LONDON, April 19 (Reuters) &#8211; Traders waited to see whether a series of Asian tenders would help alleviate a glut of West African barrels as differentials were steady amid refinery maintenance season and slow sales.
* Traders awaited results of a buy tender from Indonesia&#8217;s Pertamina which closed on Friday.
* Taiwan&#8217;s CPC and Thailand&#8217;s PTT are set to issue new buy tenders this week for July-delivery crude.
* The tenders could absorb a large glut of Nigerian crude.
* India&#8217;s IOC purchased at least 5 million barrels of June-loading Nigerian crude in its tender closing on Friday.
* Angola will export at least 36 cargoes in June, with revisions to the provisional programme still expected to add at least a couple more cargoes.
* Up to 10 May loading cargoes of Angolan crude were still available for sale, in an especially slow trading cycle.
RELATED NEWS
* China boosted the flow of crude oil into storage tanks in March as strong imports and domestic output exceeded an increase in the volume of fuel being processed by refiners.
* Russia&#8217;s Rosneft issued a spot tender to sell 90,000 tonnes of CPC Blend crude oil loading from Black Sea&#8217;s Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka terminal on May 25-26 in a spot tender, two traders familiar with the tender told Reuters. (Reporting by Noah Browning; Editing by David Gregorio) ))
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W. Africa Crude-Tenders in focus while trading is slow

JOHANNESBURG, April 19 (Reuters) &#8211; MTN Rwandacell Plc, majority-owned by South Africa&#8217;s MTN Group, said on Monday trading in existing shares worth about $365 million would start in Rwanda on May 4 after it obtained approvals from authorities and a minority shareholder.
The move to start trading existing shares, known as a listing by introduction, is part of MTN group&#8217;s plan to promote local ownership and participation in MTN businesses across its markets and also provide liquidity for existing shareholders.
MTN Rwanda said the listing was approved by Rwanda&#8217;s Capital Market Authority and the Rwanda Stock Exchange.
Crystal Telecom&#8217;s (CTL) shareholders have also approved distributing the 20% of MTN Rwanda shares held by CTL to CTL shareholders effective from the listing date, it added.
CTL shareholders will therefore become direct shareholders in MTN Rwanda and be able to trade their MTN Rwanda shares on the stock exchange.
MTN said it would list 1.350 billion ordinary shares with a nominal value of 1 Rwandan francs each at an initial listing price of 269 Rwandan francs, valuing the carrier at 363 billion Rwandan francs ($365 million).
&#8220;We look forward to participating in the capital markets of Rwanda and see this as an exciting opportunity for the investor community at large to participate directly in the ownership of MTN Rwanda,&#8221; MTN Rwanda CEO Mitwa Ng’ambi said in a statement.
($1 = 995.8300 Rwandan francs) (Reporting by Nqobile Dludla. Editing by Mark Potter)
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MTN Rwanda to list on May 4 in $365 mln flotation

LONDON, April 19 (Reuters) &#8211; Citigroup has tasked one of its most senior London-based bankers with leading a newly-launched technology and communications franchise as it seeks to boost its advisory business amid a wave of deals triggered by digital disruption.
British-born Philip Drury &#8211; who has been leading Citi&#8217;s banking, capital markets and advisory business across Europe, the Middle East and Africa since 2018 &#8211; will quit London to take on a new global role as Tech &amp; Comms&#8217; head out of San Francisco, where he will move as soon as a replacement for his previous job is found.
His appointment comes as digital transformation has proved to be a key driver of dealmaking since the second half of 2020, with companies around the world using technology and data analytics to cope with the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic.
&#8220;Tech &amp; Comms is one of the fastest growing franchises in global banking, capital markets and advisory and represents one of the greatest opportunities to close our competitive gap,&#8221; said the memo which was signed by Tyler Dickson and Manuel Falco, co-heads of Citi&#8217;s banking, capital markets and advisory (BCMA) business.
Drury joined Citi in 2000 as an equity capital markets (ECM) banker based in New York and quickly rose through the ranks to lead ECM coverage in the Americas in 2011.
In his new role, he will work closely with Citi&#8217;s global technology heads &#8211; Mark Keene and Herb Yeh &#8211; as well as its three global heads of communications &#8211; Gordon Kroft, Dan Richards and Wilhelm Schulz &#8211; and its global head of tech &amp; comms for corporate banking, Erik Arveschoug.
Citi also announced that BCMA&#8217;s vice chairman Mark Hantho will become chairman of the newly-launched tech &amp; comms unit. (Reporting by Pamela Barbaglia. Editing by Mark Potter)
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Citi taps Drury to lead newly launched Tech & Comms franchise – memo

