
<p><strong>Key Points</strong></p>



<ul><li>Over the last 48 hours, three biotech companies, in particular, have been thrust into the spotlight for their promise: BioNTech, CureVac and Moderna.</li></ul>



<ul><li>All three of these firms specialize in messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics.</li></ul>



<ul><li>These mRNA molecules are used to instruct the body to produce its own immune response to fight a range of different diseases.</li></ul>



<p>The race is on to develop an immunization against COVID-19.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Dozens of companies and public labs around the world are working to develop a vaccine to prevent the spread of the flu-like virus. Over the last 48 hours, three biotech companies, in particular, have been thrust into the spotlight for their promise: BioNTech, CureVac and Moderna.</p>



<p>All three of these firms specialize in messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics. These mRNA molecules are used to instruct the body to produce its own immune response to fight a range of different diseases. This type of vaccine can potentially be developed and produced more quickly than traditional vaccines.</p>



<p>Moderna is a Massachusetts-based biotech company working with the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). It kicked off its first trial Monday in Seattle, Washington.&nbsp;</p>



<p>This is called a “phase one” study and is being conducted by the NIH. Moderna is also preparing for a potential “phase two” study that it would conduct itself. Moderna shares rose 27% in Monday’s trading session.</p>



<p>BioNTech, meanwhile, is a German biotech company which recently announced two strategic partnerships to advance development of a vaccine. It formed a collaboration with Fosun Pharma to advance efforts in China, and with Pfizer to do the same outside China.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Berenberg bank analysts say they are impressed with the company’s efforts to rapidly enter into an alliance with a top pharma company in China and they view it as an important validation of BioNTech’s mRNA technology platform.&nbsp;</p>



<p>“BioNTech appears best positioned in the COVID-19 race owing to its diversified mRNA platform, delivery information and manufacturing capacity,” Berenberg said in a research note.</p>



<p>CureVac is an unlisted German company which aims to start testing an experimental vaccine on humans this summer. After reportedly getting caught in the political crossfire between Germany and the U.S., the European Commission pledged 80 billion euros of financial support to help them get a product out in Europe.&nbsp;</p>



<p>On Monday, CureVac noted it “is working on expanding its manufacturing capacities to be able to provide up to billions of doses for outbreak situations like Covid-19.”</p>



<p>As evidenced by these companies, partnerships are key to developing and manufacturing vaccines for the public. Both public-private partnerships as well as partnerships between the traditional pharmaceutical giants and smaller biotech players can be critical to getting these vaccines from trial to market.&nbsp;</p>



<p>However, the jury is still out on what type of therapeutic approach will work best. Barclays pharmaceutical research team noted that while mRNA vaccines remain unproven, they are likely to dominate the shorter-term headlines given faster development timelines and rapid early progress.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Ultimately, the Barclays team believes these novel vaccines are likely to be superseded by more conventional approaches over time.</p>



<p>(Report by Julianna Tatelbaum)</p>



<p>This article was first published on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/17/hopes-of-a-coronavirus-vaccine-mount-as-three-key-biotech-players-make-progress.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/17/hopes-of-a-coronavirus-vaccine-mount-as-three-key-biotech-players-make-progress.html</a> and is republished with its permission.</p>


Hopes of a coronavirus vaccine mount as three key biotech players make progress

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<p>At the ongoing World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, CNBC International had a conversation with CEO of Barclays, Jes Staley on the banks future plans and possible investments in carbon related products.</p>


World Economic Forum: Barclays CEO Jes Staley on climate change

World Economic Forum: Barclays CEO Jes Staley on climate change, renewable energy & the banks’ future plans

<p>(Reuters and CNBC Africa) &#8211; A Dutch shareholder group has given notice that it plans to file a class action lawsuit against Barclays Plc, Commerzbank AG and Absa Bank Ltd over their roles in a 2015 share sale by South African retailer Steinhoff International, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cnbc.africa/category/insights/steinhoff/">FOR MORE ON STEINHOFF, CLICK HERE</a></p>
<p>As required by Dutch law, shareholder group VEB gave the three banks two weeks’ notice of its plan to file the lawsuit and invited them to open talks on “an amicable settlement”, the report said.</p>
<p>VEB maintained the banks are “liable for damages incurred by Steinhoff shareholders” because of their roles in the listing of Steinhoff on the Frankfurt and Johannesburg stock exchanges as part of its creation of a holding company in Amsterdam, the FT said.</p>
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<p>Steinhoff declined to comment. VEB, Barclays and Commerzbank, were not immediately available for comment outside regular business hours whilst Absa in an emailed statement said:</p>
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<p>We have noted press reports that VEB (the Dutch Investors Association) has indicated that it has notified Absa and two other banks that it is holding them liable for losses incurred by Steinhoff shareholders. Absa has not received any notification from VEB in this regard. For clarity, Absa Bank Ltd was the JSE Transaction Sponsor to Steinhoff International Holdings Limited (“Steinhoff South Africa”). Absa’s role was limited to ensuring that the JSE’s listing rules were complied with by Steinhoff SA, the relevant JSE-listed company. Absa’s mandate specifically did not include the compilation or review of the financial statements of Steinhoff South Africa or any other Steinhoff company.<em>         </em></p>
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<div class="container_2dHIN dp-slot-inline_eUPBt">Steinhoff, which has more than 40 retail brands including France’s Conforama and British chain Poundland, faced a fight for survival after admitting accounting irregularities in December, wiping about 85 percent off its market value and triggering a liquidity crisis.</div>
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<p class="content_27_rw">Reporting by Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru; Editing by Adrian Croft</p>
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Shareholder group VEB plans lawsuit against three banks over Steinhoff, Absa responds

