LONDON/JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; Angola will receive $6.2 billion in debt relief over the next three years thanks to agreements lined up with three of its major creditors, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a report released on Monday.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1110" height="740" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/angola-162225_1280-1110x740.png" alt="" class="wp-image-379495" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/angola-162225_1280-1110x740.png 1110w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/angola-162225_1280-300x200.png 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/angola-162225_1280-820x546.png 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/angola-162225_1280-768x512.png 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/angola-162225_1280-696x464.png 696w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/angola-162225_1280-1068x712.png 1068w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/angola-162225_1280-600x400.png 600w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/angola-162225_1280.png 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px" /></figure>



On Friday, Angola said it was close to striking debt agreements with a number of Chinese banks and government agencies.



The African oil exporter has buckled under a rising debt burden following a sharp decline in crude prices and amid the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.



“Although debt is sustainable, significant vulnerabilities remain,” the IMF said in its report. “Debt dynamics are highly sensitive to further oil-price volatility.”



In a letter included in the report, the Angolan government, which has already sought relief from official bilateral creditors under an initiative backed by the Group of 20 (G20) wealthy economies, acknowledged its precarious position.



“To the extent that unforeseen risks to achieving the medium-term debt target materialise, we will act to mitigate those risks, including by seeking additional debt relief from a wider group of creditors,” it said.







Private sector participation in debt relief has become a hotly debated issue ahead of a decision by the G20 on whether to extend debt payment holidays beyond 2020.



While the World Bank has pushed for private creditors to shoulder some of the burden of debt relief, investors as well as some governments have argued this would endanger their access to international capital markets.



Asked about the prospect of compulsory private creditor involvement on Friday, Angola&#8217;s Secretary of State for Budget and Investment Aia-Eza Silva told Reuters: &#8220;Our main focus now is to deal with the main creditors, our big (bilateral) creditors, and this is where we are putting our emphasis now.&#8221; Meanwhile a 5% plunge in oil prices has added to the pressure on Angola&#8217;s dollar bonds&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/quote/XS1318576086USD">XS1318576086=TE</a>, which dropped more than 4 cents in the dollar to trade at just over 86 cents, their lowest level since mid-July according to Tradeweb data.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">CHINESE DEBT</h2>



Angola owes more than $20 billion to a number of Chinese entities, including $14.5 billion to the China Development Bank (CDB) [CHDB.UL], and nearly $5 billion to the Export-Import Bank of China (EximBank)&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/2544.HK">2544.HK</a>. It has also borrowed from China&#8217;s largest lender, ICBC.



While the IMF declined to name the creditors involved in the debt reprofiling deals, two private analysts following the negotiations said two of them were the CDB and EximBank.







Luanda struck a deal with one of its largest creditors, identified by the analysts as the CDB, in June, the IMF said. That agreement grants a three-year deferral of principal payments on three loans, with the largest one to be repaid over seven years thereafter.



An agreement with a second large creditor, identified by the analysts as EximBank, is being worked out with a similar reprofiling of principal payments, the IMF said in the report.



“The authorities have secured concrete and credible financing assurances from these creditors,” it said.



Meanwhile, discussions with a third creditor were ongoing, according to the report.



The Fund estimated that Angola’s debt-to-GDP ratio would steadily decline from just over 120% predicted for the end of the year to 37.8% by the end of 2030.

berth shutterstock_138308999

Angola negotiates $6.2 billion debt relief from creditors: IMF

LONDON/JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; Ghana, Africa’s largest gold producer, is planning an up to $500 million listing of its gold royalty fund in London in October, though the deal could still run into political opposition, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.



Agyapa Royalties, a government-backed fund that holds equity interests including mining royalties in the state&#8217;s gold assets, has hired Bank of America&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/BAC.N">BAC.N</a>&nbsp;and JPMorgan&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/JPM.N">JPM.N</a>&nbsp;to pursue an initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange this year, the sources said.



Royalties are payments that give the owner the right to receive a percentage of production from a mining operation, or retain a stake in them.



Ghana wants to take advantage of the precious metal’s strong performance this year to raise $400 million-$500 million from the IPO, the sources said. The fund’s shares will also be listed on the Ghanaian Stock Exchange.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="600" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/shutterstock_270259862.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-374206" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/shutterstock_270259862.jpg 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/shutterstock_270259862-300x225.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/shutterstock_270259862-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/shutterstock_270259862-696x522.jpg 696w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/shutterstock_270259862-600x450.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption>Ghana. Shutterstock </figcaption></figure>



Yet, the listing could be derailed or pushed back because of resistance from Ghana’s main opposition party ahead of a December general election, the sources said.



“It’s genuinely 50-50 at the moment, but if the local politics works out, the deal is ready to go this year,” said one of the sources.



Ghana’s finance ministry was not immediately reachable due to a public holiday. JP Morgan declined to comment while Bank of America did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



If it goes ahead, the listing would benefit from a surge in gold prices as the COVID-19 pandemic pushed investors into safe-haven investments.







While the spot gold price has come off a record high hit in August, it is still up a whopping 27% so far this year at $1,931 an ounce&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/quote/XAUUSD">XAU=</a>.



Canadian companies Yamana Gold and Wheaton Precious Metals have both signalled their intention to add a London listing this year.



For London investors, it is an opportunity to increase gold exposure and potentially fill the gap left by South Africa’s Randgold, which delisted in 2018.



