<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/107335423-1700186666155-gettyimages-647053464-_jcg2290-820x461.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-429142" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/107335423-1700186666155-gettyimages-647053464-_jcg2290-820x461.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/107335423-1700186666155-gettyimages-647053464-_jcg2290-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/107335423-1700186666155-gettyimages-647053464-_jcg2290-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/107335423-1700186666155-gettyimages-647053464-_jcg2290-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/107335423-1700186666155-gettyimages-647053464-_jcg2290-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/107335423-1700186666155-gettyimages-647053464-_jcg2290.jpeg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">BARCELONA, SPAIN &#8211; MARCH 01: A view of the MasterCard company logo on their stand during the Mobile World Congress on March 1, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Joan Cros Garcia/Corbis via Getty Images)
Joan Cros Garcia &#8211; Corbis | Corbis News | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, May 21 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;There is little evidence that big hikes in fees by&nbsp;Visa&nbsp;and&nbsp;Mastercard&nbsp;on retailers who use their cards have also led to major improvement in service, Britain&#8217;s Payment Systems Regulator said in provisional findings on Tuesday, flagging concerns competition was not working.



Visa and&nbsp;Mastercard&nbsp;have long dominated the market for payment cards, triggering calls from UK lawmakers for closer scrutiny from the PSR, which launched an investigation.



&#8220;The PSR found that over the past five years, and after taking account of volume changes,&nbsp;Mastercard&nbsp;and&nbsp;Visa&nbsp;have increased their scheme and processing fees by more than 30% in real terms. There is little evidence that the quality of service has improved at the same rate,&#8221; the PSR said in a statement.



The PSR&#8217;s 158-page&nbsp;<a href="https://www.psr.org.uk/media/pcvem3uq/interim-report-market-review-of-scheme-and-processing-fees-may-2024-publication.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">interim report</a>said estimates that the fee increases have added more than 250 million pounds to costs for UK businesses.



UK businesses have little choice but to pay these increased costs as&nbsp;Mastercard&nbsp;and&nbsp;Visa&nbsp;cards account for 95% of transactions using UK-issued cards, the PSR said.



&#8220;We disagree with the findings of the PSR&#8217;s interim review. The payments industry has never been more competitive, which is reflected in the wide choice of payment options available to British consumers and businesses,&#8221;&nbsp;Mastercard&nbsp;said in a statement.



Visa&nbsp;was not immediately available to comment.



The PSR said it has proposed &#8220;remedies&#8221;, for public consultation, that include improved transparency for users, and obligations on&nbsp;Mastercard&nbsp;and&nbsp;Visa&nbsp;to explain, consult on and/or document the reasons for price changes.



It said it has also proposed greater reporting of financial information to the PSR on an on-going basis to improve scrutiny of&nbsp;Mastercard&nbsp;and&nbsp;Visa&#8217;s UK operations going forward.



The public consultation is open until July 30, and a final report on card schemes and processing fees is due in the final quarter of the year.



&#8220;If the final report upholds the provisional finding that the market is not working well, the PSR will consult on the implementation of any remedies,&#8221; the watchdog said.



(Reporting by Huw Jones, editing by Sinead Cruise)

107335423-1700186666155-gettyimages-647053464-_jcg2290

Britain seeks to rein in Mastercard and Visa fees on retailers

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="519" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/BHP-shares-hit-3-month-high-as-deadline-for-formal-Anglo-bid-looms-820x519.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-488951" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/BHP-shares-hit-3-month-high-as-deadline-for-formal-Anglo-bid-looms-820x519.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/BHP-shares-hit-3-month-high-as-deadline-for-formal-Anglo-bid-looms-300x190.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/BHP-shares-hit-3-month-high-as-deadline-for-formal-Anglo-bid-looms-142x90.jpg 142w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/BHP-shares-hit-3-month-high-as-deadline-for-formal-Anglo-bid-looms-768x486.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/BHP-shares-hit-3-month-high-as-deadline-for-formal-Anglo-bid-looms-1536x973.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/BHP-shares-hit-3-month-high-as-deadline-for-formal-Anglo-bid-looms-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A small toy figure and mineral imitation are seen in front of the BHP logo in this illustration taken November 19, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



PERTH, May 21 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Shares of&nbsp;BHP&nbsp;Group&nbsp;BHP.AX&nbsp;touched a three-month high on Tuesday about 36 hours ahead of a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N3HI07V&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">deadline</a>&nbsp;to lodge a formal bid for rival miner Anglo American&nbsp;AAL.L, which last week rejected a sweetened $43 billion takeover proposal.



The world&#8217;s largest listed miner&#8217;s shares are benefiting from good news including fresh stimulus for China&#8217;s property sector, copper prices reaching record highs and a growing view that&nbsp;BHP&nbsp;will not make another tilt at Anglo, according to Andy Forster, senior investment officer at Argo Investments, a&nbsp;BHP&nbsp;shareholder.



&#8220;We saw last week that they had a bit of a bounce after rejection by Anglo,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I think they&#8217;re going to stay disciplined. I&#8217;d be surprised if they&#8217;d come back at this late stage given the lukewarm response from Anglo&#8217;s board to the previous offers.&#8221;



Under UK takeover rules,&nbsp;BHP&nbsp;has until 1600 GMT on Wednesday to make a binding bid for Anglo American or it will be forced to walk away for at least six months. If the companies reach an agreement in the meantime, an extension can be granted.



BHP&nbsp;declined to comment on Tuesday. Its shares were up 0.5% to A$45.93 in afternoon trading. Anglo&#8217;s London-listed shares closed 0.1% higher at 26.80 pounds on Monday.



Anglo&#8217;s board has already&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N3HG2RJ&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">knocked back</a>&nbsp;two all-share proposals from&nbsp;BHP&nbsp;as inadequate and too difficult to execute and last week unveiled plans for a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N3HH1FT&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">break-up</a>&nbsp;to focus on energy transition metal copper while spinning out or selling its coal, nickel, diamond and platinum businesses.



The copper assets make strategic sense for&nbsp;BHP&nbsp;but the longer the deal takes to close, the more likely it is a competitor lobs a rival bid for some of Anglo&#8217;s assets, according to Hayden Bairstow, an analyst at Australian stockbroker Argonaut.



&#8220;The risk of waiting is that Anglo&#8217;s metallurgical coal assets go to someone else or an interloper like Glencore comes in with a more compelling deal,&#8221; he said.



It would take Anglo a minimum of six to 12 months to run a sales process for the coal assets, according to an Australia-based investment banker who spoke on condition of anonymity.



Bankers are now jostling to get business from potential buyers, the person added.



Jefferies analysts said last week that&nbsp;BHP&nbsp;could be interested in the coal assets if it did not succeed in its bid for Anglo, given it owns nearby mines.



BHP&nbsp;would need to boost its latest offer by about 30% to reflect fair value for Anglo and its key copper assets, JPMorgan analysts said in a note last week.



Both of&nbsp;BHP&#8217;s offers required Anglo divest its platinum and iron ore assets in South Africa, where it employs more than 40,000 people.