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<p>Barclays Africa CEO Maria Ramos speaks to CNBC Africa’s Chris Bishop at the World Economic Forum about how Africa needs to get back on to the agenda and that confidence in South Africa is back.</p>


SA’s spring in its step is back – Barclays Africa CEO Maria Ramos

<p>Barclays (<span id="“symbol_BARC.L_0”"><a href="https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview/BARC.L">BARC.L</a></span>) will sell a 7 percent stake in Johannesburg-based Barclays Africa Group on December 5, the British bank said on Friday, the latest and likely last in a series of such sales as it ends more than 90 years as a major presence on the continent.</p>
<p><div id="attachment_119167" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-119167" class="wp-image-119167 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Barclays-Flicker-Solvency-II-Wire.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="768" /><p id="caption-attachment-119167" class="wp-caption-text">Photo: Flickr | Solvency II Wire</p></div></p>
<p data-reactid="40">Barclays said after the sale its stake in the African division would be 14.9 percent, which represents its desired long-term goal and no further sales are planned.</p>
<p data-reactid="41">The British bank first announced in March 2016 that it would sell most of its then 62 percent stake in Barclays Africa over two to three years, as the bank refocused its strategy on the United States and Britain under Chief Executive Jes Staley.</p>
<p data-reactid="42">“This news should be warmly received by shareholders and is a further step along the path to eliminating non-core activities as management focuses on its UK business,” John Cronin, financial analyst at Dublin-based brokerage Goodbody, said.</p>
<p data-reactid="43">Shares in Barclays Africa (<span id="“symbol_BGAJ.J_1”"><a href="https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview/BGAJ.J">BGAJ.J</a></span>) have risen by 9.7 percent since Barclays announced it would sell the unit in March 2016.</p>
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<p class="Attribution_content_27_rw" data-reactid="46">Reporting By Lawrence White. Editing by Jane Merriman</p>
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Barclays announces final sale of stake in Barclays Africa

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<p>Barclays Africa has pulled out as financial adviser over the sale of 9mobile, this came after the Central Bank of Nigeria questioned the bank’s transparency in the bidding process of the telecommunication firm.</p>


Understanding the sale of 9mobile

<p data-reactid="37">Barclays reported a 1.2 billion pound ($1.57 billion)attributable first half loss on Friday after taking a 2.5 billion pound hit from the sale of its Africa business and calling an end to its restructuring.</p>
<p data-reactid="38">The British bank said it had made a 1.4 billion pound loss on the sale of 33 percent of Barclays Africa Group, and took a further 1.1 billion pound impairment charge on the sale.</p>
<p data-reactid="39">Barclays in June cut its stake in Barclays Africa Group to 15 percent, ending more than 90 years as a major presence in the continent as it shifts its focus back to Britain and the United States.</p>
<p data-reactid="40">The losses from the sale of unwanted assets including the Africa business showed the costs of the bank&#8217;s restructuring under Chief Executive Jes Staley, who has championed Barclays&#8217; investment banking business as a means of boosting revenues.</p>
<p data-reactid="41">The bank completed the run-down of its non-core division of other assets earmarked for sale to below its goal of 25 billion pounds worth of assets, meaning the remainder can be folded back in to Barclays.</p>
<p data-reactid="42">&#8220;Accomplishing both of these milestones marks an end to the restructuring of the Barclays Group, and brings forward the date when our shareholders can benefit from the full earnings power of this business,&#8221; Staley said in a statement.</p>
<p data-reactid="43">Staley announced a new long-term goal for Barclays of a greater than 10 percent return on equity, without giving a timetable for reaching that.</p>
<p data-reactid="44">The bank&#8217;s return on equity excluding the Africa loss and conduct charges was 8 percent at the end of the first half.</p>
<p data-reactid="45">Barclays shares fell 1.3 percent by 0700 GMT.</p>
<p data-reactid="46">The sale of the Africa unit boosted the bank&#8217;s core capital ratio, a key measure of financial strength and a source of concern for Barclays in recent years, to 13.1 percent.</p>
<p data-reactid="47">Barclays posted a half-year profit before tax of 2.3 billion pounds compared with 2 billion pounds for the same period a year ago, before the impact of the Africa sale was included.</p>
<p data-reactid="48">That was worse than the 2.7 billion pounds average estimate of analysts&#8217; forecasts compiled by the bank.</p>
<h3 data-reactid="49">Weak Trading</h3>
<p data-reactid="50">In Barclays&#8217; investment bank, revenue at the markets division fell 5 pct in the first half to 2.6 billion pounds, as low volatility caused a 20 pct fall in earnings at its macro trading business. That was offset by a stronger showing in credit trading where revenue was up 18 pct, while its equities performance was flat compared with a year ago.</p>
<p data-reactid="51">The mixed trading performance followed that of Barclays&#8217; U.S. rivals, which earlier this month saw profits slump amid low volatility levels in markets that have left investors struggling to make directional bets.</p>
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<p data-reactid="53">Since taking over in December 2015, Staley has scaled back the bank&#8217;s geographic footprint and emphasized investment banking, although his efforts have been clouded by U.S. and British investigations.</p>
<p data-reactid="54">The former JPMorgan banker has faced investor criticism following his attempts to unmask a whistleblower, which Barclays insiders fear could unseat him if the findings of inquiries are damning.</p>
<p data-reactid="55">Barclays faces other regulatory obstacles, with an ongoing probe by Britain&#8217;s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) into its 2008 cash call at the height of the financial crisis and allegations by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) over mortgage mis-selling.</p>
<p>The bank also took a higher than expected 700 million pound charge for mis-selling payment protection insurance, in what is Britain&#8217;s costliest consumer banking scandal.</p>
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<p class="Attribution_content_27_rw" data-reactid="57">Reporting by Lawrence White and Andrew MacAskill; editing by Alexander Smith</p>
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Barclays suffers $1.6 billion first-half loss from Africa sale