The deal would also come at a time when the market for IPOs has come roaring back after a dismal first half of the year, with The Hut Group&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/THG.L">THG.L</a>&nbsp;sealing a 5.4 billion pound ($6.99 billion) float last week.

gold-is-money-2430051_1280

Ghana plans $500 million London listing of gold royalty fund: sources

What larger companies need to know about foreign exchange (FX), both during and after COVID-19



The COVID-19 pandemic has plunged communities and economies into a crisis of uncertainty. Tomorrow keeps changing and the future – of business especially – is more unpredictable than ever.



“This uncertainty is reflected in a lot of risk-on and risk-off sentiment,” says Chris Paizis, Head of Corporate FX and International Banking at&nbsp;Absa&nbsp;Group. “Today the world might be having a good day, with scope for a vaccine to come out sooner than expected, so all of a sudden investors are happy to take on riskier assets, and as a result the rand strengthens. But tomorrow might bring a completely different sentiment…”



Clearly, at times like these, currencies flip-flop and exchange rates can – and do – fluctuate more than usual. This volatility can have a significant impact on corporate income statements, as Paizis explains below. Here’s how larger businesses should approach FX in pursuit of a smoother ride.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">1. KNOW WHERE FX FITS IN</h2>



“Under normal conditions I think that FX is one of the most important components in a corporate treasurer’s life,” says Paizis. “If that’s true, then right now FX must be by far the most significant component!” For corporates, FX is – and remains – an income statement item, he adds. “If, for example, you can’t deliver your goods because of lockdown restrictions, and you have to roll your foreign exchange hedge, that might have big repercussions on your cash flows and on your ability to borrow.”



Take action: “You’re trying to lock the cost of your imports or revenue – if you’re receiving foreign currency – and mitigate the volatility that it can potentially create on your income statement,” says Paizis. Get more info and tailored risk-management support <a href="https://www.absa.co.za/corporate-and-investment-banking/products-and-services/manage-risk/" rel="sponsored nofollow">here</a>







<h2 class="wp-block-heading">2. UNDERSTAND THE VOLATILITY</h2>



“Combined, market volatility and uncertainty are the biggest risk that corporates face during this crisis,” says Paizis. “In the early months of lockdown we saw the rand going to all-time weaknesses (about R19 to the dollar), before quite quickly returning to the lower R17s and R16s. The intraday volatility, often as a reaction to news events, is very choppy. Managing that risk and unpredictability is a very difficult task for corporate treasurers, and for corporates in general. Survival has to do with how you manage your exposures to survive the crisis.”



Take action: With the risk environment changing daily, corporates need an FX platform that enables quick and decisive responses, all online. Check out the new <a href="https://absaaccess.co.za/">Absa Access</a> platform, which provides research, analysis and expert advice – plus FX and payment capabilities – all in one place. To request an invitation to the platform, phone +27&nbsp;11&nbsp;895&nbsp;7318 or email <a href="mailto:AbsaAccessSupport@absa.africa">AbsaAccessSupport@absa.africa</a>.







<h2 class="wp-block-heading">3. UNDERSTAND THAT FX IS ABOUT MORE THAN JUST FX</h2>



FX clearly has an impact on currency exchange and cross-border transactions, but, as Paizis points out, it has deeper implications too. “FX also has an impact on liquidity, on income statements, on a corporate’s ability to borrow,” he explains. “At Absa we’ve stayed very close to our clients, understanding their exposure and providing our ongoing view of how the markets are unfolding. We’ve found this has been very valuable, because standard forecasts clearly don’t count when you’ve got so much volatility on a week-by-week – and day-by-day! – basis.”



Take action: Find the latest, updated forecasts, analysis and reports on the Absa Access research portal and <a href="https://www.absa.co.za/corporate-and-investment-banking/research/" rel="sponsored nofollow">here</a>.







<h2 class="wp-block-heading">4. GET YOUR HEDGING RIGHT</h2>



Paizis believes that every corporate should have a clear and specific hedging policy. “That policy must offer certainty, flexibility and clarity to your management and banking partners,” he says. But he does add a word of warning: “At times like these, there might be the temptation to over-hedge. Say I’m an exporter and the dollar is at R19. It’s very tempting to then put hedges in place for exposures that I might not yet have, and that creates danger on my income statement and credit lines. It’s tempting to be greedy when you see big moves in the exchange rate, but you have to remember that as a corporate your role is not to speculate, it’s to manage your income statement exposures.”



Take action: Stick to a known and workable hedging policy, which makes it easier for banking partners to understand your company’s exposures and support you through the crisis. For advice on how to formulate your hedging policy, contact Absa’s Corporate and Investment Banking team on <a href="tel:0860500703">0860 500 703</a> or email <a href="mailto:Rsc.corpprc@absa.co.za">Rsc.corpprc@absa.co.za</a>.







<h2 class="wp-block-heading">5. KEEP IT SIMPLE AND RATIONAL</h2>



We keep hearing it, even from the world’s top economic experts: this is unprecedented; nobody has seen anything like it before. In light of this, Absa’s Corporate FX and International Banking team is very excited about the all-in-one <a href="https://absaaccess.co.za/">Absa Access platform</a>, which has been purpose-built for South African and Africa-based clients &lt;hyperlink to LinkedIn article&gt; and their unique requirements.