BHP&nbsp;has told investors it&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N3H90QY&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">will not drop</a>&nbsp;its requirement for Anglo to demerge those businesses as a condition of the deal.



($1 = 0.7869 pounds)



ANALYSIS-BHP&#8217;s options for Anglo American deal narrow as deadline looms&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N3HI07V&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



(Reporting by Melanie Burton in Perth, Lewis Jackson in Sydney and Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru; Editing by Praveen Menon and Jamie Freed)

FILE PHOTO: BHP shares jump 2.3% after Anglo announces break-up plan

BHP shares hit 3-month high as deadline for formal Anglo bid looms

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="552" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Global-oil-markets-weaken-as-sluggish-demand-leaves-overhang-820x552.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-488708" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Global-oil-markets-weaken-as-sluggish-demand-leaves-overhang-820x552.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Global-oil-markets-weaken-as-sluggish-demand-leaves-overhang-300x202.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Global-oil-markets-weaken-as-sluggish-demand-leaves-overhang-134x90.jpg 134w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Global-oil-markets-weaken-as-sluggish-demand-leaves-overhang-768x517.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Global-oil-markets-weaken-as-sluggish-demand-leaves-overhang-1536x1033.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Global-oil-markets-weaken-as-sluggish-demand-leaves-overhang-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Miniatures of oil barrels and a rising stock graph are seen in this illustration taken January 15, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, May 20 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Global physical crude oil markets are weakening because of soft refinery demand and ample supply, traders and analysts told Reuters, in a move that could spell further weakness for benchmark crude futures.



The weakness indicates high interest rates and inflation are depressing consumer and industrial demand, especially in Europe, at a time when supply is rising from non-OPEC producers such as the United States. This could bolster arguments for OPEC+ to maintain production curbs at a June 1 meeting.



Demand from refiners is soft, even though their crude intake capacity has increased with the end of springtime maintenance.



“Rising refinery capacity has not been met by an expected rise in demand,” Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen said.



“Consumers are feeling the pressure from high interest rates and inflation, as well as trade wars and a challenging geopolitical environment.”



The weakness is exhibited particularly clearly in the North Sea, which produces crude grades that alongside U.S. WTI Midland crude underpin the Brent futures benchmark and help price two thirds of global oil.



The price differential of North Sea Forties crude&nbsp;BFO-FOT&nbsp;fell on May 14 to a discount of 97 cents to dated Brent, its widest since January 2023, according to data from S&amp;P Global Commodity Insights, known as Platts.



Similarly, Platts on May 13 assessed WTI Midland cargoes pricing in Northwest Europe at dated Brent minus 69 cents, the lowest assessment since WTI joined the North Sea grades that underpin the Brent benchmark last May.



&#8220;It is seemingly a relatively benign period for demand,&#8221; said Sparta Commodities analyst Neil Crosby, who added that ample crude inventories could be delaying buying. &#8220;For now, physical pricing is under pressure.&#8221;



Besides weak refining demand, supply of light, low-sulphur crudes competing with the North Sea such as West Africa or the United States has been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N3GO63V&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rising globally</a>.



Ample supply is also evident in the structure of short-term Brent swaps &#8211; when crude for prompt delivery trades at a $1.07 per barrel discount to the July contract as opposed a $1.64 premium a month ago.



The current structure is known as contango and indicates abundant prompt supplies and weak demand. The opposite structure is known as backwardation.



WEAKNESS ACROSS THE BOARD



In the United States, physical markets have also softened as U.S. refinery processing rates have stayed below regular seasonal levels despite the end of a maintenance season.



Prices for Louisiana Light Sweet crude&nbsp;WTC-LLS&nbsp;fell to a three-week low of $2.33 per barrel over WTI on May 16, according to LSEG data.



The four-week average for U.S. refinery utilization was at 88.7% for the week ended May 10, down from 91.2% over the same period a year ago, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.



At the same time, the four-week averages for both U.S. gasoline and distillate product-supplied, a proxy for demand, were 4-5% below 2023 levels.



Refinery profit margins around the world have weakened partly because of a global&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N3H64LF&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">slump in diesel</a>&nbsp;values, a key refined product for the industrial and transport sectors alike.



PVM analyst Tamas Varga said lower margins were a clear sign that refiners were producing too much fuel amid lax consumer and industrial demand.



Lower profit margins have already prompted Asian refiners to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3HH07V&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">process less crude</a>&nbsp;oil in May, with others considering more cuts in coming months, further reducing crude demand.



Asia’s oil refining curtailments &#8220;signals a weak oil market,&#8221; said U.S. oil analyst Paul Sankey.



&#8220;The last leg of the refining balance essentially is Asia. It&#8217;s the first thing that shuts down&#8221; when markets are oversupplied, he said, adding that he expects OPEC to roll over its voluntary cuts at the June 1 meeting.



Weaker Asian refining demand has caused a drop-off in Middle East crude prices with Benchmark Dubai touching a near two-month low of $81.24 a barrel on May 8.



It has also left a glut of Nigerian supply, forcing sellers to cut prices for May cargoes to clear an overhang.



Nigerian Qua Iboe&nbsp;BFO-QUA&nbsp;crude fell to $2.10 above dated Brent on May 15, the lowest premium since February according to LSEG data.



An Asian crude buyer, who asked not to be named, said he was holding off purchases of West African and WTI crude until values drop further.



&#8220;They need to find outlets. (There is) too much oil,&#8221; the buyer said.



North Sea crude under pressure&nbsp;<a href="https://reut.rs/3K8XjbS" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://reut.rs/3K8XjbS</a>



North Sea crude under pressure&nbsp;<a href="https://reut.rs/4boYcZY" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://reut.rs/4boYcZY</a>



(Reporting by Robert Harvey and Natalie Grover, additional reporting by Gary McWilliams and Liz Hampton in Houston, and Florence Tan in Singapore; Editing by Alex Lawler, Dmitry Zhdannikov and Susan Fenton)

Illustration shows miniatures of oil barrels and rising stock graph

Global oil markets weaken as sluggish demand leaves overhang

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="462" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/107387754-1710442603582-Fort-Knox-Gold-Pour-820x462.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-488636" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/107387754-1710442603582-Fort-Knox-Gold-Pour-820x462.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/107387754-1710442603582-Fort-Knox-Gold-Pour-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/107387754-1710442603582-Fort-Knox-Gold-Pour-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/107387754-1710442603582-Fort-Knox-Gold-Pour-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/107387754-1710442603582-Fort-Knox-Gold-Pour.jpg 929w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The Fort Knox Alaska operations of mining company Kinross, which has a new gold mine in Tetlin, Alaska, that has led to lawmaker concerns about trucking’s impact. Courtesy: Kinross</figcaption></figure>



May 20 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Gold prices hit an all-time high on Monday, as a slowing U.S. inflation trend boosted expectations the Federal Reserve could deliver its first interest rate cut soon, while silver scaled a more than 11-year peak.