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<div class="headline">A lot of work going on in blockchain: Barclays UK CEO  <time>8 Hours Ago | 01:03</time></div>
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<p><a class="inline_quotes" href="http://cnbc.com/quotes?symbol=BARC-GB" data-gdsid="10720" data-inline-quote-symbol="BARC-GB">Barclays</a> has been in discussions with regulators and financial technology – or fintech – firms about bringing cryptocurrencies like bitcoin &#8220;into play&#8221;, the bank&#8217;s U.K. chief executive told CNBC on Monday.</p>
<p>Ashok Vaswani revealed that the banking giant has met with Britain&#8217;s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) watchdog to talk about how to make bitcoin safe in response to a question about whether Barclays could support bitcoin.</p>
<p>&#8220;We have been talking to a couple of fintechs and have actually gone with the fintechs to the FCA to talk about how we could bring, the equivalent of bitcoin, not necessarily bitcoin, but cryptocurrencies into play,&#8221; Vaswani told CNBC at the Money 20/20 fintech conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.</p>
<div id="inline_movable_ad"> &#8220;Obviously (it&#8217;s) a new area, obviously an area we&#8217;ve got to be careful with. We are working our way through it.&#8221;</div>
<p>Vaswani did not expand on to what extent Barclays could be involved with bitcoin. Barclays has recently been involved in the digital currency space. Last year the bank partnered with social payments app Circle. The start-up, which received a license from the FCA last year, allows users to send money to each other in messages, and supports bitcoin. Barclays provided Circle with an account to store sterling, as well as the payments network to transfer money.</p>
<p>Banks have typically been very cautious of being associated with any companies involved with bitcoin due to the cryptocurrencies bad reputation as being used to buy illegal items on the so-called &#8220;dark web&#8221;.</p>
<p>But the world&#8217;s largest cryptocurrency by market cap has seen rising retail investor interest, as well as a major rally since the start of the year that has seen its price hit record highs. Even though the price has pulled back in recent days and there is still volatility, regulators are becoming interested in bitcoin, which is lending legitimacy to the digital currency.</p>
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<div class="headline">Barclays UK CEO: Branches will remain key to banking  <time>8 Hours Ago | 01:38</time></div>
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<p>For example, Japan made it legal for merchants to begin accepting bitcoin as payments and Russia is also looking at ways to regulate it. The FCA in the U.K. has been cautious on bitcoin, however.</p>
<p>Chris Woolard, the FCA&#8217;s executive director of strategy, said that there needs to caution from institutions dealing with bitcoin.</p>
<p>&#8220;We don&#8217;t prohibit regulated firms from engaging in digital currency trading, nor do we prohibit banks from offering banking services to deal with currency firms that use [blockchain]. I am not saying that we view digital currencies as an inherently bad thing… but we do have to exercise a degree of caution,&#8221; Woolard said at a recent event, according to website Financial News.</p>
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<div class="headline">What is Blockchain?  <time>Thursday, 30 Mar 2017 | 2:13 PM ET | 04:44</time></div>
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<p>While bitcoin has garnered plenty of interest recently, the banking industry is focused on using the technology that underpins it called blockchain. This is a distributed public ledger of activity on the bitcoin network. Banks see blockchain-like technology being applied to areas of their businesses from trading to money transfers. The promise is cost savings and faster processes.</p>
<p>Barclays and a number of other banks have been trialing different use cases for blockchain technology. Last year, the U.K. bank <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/19/barclays-used-blockchain-tech-to-trade-derivatives.html">tested derivative trading</a> using blockchain technology. Still, the industry admits it is early days and more work needs to be done to integrate this into everyday processes in banks.</p>
<p>&#8220;(We&#8217;re) working on it, (it&#8217;s) not ready for prime time, we&#8217;ll get there soon,&#8221; Vaswani told CNBC.</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.cnbc.com/arjun-kharpal/"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" title="" src="https://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2013/10/07/101091331-Arjun_Kharpal.60x60.jpg?v=1458558278" alt="" width="60" height="60" /></a></p>
<div class="reporter-info"><span class="name"><a href="http://www.cnbc.com/arjun-kharpal/">Arjun Kharpal</a>, </span><span class="title">Technology Correspondent</span></div>
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Barclays wants to bring bitcoin ‘into play’