“We had a long journey with our previous online trading system, BARX Africa,” says Paizis. “But Absa Access is much nimbler and allows you to do things you couldn’t do on BARX. For example, it’s a single sign-on system; we know it’s a real pain point for corporates to have to log into three different systems to do a payment, check an account and then do a forex trade.”



Take action: In addition to choosing simple solutions, like Absa Access, now is the time to stay rational. “Every day has a different sentiment,” says Paizis, “but acting on each one is irrational. You need to look through the cycle and know that you can still have a functioning economy during these times of uncertainty.”

ABSA CIB Covid-19 FX

The COVID Currency Survival Guide for Corporates

NEW YORK/BEIJING (Reuters) &#8211; China&#8217;s ByteDance said on Monday that TikTok&#8217;s global business will become its subsidiary, even as Oracle Corp <a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/ORCL.N">ORCL.N</a> and Walmart Inc <a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/WMT.N">WMT.N</a> said over the weekend that they and U.S. investors would own the majority of the video app following a deal with U.S. President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/396x2765-4.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-382079" width="695" height="500"/><figcaption>President Donald Trump</figcaption></figure>



Trump signed an executive order on Aug. 14 giving ByteDance 90 days to sell TikTok, amid concerns that the personal data of as many as 100 million Americans that use the app could be passed on to China’s Communist Party government. On Saturday, he said he supported a deal in principle that would allow TikTok to continue to operate in the United States.



Accounts of the deal differ. ByteDance said on Monday that it will own 80% of TikTok Global, a newly created U.S. company that will own most of the app’s operations worldwide. Oracle and Walmart, which have agreed to take stakes in TikTok Global of 12.5% and 7.5% respectively, had said on Saturday that majority ownership of TikTok would be in American hands.



ByteDance in its statement on Monday said it was a “rumor” that U.S. investors would be TikTok Global’s majority owners and that ByteDance would lose control over TikTok. Oracle declined to comment on ByteDance’s statement, while Walmart did not respond to a request for comment.



Some sources close to the deal have sought to reconcile the discrepancy by pointing out that 41% of ByteDance is owned by U.S. investors, so by counting this indirect ownership TikTok Global would be majority owned by U.S. parties. One of the sources said the deal with Oracle and Walmart values TikTok Global at more than $50 billion.







TikTok also confirmed plans for an initial public offering of TikTok Global. The Beijing-based firm said TikTok Global&#8217;s board of directors will include ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming as well as Walmart&#8217;s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/WMT.N">WMT.N</a>&nbsp;chief executive Doug McMillon and current directors of ByteDance. The company declined to further comment on who else would be among the directors.



Oracle and Walmart said in a joint statement on Saturday that four out of the five board of directors will be Americans.



The current plan for TikTok Global does not involve any transfer of algorithms or technologies, and Oracle will be able to inspect TikTok U.S.&#8217;s source code, ByteDance said. This is akin to U.S. companies such as Microsoft Corp&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/MSFT.O">MSFT.O</a>&nbsp;sharing their source code with Chinese technology experts, ByteDance added. Oracle and Walmart have said all of TikTok&#8217;s technology will be in possession of TikTok Global.



ByteDance also said a $5 billion payment of taxes TikTok Global is reportedly supposed to make to the U.S. Treasury is based on estimated income and other taxes the company will need to pay over the next few years and has nothing to do with the deal reached with Oracle and Walmart.



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Trump last week had said there would be a $5 billion U.S. education fund as part of the deal but ByteDance has said it was not aware of this.



ByteDance owning the majority of TikTok Global and the algorithms means that ByteDance is “not out of the game” and has avoided the worst-case scenario, China’s state-run newspaper Global Times said in an editorial published on Sunday.



Shen Yi, a Fudan University professor, said in a separate article published in the Global Times on Monday that Trump’s nod to the deal “could even been seen as a reversal of U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order issued in August” and that it was helped by a “concerted effort” by the Chinese government, ByteDance and U.S. domestic forces.



“If the Trump administration makes more moves to block the deal, it may encounter direct checks and balances from interest groups of Wall Street.”

The Rise Of TikTok

China’s ByteDance says TikTok will be its subsidiary under deal with Trump

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; AngloGold Ashanti&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/ANGJ.J">ANGJ.J</a>&nbsp;reinstated but trimmed its annual production guidance on Monday citing improved operating certainty including the expected conclusion of its sale of its South African assets.



The miner withdrew its guidance in March as the pandemic accelerated and many governments responded by restricting travel, closing borders and ordering some businesses to cease or limit operations.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1110" height="740" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/gold-is-money-2430051_1280-1110x740.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-378165" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/gold-is-money-2430051_1280-1110x740.jpg 1110w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/gold-is-money-2430051_1280-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/gold-is-money-2430051_1280-820x546.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/gold-is-money-2430051_1280-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/gold-is-money-2430051_1280-696x464.jpg 696w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/gold-is-money-2430051_1280-1068x712.jpg 1068w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/gold-is-money-2430051_1280-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/gold-is-money-2430051_1280.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px" /></figure>



AngloGold, which has mines in several African countries as well as Australia and South America, said it now expected production including its South African assets of between 3.03 million ounces and 3.10 million ounces.







That is slightly lower than its February outlook which saw output of between 3.05 million and 3.30 million ounces, while capital expenditure was anticipated between $920 million and $990 million.