Spot gold&nbsp;XAU=&nbsp;rose 1% to $2,438.44 per ounce, as of 0811 GMT, after hitting a record high of $2,449.89 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures&nbsp;GCcv1&nbsp;rose 1.1% to $2,442.60.



Data last week showed signs of cooling inflation and traders now expect a 65% chance of a U.S. rate cut by September. FEDWATCH



The dollar index&gt;&nbsp;=USD&nbsp;remained subdued, making greenback-priced bullion more attractive to buyers holding other currencies.&nbsp;USD/



A soft U.S. dollar and expectations the Federal Reserve is expected to cut rates soon has helped gold prices, said Kyle Rodda, a financial market analyst at Capital.com.



Bullion is known as an inflation hedge, but higher rates increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold.



Minutes of the Fed&#8217;s last policy meeting due on Wednesday along with comments from a slew of Fed speakers will be on investors&#8217; radar for this week.



&#8220;Gold prices sneaked in a cheeky record high ahead of China&#8217;s (market) open on Monday. Yet as the move has not been confirmed with by a weaker U.S. dollar, it seems to have been caught in a tailwind from higher metals futures on China&#8217;s exchanges,&#8221; said City Index senior analyst Matt Simpson.&nbsp;MET/L



China, the top consumer of bullion and a majority of industrial metals, announced &#8220;historic&#8221; steps on Friday to stabilise its crisis-hit property sector.



Spot silver&nbsp;XAG=&nbsp;rose 1.3% to $31.88 after hitting an over 11-year high.



&#8220;Silver&#8217;s relative cheapness compared to gold and its strong fundamentals are invigorating investor interest. Platinum is trading at premium over palladium with rising inflows of exchange traded funds,&#8221; analysts at ANZ wrote in a note.



Platinum&nbsp;XPT=&nbsp;fell 0.2% to $1,078.88, after hitting its highest since May 12, 2023 earlier in the session. Palladium&nbsp;XPD=&nbsp;dropped 0.2% to $1,006.49.



(Reporting by Sherin Elizabeth Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Sohini Goswami and Krishna Chandra Eluri)

107387754-1710442603582-Fort-Knox-Gold-Pour

Gold hits record peak as rate-cut bets burnish appeal, silver jumps

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="538" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/X5WBKTDO6BMH7BA5JA5G55KZ74-820x538.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-488627" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/X5WBKTDO6BMH7BA5JA5G55KZ74-820x538.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/X5WBKTDO6BMH7BA5JA5G55KZ74-300x197.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/X5WBKTDO6BMH7BA5JA5G55KZ74-137x90.jpg 137w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/X5WBKTDO6BMH7BA5JA5G55KZ74-768x504.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/X5WBKTDO6BMH7BA5JA5G55KZ74-1536x1007.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/X5WBKTDO6BMH7BA5JA5G55KZ74-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Former South African President Jacob Zuma speaks to supporters of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party outside the High Court in Durban, South Africa, March 27, 2024. REUTERS/Rogan Ward/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, May 20 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s former president Jacob Zuma is barred from running for parliament in this month&#8217;s election, the country&#8217;s top court ruled on Monday, a judgment that could influence the outcome and trigger unrest from Zuma&#8217;s supporters.



The constitutional court found Zuma&#8217;s 15-month jail sentence for contempt of court in 2021 disqualified him from standing in the May 29 election, as the constitution prohibits anyone given a prison sentence of 12 months or longer from holding a parliamentary seat.



&#8220;It is declared that Mr. Zuma was convicted of an offence and sentenced to more than 12 months&#8217; imprisonment, &#8230; and is accordingly not eligible to be a member of, and not qualified to stand for election to, the National Assembly,&#8221;&nbsp;its ruling said.



Zuma, who was forced to quit as president in 2018, has fallen out with the governing African National Congress (ANC) and has been campaigning for a new party called uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) named after the ANC&#8217;s formed armed wing.



Opinion polls suggest the ANC&#8217;s majority is at risk after 30 years in power, and MK represents a threat to it, especially in Zuma&#8217;s home province of KwaZulu-Natal where he is popular.



In 2021 Zuma&#8217;s jailing triggered riots in KwaZulu-Natal in which more than 300 people died and which morphed into a wider spate of looting.



Asked about the potential for violence in the wake of the constitutional court ruling during an interview with local radio station 702, President Cyril Ramaphosa said: &#8220;I&#8217;m not concerned about this instigating violence.&#8221;



&#8220;We have rule of law in South Africa that governs us. Once a constitutional court has decided, that is it and should there be any threat of violence our security forces are ready,&#8221; he said.



South Africa&#8217;s electoral commission originally disqualified Zuma in March, but a month later&nbsp;a court overturned the disqualification saying the relevant section of the constitution applied only to people who had a chance to appeal against their sentences, which had not been Zuma&#8217;s case.



The electoral commission&nbsp;then took the case to the&nbsp;constitutional court.&nbsp;It said previously that even if Zuma was disqualified from standing as a member of parliament, his face will still appear on ballots this month as he is the registered leader of the MK party.



An Ipsos opinion poll published in April put support for MK at roughly 8%, versus just over 40% for the ANC.



While the ANC is still on track to get the most votes, if it gets less than 50% support it would have to seek one or more coalition partners to govern the country, the first such alliance since the party swept to power under liberation hero Nelson Mandela at the end of apartheid.



At a campaign rally for his MK party on Saturday, Zuma told thousands of supporters in a stadium in South Africa&#8217;s biggest township Soweto that his party would provide free education for disadvantaged children and create jobs.



(Reporting by Anait Miridzhanian; Additional reporting by Tannur Anders; Editing by Alexander Winning and Bate Felix)

Former South African President Jacob Zuma speaks to supporters of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party outside the High Court in Durban

South Africa’s ex-leader Zuma barred from standing in election

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-1166232221-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-487665" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-1166232221-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-1166232221-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-1166232221-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-1166232221-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-1166232221-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-1166232221-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Fabricio Bloisi, chief executive officer of Movile Group, a unit of Napsers Ltd, poses for a photograph in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019. Naspers-owned internet ventures will be carved out into a new $100 billion company called Prosus NV, which is due to list in Amsterdam on Sept. 11. Photographer: Yuriko Nakao/Bloomberg via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, May 17 (Reuters) &#8211; Dutch technology investor Prosus PRX.AS and its South African parent group Naspers NPNJn.J on Friday named the head of their iFood business, Fabricio Bloisi, as their new CEO, replacing long-time boss Bob van Dijk who stepped down last September.



The companies, whose main asset is Prosus&#8217;s 26% stake in Chinese tech giant Tencent&nbsp;0700.HK, said Bloisi &#8211; currently the CEO of Latin American food delivery business iFood &#8211; would assume the role at both companies on July 1.



&#8220;He (Bloisi) has a combination of vision, deep operational experience and strong discipline. It is this skill set which the board believes make him the right person to now lead us,&#8221; Prosus and Naspers Chair Koos Bekker said in a statement.



Bloisi welcomed the opportunity to lead both companies, adding: &#8220;A company like Prosus must play an important role in identifying new technologies, such as AI, that impact the world and specifically emerging markets&#8221;.