<p><span class="articleLocation">JOHANNESBURG</span> (Reuters) &#8211; Barclays Africa warned on Wednesday against proposed changes to the South Africa Reserve Bank&#8217;s primary mandate, saying amendments recommended by an anti-graft agency posed a &#8220;very serious risk&#8221; to the financial system.<span id="midArticle_byline"></span></p>
<p>The South African-based lender also said it would challenge in court a finding by the agency, published in a report this week, that Barclays had unduly benefited from an apartheid-era bailout.</p>
<p>Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane, head of South Africa&#8217;s constitutionally-sanctioned anti-graft watchdog, called on Monday for the central bank&#8217;s mandate of maintaining currency and price stability to be changed to focus on economic growth.</p>
<p>&#8220;Her recommended amendments pose a very serious risk to the financial system and they cannot be allowed to stand,&#8221; Barclays Africa said in a statement.</p>
<p>The ruling African National Congress&#8217;s secretary general Gwede Mantashe and the central bank itself have also criticised Mkhwebane&#8217;s proposal, which has further stained South Africa&#8217;s image as an investor-friendly emerging market, coming less than a week after Mines Minister Mosebenzi Zwane spooked mining investors with a revised plan to revamp the sector&#8217;s black ownership rules.</p>
<p>Mkhwebane made her recommendation in a report by the agency, published on Monday, which also said the apartheid government breached the constitution by supplying Bankorp, which was acquired by Absa, now Barclays Africa, in 1992, with a series of bailouts from 1985 to 1995. She said Barclays Africa must pay 1.1 billion rand ($84 million).</p>
<p>Barclays Africa denied any wrongdoing.</p>
<p>&#8220;This is due to numerous misrepresentations and factual inaccuracies which form the basis of the Public Protector&#8217;s findings, and what we submit are the irrational and unreasonable legal conclusions in the report,&#8221; the bank said in its statement on Wednesday.</p>
<p>($1 = 13.0520 rand)</p>
<p>(Reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Susan Fenton)</p>


Barclays Africa warns against changes to South African central bank mandate

<p>Barclays (<span id="symbol_BARC.L_0"><a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=BARC.L">BARC.L</a></span>) cut its stake in Barclays Africa Group (<span id="symbol_BGAJ.J_1"><a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=BGAJ.J">BGAJ.J</a></span>) to 15 percent sooner than expected on Thursday, ending more than 90 years as a major presence in the continent.</p>
<p>The British bank, which under Chief Executive Jes Staley is firmly focused on Britain and the United States, said it was selling 2.2 billion pounds ($2.83 billion) worth of shares in Barclays Africa Group due to strong investor demand.</p>
<p>Barclays had said on Wednesday it would sell shares worth 1.5 billion pounds in its second such sale since announcing plans to offload most of its African business.</p>
<p>The bigger share sale initially lifted shares in Barclays, which is partly relying on the funds raised to meet capital requirements identified as a concern by the Bank of England in November. By 0835 GMT, the shares were down 0.1 percent.</p>
<p>The sale is expected to mean an increase of approximately 27 basis points to Barclays&#8217; core capital ratio, a key measure of financial strength, which was 12.5 percent at 31 March 2017 .</p>
<p>&#8220;We still see this deal as utterly transformational for Barclays’ capital position, which in turn offers specific opportunities for earnings enhancement,&#8221; analyst Ian Gordon at Investec wrote in a note following the announcement.</p>
<p>Barclays, whose shares were trading up 0.5 percent at 0740 GMT, said on Wednesday that South African pension fund Public Investment Corporation would buy 7 percent of the shares, raising its holding to 14 pct according to Thomson Reuters data.</p>
<p>The Barclays Africa Group shares, which were up nearly 3 percent at 143 rand at 0835 GMT, will be priced at 132 rand a share, the bank said.</p>
<p>That represents a 5 pct discount to Wednesday&#8217;s closing price of 139 rand and will raise an aggregate 2.2 billion pounds, the bank said, adding it will then place an additional 12.7 million shares in a black economic empowerment scheme.</p>
<p>Barclays said in March 2016 it would sell most of its 62.3 pct stake in Barclays Africa Group, giving itself two to three years to complete the sale. Its first sell down of 12.2 percent was completed in May 2016, but the bank had since been hindered by regulatory delays and political upheaval in South Africa.</p>
<p>Since taking over 18 months ago, Staley has scaled back the bank&#8217;s geographic footprint and emphasized investment banking, although his attempts to revitalize this business have been clouded by investigations in the U.S. and Britain.</p>
<p>Staley has also faced criticism from investors following his attempts to unmask a whistleblower, which Barclays insiders fear could unseat him if the findings of inquiries are damning.</p>
<p>Barclays also faces regulatory obstacles, with an ongoing probe by Britain&#8217;s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) into its 2008 cash call at the height of the financial crisis and allegations by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) over mortgage mis-selling.</p>
<p>Analysts at KBW said the completion of the sale earlier than expected was positive for the bank&#8217;s capital ratio.</p>
<p>&#8220;However this still remains far from market leading (still below Credit Suisse or Deutsche Bank), whilst a number of headwinds remain outstanding,&#8221; they added in a note.</p>
<p>(Editing by Rachel Armstrong and Alexander Smith)</p>