By Will Dunham
April 19 (Reuters) &#8211; In dense tropical forests in Sierra Leone, scientists have rediscovered a coffee species not seen in the wild in decades &#8211; a plant they say may help secure the future of this valuable commodity that has been imperiled by climate change.
The researchers said on Monday that the species, called Coffea stenophylla, possesses greater tolerance for higher temperatures than the Arabica coffee that makes up 56% of global production and the robusta coffee that makes up 43%. The stenophylla coffee, they added, was demonstrated to have a superior flavor, similar to Arabica.
Botanist Aaron Davis, who led the study published in the journal Nature Plants, said stenophylla was farmed in parts of West Africa and exported to Europe until the early 20th century before being abandoned as a crop after robusta&#8217;s introduction.
Many farmers throughout the world&#8217;s coffee-growing belt already are experiencing climate change&#8217;s negative effects, an acute concern for the multibillion dollar industry.
Arabica&#8217;s flavor is rated as superior and brings higher prices than robusta, which is mainly used for instant coffee and coffee blends. But Arabica has limited resilience to climate change and research has shown its global production could fall by at least 50% by mid-century.
Stenophylla grows at a mean annual temperature of 24.9 degrees Celsius (76.8 degrees Fahrenheit) &#8211; 1.9 degrees C (3.42 degrees F) higher than robusta coffee and up to 6.8°C (12.24 degrees F) higher than Arabica coffee, the researchers said.
The stenophylla rediscovery, Davis said, may help in the &#8220;future-proofing&#8221; of a coffee industry that supports the economy of several tropical countries and provides livelihoods for more than 100 million farmers. While 124 coffee species are known, Arabica and robusta comprise 99% of consumption.
&#8220;The idea is that stenophylla could be used, with minimum domestication, as a high-value coffee for farmers in warmer climates,&#8221; said Davis, head of coffee research at Britain&#8217;s Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
&#8220;For the longer term, stenophylla provides us with an important resource for breeding a new generation of climate-resilient coffee crop plants, given that it possesses a great flavor and heat tolerance. If the historic reports of resistance to coffee leaf rust and drought tolerance are found to be correct, this would represent further useful assets for coffee plant breeding,&#8221; Davis added.
Leaf rust is a fungal disease that has devastated coffee crops in Central and South America.
The study included flavor assessments involving 18 coffee-tasting experts. Stenophylla was found to have a complex flavor profile, with natural sweetness, medium-high acidity, fruitiness and good &#8220;body&#8221; &#8211; the way it feels in the mouth.
In December 2018, Davis and study co-authors Jeremy Haggar of the University of Greenwich and coffee development specialist Daniel Sarmu searched for stenophylla in the wild. They initially spotted a single plant in central Sierra Leone. About 140 km (87 miles) away in southeastern Sierra Leone, they found a healthy wild stenophylla population.
&#8220;Both locations were thick tropical forest, but stenophylla tends to occur on drier, more open areas: ridges, slopes and rocky areas,&#8221; Davis said.
Stenophylla had not been seen in the wild in Sierra Leone since 1954 and anywhere since the 1980s in Ivory Coast, Davis said. A few examples were held in coffee research collections.
Davis said stenophylla is threatened with extinction amid large-scale deforestation in the three countries where it has been known to grow in the wild: Sierra Leone, Guinea and Ivory Coast.
Unlike the red and occasionally yellow fruit of Arabica and robusta plants, stenophylla&#8217;s fruit are intense black. The coffee beans are inside the fruit.
&#8220;I think we&#8217;re hugely optimistic for the future that stenophylla can bring,&#8221; said Jeremy Torz, co-founder of the specialty coffee business Union Hand-Roasted Coffee in East London where part of the taste-testing was held.
(Reporting by Will Dunham in Washington; Additional reporting by Stuart McDill in London; Editing by Rosalba O&#8217;Brien)
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A rediscovered forgotten species brews promise for coffee’s future