Prosus said the group&#8217;s strategic goals remained unchanged, adding it was on track to deliver on e-commerce profitability in the second half of its 2024 financial year and continue its open-ended share repurchase programme.



Outgoing CEO Dijk oversaw Prosus&#8217;s initial public offering in 2019 and the stock&#8217;s strong performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. But its shares fell in the broadly post-pandemic correction in technology valuations, and the company has struggled to reduce its discount to Tencent.



Since Bloisi is not as experienced in international mergers and acquisitions and dealing with investors, the board appointed interim CEO Ervin Tu as president and chief investment officer, Bekker told investors on a call.



&#8220;As our new President and CIO, he will play a fundamental role in shaping the group&#8217;s future strategy, investments, and capital allocation,&#8221; Bekker added.



But Bloisi will have the final say on capital allocation, Tu told investors.



Prosus shares were down 3.10% at 1116 GMT, while Naspers&#8217; were down 3.11%.



&#8220;Whilst we think the market will take some time to get to know Bloisi and could be sceptical initially &#8230; we believe the team of Bloisi heading and Tu alongside could work well,&#8221; UBS analyst Joseph Barnet-Lamb said.



Jefferies analysts said Bloisi&#8217;s skills as an owner-operator were unlikely to be fully used at the helm of Prosus given investments in both public and private companies have their own operators.



&#8220;We would have preferred a capital allocator with a track record in either private or public market expertise at the helm of Prosus,&#8221; they said.



(Additional reporting by Radhika Anilkumar and Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Mark Potter)

Naspers Prepares to List Global Empire From Ads to Tencent

Prosus and Naspers name iFood head Bloisi as new CEO

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="548" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P763LBKESBL7DNF5FGYK2ONI4M-820x548.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-487648" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P763LBKESBL7DNF5FGYK2ONI4M-820x548.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P763LBKESBL7DNF5FGYK2ONI4M-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P763LBKESBL7DNF5FGYK2ONI4M-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P763LBKESBL7DNF5FGYK2ONI4M-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P763LBKESBL7DNF5FGYK2ONI4M-1536x1026.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P763LBKESBL7DNF5FGYK2ONI4M-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Israeli delegation members sit at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), at the start of a hearing where South Africa requests new emergency measures over Israel&#8217;s attacks on Rafah, as part of an ongoing case South Africa filed at the ICJ in December last year accusing Israel of violating the Genocide Convention during its offensive against Palestinians in Gaza, in The Hague Netherlands May 17, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman</figcaption></figure>



THE HAGUE, May 17 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Israel on Friday defended the military necessity of its Gaza offensive at the International Court of Justice after South Africa asked judges to order it to halt operations in Rafah and completely withdraw from the Palestinian territory.



Israeli Justice Ministry official Gilad Noam called South Africa&#8217;s case, which accuses Israel of violating the Genocide Convention, &#8220;completely divorced from facts and circumstances&#8221;.



&#8220;(The case) makes a mockery of the heinous charge of genocide,&#8221; Noam said.



Ahead of Israel&#8217;s presentation, several dozen pro-Israeli protesters gathered outside, displaying photographs of hostages taken by Hamas fighters on Oct. 7 and demanding their release.



More than 35,300 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s seven-month-old assault on the Gaza Strip, health officials in the enclave said on Thursday. The war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and abducting 253 others.



On Thursday, South Africa&#8217;s ambassador to the Netherlands, Vusimuzi Madonsela, requested the court to order Israel to &#8220;immediately, totally and unconditionally, withdraw the Israeli army from the entirety of the Gaza Strip.&#8221;



The South African legal team framed the Israeli military operation as part of a genocidal plan aimed at bringing about the destruction of the Palestinian people.



In past rulings, the court has rejected Israel&#8217;s demands to dismiss the case and ordered it to prevent acts of genocide against the Palestinians, while stopping short of ordering it to halt the assault.



(Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg and Anthony Deutsch; Editing by Peter Graff)

South Africa asks World Court for more emergency measures over Israel’s Rafah offensive, in The Hague

Israel tells World Court South Africa case makes a mockery of genocide

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="536" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GSOSOM4DZFNTPBYDV4RS2U7HM4-820x536.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-487632" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GSOSOM4DZFNTPBYDV4RS2U7HM4-820x536.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GSOSOM4DZFNTPBYDV4RS2U7HM4-300x196.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GSOSOM4DZFNTPBYDV4RS2U7HM4-138x90.jpg 138w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GSOSOM4DZFNTPBYDV4RS2U7HM4-768x502.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GSOSOM4DZFNTPBYDV4RS2U7HM4-1536x1004.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GSOSOM4DZFNTPBYDV4RS2U7HM4-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A worker&#8217;s uniform displays company branding at a Sainsbury&#8217;s store in London, Britain October 11, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, May 17 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Britain&#8217;s Sainsbury&#8217;s&nbsp;SBRY.L&nbsp;said on Friday it has agreed a five-year strategic partnership with Microsoft&nbsp;MSFT.O&nbsp;that will use the technology company&#8217;s artificial intelligence capabilities and the supermarket group&#8217;s rich data.



Seeking revenue gains and cost savings, more retailers are using generative AI to boost personalised shopping experiences for consumers and make staff working practices more efficient.



Sainsbury&#8217;s, Britain&#8217;s second-largest grocer after Tesco&nbsp;TSCO.L, said it would use AI to create a more interactive shopping experience for online shoppers, while also improving search functions.



In stores, staff would have real-time data and insights for key processes, such as shelf replenishment.



Time to market for new services and product innovations would also be reduced, Sainsbury&#8217;s said.



No financial details of the partnership were disclosed.



Sainsbury&#8217;s in February updated the market on its strategy, setting a new cost-savings target of 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) over three years and pledging to boost returns for shareholders.



Last month, it forecast up to 10% growth in profit in the current financial year that began on March 3, confident it can continue to win more customers from rivals.



($1 = 0.7895 pounds)



(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Jamie Freed)

A worker’s uniform displays company branding at a Sainsbury’s store in London

British grocer Sainsbury’s partners with Microsoft to use AI for data insights

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="541" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/XHKXHIOUFZIJZAGULBLYUNLOQA-1-820x541.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-487399" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/XHKXHIOUFZIJZAGULBLYUNLOQA-1-820x541.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/XHKXHIOUFZIJZAGULBLYUNLOQA-1-300x198.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/XHKXHIOUFZIJZAGULBLYUNLOQA-1-136x90.jpg 136w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/XHKXHIOUFZIJZAGULBLYUNLOQA-1-768x507.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/XHKXHIOUFZIJZAGULBLYUNLOQA-1-1536x1014.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/XHKXHIOUFZIJZAGULBLYUNLOQA-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Workers offload boxes with Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines as the country receives its first batch of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines under COVAX scheme, at the international airport of Abuja, Nigeria March 2, 2021. REUTERS/Abraham Archiga</figcaption></figure>



ABUJA, May 16 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Dubai&#8217;s Emirates airline will resume flight schedules to Nigeria from Oct. 1, it said on Thursday, ending a close to two-year halt to flights.



