting legacy technologies with low-emission alternatives, increasing efficiency of processes and machinery, electrification and driving circularity.



“It is imperative that action is taken soon to both decarbonize and improve energy efficiency; otherwise, unabated fossil-fuel demand in the key industry sectors, which have grown 8% on average the past three years, will increase very significantly by 2050,” said Bocca. “But industrial leaders can&nbsp; respond through new collaborative ways of working and innovating, for example within&nbsp;<a href="https://weforum.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6308fe51b420dc9ff3834abc8&amp;id=5e48b8e30b&amp;e=d66be97e93">industrial clusters</a>&nbsp;and by fostering best practices, sharing infrastructure in important areas like clean hydrogen and CCUS and building &nbsp;demand for lower-emissions products.”



According to the report, carbon pricing, tax subsidies, public procurement and development of strong business cases can support in mobilizing necessary investments. However, raising capital for high-risk projects with unproven technologies could be challenging in the current macroeconomic environment. Institutional investors and multilateral banks, therefore, can play an important role by providing access to low-cost capital linked to emissions targets; equally vital is adapting financial models to the needs of various industries and regions.



“Collaboration between the public and private sectors is critical to a successful energy transition, and technology can be a key enabler in both managing affordable and reliable access to clean energy and addressing the incremental cost of decarbonization,” said Muqsit Ashraf, who leads&nbsp;<a href="https://weforum.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6308fe51b420dc9ff3834abc8&amp;id=095135a5bd&amp;e=d66be97e93">Accenture Strategy</a>. “Widespread scaling and adoption of clean power, carbon capture and storage, and energy efficiency technologies across sectors are vital for progress. Additionally, business model innovations can also help stimulate demand and accelerate industrial decarbonization — achieving&nbsp;<a href="https://weforum.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6308fe51b420dc9ff3834abc8&amp;id=08ae963912&amp;e=d66be97e93">net-zero objectives</a>&nbsp;and a resilient energy transition.”



The report acknowledges that recent policy developments can push the industrial net-zero transformation in the right direction. While some advanced economies are enacting large-scale policy measures, emerging economies – which will account for a larger share of future demand for industrial products and transport services – will need help accessing low-emission technologies and solutions.



The report also calls for industrial sectors to focus on the following five areas, and details specific actions for each of the sectors as part of its individual scorecard:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Technology&nbsp;– Prioritize clean power technology across most sectors, commercially scale CCUS in cement, and improve technology to reduce costs for clean hydrogen development.</li>



<li>Infrastructure&nbsp;– Promote shared infrastructure, such as industrial hubs and clusters.</li>



<li>Demand&nbsp;– Create a standardized framework for low-emissions products, a simple emissions-intensity calculator and an auditable carbon-footprint assessment process, improving consumer transparency.</li>



<li>Policy&nbsp;– Align on emissions reduction requirements globally, with policies customized to suit individual country needs and enhance market transparency to increase emission intensity visibility.</li>



<li>Capital&nbsp;– Improve transparency for low-emissions and low-carbon alternatives, strengthen demand signals and reduce capital expenditures through shared infrastructure development.</li>
</ul>



“The Net-Zero Tracker 2023 explores in detail how low-carbon solutions and infrastructure will contribute to increasing the pace of decarbonization in hard-to-abate industries,” said Stephanie Jamison, Accenture’s global Resources industry practice lead and global sustainability services lead. “This depth is essential to help companies create sustainable value and impact as they strive to achieve net-zero carbon emissions.”

power-station-pollution-energy-electricity

Net-Zero Industry Tracker: $13.5 Trillion Investment Needed to Fast-Track Decarbonization of Key Hard-to-Abate Industry Sectors 

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="540" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/OC2PVVRQ6NOYLFNQOHVPDORUKI-1-820x540.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-427539" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/OC2PVVRQ6NOYLFNQOHVPDORUKI-1-820x540.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/OC2PVVRQ6NOYLFNQOHVPDORUKI-1-300x198.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/OC2PVVRQ6NOYLFNQOHVPDORUKI-1-137x90.jpg 137w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/OC2PVVRQ6NOYLFNQOHVPDORUKI-1-768x506.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/OC2PVVRQ6NOYLFNQOHVPDORUKI-1-1536x1012.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/OC2PVVRQ6NOYLFNQOHVPDORUKI-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Bob van Dijk, CEO of e-commerce group Naspers, poses for a photograph in front of the company logo after holding a media briefing in Johannesburg, South Africa, October 9, 2019. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File photo</figcaption></figure>



The immediate and mutually agreed departure of Naspers and Prosus CEO Bob van Dijk underscores a complicated few years for a firm seen riding on the coattails of its holdings in Chinese tech giant, Tencent.



In June, the Dutch-based e-commerce investor, Prosus, which is majority-owned by South African multi-national Naspers won shareholder and regulatory approval to unwind its complex ownership structure.



The South African Reserve Bank gave Naspers the greenlight to begin buying back more of its shares from Prosus.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-getting-rid-of-the-cross-holding"><a></a>‘Getting rid’ of the cross holding</h2>



Prior to the current structure, Naspers (headquartered in South Africa) owned a third of Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings. This was an investment made by current chairman and founder of Naspers, Koos Bekker, as early as 2001, when he paid $34 million for a 46.5% stake in the business.



Van Dijk oversaw the decision to split off its holding of Tencent and other tech holdings into Prosus in 2019. In the meantime, Tencent’s market capitalization rocketed close to $1 trillion as the stock boomed during the Covid-19 pandemic. This meant Naspers made up nearly a quarter of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange which was a problem for some fund managers.