Barclays makes early African exit with $2.8 billion share sale

<p>Barclays PLC plans to sell 187 million shares or 22 per cent of Barclays Africa Group via an accelerated bookbuild, which is expected to be concluded overnight.  The conclusion of the sale due to be announced Thursday, will see Barclays shareholding reduce to below 50 per cent.This follows regulatory approvals, including approval from the South African Finance Minister, to reduce its shareholding in Barclays Africa to this level.</p>
<p><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://cnbc.africa/news/2017/02/23/barclays-africa-terms-of-seperation-2/">Barclays Africa, Barclays reach terms of separation</a></p>
<p>Barclays PLC announced its intention <a href="http://cnbc.africa/news/special-report/2016/03/01/barclays-africa-british-parent-exit/">last year</a> to reduce its shareholding in Barclays Africa over a two to three year period.  On 5 May 2016, Barclays PLC sold 103.6 million shares in Barclays Africa, reducing its shareholding to 50.1%.</p>
<p>http://cnbc.africa/news/special-report/2016/03/01/barclays-africa-british-parent-exit/</p>
<p>“This transaction marks the next phase of Barclays Africa’s evolution as a standalone pan-African financial services group, committed to Africa,” said Maria Ramos, Barclays Africa CEO</p>
<p>http://cnbc.africa/news/southern-africa/2016/05/04/barclays-says-to-sell-12-pct-stake-in-african-business/</p>


Barclays to sell 22% of Barclays Africa

<p>Gemma Acton | Sam Meredith</p>
<p>Oil prices fell on Thursday morning as traders reacted to comments from OPEC delegates ahead of a widely anticipated extension of the OPEC-led production cut agreement.</p>
<p>&#8220;Nine months with the same level of production that our member countries have been producing at is a very safe and almost certain option to do the trick,&#8221; Khalid Al-Falih, Saudi Arabia&#8217;s energy and industry oil minister told CNBC.</p>
<p>Saudi Arabia&#8217;s delegate explained while all options had been considered ahead of the announcement &#8211; including deeper cuts and a possible six-month extension &#8211; he suggested reaching an agreement to curtail oil production by a further nine months appeared the &#8220;safe bet&#8221;.</p>
<p><em><strong>This is a breaking news story, please check back later for more.</strong></em></p>
<p>A nine-month extension of the deal is the most likely outcome to be announced at OPEC&#8217;s post-meeting press conference due to be held at 5:00 p.m. local time in Vienna, according to analysts at Barclays.</p>
<p>A key risk to OPEC only agreeing a six-month extension is that it would expire shortly ahead of the seasonally weak first quarter in 2018, bringing idle capacity back online at a time of poor market demand, said the Barclays&#8217; note.</p>
<p>The international crude oil <a class="inline_asset" href="http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/lcocv1" target="_self" data-nodeid="100583837">Brent</a> benchmark was trading around 1 percent higher at $54.51 a barrel just after 09:00 a.m. London time with the U.S. <a class="inline_asset" href="http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/@CL.1" target="_self" data-nodeid="100279044">West Texas Intermediate</a> (WTI) benchmark edging up by nearly the same amount to sit at $51.84 a barrel.</p>
<p>Brent and WTI futures prices have tracked 13 percent and 14 percent higher respectively since this month&#8217;s lows were reached on May 4, as hopes for a nine-month extension have risen on the back of increasingly supportive comments from Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq for such a result.</p>
<p><div id="attachment_113526" style="width: 970px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-113526" class="size-full wp-image-113526" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Oil-2-Pixabay.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="540" /><p id="caption-attachment-113526" class="wp-caption-text">Photo: Pixabay.</p></div></p>
<p>However, even a nine-month extension would be woefully insignificant, according to Johannes Benigni, chairman of JBC Energy Group, who claims market observers have always been too optimistic and that oil supply and demand will not be balanced before the end of 2019.</p>
<p>&#8220;OPEC now giving a signal they&#8217;re going to 2018 is great but you will see they have to roll on with their cuts. They will have to go to the end of next year and beyond,&#8221; said Benigni, talking to CNBC outside of OPEC&#8217;s Vienna headquarters ahead of the cartel&#8217;s meeting on Thursday.</p>
<p>Reading through Benigni&#8217;s predictions to get a sense of potential prices, the oil industry veteran warns that given the market is unlikely to be tight even as far out as 2020, forecasts for a $60 or $70 per barrel oil price are overly optimistic.</p>
<p>Furthermore, the reaction of U.S. shale producers will be a key factor in establishing price levels, said Benigni, adding &#8220;this supply response is a little bit of a risk for OPEC so if prices go really up it may not be in their interest.&#8221;</p>
<p>The U.S. shale market is currently in the process of rebalancing, according to the JBC chairman, who says that the era of falling production costs has now been replaced by stability but could soon turn to a climate of rising costs.</p>
<p><div id="attachment_91202" style="width: 970px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-91202" class="size-full wp-image-91202" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Oil-Pixabay.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="639" /><p id="caption-attachment-91202" class="wp-caption-text">Photo: Pixabay.</p></div></p>
<p>Turning to the question of compliance with the agreement, which is key to its success, Benigni warns that Kazakhstan may not be hugely interested in demonstrating discipline. With regards to Russia, he believes that domestic oil companies will fall in line with President Vladimir Putin&#8217;s wishes. Therefore, provided Putin is on board, Russia should co-operate – however, the price the president and his compatriots will pay for participation is rising.</p>
<p>&#8220;Up to now, Russia managed very well with maintenance of their fields to basically make a natural cut but going forward they have much more potential. For them now not to produce as much as they can is very difficult to do,&#8221; Benigni explained.</p>
<p>Turning to other key deal participants, Benigni highlights that Iran and Iraq are coming from very different starting points.</p>
<p>&#8220;The Iranians don&#8217;t yet have more volume to offer so they must be very happy with this on the table. For the Iraqis it is more of a question mark because they could do much more &#8211; so for them not to do it is like – really?&#8221;</p>


