MOSCOW (Reuters) &#8211; Russian diamond producer Alrosa on Tuesday said it had started prospecting and preliminary exploration works for primary diamond deposits in Zimbabwe in a joint venutre with the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC).



“Following the signing of a joint venture agreement with ZCDC to develop diamond deposits in Zimbabwe in December 2019, we are progressing well towards the initiation of the full-scale prospecting works this year,” said Alrosa’s deputy CEO Vladimir Marchenko.

diamonds-4040800_1280

Russia’s Alrosa starts diamond prospecting in Zimbabwe through JV with ZDCD

(Reuters) &#8211; Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk qualified on Tuesday for a payout worth an unprecedented $2.1 billion, his second jackpot since May from the electric car maker following its massive stock surge.



Tesla’s stock was down 3% in afternoon trading, eroding a recent rally that has elevated the company’s market capitalization to almost $300 billion, larger than any other carmaker.



Despite Tuesday’s stock dip, and importantly for Musk’s personal finances, Tesla’s six-month average market capitalization for the first time has reached $150 billion. That triggers the vesting of the second of 12 tranches of options granted to the billionaire in his 2018 pay package to buy Tesla stock at a discount. Musk, who is also majority owner and CEO of the SpaceX rocket maker, receives no salary.



Even with Tuesday’s decline in Tesla’s stock, its six-month average market capitalization rose, thanks to the stock’s strong rally in recent months.



In early May, Musk’s first tranche vested after Tesla’s six-month average stock market value reached $100 billion.



Musk has already achieved targets related to Tesla’s financial growth that are also required in order to vest the latest options tranche.



Each tranche gives Musk the option to buy 1.69 million Tesla shares at $350.02 each, less than a quarter of their current price. At Tesla’s current stock price of $1,594, Musk would theoretically be able to sell the shares related to the tranche that vested in May and the current tranche for a combined profit of $4.2 billion, or almost $2.1 billion per tranche.



Musk’s first tranche was worth about $700 million in May, when it vested, but its value has since increased along with Tesla’s stock price.



The median compensation for Tesla employees last year was about $58,000, according to a company filing.



Tesla’s stock has surged more than 500% over the past year as the company increased sales of its Model 3 sedan.



Following higher-than-expected second-quarter vehicle deliveries, some investors believe Tesla might report a profit in its second-quarter report on Wednesday after the bell. That would mark four consecutive profitable quarters, a first for Tesla and a key hurdle for it to be added to the S&amp;P 500 index&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/finance/markets/index?symbol=.SPX">.SPX</a>.



Analysts on average expect a $240 million loss for the quarter, according to Refinitiv. A month ago, analysts expected a loss of almost $340 million.

Elon Musk At SpaceX Headquarters

African raised Elon Musk qualifies for $2.1 billion payday

(Reuters) &#8211; When Tesla Inc (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/TSLA.O">TSLA.O</a>) reports second-quarter results after the bell on Wednesday, investors will be keen to see whether the electric carmaker has delivered a profit during the global pandemic that has sunk most of its internal combustion rivals deep in red ink.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="594" height="410" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/gettyimages-1155740300-594x594.jpg" alt="Billionaire Elon Musk: I am not Warren Buffett’s biggest fan" class="wp-image-351991" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/gettyimages-1155740300-594x594.jpg 594w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/gettyimages-1155740300-594x594-300x207.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/gettyimages-1155740300-594x594-100x70.jpg 100w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/gettyimages-1155740300-594x594-218x150.jpg 218w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px" /><figcaption>Billionaire Elon Musk: I am not Warren Buffett’s biggest fan (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for E3/Entertainment Software Association)</figcaption></figure>



Analysts’ estimates for Tesla’s second quarter range from an adjusted loss as steep as $2.53 a share to a $1.41 per share profit. On average, they expect an adjusted 11 cents loss per share and a net loss of $240 million, according to Refinitiv data. More bullish investors have sent Tesla’s shares soaring in recent weeks and made it the world’s most valuable automaker.



Tesla’s April-June results also have wider ramifications. A profit would mark the company’s first cumulative four-quarter net income, a goal it must accomplish to be added to the S&amp;P 500 index, where it would be among the most valuable companies.