“The company benefited from its diversified global portfolio and careful management during the intervening period, with the impact in the first half of the year limited to approximately 3% of production and 5% of the all-in sustaining cost (AISC) during the period,” it said.



The guidance was also reinstated in anticipation of the conclusion of the sale of its South African assets to Harmony Gold&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/HARJ.J">HARJ.J</a>&nbsp;at the end of September.







Its South African assets are expected to have produced around 240,000 ounces in the nine months to Sept. 30, at an AISC of approximately $1,300 per ounce, the firm added.



Excluding the South African assets for the full year, AngloGold Ashanti said it expected production of between 2.80 million and 2.86 million ounces.

goldggg

AngloGold Ashanti reinstates trimmed 2020 output guidance

NEW YORK (Reuters) &#8211; China’s ByteDance faces an uphill struggle to convince the White House to allow it to keep majority ownership of its popular short video app TikTok in the United States, according to former national security officials and regulatory lawyers.



Trump ordered ByteDance last month to divest TikTok amid U.S. concerns that the personal data of as many as 100 million Americans that use the app could be passed on to China’s Communist Party government. He has threatened to ban TikTok in the United States as early as Sept. 20 if ByteDance does not comply.



ByteDance has submitted a plan to U.S. officials for it to keep a majority stake in TikTok’s global business and create headquarters for TikTok in the United States, Reuters reported on Tuesday. The proposal is being reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a U.S. government panel chaired by the U.S. Treasury Department.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/396x2765-3.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-381850" width="693" height="500"/><figcaption>Donald Trump at the White Hourse</figcaption></figure>



“Conceptually I can tell you I don’t like that (ByteDance keeping a majority ownership of TikTok). That has been reported, but it has not been told to me yet. If that is the case, I’m not going to be happy with that,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday. He added that would be briefed on the deal and consider it on Thursday.



Were Trump to approve the deal, he would have to amend an executive order he signed on Aug. 14 directing ByteDance to divest TikTok in the United States, something that no U.S. President has ever done in the history of national security reviews, CFIUS experts said.







“After CFIUS made a recommendation to the President and the President issued an executive order requiring divestment, it would be unprecedented for the parties to negotiate a solution short of a divestment, though it would clearly be within the authority of the President to modify his order” said Aimen Mir, who oversaw CFIUS reviews between 2014 and 2018 as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Investment Security at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and is now a partner at law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP.



ByteDance, the White House and the Treasury did not respond to requests for comment.



To be sure, CFIUS has allowed foreign firms to keep sensitive U.S. assets on several occasions, by imposing oversight and restrictions on how they are operated.



China&#8217;s Lenovo&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/0992.HK">0992.HK</a>&nbsp;acquired IBM&#8217;s personal computer business in 2005 and Japan&#8217;s SoftBank Group Corp&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/9984.T">9984.T</a>&nbsp;acquired U.S. wireless carrier Sprint in 2013 by agreeing to CFIUS conditions such as giving the U.S. government a say on board directors and vendor relationships. ByteDance has proposed similar measures to CFIUS, sources have said.



RELATED COVERAGE<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-bytedance-tiktok-proposal/bytedance-says-tiktok-proposal-will-need-both-chinese-and-u-s-approval-idUSKBN2680PV"></a><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-bytedance-tiktok-proposal/bytedance-says-tiktok-proposal-will-need-both-chinese-and-u-s-approval-idUSKBN2680PV">ByteDance says TikTok proposal will need both Chinese and U.S. approval</a>



“Even if a company’s affiliate is concerning to CFIUS, as long as that affiliate is isolated to CFIUS’s satisfaction, then the transaction can work. CFIUS has requested and has been satisfied with isolating mitigation measures in the past,” said Nevena Simidjiyska, a regulatory lawyer at Fox Rothschild LLP.



ByteDance has also explored divesting a majority stake in the U.S. business of TikTok, and in July it signed a letter of intent with Microsoft Corp&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/MSFT.O">MSFT.O</a>&nbsp;that contemplated the sale of that business to the Redmond, Washington-based company.



However, Microsoft said on Sunday that ByteDance had turned down its offer, and it remains unclear whether the Chinese firm would shed most of its ownership of TikTok to clinch a deal with the White House.







<h2 class="wp-block-heading">SECURITY MEASURES</h2>



Another hurdle for ByteDance, CFIUS experts said, is that it is discussing offering a minority stake in TikTok to Oracle Corp&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/ORCL.N">ORCL.N</a>, while also having the technology giant take over the management of its user data and ensuring it is ringfenced from China.



CFIUS typically calls for parties responsible for security arrangements to be independent of the companies they oversee. For example, when CFIUS allowed China Oceanwide Holdings Group Co Ltd to acquire of U.S. insurer Genworth Financial Inc&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/GNW.N">GNW.N</a>&nbsp;two years ago, it negotiated installing a U.S.-based, third-party service provider to manage Genworth&#8217;s U.S. policyholder data. That provider had no stake in Genworth&#8217;s business.



“For CFIUS to get comfortable with a third party having both an ownership stake and a security responsibility, they would have to have a firm basis for trusting the U.S. business partner, conclude that the security measures would be technically effective, and be convinced that it is possible for the business to be commercially successful even while strictly adhering to the security measures,” Mir said.