Saudi energy minister says 9-month extension is the ‘safe bet’ which should do the trick

<p>By Tiisetso Motsoeneng<span id="midArticle_byline"></span></p>
<p>Barclays&#8217; plan to sell its African business and pull out of the continent are being hindered by South Africa&#8217;s political upheaval and credit-rating downgrades, according to banking sources and fund managers.</p>
<p>The British bank gave itself 2-3 years to sell its controlling stake in Johannesburg-based Barclays Africa when it announced the plan in early 2016, and sold 12 percent last May in an &#8220;accelerated bookbuild&#8221; &#8211; a share sale held over a short period of time.</p>
<p>It had been planning another accelerated bookbuild in the last two weeks but pushed it back because of concerns over investor appetite due to political and economic uncertainty in South Africa, according to a banking source familiar with the plans.</p>
<p>The source, who asked not to be named as they are not authorised to speak publicly, did not say when the deal might now take place.</p>
<p>A spokesman for Barclays in London declined to comment.</p>
<p>South Africa has been mired in business uncertainty since late last year when the ruling African National Congress (ANC) pledged to radically transform the economy following losses in local elections that were partly caused by anger over deep inequality that persists more than two decades after apartheid.</p>
<p>It said it would redistribute the wealth of the country to the black majority, but has not outlined how it plans to do so.</p>
<p>Investor unease increased significantly two weeks ago with the sacking of respected finance minister Pravin Gordhan which led to S&amp;P Global Ratings cutting the credit rating of South Africa and its banks to junk.</p>
<p>Fitch also pushed Pretoria&#8217;s debt into junk territory and is expected to also downgrade local banks in the coming days because their large exposure to sovereign debt closely links their credit profile to that of the government.<span id="midArticle_byline"></span></p>
<p>The downgrades have heightened the risk of a prolonged economic stagnation and rattled investor confidence in banks, whose performance is closely linked to the economy, wiping out more than 132 billion rand ($9.5 billion) from their market value in two weeks.</p>
<p>The pool of potential buyers to which Barclays&#8217; can sell shares in its African business to is also shrinking, according to bankers, because the mandates of some institutional investors, including some pension funds, do not allow them to hold an asset that&#8217;s sliding on credit ratings.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;Barclays Plc have to make a tough call – go ahead and sell Barclays Africa at a low enough price that will attract investors or wait, possibly a few years, until the situation has stabilised,&#8221; said Kokkie Kooyman, portfolio manager at Dekker Capital in Cape Town.</p></blockquote>
<p>&#8216;PAYING PRICE&#8217;</p>
<p>The British bank said early last year that it planned to reduce its 62 percent stake in its African business to below 20 percent by 2019 as part of its plan to exit Africa to focus on the United States and Britain.</p>
<p>As well as hindering its global strategy, delays in the sale timetable could throw up regulatory problems.</p>
<p>Barclays is partly relying on funds raised from the stake sale to meet capital requirements that were identified as a concern by the Bank of England in a November &#8220;stress test&#8221; aimed at gauging its ability to withstand financial shocks.</p>
<p>The lender faces the annual test again late this year, and the British regulator could ask it to submit plans to raise extra capital if it has not met the requirements.<span id="midArticle_byline"></span></p>
<p>Barclays is increasingly looking at selling its remaining 50 percent stake in chunks because it is struggling to find one strategic buyer that will satisfy South African regulators, sources have previously said.</p>
<p>Barclays Africa earns more than 80 percent of its revenue in South Africa, but also operates in nine other including Kenya, Ghana, Botswana and Mozambique.</p>
<p>It has been hit hard by the economic uncertainty and credit downgrades in South Africa, along with domestic peers Standard Bank, Nedbank and FirstRand. They are heavily dependent on wholesale funding sources such as bonds, whose costs have surged following the downgrades, and exposed to the effects of economic problems such as rising unemployment.</p>
<p>South Africa&#8217;s &#8220;top four&#8221; banks have shed between 7 and 13 percent over the past two weeks.</p>
<p>Faced with possibility of losing more supporters in the 2019 national elections, the ANC party has pledged to overhaul the economy, with the central plank being the redistribution of wealth, but has not disclosed details of its plans.</p>
<p>The policy is aimed at winning back core voters in a country where black people make up 80 percent of the 54 million population, yet the lion&#8217;s share of the economy in terms of ownership of land and companies remains in the hands of white people, who account for around 8 percent of the population.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;Banks are paying the price for political uncertainty that we&#8217;ve seen in the country over the past two weeks,&#8221; said Ron Klipin, a fund manager at Cratos Capital in Johannesburg.</p>
<p>&#8220;As an investor, when you hear words like &#8216;radical economic transformation&#8217;, it creates some uncertainty in terms of the economic policy, in terms of further downgrades and the cost of funding for banks.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>($1 = 13.8876 rand)<span id="midArticle_byline"></span></p>
<p>(Additional reporting by Lawrence White in London; Editing by Pravin Char)</p>