Some analysts have said that failing to reach that goal could send Tesla shares plummeting after they surged more than 275% so far this year.



Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk, in the meantime, has poked fun at the company’s naysayers and those who placed bets against him with short positions in the stock, by launching a limited edition of red satin “short shorts.”



Earlier this month, Tesla surpassed expectations when it announced it had delivered more than 90,000 vehicles in the quarter, significantly beating analyst estimates and running counter to the wider auto industry trend.



But while vehicle deliveries increased 2.5% on a quarterly basis, production dropped nearly 20%, clouding the outlook for the company that had predicted it would deliver at least 500,000 vehicles by the end of the year, Investors have been closely following any revisions of that target.



Tesla’s U.S. vehicle factory was shut for some six weeks during the second quarter on local regulators’ orders. The company has ramped up production at its new Shanghai factory and sold more than 29,600 vehicles in China during the second quarter.



But as global unemployment remains high and the economic outlook uncertain, many consumers are expected to hold off on larger purchases, including vehicles.



Nord LB analyst Frank Schwope expects global auto production and sales to collapse by 15% to 25% worldwide in 2020, but said Tesla might be more insulated as its buyers remain committed.



Tesla plans to build a second plant in the U.S. Southwest as soon as the third quarter. It has not announced a location, but Texas and Oklahoma have been vying for the plant, which promises to create at least 5,000 jobs.

How Elon Musk Took Tesla To Hell And Back With The Model 3

Profit or not? Analysts divided ahead of African born Elon Musk’s Tesla second-quarter results

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) &#8211; Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan have agreed to resume talks to break a deadlock on the Grand Renaissance Dam reservoir on the Blue Nile, the leaders of the three countries said on Tuesday.



The announcements made separately by Ethiopian leader Abiy Ahmed, Sudan’s Abdalla Hamdok and Egypt’s presidency, followed a virtual mini-African Union summit that was called after they failed to reach an agreement earlier this month.



“The extraordinary meeting&#8230; concluded with all parties reaching a major common understanding which paves the way for a breakthrough agreement,” Abiy’s office said in a statement which was posted on Twitter.



South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, who chaired Tuesday’s online meeting of the AU, confirmed there would be further negotiations.



“The trilateral negotiations remain on track,” Ramaphosa wrote on Twitter.



Sudan and Egypt both fear the $4 billion hydroelectric dam could lead to water shortages in their own countries.



The project has raised concerns in Egypt that already limited Nile waters will be further restricted. The Blue Nile is a tributary of the Nile from which Egypt gets 90% of its fresh water.



‮‮”‬‬It was agreed, at the conclusion of the summit, to continue negotiations and focus for the time being on giving priority to developing a binding legal agreement on the rules for filling and operating the Renaissance Dam,” a statement issued by the Egyptian presidency said.



Ethiopia, which says it needs the dam to generate electricity for its people, has already achieved the first year of filling its dam due to the rainfall season in the area, the statement from Abiy’s office said.



“The dam under construction is already overtopping,” it said, adding that Ethiopia was committed to a “balanced and win-win” negotiation that ascertains that the river will benefit all the three countries involved.

Bridges_across_the_Blue_Nile_Gorge

Talks on the Nile in attempt to solve Renaissance Dam deadlock

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; The South African government has not committed to fund a restructuring plan for struggling South African Airways (SAA), Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said in court papers seen by Reuters on Tuesday.tit



Administrators took over SAA in December after almost a decade of financial losses, and last week creditors approved the restructuring plan, which requires at least 10 billion rand ($600 million) of new funds, on the understanding the government would find the necessary cash.



Mboweni said in an affidavit filed in the High Court that funding options the government might explore included approaching institutions for investment of pension funds, private equity or other partners who might want a shareholding in a restructured SAA.



The minister was responding to a court case launched by opposition party the Democratic Alliance, which wants to block Mboweni from using emergency powers to channel more public funds to rescue the airline.



Mboweni and Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan sent a letter last week to SAA’s administrators committing to “mobilising funding” for the plan.