LONDON, April 19 (Reuters) &#8211; Britain has seen some community transmission of the coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa, health minister Matt Hancock said on Monday, though he said around two-thirds of cases were related to international travel.
&#8220;However, we have seen a small amount of community transmission too. As soon as these cases are discovered, we acted quickly,&#8221; Hancock said. (Reporting by William James, writing by Alistair Smout; editing by James Davey)
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Britain seeing some community transmission of S African coronavirus variant -minister

JOHANNESBURG, April 19 (Reuters) &#8211; The South African government&#8217;s compensation fund to cover potential injuries from COVID-19 vaccines could cost around 250 million rand ($17.5 million) in the first year, the health minister said in response to questions in parliament.
The African country hardest-hit by the coronavirus pandemic in terms of infections and deaths told vaccine manufacturers Johnson &amp; Johnson and Pfizer it would set up the fund during negotiations to buy shots.
&#8220;A contingent liability of approximately R250 million for the first year would be provided for compensation of vaccine injury in a COVID-19 Vaccine NFC (no-fault compensation) Fund,&#8221; Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said in written replies to a lawmaker.
Mkhize said the potential cost was based on an estimate of between 800 and 2,000 successful claims and included the administrative costs of the fund. He said a committee of experts would develop a vaccine injury table to assess compensation applications.
The minister said last week that the government had agreed to fully indemnify J&amp;J and Pfizer against third-party claims and that vaccine manufacturers had made &#8220;difficult and sometimes unreasonable&#8221; demands during negotiations including non-refundable downpayments.
A J&amp;J spokeswoman said on Monday that the company was still in talks with the South African government and was committed to making its vaccine available at a not-for-profit price.
Pfizer did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday but told Reuters last week it sought indemnity and liability protections in all its agreements, consistent with local laws.
J&amp;J and Pfizer will supply South Africa with a combined 61 million vaccine doses, helping to ramp up immunisations after a slow start.
To date, South Africa has vaccinated roughly 290,000 health workers with J&amp;J&#8217;s one-dose vaccine in a research study, but last week it paused the study while regulators interrogate a possible link between J&amp;J&#8217;s vaccine and rare cases of blood clots.
The government expects the first commercial batch of J&amp;J doses later this month and doses of Pfizer&#8217;s two-shot vaccine next month.
Between the J&amp;J and Pfizer deals, South Africa has secured enough vaccines for 46 million of its roughly 60 million people.
In the 2021 budget presented in February, the government said it could spend up to 19.3 billion rand over three fiscal years on its vaccination programme.
($1 = 14.2289 rand) (Reporting by Alexander Winning Editing by Gareth Jones)
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South Africa’s vaccine compensation fund could cost $17.5 mln in first year

SAO PAULO, April 19 (Reuters) &#8211; Brazilian health regulator Anvisa has authorized clinical trials of a new COVID vaccine developed by China&#8217;s Sichuan Clover Biopharmaceuticals, according to a statement on Monday.
Anvisa said the company was authorized to conduct Phase II and III trials in Brazil. Sichuan Clover is planning to test the vaccine on 22,000 volunteers in Latin America, South Africa, Belgium, China, Spain, Poland and United Kingdom.
(Reporting by Eduardo Simoes, writing by Carolina Mandl; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
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Brazil’s health regulator greenlights trials of new Chinese vaccine