South African tumult hinders Barclays’ exit from continent

<p>By Tiisetso Motsoeneng<span id="midArticle_byline"></span></p>
<p><span class="articleLocation">JOHANNESBURG</span> (Reuters) &#8211; Some of the banks South African regulators have alleged rigged the rand currency say the case against them lacks specific detail about anti-competitive conduct and its impact, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.</p>
<p>The banks have also questioned whether the country&#8217;s Competition Commission can penalise banks which do not have subsidiaries or branches in South Africa, the sources said.</p>
<p>The Competition Commission is seeking to impose fines on more than a dozen local and foreign banks that it alleges colluded to coordinate trading in the rand and the U.S. dollar.</p>
<p>The Commission launched the investigation in April 2015, joining a global clampdown that has led to big banks being fined around $10 billion in total for rigging interest rate and forex benchmarks.</p>
<p>It referred the case to the Competition Tribunal, which holds hearings on anti-trust matters before making a ruling. The Commission has recommended that the Tribunal impose fines amounting to 10 percent of the banks&#8217; South African revenues, the maximum allowed.</p>
<p>At a closed preliminary Tribunal hearing in March, some of the banks raised objections about the lack of specific detail in the case to allow their lawyers to present a defence, one of the sources said.</p>
<p>The Tribunal will meet again in July to consider the banks&#8217; objections if the Commission has done enough to fine-tune its case, the sources said.</p>
<p>The Competition Commission did not immediately respond to a Reuters&#8217; request to comment.</p>
<p>Under South African regulations, the Commission is required to investigate anti-competitive cases within South Africa, or those that have an impact in the country.<span id="midArticle_byline"></span></p>
<p>&#8220;If there was an anti-competitive conduct, as the Commission alleges, the question then is: did it have an effect in South Africa? That&#8217;s one jurisdictional issue the banks have raised,&#8221; another source said.</p>
<p>Another issue raised was how banks with no subsidiaries or branches in South Africa would be affected.</p>
<p>&#8220;Some of the banks want jurisdictional issues to be cleared up because some of the them named have no branches in South Africa,&#8221; one source said. &#8220;How do you calculate a fine for banks with no branches in South Africa?&#8221;</p>
<p>Australia&#8217;s ANZ Banking Group has no branches in South Africa. Nomura only launched a branch in South Africa in April last year, almost a year into the Commission&#8217;s investigation.</p>
<p>Among the banks, Barclays Africa Group, a regional unit of Barclays Plc, has been granted conditional immunity from prosecution in return for its cooperation in the investigation.</p>
<p>In February, the local arm of Citigroup was fined $5 million for its role in the affair. The Commission said it had set the fine for Citi Bank NA South Africa at less than 10 percent of its annual turnover after the bank &#8220;undertook to cooperate with the Commission.&#8221;</p>
<p>Other banks named in the investigation were Standard Bank, Investec, JP Morgan, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse Group, Commerzbank AG, Macquarie Bank, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML), HSBC Plc and Standard Chartered Plc.</p>
<p>Standard Bank, South Africa&#8217;s second biggest bank by market value, said its own internal investigation had found no evidence of any wrongdoing.</p>
<p>&#8220;Nonetheless, Standard Bank is treating these allegations very seriously and will engage fully with the Competition Commission and the Competition Tribunal to better understand the basis for the complaints,&#8221; spokesman Erik Larsen said.<span id="midArticle_byline"></span></p>
<p>StanChart would continue to co-operate with the Tribunal process, spokeswoman Geraldine Matchaba said. JP Morgan, Commerzbank, Bank of America and Nomura declined to comment. Credit Suisse, BNP Paribas, HSBC, ANZ and Macquarie did not respond to email requests for comment.</p>
<p>http://cnbc.africa/news/2017/02/20/south-africa-watchdog-settles-with-citi-over-currency-rigging/</p>
<p>(Editing by Jane Merriman)</p>


Banks raise objections in South Africa’s FX rigging case- sources

<p>LONDON (Reuters) &#8211; Barclays is in exclusive talks to sell its stake in its Zimbabwe unit to Malawi-based First Merchant Bank, the lenders said on Tuesday, as the British bank continues its exit from Africa.</p>
<p>First Merchant Bank said in a statement on its website it was in exclusive talks to buy out the 68 percent of Barclays Bank of Zimbabwe owned by the British company.</p>
<p>A spokeswoman for Barclays confirmed the bank was in early discussions with a prospective buyer for its stake in the Zimbabwe bank.</p>
<p>Neither party disclosed a value for the prospective deal. Barclays Bank of Zimbabwe has a market capitalisation of $60 million, according to Thomson Reuters data.</p>
<p>Barclays previously said it was looking to sell the stake as part of a broader exit from Africa announced a year ago when Chief Executive Jes Staley said the lender would instead focus on a transatlantic strategy in the United States and Britain.</p>
<p>Barclays Bank of Zimbabwe is one of two banks together with Barclays Bank Egypt that do not form part of the lender&#8217;s South Africa-based Barclays Africa Group, which is also up for sale.</p>
<p>The remaining 32 percent of Barclays Bank of Zimbabwe&#8217;s shares are traded on the Zimbabwe stock exchange.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Lawrence White; Editing by Mark Potter)</p>
<p>© Thomson Reuters 2017 All rights reserved</p>