Then in 2021, Naspers developed a crossholding using a share swap deal. Prosus issued new shares to buy a 45.4% stake in Naspers, and this effectively moved a slice of Naspers from the Johannesburg exchange to Amsterdam’s Euronext.



But that crossholding offered little value to investors with van Dijk telling Reuters at the time: “They [shareholders] said we don’t like this cross holding, it creates complexity. We’ve listened to them. And we’re basically getting rid of that now.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-stepping-up"><a></a>Stepping up</h2>



On Monday the business also announced, on a call with investors, that the unwinding of the crossholding had officially been completed with the business now aiming to maintain profitability going into the first half of the 2025 fiscal year.



Erwin Tu, Prosus’ group chief investment officer has been named interim CEO, with Citi saying in a research note that it sees “a good chance of him becoming permanent CEO.



“We suspect the decision has not been sudden, but rather one the company preferred to announce following the completion of the unwind of the cross-holding process,” the Citi analysts said.



Tu was previously a managing partner at the SoftBank Vision Fund where he also co-led M&amp;A and corporate finance for SoftBank Group International. He was also managing director in the technology banking group at Goldman Sachs.



On the Investor call, Bekker said that while Tu had only joined the business in 2021, he was now stepping up and would enjoy the same autonomy as van Dijk, despite this only being a temporary appointment. Bekker also said that the process of finding a new CEO was not one that focused only on internal applicants or candidates but that the lengthy process would also look at external leaders as well.



Tu said the business will continue to “invest in a disciplined way” and that the share repurchase will remain in place for as long as the discount on the net asset value of the companies remained elevated.



Shares of the Naspers slipped 3% Monday in South Africa on the back of the news of Van Dijk’s departure, despite an initial rise of 2% in early deals.



Van Dijk has agreed to remain as a consultant until September next year but has stepped down from the board of both businesses. The company said the group’s strategic goals “remain unchanged and it is on target to deliver on its commitments.”



Van Dijk’s recent pay had come under fire with shareholders objecting to how it was tied to the growth and performance of Tencent. Eighty-percent of Naspers’ decision-bearing shareholders voted against the company’s remuneration policy. Van Dijk reportedly earned 13.5 million euros and 14.2 million euros in 2021 &amp; 2022 with his pay slashed to 5.5 million euros over the last year.

OC2PVVRQ6NOYLFNQOHVPDORUKI-1

Tencent investors Naspers and Prosus announce abrupt departure of CEO Bob van Dijk

By Julia Payne



LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nigeria has failed to capitalise on an oil price boom that has helped cushion other exporters from the impact of inflation, with millions more Nigerians now facing poverty.



Data from Nigeria&#8217;s state oil company NNPC shows that it did not contribute anything to state coffers in the first eight months of 2022, despite crude prices averaging $94 a barrel so far this year, a rise of 42% from last year.



At the heart of Nigeria&#8217;s problem is that despite being Africa&#8217;s biggest oil and gas producer, the country depends almost entirely on imports to cover its gasoline needs.



It then subsidises the cost to consumers, which has created a disparity between the price at the pump and what people pay to fill their tanks in neighbouring countries, such as Benin.



This has led to widespread smuggling, which has in turn driven up the amount of costly gasoline Nigeria imports and wiped out the gains that it should have made from crude exports because it ends up buying far more than it needs.



&#8220;Hundreds of thousands of people (in Benin) organize their survival around this traffic,&#8221; Boris Houenou, a Beninois economist said of the smuggling of Nigerian gasoline.



&#8220;A litre of Nigerian petrol worth $0.45 (per litre) can be passed to Benin for $0.70,&#8221; he added.



Estimates of the amount of gasoline smuggled abroad vary, with some independent researchers putting it at around 15 million litres a day, while NNPC&#8217;s own assessment is 42 million.



Nigerian National Petroleum Co (NNPC) said this month that gasoline smuggling was distorting supplies, adding that it was working to crack down on it.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N30633R&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



The NNPC&#8217;s federal account allocation (FAAC) shows it remitted just over $3 billion from oil and gas sales to Nigeria&#8217;s federal account in 2020, falling to about $1.4 billion in 2021 and dropping to zero in 2022.



Nigerian oil production has fallen to 1-1.2 million bpd from pre-pandemic levels of 1.8 million bpd after decades of under-investment in upstream assets, while pipeline theft is at its highest level in years, at an estimated at 200,000 barrels per day (bpd).&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2WW3WT&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a><a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N30G0SQ&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Gasoline imports, meanwhile, have ballooned to more than double Nigeria&#8217;s estimated needs this year, Reuters calculations based on the FAAC data indicate.



&#8220;We&#8217;ve moved from 30 million litres a day to 90 million during this administration without anything to show that consumption has actually increased,&#8221; said Cheta Nwanze, lead partner at Lagos-based risk consultancy SBM Intelligence.



NNPC recorded gasoline deliveries of 90 million litres a day in March and 83 million in April, Reuters calculations showed. In the same months last year, imports were 64 and 63 million litres respectively, well above national demand.



Nigeria&#8217;s reliance on imported oil products looks set to continue, two industry sources with knowledge of the matter said, with a new refinery near Lagos unlikely to come online until the end of 2023 and a revamp of the 210,000 barrel-per-day Port Harcourt facility expected to take several years.



NNPC and Nigeria&#8217;s finance ministry did not respond to multiple Reuters requests for comment.



&#8216;CURIOUS CASE&#8217;



Although the Nigerian government announced plans to remove the gasoline subsidy last year, it then backtracked in July, citing concerns over potential social unrest.



The World Bank estimates inflationary pressures will tip 7 million more Nigerians into poverty this year, bringing the total to 45% of the population of 200 million.