By Chijioke Ohuocha
ABUJA, April 19 (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria&#8217;s biggest lender Access Bank said on Monday it has agreed to buy a majority stake in African Banking Corporation of Botswana for cash, a month after it acquired a South African bank.
Access Bank is expanding across Africa to counter stagflation at home and dollar shortages that have frustrated businesses. The lender will acquire just over 78% of BancABC Botswana for cash of around 1.13 times book value and a two-year deferred payment, amounting to an undisclosed sum, Atlas Mara said in a statement.
The latest acquisition from ABC Holdings, the local unit of London-listed Atlas Mara, brings its African presence to 10 countries. The deal is expected to close before the end of the second quarter.
&#8220;We remain committed to a disciplined and thoughtful expansion strategy in Africa, which we believe will create strong, sustainable returns,&#8221; Access Group Chief Executive Herbert Wigwe said.
BancABC Botswana is the fifth largest bank in Botswana and has a quality retail loan book with the scope for expansion into corporate and small to medium-sized enterprise lending, Access said.
Nigerian lenders have been seeking new avenues to boost profit amid slow economic growth at home, a drop in government bond yields and a rise in restructured loans due to the impact of the pandemic.
In March Access Bank bought a controlling stake in South Africa&#8217;s Grobank for around $60 million, becoming first Nigerian lender to venture into South Africa. It has also struck recent deals in Zambia and Mozambique. (Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Jan Harvey)
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Nigeria’s Access Bank to buy Atlas Mara’s stake in BancABC

By Joel Dubber
April 19 (Reuters) &#8211; Challenges abound on and off the field for Zimbabwe ahead of their home series against Pakistan, but former test opener Tino Mawoyo believes the return of several batting stalwarts will lift the hosts&#8217; spirits.
Bruised by four heavy losses to Afghanistan across two formats in Abu Dhabi last month, Zimbabwe are expected to ring in the changes when they meet Pakistan on Wednesday in the first of three Twenty20 matches at Harare Sports Club.
Two test matches will follow at the same venue.
Brendan Taylor and Craig Ervine are set to return to the lineup, bolstering a batting unit which is heavily reliant on all-rounder Sean Williams.
&#8220;I think it&#8217;ll definitely bring the stability that we lacked, the experience, and I think it&#8217;ll just lift the spirit of the lads as well,&#8221; Mawoyo told Reuters.
A mountain confronts the hosts, however, if they are to threaten a Pakistan side brimming with confidence after dominating South Africa at home and away.
&#8220;(Zimbabwe) will have to be almost flawless in all three departments&#8230; they cannot afford to lapse at all and allow Pakistan to take control,&#8221; said Mawoyo, who carried his bat for 163 against the Asian side in a 2011 test.
&#8220;(Pakistan) will come hard at you, and they&#8217;ll come hard at you early&#8230; however, if they don&#8217;t get early wickets and stuff doesn&#8217;t quite go their way, they do tend to flatten out a little bit.&#8221;
One example of that came in 2013, when Mawoyo and his team mates engineered a red-ball upset against Pakistan.
&#8220;I know it&#8217;s a very long time ago, but the last time Zimbabwe took on Pakistan in a test match in Harare, they won,&#8221; he said.
Overshadowing the return of international cricket to Zimbabwean soil after a pandemic-induced 15-month hiatus is a corruption scandal involving former head coach Heath Streak.
Streak, who was handed an eight-year ban, admitted to five breaches of the International Cricket Council anti-corruption code, including the disclosure of inside information for betting purposes and accepting a corrupt payment.
&#8220;(It is) not ideal to have such news going into such a big series, however the lads are professional. Some of them I know have personal relationships with him (Streak), but I think they just need to focus on the job at hand,&#8221; Mawoyo said.
&#8220;The boys are professional enough to know what they need to be focusing on.&#8221; (Reporting by Joel Dubber in Perth; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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Cricket-Zimbabwe must be ‘almost flawless’ to rattle Pakistan, says Mawoyo