Mboweni said in his affidavit that no definitive decisions had been taken on how funds would be sourced for SAA. He said he had not used his powers to authorise using funds from the National Revenue Fund, nor was such a move imminent.



The finance ministry has not responded to a Reuters request for comment.



SAA’s administrators need certain conditions to be met by Wednesday for their restructuring plan to work.



One of them is that the government finds money for the plan, which envisages scaling back the airline’s fleet and shedding jobs before gradually ramping up operations as COVID-19 disruption eases.



In a document sent to trade unions over the weekend giving the rationale for the planned job cuts, the administrators said SAA had made a net loss of 5.5 billion rand in the year to end-March, with further losses incurred since.



The administrators plan to have terminated all SAA’s aircraft leases by the end of July, leaving it with nine Airbus A340 planes which are on sale, Louise Brugman, spokeswoman for the administrators told Reuters.

PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA - MARCH 16: Finance minister, Tito Mboweni briefs the media on the details of government interventions in various sectors of the departmental portfolios on COVID-19 at DIRCO Media Centre.

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South Africa has not committed to fund SAA rescue plan, finance minister says

One of the unintended consequences of the misery of the COVID-19 pandemic is that it could boost Africa’s chances of attracting foreign investment from the northern hemisphere as central bankers slash interest rates..



This was the word from former British prime minister Tony Blair who spoke to CNBC Africa from London in an exclusive interview.



Blair said African nations should use this pandemic to reform their economies and build infrastructure to ripen them for foreign investors. He said African nations should look for foreign investors in sector where the continent to add value to its resources before export.



The economic woes, brought on by COVID-19, dragging down the wealthy economies of the northern hemisphere, could also benefit African nations.



“There is vast pool of capital in the west because interest rates are very low and they are looking for an outlet. You look at Japan alone, its pension fund has a trillion dollars in it,” says Blair.



“You will get that investment if you build infrastructure and make it the right environment for investors. My advice to African nations is get that investment in , in the value added sectors, &nbsp;to build their capacity, so you are in a position to start exporting your own intellectual capital.”

Tony Blair Gives Pro-Eu Keynote Speech

Tony Blair: How the misery of COVID-19 could mean more investment into Africa.

By Zinathi Gquma



“I am optimistic about Africa for the future”, says former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, on CNBC Africa.



Commenting on Africa’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Blair praised the continent on the initial measures that were taken to curb the spread of the virus. According to Blair, “Africa has got some things right, because the deaths in Africa are a third of the number of deaths in the UK.”



Blair’s comments echoed those of the international community, during the first stages of Covid-19 outbreaks in the continent. However, the surge in Covid-19 infections is increasing at alarming rates; with the former British Prime Minister questioning: “Is Covid-19 in Africa ticking up or taking off?”



“Governments are doing their level best, but Covid-19 in Africa could take off if we’re not careful”, Blair cautions.



South Africa, Africa’s most industrialised country, has the fifth largest number of Covid-19 infections in the world; after the US, Brazil, India and Russia. On South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak in the country, Blair commended the President’s leadership, saying, “He was following what Europe has seen as best practice”.



He acknowledged that the hard lockdown implemented by Ramaphosa in the initial stages put South Africa in a position to curtail the spread of the disease, while giving the country enough time to build up the capacity of the health system.



The former UK Prime Minister now runs the Tony Blair African Governance Initiative, which aims to make African governments work harder for their people. The non-profit organisation has been instrumental in assisting African countries to implement practical measures in the fight against Covid-19, without destroying their economies.



“This is the biggest challenge I’ve ever seen for governments”, says Blair, who stepped down after a decade of power in 2007.



“I would not like to be taking these decisions in government right now.”



Blair says that this is the time to reset governance and build capable institutions in Africa, so that the continent can rise to its potential. According to the former statesman, “Africa needs to use this Covid-19 crisis to accelerate the process of change.”

“I would not like to be taking these decisions now” -former British prime minister Tony Blair on COVID-19 and Africa.