&#8220;Despite the better-than-expected performance of the services and agriculture sectors and higher oil prices &#8230; Nigeria is experiencing a curious case of lower fiscal revenues,&#8221; Marco Hernandez, World Bank Lead Economist for Nigeria, said in a June development Report.



&#8220;This is limiting the government&#8217;s ability to expand basic services, support the economic recovery, and protect the poor during this difficult time,&#8221; Hernandez added in the report.



Nigeria&#8217;s Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed has repeatedly warned about the high cost of gasoline subsidies, saying the bill could reach $16.2 billion in 2023.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2UI5G7&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a><a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2Z223X&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



And the World Bank estimated that foregone oil revenues would total 5 trillion naira ($12.04 billion) this year due to the subsidy, equivalent to 30% of Nigeria&#8217;s entire budget.



In 2020, NNPC retained 4% of oil and gas sales to cover gasoline subsidies. This rose to 45% last year and in 2022 it has reached 83% of sales.



The increasing fuel subsidy is taking away money from capital expenditure and is a &#8220;major drainer to overall government revenues and fiscal position,&#8221; Nigeria&#8217;s finance ministry said in its latest budget projection in August.



&#8220;The subsidy on Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS) supply has had significant adverse impact on government revenues,&#8221; it added.



Nwanze of SBM Intelligence said: &#8220;The subsidy is a complete waste at this point, but it&#8217;s politically explosive.&#8221;



Nigeria holds presidential elections in February against a backdrop of price rises as a result of the Ukraine crisis and post-pandemic supply chain bottlenecks.



As well as the higher cost of gasoline purchases, a more costly swap contract has also come at a bad time.



Until the end of last year, NNPC covered domestic gasoline needs via Direct Sale Direct Purchase (DSDP) contracts.



Now NNPC is also buying ad hoc cargoes and through a Crude Oil Refining and Direct Partnership Agreement (CORDPA), which involves paying higher premiums and a trader waiting longer to receive its crude delivery as payment.



In May, for example, the DSDP premium was around $10 per tonne of gasoline, while the premium paid under a CORDPA was $22, according to NNPC&#8217;s spreadsheets. Rates vary seasonally and for most of the year these levels had been $35 to about $50 a tonne. NNPC paid up $80 and $100 for some ad hoc cargoes.



And although gasoline is subsidised, the amount ordinary Nigerians pay at the pump remains higher than the set price.



In its FAAC reports for 2021 and 2022, NNPC set its subsidised price at 124 naira ($0.30) per litre, but the average pump price is closer to 200 naira per litre across many states.



&#8220;We should be reaping a bumper harvest but alas we are not,&#8221; lamented one Nigerian official.

Africas Richest Man Builds Nigerias $15 Billion Oil Refinery

ANALYSIS- Nigeria squanders oil price bonanza as gasoline subsidies soar￼

By Victoria Waldersee and Emma-Victoria Farr







FRANKFURT, Sept 29 (Reuters) – Porsche AG made its debut on the stock market on Thursday, with a price tag of about 75 billion euros ($72.45 billion) after Volkswagen priced shares at the top end of the range, braving turbulent market conditions.







<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="536" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Porsche-Emblem_Max-Pixel-820x536.jpg" alt="Porsche Logo" class="wp-image-420162" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Porsche-Emblem_Max-Pixel-820x536.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Porsche-Emblem_Max-Pixel-300x196.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Porsche-Emblem_Max-Pixel-138x90.jpg 138w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Porsche-Emblem_Max-Pixel-768x502.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Porsche-Emblem_Max-Pixel.jpg 960w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Porsche </figcaption></figure>



The bumper flotation, expected to generate around 19.5 billion euros ($19.0 billion), comes as instability in European markets has deterred other share sales by carmakers, including in luxury brands.



The sale values Porsche AG close to the market capitalisation of its parent Volkswagen, which is worth around 84 billion euros, and puts it ahead of rivals like Ferrari .



Books closed on Wednesday on what is one of Europe’s biggest IPOs and the second largest in Germany since Deutsche Telekom made its debut in 1996, at the top end of the 76.50-82.50 euro range it announced earlier this month.



Shares opened at 84.00 euros apiece and traded at 82.88 euros by 0733 GMT.



Shares in Porsche SE fell 5.7% in early Frankfurt trade. Shares in Volkswagen were down 4.9% in early Frankfurt trade.



Companies in continental Europe have raised the smallest amount this year since the 2009 global financial crisis at $44 billion, of which only $4.5 billion comes from IPOs, based on Refinitiv data.



Volkswagen has said the market’s volatility was precisely why fund managers with money to invest were sorely in need of a stable and attractive stock like Porsche AG.



“Porsche was and is the pearl in the Volkswagen Group,” Chris-Oliver Schickentanz, chief investment officer at fund manager Capitell, said.



“The IPO has now made it very, very transparent what value the market brings to Porsche. That, of course, also has a positive effect on Volkswagen shareholders.”



Faced with tens of billions of costs for a radical shift towards electric mobility and software, Volkswagen executives had long mulled listing Porsche, a move executives hoped would both raise much-needed funds and lift Volkswagen’s own value.



The Porsche and Piech families, in turn, will solidify their control over the carmaker with 25%, plus one ordinary share – carrying voting rights – in Porsche AG, effectively giving them a blocking minority in the namesake brand.



Up to 113,875,000 preferred shares, carrying no voting rights, will be sold to investors over the course of the initial public offering. ($1 = 1.0352 euros)



(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee and Emma-Victoria Farr; writing by Victoria Waldersee and Matthias Williams; Editing by Hugh Lawson, Richard Pullin and Jane Merriman)

Porsche Emblem Luxury Logo Design Vehicle Auto

PORSCHE DEBUTS WITH $72 BLN PRICE TAG IN BUMPER IPO

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/oil.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-413529" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/oil.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/oil-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/oil-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></figure>



KINSHASA, July 18 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Democratic Republic of Congo will offer 27 oil blocks and three gas blocks, nearly double as many as previously planned, in a licensing round next week, the hydrocarbons ministry said on Monday.