April 19 (Reuters) &#8211; Coca-Cola Co:
* THE COCA-COLA COMPANY AND COCA-COLA BEVERAGES AFRICA ANNOUNCE PLANS FOR INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING FOR BOTTLER
* COCA-COLA CO &#8211; CCBA, AFRICA&#8217;S LARGEST COCA-COLA BOTTLER, TO BE LISTED AS STANDALONE BUSINESS
* COCA-COLA CO &#8211; INTENDS TO SELL A PORTION OF ITS SHAREHOLDING IN CCBA VIA AN INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING
* COCA-COLA CO &#8211; CCBA, AFRICA&#8217;S LARGEST COCA-COLA BOTTLER, TO BE LISTED AS STANDALONE BUSINESS
* COCA-COLA CO &#8211; COMPANIES INTEND FOR AN IPO WITHIN NEXT 18 MONTHS
* COCA-COLA CO &#8211; SHARES WILL BE LISTED IN AMSTERDAM AND JOHANNESBURG, WITH AMSTERDAM BEING PRIMARY EXCHANGE
* COCA-COLA CO &#8211; IPO WILL ALLOW CCBA TO OPERATE AS AN INDEPENDENT, AFRICA-FOCUSED, SOUTH AFRICAN-HEADQUARTERED, MANAGED AND DOMICILED BUSINESS Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
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BRIEF-The Coca-Cola Co And Coca-Cola Beverages Africa Announce Plans For IPO For Bottler

WINDHOEK, April 19 (Reuters) &#8211; Namibia&#8217;s High Court on Monday ruled against a gay couple battling to obtain travel documents for their twin daughters, born to a surrogate in South Africa, after authorities refused to do so on the basis the infants were not citizens.
Namibian Phillip Luhl and his Mexican husband Guillermo Delgado had already been fighting for citizenship for their two-year-old son when the twins, born in March, were refused the documents required to enter Namibia. Namibian authorities say Luhl must prove a genetic link to the children.
In an urgent application to the court, the fathers asked the judge to compel the home affairs ministry to issue the documents to bring their new daughters home.
Judge Thomas Masuku refused, however, saying such an order would be &#8220;judicial overreach&#8221;.
Namibia&#8217;s legal system does not recognise same-sex marriages and criminalises sexual contact between men, though the law is seldom, if ever, enforced.
The Ministry of Home Affairs said no one was immediately available to comment on the ruling on Monday.
Luhl told Reuters that the couple would have to study the ruling before deciding on the next steps.
&#8220;(It&#8217;s an) unexpected judgment and, on a personal level, quite a big blow to us,&#8221; he said, adding it was evidence of resistance at all levels in Namibia on progress towards equal rights.
While the South African surrogacy process requires a genetic link, the couple argue that requiring evidence of a genetic link to obtain citizenship has no basis in law and was discriminatory, because both fathers are legal parents.
Monday&#8217;s ruling means the family will remain separated, with Luhl in South Africa with the twins and Delgado in Namibia with the couple&#8217;s son, while a judgment in their larger citizenship case is pending.
Human Rights lawyer Norman Tjombe, who was not involved in the case, said the judgment was a blatant violation of the rights of the children and reflected the government&#8217;s stance on same-sex marriage.
&#8220;Had the children being born from a heterosexual marriage, no questions would have been asked about the paternity,&#8221; he said, adding the children were entitled to citizenship by descent like any other child born outside the country to a Namibian parent. (Reporting by Nyasha Francis in Windhoek and Kirthana Pillay in Johannesburg; Editing by Emma Rumney; Editing by Alex Richardson)
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Namibian court rules against gay couple in fight to take newborn daughters home

By Julio Rodrigues
PRAIA, April 19 (Reuters) &#8211; Cape Verde&#8217;s ruling party has maintained its majority following a parliamentary election despite criticism from the opposition over its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the economy, partial results showed on Monday,
Sunday&#8217;s vote presented the chance for the main opposition leader, Janira Hopffer Almada, to become the country&#8217;s first female prime minister, but her party&#8217;s loss ruled that out.
The ruling Movement for Democracy (MpD) party is expected to hand Ulisses Correia e Silva a second five-year term as prime minister.
With all but three of 72 seats determined, the MpD has won 36 seats, according to the Cape Verde Technological Center, which publishes results on behalf of the election commission. The main opposition, Almada&#8217;s African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV), got 29 seats and a third party won four.
A cluster of 10 volcanic islands 570 km (350 miles) off West Africa, Cape Verde has held democratic elections since it gained independence from Portugal in 1975. Border closures during the pandemic have cut off its beaches and mountains from the tourists that normally flock there.
The economy shrank by 14% in 2020, according to the International Monetary Fund. It is expected to grow by 5.8% in 2021. There have been 20,254 COVID-19 infections and 190 COVID-related deaths, Reuters data show.
The final results, which will likely leave the MpD with a similar number of seats as its last term, are expected on Monday.
&#8220;This is a victory of justice, a fair victory for what we have done and what we have faced during these last five difficult years, with three consecutive years of drought and the COVID-19 pandemic,&#8221; Silva told the media on Sunday evening.
Almada congratulated Silva and said she would resign her party leadership. (Reporting by Julio Rodrigues Writing by Cooper Inveen Editing by Edward McAllister and Angus MacSwan)
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Cape Verde’s ruling party maintains majority in parliamentary elections