ByteDance is referring to Oracle as a “trusted technology partner”. CFIUS previously rejected the use of trusted technology partners when considering whether ByteDance should divest TikTok, the video app disclosed in an Aug. 24 lawsuit against the United States challenging Trump’s order to ban it.



Oracle did not respond to a request for comment.

ByteDance’s bid to keep most of TikTok faces major hurdles

<figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1110" height="624" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Cape_Town_Stadium_Aerial_View-1110x624.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-381808" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Cape_Town_Stadium_Aerial_View-1110x624.jpg 1110w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Cape_Town_Stadium_Aerial_View-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Cape_Town_Stadium_Aerial_View-820x461.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Cape_Town_Stadium_Aerial_View-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Cape_Town_Stadium_Aerial_View-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Cape_Town_Stadium_Aerial_View-696x392.jpg 696w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Cape_Town_Stadium_Aerial_View-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Cape_Town_Stadium_Aerial_View.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px" /><figcaption>Aerial view of Cape Town Stadium taken from Signal Hill.</figcaption></figure>



President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation at 19:00 CAT today, Wednesday, 16 September 2020, on developments in South Africa’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The President announced that South Africa will go into alert level 1 as of Sunday 20th September 2020.



&#8220;This move recognizes that levels of infection are relatively low and that there is sufficient capacity in our health system to manage the current need,&#8221; Ramaphosa said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">International travel</h2>



President Ramaohosa announced that South Africa will gradually ease restrictions on international travel as of the 1st of October 2020. Travelers to the country will be granted entry through one of three airports &#8211; OR Tambo, King Shaka International, and Capetown International. Travelers arriving into South Africa must have a negative COVID PCR test not older than 72 hours and will be required to install a contact tracing app.





&#8220;We will be allowing travel into and out of South Africa for business, leisure and other travel with effect from 1 October 2020,&#8221; Ramaphosa said.

gettyimages-1152457961-594×594

Breaking SA: Moves to alert level 1, International travel to re-start on October 1st

MAPUTO (Reuters) &#8211; The Mozambican army has condemned the apparent execution of a naked woman by men wearing military uniforms, shown in video footage, where she is beaten with a stick before being shot in the back as she tries to flee.



In the footage, circulated on Monday, the group refer to the woman as ‘al-Shabaab’ &#8211; a local term for an Islamist insurgent group that has been operating in the north of the country since 2017.



One of the uniformed men hits her in the head and body with a stick before others shoot and, they say in the video, kill her on the side of the road.



It was filmed in the northernmost province of Cabo Delgado, where soldiers are fighting an Islamist insurgency.



Reuters was able to verify the location of the video by comparing landmarks to those visible in satellite imagery taken in June 2020. These include three trees side-by side, posts in the ground, a path connected to the road and two white buildings, one with a blue roof.



The Mozambican army, engaged in a battle with insurgents in the province which is also home to gas projects being developed by oil majors such as Total, said it considered the images shocking and horrifying, and “above all condemnable”.



“The FDS (Defence and Security Forces) reiterate that they do not agree with any barbaric act that substantiates the violation of human rights,” it said in a statement, calling for an investigation into the video’s authenticity.



It did not specifically deny that government troops were responsible.Slideshow&nbsp;( 2 images )



After an escalation in the insurgency, which saw the capture of the port town of Mocimboa da Praia in August, and the security forces’ response, reports and videos of beatings or other army abuses have become increasingly common.



Amnesty International said most of the men, who shot the woman 36 times, were wearing full Mozambique army uniform.



It cited a local military source as saying they killed her because she had cast a spell on the army, and refused to show them the insurgents’ hideout.



Last week, the rights group said it had verified videos showing attempted beheadings, torture, the dismemberment of alleged opposition fighters and possible extrajudicial executions.



The government dismissed the allegations, saying insurgents regularly impersonated soldiers.



Zenaida Machado, researcher for Human Rights Watch, called for an investigation and said such acts, if committed by soldiers, sowed distrust in the population and strengthened the insurgents.



Frightened people should not run from insurgents only to find themselves in danger from those supposed to keep them safe, she said.

Mozambique records first COVID-19 death

Mozambique army condemns ‘horrifying’ shooting of naked woman at hands of fighters

LONDON (Reuters) &#8211; Achieving net zero emissions by mid-century would cost an estimated $1 trillion-$2 trillion a year of additional investments, or 1-1.5% of global gross domestic product, a report by the Energy Transitions Commission (ETC) said on Wednesday.



To limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius this century, global greenhouse gas emissions will need to reach net zero.



When this is achieved, the reduction in 2050 living standards in developed and developing countries would amount to less than 0.5% of global GDP, the report said.



The ETC is a global coalition of 40 energy producers, industrial companies and financial institutions, including ArcelorMittal, HSBC, BP, Shell, Orsted and Bank of America, which are committed to achieving a carbon-free economy by 2050.



The report said dramatic improvements in energy efficiency will need to be made; annual global electricity supply will have to grow four to five times to reach 90,000-115,000 terawatt hours and the annual pace of wind and solar capacity will need to be five to six times the increase achieved in 2019.



In addition, buildings, transport and industry sectors need to be electrified and hydrogen should be used in cases where that is not possible. Any remaining energy use should be decarbonised using carbon capture and storage and sustainable bioenergy.