The United Arab Emirates (UAE) stopped issuing visas to Nigerians in 2022 after Emirates suspended flights between the nations because of an inability to repatriate funds from Nigeria.



&#8220;We are excited to resume our services to Nigeria. We thank the Nigerian government for their partnership and support in re-establishing this route and we look forward to welcoming passengers back on board,&#8221; Adnan Kazim, the airline&#8217;s deputy president and chief commercial officer, said in a statement.



The Lagos-Dubai service has been popular with Nigerian customers in the past and Emirates said it hopes to reconnect travellers to Dubai and onwards to more than 140 destination with its resumption of services.



Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met last September in Abu Dhabi and discussed the lifting of the visa ban and new investments into Africa&#8217;s most populous country.



The resumption of schedules also includes cargo flights, the statement said.



(Reporting by Ope Adetayo; Additonal reporting by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; Editing by Jason Neely and David Goodman)

Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines against COVID-19 arrive in Abuja

Emirates to resume Nigeria flights after nearly two years

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="573" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/MRLWKTGVIRIYFC257KSXSP6GGA-820x573.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-487246" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/MRLWKTGVIRIYFC257KSXSP6GGA-820x573.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/MRLWKTGVIRIYFC257KSXSP6GGA-300x210.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/MRLWKTGVIRIYFC257KSXSP6GGA-129x90.jpg 129w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/MRLWKTGVIRIYFC257KSXSP6GGA-768x537.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/MRLWKTGVIRIYFC257KSXSP6GGA-1536x1074.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/MRLWKTGVIRIYFC257KSXSP6GGA-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa speaks at the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) National Worker&#8217;s Day rally at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa, May 1, 2024.?REUTERS/Esa?Alexander/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, May 16 (Reuters) &#8211; South Africans vote in a national election on May 29 and, for the first time since the end of apartheid 30 years ago, polls suggest the ruling African National Congress party (ANC) is at risk of losing its parliamentary majority. Investors are paying close attention.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-is-nbsp-a-majority-nbsp-important">WHY IS&nbsp;A MAJORITY&nbsp;IMPORTANT?</h2>



If the ANC gets less than 50% support it would have to seek one or more coalition partners to govern Africa&#8217;s most industrialised economy. The new parliament will choose South Africa&#8217;s next president.



The new government will set fiscal and economic policy for the coming five years, and investors want to see if the next administration is likely to tack sharply left, head in a more business-friendly direction or prevail with the status quo of slow reforms.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-are-investors-focused-on">WHAT ARE INVESTORS FOCUSED ON?</h2>



An April Ipsos poll put the ANC&#8217;s support at 40.2% and most surveys have estimated it will get below 45%, the level financial analysts say it needs to reach to enlist smaller, centrist coalition partners.



Otherwise, the ANC may have to seek a deal with&nbsp;the far-left Marxist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) or the economically liberal Democratic Alliance (DA).



&#8220;The market is watching very closely to see the degree to which the ANC&#8230; (is) forced to engage in coalitions with what are perceived to be extremely left-wing parties such as the MK (uMkhonto we Sizwe party) and EFF,&#8221; said Yvette Babb, a portfolio manager at U.S.-asset manager William Blair Investment Management.



&#8220;The greyer zone of between 45%-50%, whereby they (ANC) may need to form a coalition with smaller parties that are more centrist, is not deemed to be a bad thing&#8230;perhaps that introduces more checks and balances into the governance process.&#8221;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-will-markets-react">HOW WILL MARKETS REACT?</h2>



Post-election coalition discussions between the ANC and the EFF or the recently-formed MK, led by former President Jacob Zuma, would lead to a &#8220;kneejerk&#8221; sell-off of South African assets, said Mpho Molopyane, chief economist at South African investment and insurance company Alexforbes.



&#8220;The concern is that&#8230; we could see government turning more populist, increasing social spending, implementing policies that are anti-business, the reform agenda slowing down,&#8221; she said.



Meanwhile, coalition discussions between the ANC and DA would likely lead to a &#8220;risk-on rally&#8221;, where prices rise, Molopyane said.



&#8220;A coalition with the DA is regarded as likely to be more business friendly&#8230; an efficiently run state, fiscal prudence – all of which would bode well for South Africa&#8217;s growth prospects,&#8221; she said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-might-the-election-impact-the-rand">HOW MIGHT THE ELECTION IMPACT THE RAND?</h2>



The rand has reflected South Africa&#8217;s economic woes in recent years. The currency has weakened a touch year-to-date and marked annual losses of 5% or more in the previous four years.



&#8220;Fair value&#8221; for the rand-U.S. dollar exchange rate&nbsp;ZAR=D3&nbsp;is about 18.10 rand per dollar, so with it currently trading just below 18.40 there is a relatively small election-linked risk premium, said Elna Moolman, Standard Bank&#8217;s head of South Africa macroeconomic, fixed income and currency research.



&#8220;This is&#8230; consistent with the general sense that investors now generally expect a benign election outcome (which ensures policy continuity),&#8221; she said.



Citi&#8217;s Luis Costa noted that the election risk premium had already faded in recent days and weeks.



&#8220;The more fundamental factors in ZAR have been recently supportive of economic activity such as the terms of trade dynamics and the improved domestic load-shedding (which&nbsp;however&nbsp;may not last after the polls close),&#8221; Costa said in a note to clients.



Load-shedding refers to scheduled power cuts which have hobbled the economy in recent years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-will-the-election-affect-the-economy-and-investment">HOW WILL THE ELECTION AFFECT THE ECONOMY AND INVESTMENT?</h2>



South Africa&#8217;s economy has barely grown in the last decade, crippled by the record power cuts and the degraded transport network. The economy grew just 0.6% in 2023.



&#8220;I don&#8217;t see any political party with a real plan to stimulate the economy, only promises for everyone to somehow have a job,&#8221; said independent risk consultant Marisa Lourenco, adding foreign direct investors were in wait-and-see mode.



&#8220;But as the dust settles after the election, South Africa will still remain attractive for certain industries, like gas, renewables, mining (like manganese).&#8221;



Net FDI inflows have generally been higher than pre-1994, when the ANC took power, World Bank data shows. Inflows stood at $9.19 billion in 2022 compared to some $374 million in 1994.



In contrast, foreign investors have cut holdings of stocks and bonds. Foreign ownership of domestic government bonds fell from a peak of 42.8% in 2018 to under 25% this year.



Other issues for international businesses operating in South Africa include infrastructure challenges, skilled worker shortages, the&#8217;greylisting&#8217; of South Africa financial sector over transparency concerns and delays for foreign workers getting permits, said Simone Pohl, CEO of the Southern African-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry.



&#8220;Despite those challenges, South Africa&#8217;s highly diversified economy, overall market volume, free press and its independent justice system still make it the number one investment location in Southern Africa,&#8221; she added.