Congo, a leading miner of copper, cobalt, gold and diamonds, has long aimed to boost its oil sector and is believed to have sizeable reserves. Output has remained flat for years at about 25,000 barrels per day because of underinvestment.



Environmental groups and activists have expressed alarm at the plans, as many of the concessions overlap national parks. Congo has in the past defended its right to drill for oil in national parks.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N1PZ5OO&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



The blocks to be put up for auction on July 28 include three in the coastal basin of Kongo Central province, nine in the Cuvette Centrale, 11 near Lake Tanganyika and four near Lake Albert. The three gas blocks are on Lake Kivu.



The Cuvette Centrale in particular sits on peatlands that scientists say could release massive quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere if disturbed.



Congo had initially planned to auction 16 oil blocks, nine of which overlapped with protected areas. The ministry said in its statement on Monday that it had decided to auction 30 now to maximise opportunities for the country.



(Reporting by Benoit Nyemba; Writing by Nellie Peyton; Editing by Aaron Ross and Susan Fenton)

Congo to offer 30 oil and gas blocks for licensing

KEY POINTS



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Oil prices jumped after EU leaders reached an agreement late Monday to ban 90% of Russian crude by the end of the year.</li><li>The embargo is part of the European Union’s sixth sanctions package on Russia since it invaded Ukraine.</li></ul>



Oil prices jumped after EU leaders reached an agreement late Monday to ban 90% of Russian crude by the end of the year.



During Asia hours on Tuesday,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/@CL.1">U.S. crude futures</a>&nbsp;for July were up 3.53% to $119.12, while&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/@LCO.2">Brent crude futures</a>&nbsp;rose 1.87% to $123.95. At one point, U.S. crude rose to $119.42 per barrel — a 12-week high, according to Refinitiv data.



Contracts for August also traded higher: WTI crude jumped 3.66% to $116.34, and Brent was up nearly 2% to $119.96 per barrel.



The agreement resolves a deadlock after Hungary initially&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/30/eu-to-discuss-watered-down-oil-embargo-on-russia-as-hungary-holds-firm.html">held up talks</a>. Hungary is a major user of Russian oil and its leader, Viktor Orban, has been on friendly terms with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/vladimir-putin/">Russia’s Vladimir Putin</a>.



Charles Michel, president of the European Council, said the move would immediately hit 75% of Russian oil imports.



The embargo is part of the European Union’s sixth sanctions package on&nbsp;Russia&nbsp;since it invaded Ukraine. Talks to impose an oil embargo have been underway since the start of the month.



“The European Council agrees that the sixth package of sanctions against Russia will cover crude oil, as well as petroleum products, delivered from Russia into Member States, with a temporary exception for crude oil delivered by pipeline,” according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2022/05/31/european-council-conclusions-on-ukraine-30-may-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">May 31 statement from</a>&nbsp;the European Council.



The European Council added that in case of “sudden interruptions” of supply, “emergency measures” will be introduced to ensure security of supply.



That temporary exception covers the remaining Russian oil not yet banned, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a press conference.



“We have agreed that the Council will revert to the topic as soon as possible in one way or the other. So this is a topic where we will come back to and where we will still have to work on, but this is a big step forward, what we did today,” she said, referring to the temporary exemption.



Von der Leyen explained that the temporary exemption was granted so that Hungary, along with Slovakia and the Czech Republic — all connected to the southern leg of the pipeline — have access which they cannot easily replace.



Roughly 36% of the EU’s oil imports come from Russia, a country that plays an outsized role in global oil markets.



The ban could exacerbate worries over an already-tight energy market. Energy prices have soared over the past year, contributing to a heated inflationary environment in many countries.



“While pipeline imports were not included in this agreement, an embargo on seaborne oil imports is still significant, accounting for around two thirds of the EU’s oil imports from Russia,” Vivek Dhar, director of mining and energy commodities research at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, wrote in a note following the news.



“A further ban on Russian Crude delivered by shipments will tighten already strained supply amid rising demand due to onset of driving season in [the] United States,” wrote Avtar Sandu, senior manager of commodities at trading platform Philip Nova.



Meanwhile, OPEC+ is expected to stick to its original plan of a modest increase of 432,000 barrels a day for July, Sandu added.

107006470-1643191219978-gettyimages-1237968413-UKRAINE_ODESSA-1

Oil prices jump after EU leaders agree to ban most Russian crude imports

KEY POINTS



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>“China and India are expected to become the world’s largest and third largest economies respectively in the next decade while their consumers will increasingly dictate global tastes and trends,” Bird said.</li><li>Abrdn – which has around $586.35 billion in assets under management as of most recent results – has observed that interest in sustainable investment among local investors is also on the rise.</li><li>Bird urged Asian governments to strengthen the credibility of their net zero commitments, offering investors greater surety in allocating capital to the region.</li></ul>



Indian and Chinese stock market capitalization may grow fourfold by 2050 as Asia turns from “laggard to leader” in the climate transition, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/ABDN-GB" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Abrdn</a>&nbsp;CEO Stephen Bird.



In a letter seen by CNBC marking the 30-year anniversary of the British investment company’s first Asian office opening in Singapore, Bird lauded the economic transformation over the last three decades that has seen more than a billion people lifted out of poverty.



He also noted that the region’s share of the global economy has become eight times larger than it was during the Asia Financial Crisis of 1997.