“There is no doubt that it is technically and economically possible to reach the zero-carbon economy which we need by 2050; and zero must mean zero, not a plan which relies on the permanent and large-scale use of ‘offsets’ to balance continued emissions,” said co-chair of the ETC, Adair Turner.



“But action in the next decade is crucial – otherwise it will be too late,” he added.



China has the resources and technology to become a rich, developed carbon-free economy by 2050. All developing nations should be able to reach net-zero emissions by 2060 at the latest but will require development investment to attract private green investors, the ETC said.

SA’s auto industry ambitions threatened by COVID-19

Global net zero emissions goal would require $1-2 trillion a year investment – study

NAIROBI (Reuters) &#8211; Five-year-old Kenyan student Miguel Munene sits between his parents, holding their hands as he watches cartoon characters teaching him to pronounce “fish”.



The television has replaced Munene’s teachers and classmates after the government shut schools indefinitely in March to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. They are closed until at least January.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="600" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/shutterstock_227423392.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-374199" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/shutterstock_227423392.jpg 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/shutterstock_227423392-300x225.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/shutterstock_227423392-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/shutterstock_227423392-696x522.jpg 696w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/shutterstock_227423392-600x450.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption>Kenya. Shutterstock </figcaption></figure>



Many children don’t have the option to learn online &#8211; the United Nations children’s agency UNICEF says at least half of sub-Saharan Africa’s schoolchildren do not have internet access.



So some, like Munene, watch a cartoon made by Tanzanian non-profit organisation Ubongo, which offers television and radio content for free to African broadcasters.



“Other programmes are just for fun, but Ubongo is helping children,” Miguel’s mother Celestine Wanjiru told Reuters. “He can now differentiate a lot of shapes and colours, both in English and Swahili.”



In March, programmes by Ubongo &#8211; the Kiswahili word for brain &#8211; were broadcast to an area covering about 12 million households in nine countries, said Iman Lipumba, Ubongo’s head of communications. That rose to 17 million in 20 countries by August.



“The COVID-19 pandemic has really forced us to rapidly grow,” Lipumba said.



A group of artists, innovators and educators set up Ubongo TV in Tanzania in 2014. It has received around $4 million in grants since, and earned $700,000 from YouTube, product sales, character licensing, and co-production of programmes.



For Munene and other schoolchildren, programmes like Ubongo’s are their only option to learn for now.



Kenya’s education ministry says schools can only reopen when the number of COVID-19 cases drops substantially.



Kenya has had over 36,000 confirmed cases and more than 620 deaths, health ministry data showed.



“You have the kid with you all the time so when you have such programmes, they are a big help,” Patrick Nyaga, Miguel’s father, a security guard, told Reuters.



But television cannot completely replace teaching.



“The way the children learn through programmes is different (from) the way they interact with others and teachers,” Nyaga said. “We are hoping that they open soon.”

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Millions of African children rely on TV education during pandemic

NAIROBI (Reuters) &#8211; Kenya’s economy is expected to grow by less than 2.5% this year, the finance minister said, as more evidence of the economic damage caused by the health crisis emerges.



The projected growth rate will be a slide from 5.4% last year, Ukur Yatani told a virtual event to launch budget making for the 2021/22 financial year, battered by loss of jobs, a steep contraction in tourism and a drop in government revenues.



“The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to cause a major economic shock,” the minister said.



Thousands of workers have lost their jobs and some employees have had their hours reduced.



The tourism sector, which many households rely on for their livelihoods, is expected to contract by 18.7% this year and 9.1% next year, before it starts to grow slightly in 2022, the Treasury said.



The government’s revenue from taxes dropped by 10% in the year to August, or 120 billion shillings ($1.11 billion), the finance ministry said, partly due to tax cuts announced in April to support consumer demand in the face of pandemic.



The coronavirus crisis has also upended the government’s budget deficit reduction plans.



In the 2021/22 (July-June) financial year, the finance ministry said it will target a fiscal deficit of 7.3% of GDP, slightly down from this fiscal year’s deficit of 8.4%.



Pre-pandemic forecasts had put the fiscal deficit for this financial year at 4.9% of GDP, narrowing to 3.9% in 2021/22.



Kanini Kega, the chairman of parliament’s budget committee, warned officials against taking the budget plans lightly, normally in the form of additional requests for cash during a given financial year, after the budget has been approved.



“The huge variations and lack of predictability has eroded the credibility of our budget,” he said.

General Economy As Kenya Faces Bleak 2018 Outlook In Vote Aftermath

Kenyan economy to grow at under 2.5% this year -finance minister

KAMPALA (Reuters) &#8211; Uganda and France’s Total have reached an agreement that will bring the oil firm and its partners closer to starting construction of a crude pipeline to neighbouring Tanzania, the company’s local unit said.



Uganda discovered crude oil reserves about 14 years ago but commercial production has been delayed partly because of a lack of infrastructure, such as an export pipeline.



The 1,445-km (900-mile) East African Crude Oil Pipeline, costing $3.5 billion, would pass through neighbouring Tanzania to the Indian Ocean port of Tanga.



Total said it had reached an agreement with Uganda protecting its rights and obligations in the pipeline’s construction and operation &#8211; known as the host government agreement.



“We have today reached major milestones which pave the way to the Final Investment Decision in the coming months,” Pierre Jessua, Managing Director of Total E&amp;P Uganda, said in a statement.



“We now look forward to concluding a similar HGA (host government agreement) with the Government of Tanzania and to completing the tendering process for all major engineering,



procurement and construction contracts.”