($1 = 18.4528 rand)



(Reporting by Rachel Savage, additional reporting by Libby George, Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Toby Chopra)

FILE PHOTO: South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa attends the Cosatu National Worker’s Day rally at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town

What are the key issues for investors in South Africa’s 2024 election?

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="528" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ZN2RIXYPHJJ5HFHBQHPMQOWAVU-820x528.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-487001" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ZN2RIXYPHJJ5HFHBQHPMQOWAVU-820x528.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ZN2RIXYPHJJ5HFHBQHPMQOWAVU-300x193.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ZN2RIXYPHJJ5HFHBQHPMQOWAVU-140x90.jpg 140w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ZN2RIXYPHJJ5HFHBQHPMQOWAVU-768x495.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ZN2RIXYPHJJ5HFHBQHPMQOWAVU-1536x990.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ZN2RIXYPHJJ5HFHBQHPMQOWAVU-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">South Africa&#8217;s President Cyril Ramaphosa gestures as he signs into law a national health bill that aims to provide universal coverage to South Africans, at the Union Building in Pretoria, South Africa, May 15, 2024. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko</figcaption></figure>



PRETORIA, May 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law on Wednesday a bill that aims to provide universal health coverage, hailing it as a major step towards a more just society two weeks before an election that is expected to be fiercely competitive.



The National Health Insurance (NHI) Act takes aim at a two-tier health system, in which a publicly funded sector that serves 84% of the population is overburdened and run-down while some people have access to better treatment through private insurance.



Opponents have vowed to challenge it in court and described it is a ploy for votes &#8211; which the presidency denied &#8211; ahead of an election in which the governing African National Congress (ANC) is fighting to retain its parliamentary majority after 30 years in power.



The legislation will gradually limit the role of private insurance, create a new public fund to provide free access for South African citizens, and set the fees and prices that private doctors and healthcare suppliers can charge for NHI-funded benefits.



&#8220;The provision of healthcare in this country is fragmented, unsustainable and unacceptable,&#8221; said Ramaphosa, framing the legislation as a solution to inequalities that date back to the apartheid era.



&#8220;For those who would like to see (their) privileges continuing, sorry, you are on the wrong boat. The boat we are on is about equality,&#8221; he said at a signing ceremony at the Union Buildings, the seat of government in Pretoria.



Opponents say the plan will drain already stretched public finances, limit patient choice, undermine the quality of care and drive talented doctors out of the country.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-legal-challenges">LEGAL CHALLENGES</h2>



Industry and political analysts have said the legislation is likely to get bogged down in lawsuits for years, with the funding model the main aspect that is disputed.



The government has said the National Treasury will determine the funding sources for NHI, which will include a mandatory pre-payment system and other forms of taxes.



Big local health insurers like Discovery&nbsp;DSYJ.J, Momentum Metropolitan Health&nbsp;MTMJ.J&nbsp;and AfroCentric&nbsp;ACTJ.J&nbsp;say they support the goal of universal health coverage but they do not agree on the proposed funding model.



&#8220;There is no funding plan yet and given the country&#8217;s constrained fiscal position, low economic growth and narrow tax base, this can only be solved in the longer term,&#8221; said Adrian Gore, group CEO of Discovery.



&#8220;We see no scenario in which there is sufficient funding for a workable and comprehensive NHI in its current form.&#8221;



The NEHAWU labour union, part of the country&#8217;s COSATU federation which is in an alliance with the ANC, urged Ramaphosa and the Treasury to put their full political weight behind the NHI to ensure it is properly resourced.



But the chief whip of the Democratic Alliance (DA), the biggest opposition party, said the Act did not address systemic issues in the healthcare system. &#8220;What this government has done is essentially it has tried to put a band aid over a gashing wound,&#8221; the DA&#8217;s Siviwe Gwarube said.



The legislation is good in principle, but will face big challenges due to South Africa&#8217;s high unemployment rate and low tax base, and citizens&#8217; mistrust of government due to repeated corruption scandals, said Sivuyisiwe Wonci, a health policy researcher at the University of Johannesburg.



She estimated it would not be implemented for five to seven years but said signing it before the election was a strategic move.



&#8220;The African National Congress has a very big role to play in convincing the people that it cares about them. And healthcare,&#8230; it speaks to the hearts of the people.&#8221;



(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla and Nellie Peyton; Additional reporting by Bhargav Acharya in Johannesburg; Editing by Alexander Winning and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

South Africa’s Ramaphosa to signs health insurance bill into law

South Africa’s president signs major health bill just before election

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="429" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GBZMQIYKR5O7TASYIDE6U6N6UY-820x429.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-486962" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GBZMQIYKR5O7TASYIDE6U6N6UY-820x429.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GBZMQIYKR5O7TASYIDE6U6N6UY-300x157.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GBZMQIYKR5O7TASYIDE6U6N6UY-160x84.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GBZMQIYKR5O7TASYIDE6U6N6UY-768x402.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GBZMQIYKR5O7TASYIDE6U6N6UY-1536x804.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GBZMQIYKR5O7TASYIDE6U6N6UY.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /></figure>



ABUJA, May 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nigeria&#8217;s headline consumer inflation&nbsp;NGCPIY=ECIaccelerated to a new 28-year high in April, hitting 33.69% year-on-year, up from 33.20% in March, statistics agency data showed on Wednesday.



Inflation in Africa&#8217;s most populous nation has been spurred by President Bola Tinubu&#8217;s administration&nbsp;slashing petrol and electricity subsidies and twice devaluing the local naira currency&nbsp;NGN=D1.



The central bank has raised interest rates twice this year, including its largest hike in around 17 years, as it struggles to contain the price pressures.



The central bank governor has indicated that rates will stay high for as long as needed to bring down inflation. The bank holds&nbsp;another rate-setting meeting next week.



Areport by the National Bureau of Statistics showed the food and non-alcoholic beverages category continued to be the biggest contributor to inflation in April.



Food inflation&nbsp;NGFINF=ECI, which accounts for the bulk of the inflation basket, reached 40.53% in annual terms, against 40.01% in March.



Price pressures have left millions of Nigerians grappling with the worst cost of living crisis in decades as they struggle to meet their basic needs.



To ease the pressure on government workers, Tinubu has announced a salary hike of up to 35% for civil servants. To help vulnerable households his government has also restarted a direct cash transfer programme and has distributed at least 42,000 tons of grains such as corn and millet.



(Reporting by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; Additional reporting by Mohd Edrees; Editing by Alexander Winning and Gareth Jones)

GBZMQIYKR5O7TASYIDE6U6N6UY

Nigeria inflation scales new 28-year peak in April

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/WNOCRFRNP5PYXB42R3OBGXFHQA-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-486914" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/WNOCRFRNP5PYXB42R3OBGXFHQA-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/WNOCRFRNP5PYXB42R3OBGXFHQA-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/WNOCRFRNP5PYXB42R3OBGXFHQA-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/WNOCRFRNP5PYXB42R3OBGXFHQA-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/WNOCRFRNP5PYXB42R3OBGXFHQA-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/WNOCRFRNP5PYXB42R3OBGXFHQA-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Qatar Airways B777 aircraft arrives at the Cape Town International Airport, in Cape Town, South Africa, June 28, 2022. REUTERS/Shelley Christians/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



SEOUL, May 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Qatar Airways will soon announce an investment in an airline in southern Africa, its CEO said on Wednesday, part of the Gulf carrier&#8217;s drive to expand its network in Africa.