April 19 (Reuters) &#8211; Holdings of the largest gold-backed exchange-traded-fund (ETF), New York&#8217;s SPDR Gold Trust fell 0.31% on Friday from Thursday, while holdings of the largest silver-backed ETF, New York&#8217;s iShares Silver Trust remained unchanged during the same period. Exchange-traded funds, the most widely recognized type of ETP, back each security issued with physical stocks of a given commodity, creating a product they say is free from counterparty risk. Name New Holdings (OZ) Date Prev Holdings (OZ) Prev Abs Change (OZ) % chg YTD Abs Change (OZ) GOLD SPDR Gold Trust 32,783,002.2 Apr 16 32,886,046.0 Apr 15 -103,043.9 -0.31% -4,857,303.7 COMEX Gold Trust 16,035,504.5 Apr 16 16,035,504.5 Apr 15 0.0 0.00% -846,147.1 ETF Securities gold (ex-US) 9,293,742.4 Nov 30 9,293,742.4 Nov 30 &#8212; &#8212; &#8212; ZKB Physical Gold ** 5,449,682.8 Apr 09 5,439,013.1 Apr 01 10,669.7 0.20% -148,106.7 Sprott Physical Gold Trust 2,606,190.0 Apr 16 2,606,214.0 Apr 15 -24.0 0.00% 30,970.0 ETFS Physical Swiss Gold 844,902.3 Jan 24 844,902.3 Jan 24 &#8212; &#8212; &#8212; ABSA &#8211; NewGold ETF 633,284.1 Apr 16 633,289.3 Apr 15 -5.2 0.00% 9,608.7 Total 67,646,308.2 67,738,711.6 -92,403.4 -0.14% -6,053,688.7 SILVER iShares Silver Trust 573,745,320.7 Apr 16 573,745,320.7 Apr 15 0.0 0.00% 15,029,438.3 Sprott Physical Silver 136,048,894.0 Apr 16 135,448,357.0 Apr 15 600,537.0 0.44% 44,940,239.0 ETF Securities silver ex-US 100,389,761.6 Nov 30 100,389,761.6 Nov 30 &#8212; &#8212; &#8212; ZKB Physical Silver 95,896,186.2 Apr 09 95,169,161.3 Apr 01 727,024.8 0.76% 2,452,105.3 ETFS Physical Silver Shares 22,908,298.3 Mar 20 22,908,298.3 Mar 20 &#8212; &#8212; &#8212; Total 928,988,460.8 927,660,898.9 1,327,561.8 0.14% 89,249,018.8 PLATINUM ETFS Physical Platinum Shares 738,343.9 Mar 20 738,343.9 Mar 20 &#8212; &#8212; -10,582.1 ABSA &#8211; NewPlat ETF 571,570.5 Apr 16 571,575.9 Apr 15 -5.4 0.00% -447,738.1 ETF Securities platinum ex-US 617,330.8 Nov 30 617,330.8 Nov 30 &#8212; &#8212; &#8212; ZKB Physical Platinum 446,532.6 Apr 09 442,230.8 Apr 01 4,301.8 0.97% 23,278.1 Total 2,373,777.8 2,369,481.4 4,296.4 0.18% -402,432.6 PALLADIUM InvestPalladium ETF # 142,113.5 Mar 25 142,113.5 Mar 25 &#8212; &#8212; -8,079.6 ETFS Physical Palladium Shares 129,466.6 Mar 20 129,466.6 Mar 20 &#8212; &#8212; &#8212; ETF Securities palladium ex-US 111,915.0 Nov 30 111,915.0 Nov 30 &#8212; &#8212; &#8212; ZKB Physical Palladium 78,329.7 Apr 09 78,361.8 Apr 01 -32.1 -0.04% 320.5 ABSA &#8211; NewPalladium ETF **** 27,465.5 Apr 16 27,465.7 Apr 15 -0.3 0.00% -14,402.0 Total 489,290.3 489,322.7 -32.4 -0.01% -51,385.4 The figures above are those reported to Reuters by the organizations involved by telephone or email on the date shown, or those that are publicly available on their websites. ** ZKB physical gold, silver, platinum and palladium funds are fully backed by physical precious metal and investors are entitled to physical delivery of them. *** Shareholders in the GAM Gold fund can elect to hold &#8220;A class&#8221; shares, which are fully backed by physical gold. Investors in that class are entitled to physical delivery of the precious metal. Investors may also elect to hold &#8220;AX&#8221; class shares, which are fully backed by physical gold. Investors in that class are not entitled to physical delivery of the precious metal. **** Absa Capital&#8217;s NewPalladium Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) was listed on March 27, 2014 and is fully backed with South African palladium. # Standard Bank&#8217;s AfricaPalladium ETF, South Africa&#8217;s first listed palladium exchange traded fund, debuted on March 24, 2014. 
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TABLE-Holdings of SPDR Gold fall, iShares Silver unchanged