Total said a meeting between President Yoweri Museveni and its Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanné also agreed to conditions allowing Uganda National Oil Company to join the project.



Total is the major shareholder in Uganda’s oil fields after agreeing in April to buy Tullow Oil’s entire stake in jointly-held onshore fields in Uganda for $575 million.



Tullow said this week it was confident of finalising the sale in fourth quarter of this year.



The other partner in the 230,000 barrel-per-day project is China’s CNOOC.



The government said last year once pipeline construction begins, it would take 2-1/2 to three years to complete.



Uganda discovered crude oil reserves estimated at 6 billion barrels in the Albertine rift basin near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2006.

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Uganda, Total reach agreement bringing crude pipeline construction closer

(Reuters) &#8211; Beijing opposes a forced sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations by its Chinese owner ByteDance, and would prefer to see the short video app shut down in the United States, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday.



ByteDance has been in talks to sell TikTok&#8217;s U.S. business to potential buyers including Microsoft&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/MSFT.O">MSFT.O</a>&nbsp;and Oracle&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/ORCL.N">ORCL.N</a>&nbsp;since U.S. President Donald Trump threatened last month to ban the service if it was not sold.



Trump has given ByteDance a deadline of mid September to finalise a deal.



However, Chinese officials believe a forced sale would make both ByteDance and China appear weak in the face of pressure from Washington, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation.



ByteDance said in a statement to Reuters that the Chinese government had never suggested to it that it should shut down TikTok in the United States or in any other markets.



Two of the sources said China was willing to use revisions it made to a technology exports list on Aug. 28 to delay any deal reached by ByteDance, if it had to.



China’s State Council Information Office and its foreign and commerce ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent after working hours.



Asked on Friday about Trump and TikTok, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a regular press briefing that the United States was abusing the concept of national security, and urged it to stop oppressing foreign companies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">CLASH BETWEEN POWERS</h2>



Reuters has reported that TikTok’s prospective buyers were discussing four ways to structure an acquisition from ByteDance.



Within these, ByteDance could still push ahead with a sale of TikTok’s U.S. assets without approval from China’s commerce ministry by selling them without key algorithms.



ByteDance and its founder Zhang Yiming have been caught in a clash between the world’s two preeminent powers.



Trump last month issued two executive orders that require ByteDance to sell TikTok’s U.S. assets or face being banned in the country, where the app is hugely popular among teenagers.



U.S. officials have criticised the app’s security and privacy, suggesting that user data might be shared with Beijing. TikTok has said it would not comply with any request to share user data with the Chinese authorities.



Beijing has said it firmly opposes Trump’s executive orders and on Aug. 28 moved to give itself a say in the process, revising a list of technologies that will need Chinese government approval before they are exported. Experts said TikTok’s recommendation algorithm would fall under this list.



Chinese regulators said last week the rules were not targeted at specific companies but they reaffirmed their right to enforce them.

Exclusive: China would rather see TikTok U.S. close than a forced sale

M’BATTO, Ivory Coast (Reuters) &#8211; Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara’s government has reached out to his main opponents and religious leaders to intervene and ease tensions following his decision to bid for a third term in next month’s election.The world’s top cocoa-producing nation has seen a spate of violent protests, with a least 10 killed and over a hundred wounded in clashes between protesters and police since Ouattara announced his bid in August.



The election is seen as the greatest test yet for stability since a brief civil war killed about 3,000 people following a disputed election in 2010 won by Ouattara.



Ouattara plans to run in the Oct. 31 election after the sudden death of his handpicked successor, Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly in July.



His opponents say the constitution forbids him because he has already had two terms. The Ivory Coast Constitutional Council is set to rule on his eligibility, and those of other candidates next week.



Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko is expected to meet youth leaders of the main opposition parties next week to restart discussions, and end street violence before the election, a government statement said on Friday.

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Ivory Coast government seeks end to violence ahead of October election

NIAMEY (Reuters) &#8211; Nigerien student Hachimou Abdou has had to catch a boat to classes since river water swamped his route to university in the capital Niamey &#8211; one of about 760,000 people hit by severe flooding in recent weeks in parts of West and Central Africa.



Floods are common during the rainy season, but in recent years climate change, land degradation and poor urban planning have led to more frequent disasters as rapidly-growing cities struggle with heavier-than-normal rainfall.



Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Ghana, Niger, Mali, Nigeria, Congo Republic and Senegal are among those worst-hit this year, with at least 111 people killed, according to latest figures from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).



Waters have yet to recede in parts of Niamey since torrential rains in August caused rivers to burst their banks, destroying nearly 32,000 houses and 5,768 hectares of farmland across Niger.



“I have to get to university &#8211; either I take a boat or I walk in the water,” Abdou said, before settling into a traditional wooden pirogue to travel up the flooded highway.



Flooding across landlocked Niger alone has so far impacted nearly 333,000 people. Over 188,000 people have been affected in neighbouring Chad, with OCHA warning of potential food shortages due to inundated land.



With further rain expected, particularly in Central Africa, the situation is expected to worsen, said OCHA’s director for West and Central Africa, Julie Belanger.



Communities’ ability to cope with natural disasters has been eroded by instability, food shortages and mass displacement in some areas. Over 25 million people are in need of humanitarian aid in the violence-plagued Sahel area, which includes Niger, Chad and Mali.