&#8220;We are at the final stage of an equity investment in an airline in the southern part of Africa,&#8221; Badr Mohammed Al Meer said on a panel at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha, saying the deal could be announced in two to three weeks.



Meer, who became CEO in November, said the southern part of Africa was a gap in Qatar Airways&#8217; network coverage on the continent.



He added that Qatar Airways wants to expand the fleets of its partner airlines in Africa to improve connectivity.



Qatar Airways in 2019 took a 60% stake in a new $1.3 billion international airport being built in Rwanda and has code share agreements with several airlines in Africa including Rwandair.



Rwandair CEO Yvonne Manzi Makolo, speaking in Doha, said the airport could be incorporated around 2027-28.



(Reporting by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Jacqueline Wong)

Qatar Airways B777 aircraft arrives at the Cape Town International Airport

Qatar Airways to invest in an airline in southern Africa, CEO says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="570" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/QMLFVF7CCZNTDF35SJ3V4RTJ34-820x570.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-486897" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/QMLFVF7CCZNTDF35SJ3V4RTJ34-820x570.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/QMLFVF7CCZNTDF35SJ3V4RTJ34-300x208.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/QMLFVF7CCZNTDF35SJ3V4RTJ34-130x90.jpg 130w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/QMLFVF7CCZNTDF35SJ3V4RTJ34-768x534.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/QMLFVF7CCZNTDF35SJ3V4RTJ34-1536x1067.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/QMLFVF7CCZNTDF35SJ3V4RTJ34-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A villager arrives to collect her monthly allocations of food aid provided by the World Food Program (WFP) in Mumijo, Buhera district east of the capital Harare, Zimbabwe, March 16, 2024. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



HARARE, May 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;More than half of Zimbabwe&#8217;s population will need food aid this year following a devastating drought that led to widespread crop failure as humanitarian organisations seek funding to save many from hunger, the country&#8217;s cabinet heard late on Tuesday.



About 6 million people in rural areas and 1.7 million in urban areas will require assistance, according to the Zimbabwe Livelihoods Assessment Committee (ZIMLAC).



Zimbabwe is among the worst hit countries by the El Nino induced drought in Southern Africa, with Zambia and Malawi also facing food shortages this year.



This is Zimbabwe&#8217;s worst drought in 40 years, according to the government.



The latest crop assessment presented to the Cabinet of Zimbabwe also revised upwards Zimbabwe&#8217;s&nbsp;maize production&nbsp;deficit to 77% from last week&#8217;s predictions.



&#8220;A 77% reduction in production to 744,271 metric tonnes is estimated for the 2023/2024 summer season, indicating a major shortfall for both food and stock feed,&#8221; according to a cabinet brief.



A local consortium of private millers plan to import 1.4 million metric tonnes of white and yellow maize from Brazil and other countries to cover the food deficit.



The United Nations and the United Nations Children&#8217;s Fund (UNICEF) have appealed for financial assistance to save millions from hunger.



It follows the government&#8217;s appeal for $2 billion in food aid from well wishers and donors.



Zimbabwe has failed to feed itself since 2000, when former president Robert Mugabe led land reforms which disrupted production, while climate change has worsened the country&#8217;s ability to grow enough food.



(Reporting by Nyasha Chingono; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

FILE PHOTO: Villagers collect monthly allocations of food aid provided by WFP in Mumijo

More than half of Zimbabwean population will need food aid, cabinet says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="519" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/H55DMSYUAZO7PH4RBRJ4J7JK64-820x519.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-485152" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/H55DMSYUAZO7PH4RBRJ4J7JK64-820x519.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/H55DMSYUAZO7PH4RBRJ4J7JK64-300x190.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/H55DMSYUAZO7PH4RBRJ4J7JK64-142x90.jpg 142w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/H55DMSYUAZO7PH4RBRJ4J7JK64-768x486.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/H55DMSYUAZO7PH4RBRJ4J7JK64-1536x973.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/H55DMSYUAZO7PH4RBRJ4J7JK64-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A small toy figure and mineral imitation are seen in front of the BHP logo in this illustration taken November 19, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



MELBOURNE, May 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;BHP Group&#8217;s&nbsp;BHP.AX&nbsp;options for its pursuit of rival miner Anglo American&nbsp;AAL.L&nbsp;include sweetening its $42.7 billion buyout offer, making a hostile bid or walking away for now as it approaches a May 22 deadline to lodge a binding offer.



As BHP weighs its next move, CEO Mike Henry and his team have been making the case for the mega-deal on the sidelines of an investor conference in Miami and elsewhere to its investors, a large proportion of whom also hold shares in Anglo.



&#8220;At this stage I think it is up to BHP to try to convince enough of Anglo&#8217;s institutional shareholders over the coming week that it&#8217;s worthwhile pressuring their board to engage with BHP, with a potentially even higher offer on the table should this occur,&#8221; Morningstar analyst Jon Mills said.



Anglo&#8217;s board has already knocked back two all-share proposals from BHP as inadequate and too difficult to execute and on Tuesday unveiled plans for a break-up to focus on energy transition metal copper while spinning out or selling its less profitable coal, nickel, diamond and platinum businesses.



That plan met with a mildly supportive response from Anglo investors, who said it provided a strategy but was short on details.



With the exception of Anglo keeping its South African iron ore assets and selling its Australian coal mines, it was also similar to BHP&#8217;s own plans for its takeover target.



&#8220;It would seem to me that they (Anglo) need to demonstrate why the bird in the hand is not better than two in the bush,&#8221; Anglo investor Todd Warren at Tribeca Investment Partners said.



A top 25 Anglo investor said that there was nothing compelling about the company&#8217;s restructuring proposal, which resulted in shares closing 3.2% lower at 26.195 pounds on Tuesday, below BHP&#8217;s latest offer of about 27.53 pounds per share.



&#8220;Anglo management need to push for a bump. An additional 10%. And then wait for Glencore,&#8221; said the investor who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.



Swiss commodities group Glencore GLEN.L is studying a possible rival bid for Anglo, Reuters reported this month.



&#8220;We retain our view that interloper risk remains high,&#8221; JPMorgan analyst Lyndon Fagan wrote in a note published on Tuesday before Anglo&#8217;s restructure was announced.



Rio Tinto&nbsp;RIO.L&nbsp;CEO Jakob Stausholm said on Tuesday that his company was not afraid of M&amp;A, but it had strong organic growth options.



BHP, Anglo, Glencore and Rio Tinto declined to comment on Wednesday.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bhp-s-options">BHP&#8217;S OPTIONS</h2>



Under UK rules, BHP has one week left to make a binding bid for Anglo or it will be forced to walk away for at least six months.