“Capital markets have also evolved and the region has switched from being mostly a destination for foreign investors to one where local investors dominate its markets,” Bird said.



He added that “the next 30 years looks to be every bit as exciting as the last,” and recommended investors remain calm during periods of volatility, keeping their “eye on the long game.”



Chinese stocks have endured a bruising year as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/26/china-holds-an-unprecedented-massive-videoconference-on-the-economy.html">President Xi Jinping’s “zero-Covid” strategy has stifled economic activity</a>&nbsp;and caused supply chain bottlenecks that have rippled through global markets.



<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/GS" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Goldman Sachs</a> analysts recently said they were <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/20/goldman-sachs-picks-chinese-stocks-set-to-benefit-from-covid-reopening.html">“seeing light at the end of the tunnel,”</a> and Bird supported the long-term view that Asian equities can transition from “laggards to leaders,” in terms of both performance and their role in tackling the climate crisis.



“China and India are expected to become the world’s largest and third largest economies respectively in the next decade while their consumers will increasingly dictate global tastes and trends. Capitalization of their equity markets could also increase by a factor of four or more by 2050,” Bird predicted.



“Other countries in the region present exciting opportunities too. Bangladesh, Indonesia and Vietnam have some of the highest potential growth rates in the world, while Japan and South Korea’s aging populations have built up significant savings that need to be put to better work. And, as the region’s most open global financial center, Singapore will be at the heart of all of it.”



However, Bird acknowledged that progress is unlikely to be linear, with the globalization that has driven Asia’s economic growth in danger of fizzling out and climate change posing an “acute challenge” for the region.



“A by-product of Asia’s growth is that it has accounted for the lion’s share of the increase in global carbon emissions over the past three decades. This increased human footprint is also evident in rising air pollution and biodiversity loss,” he said.



While Asia alone cannot solve the climate crisis, its major economies must find ways to decouple their economic growth from fossil fuels, Bird suggested. Most major economies in the region have now adopted net-zero targets, while Asia is also playing a role in developing technological solutions to climate change.



“Whether in the form of solar panels, batteries for electric vehicles or green hydrogen, decarbonisation is dependent on Asian innovation,” Bird said.



Abrdn – which has around £464 billion ($586.35 billion) in assets under management as of most recent results – has observed that interest in sustainable investment among local investors is also on the rise, along with active engagement between asset managers and companies, creating potential opportunities for new forms of “sustainability-linked loans and bonds.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-taking-action">Taking action</h3>



Bird – who took the reins of Abrdn in September 2020 after a 21-year career with Citigroup’s Asian and Latin American operations – urged Asian governments to strengthen the credibility of their net zero commitments, offering investors greater surety in allocating capital to the region.



“More countries should follow China’s lead and establish carbon pricing which would bring certainty and encourage investment in low-carbon technologies and infrastructure. The revenue generated could be recycled into ensuring that the zero-carbon transition is a just one,” he said.



“We would also encourage the greater use of dedicated climate-related instruments such as green bonds; this would help align the interests of capital markets participants while the increased issuance would also encourage portfolio diversification.”



The continent’s political, trade and economic forums should be an opportunity to harmonize climate and sustainability standards, Bird said, suggesting a continent-wide common framework could strengthen financial flows into Asia.



“This century is Asia’s century. It must also be the century in which economic objectives are reconciled with sustainability goals,” Bird concluded. “The financial industry can and must play a pivotal role in converging these two priorities, guiding investment to support both outcomes.”

Stock market exchange graph price drop with red numbers investment lose of business financial digital background – Candle stick charts stock crash crisis fall risk decreasing arrow down trend sell

Indian and Chinese stock markets could grow fourfold by 2050, Abrdn CEO says

May 31 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South African miner Gold Fields Ltd&nbsp;GFIJ.J&nbsp;on Tuesday agreed to buy Canada-based precious metals miner Yamana Gold Inc&nbsp;YRI.TO&nbsp;in an all-share deal, valuing the Toronto-listed company at $6.7 billion.



Gold Fields said its shareholders will own about 61% of the combined group, while Yamana Gold shareholders will own around 39% after the deal completes.



The South African miner said Yamana&#8217;s board has unanimously approved the deal and also recommended its shareholders to vote in favour of the offer.



The offer consists of new shares or newly issued American Depositary Shares in Gold Fields at a fixed exchange ratio of 0.6 of a Gold Fields share for each Yamana share outstanding.



Shares of Yamana will be delisted from the stock markets, while Gold Fields will continue trading in Johannesburg, where the combined group will have their headquarters.



(Reporting by Amna Karimi and Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Uttaresh.V and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

P5SMH45ZXZISHHJMFTO3TFOVFQ

S.Africa’s Gold Fields to buy Yamana Gold in $6.7 bln deal

By MacDonald Dzirutwe and Abraham Achirga



ABUJA, May 28 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nigeria&#8217;s former vice president, veteran politician Atiku Abubakar, will run for president again next year after the main opposition party picked him as its candidate to stand in elections to succeed incumbent Muhammadu Buhari.



Abubakar, 75, lost to Buhari during the last election in 2019, which he claimed was rigged. But Buhari will not be on the ballot next year when the second of his two four-year terms comes to an end.



The People&#8217;s Democratic Party (PDP) party, which ruled Nigeria after military rule ended in 1999, was ousted from power by Buhari&#8217;s All Progressives Congress (APC) party in 2015. The PDP is vying for a return to governing Africa&#8217;s biggest economy.



Vote counting started late on Saturday and Abubakar garnered 371 votes, defeating his nearest rival, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, governor of oil-producing Rivers state, who received 237 votes.