“Many of those populations live in flood-prone areas. It’s just a matter of time for them to be at risk of epidemics,” Belanger said, describing how quickly diseases can spread once floods wipe out access to clean water and sanitation.

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Severe floods hit 760,000 people in West and Central Africa

ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; Nigerian resident doctors on Thursday suspended a strike to allow the government time to meet its demands over pay and working conditions amid the spread of the coronavirus, the head of the doctors’ union said.



The National Association of Resident Doctors resolved to suspend the strike “to give government time to address our demands,” said Aliyu Sokomba, president of the union, in a WhatsApp message to Reuters.



The strike began on Monday, and included 16,000 resident doctors out of a total of 42,000 doctors in the country, including those who worked in COVID-19 treatment centres, he had said earlier this week.



Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, has more than 55,000 confirmed coronavirus infections and more than 1,000 deaths.



Resident doctors are medical school graduates training as specialists. They are pivotal to frontline healthcare in Nigeria as they dominate the emergency wards in its hospitals.



The union last went on strike in June, demanding better benefits and more protective equipment for battling coronavirus. They are still demanding, among other things, life insurance and hazard allowances.



A labour ministry statement earlier this week said the government had spent 20 billion naira ($52.53 million) on hazard allowances for healthcare workers in April, May and June, and had met the bulk of the doctors’ demands.

Nigerian doctors suspend strike to allow government time to meet demands

(Reuters) &#8211; Twitter Inc said on Thursday it would label or remove misinformation aiming to undermine confidence in the U.S. election, including posts claiming victory before results have been certified or inciting unlawful conduct to prevent a peaceful transfer of power.FILE PHOTO: The Twitter App loads on an iPhone in this illustration photograph taken in Los Angeles, California, U.S., July 22, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo/File Photo



Twitter said in a blog post it was updating its rules to recognize the changes in how people will vote in the Nov. 3 election and try to protect against voter suppression and misleading content on its platform.



The widespread use of mail ballots in the U.S. election due to the coronavirus pandemic will likely cause significant delays in tallying results, which some experts fear could allow misinformation to gain traction.



U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that voting by mail is susceptible to large-scale fraud.



Twitter also said it would also label or remove misinformation creating confusion about the laws, regulations and officials involved in civic processes, as well as disputed claims that could undermine faith in the process, such as unverified information about vote tallying or election rigging.



A Twitter spokesman said whether content had specific falsehoods or could cause greater harm would determine if it would be removed, or labeled and have its reach reduced.



Social media companies have long been under pressure to combat misinformation after U.S. intelligence agencies determined Russia used their platforms to meddle in the 2016 vote, allegations that Moscow has denied.



The companies have also been under scrutiny over their responses to inflammatory content posted by President Trump. Since May, Twitter has attached warnings and fact-checking labels to Trump’s tweets about mail-in ballots.



Twitter said its rules would be “applied equally and judiciously for everyone.” The new policy, which is global, will take effect on Sept. 17.



Facebook Inc last week said it was creating a label for posts by candidates or campaigns that made premature claims of victory. It also said it would stop accepting new political ads in the week before Election Day.

Newsletter

Angola negotiates $6.2 billion debt relief from creditors: IMF

Ghana plans $500 million London listing of gold royalty fund: sources

The COVID Currency Survival Guide for Corporates

China’s ByteDance says TikTok will be its subsidiary under deal with Trump

AngloGold Ashanti reinstates trimmed 2020 output guidance

ByteDance’s bid to keep most of TikTok faces major hurdles

Breaking SA: Moves to alert level 1, International travel to re-start on October 1st

Mozambique army condemns ‘horrifying’ shooting of naked woman at hands of fighters

Global net zero emissions goal would require $1-2 trillion a year investment – study

Millions of African children rely on TV education during pandemic

Kenyan economy to grow at under 2.5% this year -finance minister

Uganda, Total reach agreement bringing crude pipeline construction closer

Exclusive: China would rather see TikTok U.S. close than a forced sale

Ivory Coast government seeks end to violence ahead of October election

Severe floods hit 760,000 people in West and Central Africa

Nigerian doctors suspend strike to allow government time to meet demands

Twitter expands misinformation rules ahead of U.S. election

News Tips

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Newsletter

Angola negotiates $6.2 billion debt relief from creditors: IMF

Ghana plans $500 million London listing of gold royalty fund: sources

The COVID Currency Survival Guide for Corporates

China’s ByteDance says TikTok will be its subsidiary under deal with Trump

AngloGold Ashanti reinstates trimmed 2020 output guidance

ByteDance’s bid to keep most of TikTok faces major hurdles

Breaking SA: Moves to alert level 1, International travel to re-start on October 1st

Mozambique army condemns ‘horrifying’ shooting of naked woman at hands of fighters

Global net zero emissions goal would require $1-2 trillion a year investment – study

Millions of African children rely on TV education during pandemic

Kenyan economy to grow at under 2.5% this year -finance minister

Uganda, Total reach agreement bringing crude pipeline construction closer

Exclusive: China would rather see TikTok U.S. close than a forced sale

Ivory Coast government seeks end to violence ahead of October election

Severe floods hit 760,000 people in West and Central Africa

Nigerian doctors suspend strike to allow government time to meet demands

Twitter expands misinformation rules ahead of U.S. election

News Tips

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