April 19 (Reuters) &#8211; Polskie Gornictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo SA:
* SAYS UNIT PGNIG VENTURES HAS ACQUIRED SHARES IN POLAND-BASED ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGER MANUFACTURER ENELION
* FIRST STAGE OF INVESTMENT IS WORTH 2.5 MILLION ZLOTYS AND TOTAL MAY REACH 6 MILLION ZLOTYS
* ENELION PROVIDES A RANGE OF SOLUTIONS INCLUDING SMART ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGERS, A SYSTEM FOR MANAGING CHARGER NETWORKS, TARIFF PLANS AND PAYMENTS, AND A MOBILE APP FOR EV DRIVERS
* THE MAXIMUM INVESTMENT TIME HORIZON IS FIVE YEARS
* ENELION TARGETS BUSINESS CUSTOMERS, INCLUDING ENERGY COMPANIES, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, BUILDING MANAGERS AND CAR DEALERS, AS WELL AS RETAIL CUSTOMERS
* ENELION AIMS TO INCREASE PRODUCTION FROM THE CURRENT 400 TO MORE THAN 5,000 AC UNITS PER MONTH IN 2025 AND GROW EXPORTS TO THE US, CANADA, EASTERN EUROPE, SOUTH AMERICA, THE MIDDLE EAST, AND AFRICA
Source text: https://bit.ly/3uWuOEA
Further company coverage: (Gdansk Newsroom)
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BRIEF-PGNiG To Invest Up To 6 Mln Zlotys In EV Charger Maker Enelion

CAPE TOWN, April 19 (Reuters) &#8211; South African emergency workers have started evacuating three 17-storey residential buildings overlooking Cape Town city as a wildfire fanned by strong winds continues to burn out of control along Table Mountain, city officials said on Monday.
The fire started early Sunday morning on the slopes of Devils&#8217; Peak, another part of Cape Town&#8217;s mountainous backdrop, forcing University of Cape Town students to evacuate residences as runaway flames set several campus buildings ablaze, including a library housing historic books and scripts.
Around 250 firefighters are battling to control the blaze, as strong winds ground helicopters normally used in firebombing sorties. A thick plume of smoke is obscuring visibility throughout the city centre.
Other properties damaged includes the popular hikers&#8217; restaurant at Rhodes memorial and the thatch-roofed Mostert Mill, built around 1796 and South Africa&#8217;s oldest working mill.
Two firefighters sustained burn wounds and were hospitalised for treatment, officials said, as a change in wind direction saw the fire spread rapidly towards the city bowl overnight.
&#8220;Disaster risk management staff and volunteers have started evacuating Disa Park in Vredehoek,&#8221; city officials said. The identical Disa Park residential buildings sit close to the foot of the mountain and overlook the central business district.
All schools in the Vredehoek area have been asked to evacuate, a disaster management spokeswoman said, adding that homes used to accommodate travelling cabinet ministers in Walmer Estate were also being cleared.
City officials confirmed one suspect was detained last night on Devil&#8217;s Peak amid speculation that additional fires may have been started and whether the original fire was deliberately lit in an act of arson. (Reporting by Wendell Roelf Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html
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Firefighters battle to contain blaze on S.Africa’s Table Mountain