To make its case for the buyout,&nbsp;BHP has pointed to its successful spin-off of South32&nbsp;S32.AX, the demerger of its petroleum business to Woodside Energy&nbsp;WDS.AX&nbsp;in 2022 and coal asset sales as evidence that it is a safer pair of hands, according to slides from Henry&#8217;s presentation in Miami.



It has also flagged execution risk after Anglo&#8217;s management did not follow through on a 2016 vision of a &#8220;new Anglo&#8221; that would simplify the miner&#8217;s structure into a core portfolio of diamonds, platinum group metals and copper.



The option of going hostile and taking its offer directly to Anglo shareholders is not new to BHP, which did so unsuccessfully in 2007 with a $140 billion all-share bid for rival Rio Tinto. It also made a $39 billion hostile bid for Canada&#8217;s Potash Corp in 2010 that was blocked by the Canadian government.



But two sources familiar with the matter said BHP will not take that approach because it needs Anglo&#8217;s management on board to clear regulatory hurdles in South Africa and to help it unlock the most value for shareholders. BHP also needs an agreed due diligence period to examine Anglo&#8217;s books, they added.



BHP has also told investors it will not drop its requirement for Anglo to demerge South African businesses Kumba Iron Ore KIOJ.J and Anglo American Platinum AMSJ.J as a condition of the deal. Making a binding bid at the price already rejected by Anglo would force BHP to buy the entire company, which it is not prepared to do, said a source with knowledge of the matter.



That narrows BHP&#8217;s options for a revised bid to improving the share ratio, adding some cash, or a mix of the two.



It could also decide to walk away, just as Xstrata, later bought by Glencore, did from a proposed $96 billion merger of equals that was rejected by Anglo&#8217;s board in 2009.



BHP has told investors that Anglo is not a make-or-break deal and it may need to take time to reassess, a prospect increasingly being priced in with BHP shares on the rise, one investor said.



BHP shares were up 2.6% on Wednesday.



BHP could come back later once Anglo does more restructuring, though it would need to be at a higher price, the investor added.



(Reporting by Melanie Burton in Melbourne and Scott Murdoch in Sydney. Additional reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York and Sinead Cruise, Amy-Jo Crowley, Anousha Sakoui and Clara Denina in London; Editing by Praveen Menon and Jamie Freed)

FILE PHOTO: Small toy figure and mineral imitation are seen in front of the BHP logo in this illustration

BHP’s options for Anglo American deal narrow as deadline looms

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-1763140582-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-486652" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-1763140582-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-1763140582-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-1763140582-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-1763140582-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-1763140582-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-1763140582-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA &#8211; 2023/11/02: The national flag of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a participating country at the 12th St. Petersburg International Gas Forum (SPIGF 2023). (Photo by Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



LAGOS, May 14 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The Nigerian government on Tuesday launched an information portal where investors can access details of its mineral resources, facilities and infrastructure, according to a statement from the ministry of mines.



&#8220;Before if you are a prospective foreign investor, you have to travel to Nigeria to access required information, but with this launch, anywhere you are in the world, with a click of a button, you can access all the information you require to make informed investment decisions,&#8221; said Dele Alake, Nigeria&#8217;s mining minister.



Africa&#8217;s top oil producer, which is also rich in gold, limestone and zinc, wants its mining industry to play a much bigger role in its effort to diversify the economy away from its reliance on oil.



The portal, called Nigeria Mineral Resources Decision Support System (NMDSS), can be accessed on the website of the same name, and contains publicly available data on geology and mineral wealth in Nigeria.



Nigeria is seeking to woo investors to a mining sector that has long been underdeveloped, contributing less than 1% to the country&#8217;s gross domestic product.



It has stepped up reforms in the sector including offering investors 75% in a new national mining company, cutting exports of unprocessed minerals, and enforcing compliance with rules against illegal mining.



Alake said illegal mining was being curbed by the recently unveiled mining marshals, while about 152 cooperatives had been formed by artisanal miners to legalise their operations, in line with reform efforts.



(Reporting by Isaac Anyaogu; Editing by Mark Potter)

The national flag of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a

Nigeria launches mineral resources portal for investors

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="546" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/23OZQIJSZBN7BOYT5FMNOOIKGM-820x546.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-486633" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/23OZQIJSZBN7BOYT5FMNOOIKGM-820x546.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/23OZQIJSZBN7BOYT5FMNOOIKGM-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/23OZQIJSZBN7BOYT5FMNOOIKGM-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/23OZQIJSZBN7BOYT5FMNOOIKGM-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/23OZQIJSZBN7BOYT5FMNOOIKGM-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/23OZQIJSZBN7BOYT5FMNOOIKGM-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">CEO of BHP Mike Henry is interviewed at a Reuters NEXT Newsmaker event in New York City, U.S., November 30, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG/ LONDON, May 14 (Reuters) &#8211; BHP BHP.AX Chief Executive Mike Henry said that Anglo American AAL.L investors need to consider the merits of his company&#8217;s bid for its smaller London-listed rival, seeking to drum up support for a proposal that has been rejected twice.



The CEO of the world&#8217;s biggest listed mining group told investors at a metals and mining conference in Miami that Anglo shareholders must make a &#8220;determination&#8221; on the benefits of a combination of the two companies and which team they think has a better track record of executing projects and delivering returns to investors.



Anglo on Tuesday laid out plans to refocus on energy transition metal copper while spinning out or selling its less profitable coal, nickel, diamond and platinum businesses.



BHP&#8217;s Henry, meanwhile, emphasised the merits of his company&#8217;s bid and dismissed concerns that the proposed deal would be complex to execute.



&#8220;At the end of the day, its going to be up to shareholders. They have to look at the plans, decide which one they believe is going to create the greatest value soonest,&#8221; he said.



&#8220;And they have to make a determination as to the likelihood of execution of those plans, including which team they believe is more capable and has a better track record of execution. It&#8217;s that simple.&#8221;



(Reporting by Felix Njini and Clara Denina; Editing by David Goodman)

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Reuters

Britain seeks to rein in Mastercard and Visa fees on retailers

BHP shares hit 3-month high as deadline for formal Anglo bid looms

Global oil markets weaken as sluggish demand leaves overhang

Gold hits record peak as rate-cut bets burnish appeal, silver jumps

South Africa’s ex-leader Zuma barred from standing in election

Prosus and Naspers name iFood head Bloisi as new CEO

Israel tells World Court South Africa case makes a mockery of genocide

British grocer Sainsbury’s partners with Microsoft to use AI for data insights

Emirates to resume Nigeria flights after nearly two years

What are the key issues for investors in South Africa’s 2024 election?

South Africa’s president signs major health bill just before election

Nigeria inflation scales new 28-year peak in April

Qatar Airways to invest in an airline in southern Africa, CEO says

More than half of Zimbabwean population will need food aid, cabinet says

BHP’s options for Anglo American deal narrow as deadline looms

Nigeria launches mineral resources portal for investors

BHP chief urges Anglo investors to consider takeover benefits

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