In his acceptance speech, Abubakar reiterated his campaign promise to end insecurity in the country and revive its fragile economy, among other pledges, and promised to work with his opponents.



&#8220;I therefore pledge that I will restore unity. I also committed that I was going to deal decisively with the security situation in this country,&#8221; said Abubakar.



Abubakar has stood in six primaries, and next year&#8217;s vote will be his third presidential bid.



From 1999 to 2007, he was vice president to Olusegun Obasanjo, the first Nigerian leader after the end of decades of military rule.



Abubakar&#8217;s main opponent will be from the ruling APC party, which will choose its candidate at a special convention to be held from June 6-8. The APC postponed its presidential primary from Sunday after the electoral commission extended the deadline for political parties to choose their candidates.



Twenty-five candidates from the APC have registered to take part in the primaries. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and former Lagos state Governor and party heavyweight Bola Tinubu are seen as the ruling party&#8217;s front-runners.



Buhari&#8217;s successor faces several challenges, from insecurity marked by kidnappings for ransom in the northwest, an Islamist insurgency in the northeast, secessionist violence in the southeast, and a struggling economy and high inflation.



(Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Sandra Maler and Jonathan Oatis)

Nigeria’s opposition picks Abubakar to run for president again￼

<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Prices of fuel, transport and drugs on the increase</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Aid groups forced to cancel or review projects</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Cost of peanut paste for malnourished kids also rises</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Some countries diverting aid money to Ukraine crisis</li></ul>



By Edward McAllister



DAKAR, May 30 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;A small charity broke ground this year on a clinic in northern Burkina Faso to care for thousands of women and children who have fled Islamist insurgents wreaking havoc along the fringes of the Sahara.



But when Russia invaded Ukraine in February, global supply chains buckled and the cost of building materials, fuel and food spiked in West Africa. The charity&#8217;s founder, Boukary Ouedraogo, was forced to make a tough decision: he halted construction of the clinic with only the foundations laid.



Similar calls are being made across sub-Saharan Africa, where aid projects are threatened by the fallout from the war in Ukraine, potentially putting millions of lives at risk.



Humanitarian agencies already struggling with widespread price increases under the pandemic say the crisis in Europe has made things worse. Even the cost of life-saving therapeutic foods for malnourished children has spiked.



Compounding the problem, some donors have diverted state aid from Africa&#8217;s worst-hit countries to help support more than six million refugees who have fled the fighting in Ukraine.



Denmark said in March it was halving its aid to Burkina Faso this year to accommodate Ukrainian refugees. Its budget for Burkina&#8217;s neighbour Mali, also in the grips of an Islamist insurgency, has dropped 40%.



Sweden has also said it plans to divert $1 billion from its aid budget to help cover the cost of hosting Ukrainian refugees.



Ouedraogo&#8217;s clinic was desperately needed in Kaya, a town of dirt streets and squat brick buildings surrounded by arid scrubland. Its population has swelled in recent years as thousands of people from surrounding villages flee militant attacks, straining the already basic health care system.



&#8220;What happened in Ukraine happened at the same time as the crisis in this country got worse,&#8221; said Ouedraogo, who runs the BO Foundation in Burkina Faso.



&#8220;We hope all the donors can keep their attention,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We felt what we were doing was going to reduce the number of deaths and infant mortality.&#8221;



EMERGENCY LEVELS



It&#8217;s a similar story in Sudan. In a southern area faced with conflict and food shortages, a paediatric clinic run by Senegal-based medical charity Alima faces a $300,000 funding gap due to an increase in costs, including fuel for the clinic&#8217;s generator.



At this rate, Alima will have to shut the programme down, said its director of operations, Kader Issaley.



Action Against Hunger, a charity with operations across Africa, has seen the cost of foodstuffs such as rice, oil and sugar rise 20% to 30% over the past year.



This will reduce its coverage by the same amount, said Mamadou Diop, a representative from its West Africa office.



&#8220;We have to totally rethink our approach,&#8221; said Diop. &#8220;We must decide, do we reduce supply or reduce the number of beneficiaries?&#8221;



The problem is not limited to Africa. The U.N.&#8217;s World Food Programme (WFP) feeds 13 million people a month in Yemen, where the economy has been wrecked by years of war, but it has reduced rations for 8 million of them since January.



It may have to make further cuts, after raising only a quarter of the $2 billion it needs for Yemen this year from international donors.



&#8220;We&#8217;re taking food from the poor and feeding the hungry,&#8221; said WFP representative to Yemen, Richard Ragan.



&#8220;In June we will have to make some tough decisions about possibly even going down to just feeding five million, those who are really most at risk,&#8221; he said&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2XE07I&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



UNIQUE IN SCOPE



Still, Africa&#8217;s problems are unique in scope.



Conflict in Ethiopia, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo and the Sahel region have forced millions to flee their homes. Nearly half a billion people live in extreme poverty, according to the World Bank.



West Africa alone faces an unprecedented food shortage that threatens nearly 40 million people, driven in part by drought and the impact of the war in Ukraine on food prices and supply.



The impact of higher costs on aid organisations varies, health specialists say.



Smaller non-profits reliant on institutional donors such as governments for yearly budgets may struggle more than a larger charity such as Medecins Sans Frontieres, which raises money through public campaigns.



MSF said it did not foresee cutting back its operations due to the war in Ukraine.



But few are immune. A drop in funding that preceded the Ukraine war has forced WFP to cut rations in seven countries in West and Central Africa.



In Nigeria, the continent&#8217;s most populous country, the number of people receiving emergency assistance from WFP has dropped from 1.9 million in September to 650,000.



Like Burkina Faso and Mali, northern Nigeria is also wracked by a prolonged Islamist insurgency.