* South African rand leads EMEA gains
* Indian markets plummet on COVID-19 spread
* Rouble hit by new row with Czech Republic
By Ambar Warrick
April 19 (Reuters) &#8211; Russia&#8217;s rouble dipped on Monday as concerns over Western sanctions against the country persisted, while South Africa&#8217;s rand rose as low global interest rates spurred buying into the high-yielding currency.
The rouble led losses across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, falling 0.6% as the White House warned of consequences if Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny dies in prison. Allies of Navalny revealed plans for large scale protests in a bid to win him medical care.
Tensions with the Czech Republic also rose after it expelled Russian diplomats and accused Moscow of being behind an explosion at a Czech ammunition dump. The move garnered support from Washington and NATO.
The United States announced sanctions targeting the rouble and Russian debt last week, rattling financial markets. But weakness in the rouble pushed the export-heavy MOEX Russian index to a record high.
Broader emerging market currencies moved little, as a damaging second wave of COVID-19 cases offset optimism over a weaker dollar and U.S. yields.
Indian markets, however, plummeted as infections rose at unprecedented levels, putting strain on the country&#8217;s healthcare system amid a vaccine shortage. The prospect of new lockdown measures threatened to hurt the already struggling economy.
&#8220;New infection rates have risen in several EM economies as new variants take hold and vaccine rollouts remain well behind other parts of the world. This situation is forcing governments to add restrictions that are stalling or reversing recent increases in mobility,&#8221; JPMorgan analysts wrote in a note.
Brazil and India are the worst hit among emerging markets. But spiking cases across EMEA have also spurred new curbs on activity.
South Africa&#8217;s rand led gains across EMEA on Monday, as the country&#8217;s relatively higher benchmark interest rate of 3.5% supported the currency. Global interest rates were lowered significantly last year, due to the pandemic.
Still, the rand was hit hard by gains in U.S. yields last month, which had pressured most currencies in the EM space and set them trading lower for the year.
In central Europe, the Czech crown was slightly weaker against the euro and the dollar, as tensions with Russia ramped up.
Emerging market stocks were slightly higher, taking some support from last week&#8217;s gains on Wall Street. Investors were also watching for the corporate earnings season this month. For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance in 2021, see http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance in 2021, see https://tmsnrt.rs/2OusNdX

For TOP NEWS across emerging markets
For CENTRAL EUROPE market report, see
For TURKISH market report, see
For RUSSIAN market report, see (Reporting by Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html
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EMERGING MARKETS-Rouble woes persist on geopolitical concerns; EMEA assets muted

JOHANNESBURG, April 19 (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa&#8217;s Truworths International Ltd has appointed Emanuel Cristaudo as chief financial officer and an executive director of the company with effect from July 1, the fashion retailer said on Monday.
Cristaudo replaces David Pfaff who resigned on February 28. He joins the executive team as the retailer enters the highly competitive budget clothing market with a new brand as it looks to adapt to changing shopping habits spurred by the coronavirus pandemic.
He has had extensive involvement at executive and director level at Truworths, the company&#8217;s main operating subsidiary in Africa, where he was employed over a 16 year period up to 2013, the retailer said.
In January he was appointed as an independent non-executive director after spending time at a debt management and debt counselling firm and at Direct Axis, a division of First National Bank.
Cristaudo will also help management steer the 104-year-old retailer out of the trenches of the pandemic as the global apparel industry reels from a punishing year when shops were forced to close to prevent the spread of the virus. (Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html
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