Barclays in talks to sell Zimbabwe bank

<p>Barclays Africa Group has agreed terms for operational separation with UK-based Barclays PLC, which is reducing its shareholding in Barclays Africa. The agreement is expected to unlock opportunities for Barclays Africa as an independent pan African bank.</p>
<p>“It is a good outcome that enables us to complete the separation, and to provide continuity and improved service for our customers,” said Maria Ramos, Chief Executive, Barclays Africa.</p>
<p>UK-based Barclays PLC announced on 1 March 2016 that it intends to sell the majority of its shareholding in Barclays Africa over a period of two to three years. Since then, Barclays PLC and Barclays Africa Group have worked jointly to ensure the best outcome for all of our stakeholders.</p>
<p>Barclays PLC has submitted an application to the South African Reserve Bank for approval to reduce its shareholding in Barclays Africa Group to below 50%.  The application, which also requires the approval of the Minister of Finance, includes the terms of the separation payments and transitional services arrangements, which have been agreed between Barclays PLC and Barclays Africa.</p>
<p>The agreement provides for contributions by Barclays PLC totalling GBP765 million (R12.8 billion based on 31 Dec 2016 exchange rate) primarily to fund the investments required for Barclays Africa Group to separate from Barclays PLC as follows: </p>
<ul>
<li>£515 million (R8.6 billion) for investments required in technology, rebranding and other separation projects;</li>
<li>£55 million (R0.9 billion) to cover separation related expenses, of which £27.5 million was received in December 2016; and</li>
<li>£195 million (R3.3 billion) to terminate the existing service level agreement between Barclays and BAGL, relating to the Rest of Africa operations acquired in 2013.</li>
</ul>
<p>The expectation is that the financial contributions will neutralise the capital and cash flow impact of separation investments on the Group over time. </p>
<p>Barclays PLC currently owns 50.1% of Barclays Africa.  Following the reduction of Barclays PLC’s shareholding below the 50% mark, Barclays Africa will be able to continue using the Barclays brand at its operations outside of South Africa for three years. Barclays Africa will receive certain services from Barclays PLC on arms’ length basis for a transitional period, typically up to three years.</p>
<p>An important feature of discussions has been the provision for a broad-based black economic empowerment scheme. While the full details are still under consideration, we are pleased to announce that Barclays PLC has agreed to contribute an amount equivalent to 1.5% of Barclays Africa’s market capitalisation, or R2.1 billion (based on a Barclays Africa’s share price of R168.69 on 31 December 2016) towards the establishment of such a scheme.</p>
<p>“Separation has a number of implications for our business,” said Ramos. “It gives us the opportunity to unlock the potential to do things differently and build energy and momentum for our future as a pan-African organisation.” </p>
<p>Alongside a black economic empowerment scheme, Barclays Africa also wants to create an equity proposition for our staff in the next 12 to 18 months. This will give our people the opportunity to benefit from share ownership, and to share in the future growth of our business.</p>
<p>“Both these schemes will help us to build an ownership-based, entrepreneurial culture that goes to the heart of our commitment to the communities which we serve,” Ramos said.</p>
<p>We remain firmly focused on building a leading standalone Pan African financial institution.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


Barclays Africa, Barclays reach terms of separation

<p>In a statement, Barclays Africa Group Ltd/ABSA expressed its concern about the crisis at universities across the country during the past few months. With students protesting for free education, the 2016 academic year is in danger of being lost at some universities.</p>
<p>&#8220;We empathize with the plight of students whose parents are not able to fund their university education,&#8221; the statement reads. &#8220;While the government annually allocates billions of rand to provide access to higher education, it is clear that more needs to be done.﻿&#8221;</p>
<p>The Group recognises the importance of education and skills training to socioeconomic development throughout Africa. One of the three piloars of the Group&#8217;s Shared Growth strategy is education and skills development. As part of this strategy, which was launched earlier this year, R1.4 billion has been committed to education and skills training across Africa over the next three years.﻿</p>
<p>As part of this commitment, R49 million has been invested for 2016, mostly in historically black universities in South Africa. R23 million is for tuition fees for what is termed the “missing middle” reaching approximately 550 students, including 114 scholarships awarded to children of Barclays Africa staff. These are students who either have a shortfall on their National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funding or whose parents can only afford a portion of their student fees. R26 million has been invested in university research and capacity building.﻿</p>
<p>In light of the current university protests, the Group has decided to contribute an addtional R57 million towards the settlement of the 2016 student debt for approximately 1450 students in seven universities across South Africa. This is at an average of R40 000 per student. This brings the total contribution to student tuition for this year to R80 million and R106 million in total assistance to universities.﻿</p>
<p>From next year the Group&#8217;s contribution will be increased to an average R70 000 per student, providing assistance to 3000 students across its markets in Africa, amounting to a R210 million investment.﻿</p>
<p>&#8220;We know that our contribution is not enough to resolve the problem for every student but as a large corporate citizen we recognize the special responsibility we have to increase our support,&#8221; the Group statement says.</p>
<p>&#8220;We call upon students and universities to do everything they can to save the current academic year. Should this year be lost, it will be very difficult to accommodate a new intake next, further compounding the problem of access to higher education.</p>
<p>&#8220;Education is the foundation of social and economic development. The inequalities of our society place a responsibility upon all of us to find an equitable funding formula where priority is given to deserving students who do not have the means to pay some or all of their tuition fees.</p>
<p>&#8220;We are also mindful that the challenges in education are broad and not limited to financial barriers to entry into higher education. The basic education system is critical to the success of the post-school education. We recommit ourselves to continuing to work together with governments and other stakeholders to secure quality education to Africa’s young people to support economic development,&#8221; the statement concludes.</p>
<p> </p>


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Barclays

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Banking group increases financial support to S.A universities

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