Health specialists and aid workers said it was too early to assess exactly what the impact on communities will be and it could take months to see how much damage the cutbacks cause.



&#8220;Further funding shortfalls will contribute to worsening food security and nutrition in locations where food insecurity is already at emergency levels,&#8221; said WFP spokesman for Western Africa, Djaounsede Madjiangar.



PLUMPY&#8217;NUT SPIKE



In Somalia, one-year-old Hassan howled in a blue plastic bucket suspended from a scale as a medical technician noted his weight: 5.6 kg.



It was an improvement. Hassan weighed only 5.2 kg when he first began receiving treatment for severe acute malnutrition at a clinic run by aid workers in the south of the country three months ago &#8211; about half what a boy his age should weigh.



His partial recovery is thanks to a sweet peanut paste called Plumpy&#8217;Nut developed by French scientists in the 1990s that has become a crucial weapon in the fight against child malnutrition.



Three small sachets a day for six weeks can be enough to bring a starving child back to full health, according to U.N. children&#8217;s charity UNICEF.



&#8220;He used to be much worse,&#8221; said the boy&#8217;s mother, Hasan Habiba Mohammed Nur, patting his bony legs under an oversized T-shirt. &#8220;The Plumpy&#8217;Nut has really helped him.&#8221;



UNICEF says it spends $137 million a year on therapeutic food and the overall market is estimated to be worth up to $400 million.



But aid agencies say it is becoming too expensive.



Over the past year, the cost of Plumpy&#8217;Nut has risen 23%, including a 9% increase imposed since the Ukraine crisis began, Plumpy&#8217;Nut&#8217;s main producer Nutriset, told Reuters.



In a letter to customers in March warning of impending price increases, it said the cost of ingredients such as palm oil, milk powder and whey, and packaging including laminate for the sachets, had risen sharply. Shipping expenses have also rocketed. In all, costs are up 39%, Nutriset said.



&#8220;The war in Ukraine is indirectly impacting the price of raw materials, and prices will continue to increase even more in the weeks and months to come,&#8221; Nutriset said.



The increases worry UNICEF. It predicts that prices of therapeutic foods will rise 16% in the next six months because of Ukraine and pandemic disruptions. Without further funding, 600,000 more children may miss out on treatment, it said in May.



The effects are already being felt, aid workers say.



Alima&#8217;s budget to buy and ship a batch of Plumpy&#8217;Nut to a project in an impoverished area in the southeast of Democratic Republic of Congo is about 175,000 euros ($188,000).



But with a rise in fuel costs and the price of Plumpy&#8217;Nut, the shipment now costs 230,000 euros, said Hassan Bouziane, who runs logistics at Alima.



He now has to go to donors to get more cash, taking up valuable time.



&#8220;The impact on the beneficiaries will be huge,&#8221; said Bouziane. &#8220;The treatment for a child of five years old is six weeks. When you lose two weeks, that is a third of their treatment.&#8221;



($1 = 0.9333 euros)



(Reporting by Edward McAllister in Dakar and Katharine Houreld in Dollow, Somalia; Editing by Mike Collett-White and David Clarke)

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Ukraine war hits Africa’s most vulnerable as aid costs spike

KINSHASA, May 28 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Democratic Republic of Congo has summoned Rwanda&#8217;s ambassador and suspended RwandAir flights to Congo in response to what it says is Kigali&#8217;s support for M23 rebels carrying out a military offensive in its eastern borderlands.



Rwanda denies supporting the rebels, who advanced as close as 20 km (12 miles) this week to eastern Congo&#8217;s main city of Goma and briefly captured the army&#8217;s largest base in the area.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2XJ0HI&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Congo and U.N. investigators had also accused Kigali of supporting the M23 during a 2012-2013 insurrection that took Goma before being forced back and chased into Uganda and Rwanda. Kigali denied doing so.



Congo&#8217;s government spokesman Patrick Muyaya announced the suspension of flights from Rwanda&#8217;s national carrier and the summoning of the ambassador late Friday night following a meeting of the national defence council.



He said the government had designated the M23 a terrorist group and would exclude it from negotiations being held in Kenya with militia groups active in eastern Congo.



&#8220;A warning was made to the Rwandans, whose attitude is likely to disrupt the peace process &#8230; where all the armed groups, except for the M23, are committed to the path to peace,&#8221; Muyaya said.



Rwanda&#8217;s government was not immediately available for comment on Saturday.



On its website, Rwanda&#8217;s army requested the release of two Rwandan soldiers it said were &#8220;kidnapped&#8221; along its border with Congo.



An image circulating on social media of two men in Rwandan military uniforms surrounded by Congolese soldiers has been cited by Congolese users as evidence of the Rwandan army&#8217;s presence inside Congo.



Congo&#8217;s government has not commented on the photo, but Muyaya presented video footage during his remarks showing munitions and a military uniform that he said belonged to Rwandan forces and were recovered by the Congolese army.



The M23 and Rwanda&#8217;s government have, in turn, accused Congo&#8217;s army of collaborating with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a militia founded by ethnic Hutus who fled Rwanda after participating in the 1994 genocide. Congo denies this.



Rwanda invaded Congo in 1996 to pursue the militiamen. Eastern Congo has experienced near constant conflict since then due to foreign invasions and insurgencies by rebel groups.



(Reporting by Stanis Bujakera and Fiston Mahamba; Additional reporting by Clement Uwiringiyimana in Kigali; Writing by Aaron Ross, Editing by Ros Russell)

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Congo suspends flights from Rwanda over Kigali’s alleged support for rebels

May 27 (Reuters) The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is looking into Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk&#8217;s disclosure of his stake in Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) in early April, according to a letter the agency sent to him in April.



In the letter, now made public by the SEC, the regulator asks Musk why it appears he did not file required paperwork within 10 days of the acquisition, and to provide more information on his public statements on the platform regarding whether Twitter adheres to free speech principles.



Specifically, the SEC asked Musk to explain why he opted to ultimately file a &#8220;13G&#8221; disclosure form, which is meant for investors who plan to hold their shares passively instead of a &#8220;13D&#8221; form, which is for activist investors who intend influence management and policies of the company.



Spokespeople for the SEC and Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment.



Outside experts had previously said Musk&#8217;s late filing, and that he may have used improper paperwork, could attract the attention of the SEC, which has sparred with Musk in the past.



The SEC&#8217;s letter is dated the same day Musk disclosed a 9.2% stake in Twitter. The billionaire, who has since offered to the Twitter private for $44 billion, has been sued by investors claiming he manipulated the company&#8217;s stock price downward.



The Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) chief executive officer has landed in trouble with the SEC before, when the agency sued him in 2018 after he tweeted he had &#8220;funding secured&#8221; to potentially take the electric car company private at $420 per share. In reality, a buyout was not close.



Reporting by Nivedita Balu and Sweta Singh in Bengaluru, Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Pete Schroeder in Washington Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Mark Potter

Elon Musk

U.S. SEC looking into Musk’s Twitter stake purchase

ADDIS ABABA, May 27 (Reuters)



Ethiopia&#8217;s state-appointed human rights body called on Friday for the release of 16 journalists and media personnel after new arrests in recent days in the capital Addis Ababa and the restive region of Amhara.



Press watchdogs and rights groups say Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed&#8217;s government is increasingly intimidating the media and harassing opponents as it seeks to quell unrest in regions.



Ethiopian authorities have been particularly cracking down in Amhara and Oromiya regions recently. They justify arrests of media personnel by accusing them of siding with rebels. 



In the latest round-up, Temesgen Desalegn of Feteh Magazine and Yayesew Shimelis of Ethio Forum Media were held on Thursday in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said.



Last week, Amhara authorities arrested five journalists of media outlet Ashara in a move thought linked to their coverage of a volunteer militia known as Fano. 



On the same day, Amhara authorities also arrested another four employees of U.S.-based online outlet Nisir International Broadcasting. 



Rights commission head Daniel Bekele said the total number of detained journalists was now 16 and urged their immediate release.



&#8220;No claim about the alleged offense committed through media justifies violation of the newly adopted media law which clearly prohibits pre-trial detention of persons charged with committing an offense through the media,&#8221; he said in a statement.



Government spokesperson Legesse Tulu did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Bekele&#8217;s statement.



But the government put out a warning to the media in a statement last week: &#8220;The government will continue to take irreversible measures on individuals involved in illegal activities who are planning and working to create havoc and chaos, also on those wearing a cloak of media outlets and journalists.&#8221;



Reporting by Nairobi Newsroom; Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne

News

Before the bell: Today’s Business News

Daily Open: ABSA PMI’s Positive Streak Amid Persistent Challenges, GNU Cabinet Announced

Africa’s Billionaires 2024

Impala Platinum halts some South African mines after 11 workers died

Net-Zero Industry Tracker: $13.5 Trillion Investment Needed to Fast-Track Decarbonization of Key Hard-to-Abate Industry Sectors

Tencent investors Naspers and Prosus announce abrupt departure of CEO Bob van Dijk

ANALYSIS- Nigeria squanders oil price bonanza as gasoline subsidies soar

PORSCHE DEBUTS WITH $72 BLN PRICE TAG IN BUMPER IPO

Congo to offer 30 oil and gas blocks for licensing

Oil prices jump after EU leaders agree to ban most Russian crude imports

Indian and Chinese stock markets could grow fourfold by 2050, Abrdn CEO says

S.Africa’s Gold Fields to buy Yamana Gold in $6.7 bln deal

Nigeria’s opposition picks Abubakar to run for president again

Ukraine war hits Africa’s most vulnerable as aid costs spike

Congo suspends flights from Rwanda over Kigali’s alleged support for rebels

U.S. SEC looking into Musk’s Twitter stake purchase

Ethiopian rights body seeks release of 16 detained journalists

News Tips

Advertise With Us

News

Before the bell: Today’s Business News

Daily Open: ABSA PMI’s Positive Streak Amid Persistent Challenges, GNU Cabinet Announced

Africa’s Billionaires 2024

Impala Platinum halts some South African mines after 11 workers died

Net-Zero Industry Tracker: $13.5 Trillion Investment Needed to Fast-Track Decarbonization of Key Hard-to-Abate Industry Sectors

Tencent investors Naspers and Prosus announce abrupt departure of CEO Bob van Dijk

ANALYSIS- Nigeria squanders oil price bonanza as gasoline subsidies soar￼

PORSCHE DEBUTS WITH $72 BLN PRICE TAG IN BUMPER IPO

Congo to offer 30 oil and gas blocks for licensing

Oil prices jump after EU leaders agree to ban most Russian crude imports

Indian and Chinese stock markets could grow fourfold by 2050, Abrdn CEO says

S.Africa’s Gold Fields to buy Yamana Gold in $6.7 bln deal

Nigeria’s opposition picks Abubakar to run for president again￼

Ukraine war hits Africa’s most vulnerable as aid costs spike

Congo suspends flights from Rwanda over Kigali’s alleged support for rebels

U.S. SEC looking into Musk’s Twitter stake purchase

Ethiopian rights body seeks release of 16 detained journalists

News Tips

Advertise With Us

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ANALYSIS- Nigeria squanders oil price bonanza as gasoline subsidies soar

Nigeria’s opposition picks Abubakar to run for president again