In the last days of President Robert Mugabe the political scene painted British Prime Minister Tony Blair as a pantomime villain. The late President Mugabe railed against Blair at political rallies, in the early years of this century, calling him “B-Liar” and saying famously at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg in 2002: “You can keep your England, I shall keep my Zimbabwe.” Blair is unfazed by the years of criticism, in his decade in power at Westminster, and says he is happy to speak to Mugabe’s successor President Emerson Mnangagwa.



More than a decade on Blair – who now runs an institute promoting good governance in Africa &#8211; was asked how acrimonious his not very special relationship with Zimbabwe was, in an exclusive interview with CNBC Africa from London.



“I think acrimonious was probably and understatement!” smiled Blair more than a decade on.



“I am happy to speak to Mnangagwa, but these things are best done in a private way. I was actually thinking about Zimbabwe the other day. I think, at certain points, there were misunderstandings, not genuine disagreements. If Zimbabwe were to get its act together it would be an exciting place to be.”



Blair went further to call for reform in Zimbabwe and was effusive in his praise of the country were the politicians once scorned him.



“Zimbabwe I hope the new leadership there will take the necessary measure and reforms because Zimbabwe is a very wealthy country and I meet Zimbabweans around the world and they are a very talented people. I want the government to succeed; it really is what has to be done. I do think it is what needs to happened there not just opening up political space, but also economic reforms to take the country to a boom. If the government there showed real commitment or reform, it would help in the future because we need Zimbabwe back as a player in the continent,” says Blair. &nbsp;



The former British Prime Minister’s encouraging words contrast the bitterness that the late President Mugabe felt for Blair in return. The ruling ZANU pf party called its 2005 election campaign the “Anti-Blair Vote.”



At the launch of that election campaign, in December 2004, Mugabe set the tone with the words: “Regime change, Mr Blair? Who are you? Who are you to talk of regime change in Zimbabwe? One of us, by what connection sir, do you hear me? Ancestral connection? And who were these ancestors, can we know? No, Zimbabwe is for Zimbabweans. And only Zimbabweans can determine who shall rule them and who shall not. Whether there is a situation here of political order, of lawlessness, violation of the rule of law, violation of human rights, lack of democracy, our neighbours would know that better than the British government… It is our land, ancestral land, our sacred land, never an extension of Britain.&#8221;

Blair on Zimbabwe and Mugabe:  the former British Prime minister is far from bitter and ready to meet Mnangagwa.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s rand firmed early on Tuesday, with demand for riskier emerging market currencies boosted after European Union (EU) countries agreed a rescue package for their coronavirus-hit economies.



At 0720 GMT the rand was 0.63% firmer at 16.5175 per dollar compared to a close of 16.6225 overnight.



“The EU stimulus package is reported to be worth 750 billion euros, which would have a significant impact on economic activity in Europe,” said economists at ETM Analytics.



“That will ultimately spill over into the emerging market space too, if not directly, then through improved sentiment and demand for EM exports.”



The EU was slow to coordinate its initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic but the rescue fund is likely to shore up sentiment as investors worry about the surge of infections.



Bonds were also firmer, with the yield on the benchmark 2030 government issue down 5.5 basis points to 9.405%.

ArcelorMittal South Africa fined R3.64 million over hydrogen sulfide emissions

South Africa’s rand firmer as EU rescue deal boosts risk demand

NAIROBI (Reuters) &#8211; The International Monetary Fund said on Monday it had approved $7.6 million debt relief to Burundi to help address the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It said the relief for three months would be potentially raised to $24.97 million over the next 21 months, if resources are available. “IMF debt relief will help free up resources for public sector health needs including other emergency spending and help mitigate the balance of payments shock posed by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the IMF said in a statement. The IMF said it has revised downwards economic growth projections for 2020 by 5.3 percentage points to -3.2 percent this year. “The pandemic has exacerbated preexisting economic challenges and creates significant external financing needs in 2020 and 2021, mainly as a result of lower exports, elevated imports needs, and reduced remittances inflows,” it said. Burundi has so far had 328 cases of COVID-19 and one death.

IMF_logo

IMF approves $7.6 mln debt relief to Burundi to cushion Covid-19 effects

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; The South African government has not committed to fund the requirements of a restructuring plan for struggling South African Airways (SAA), Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said in court papers seen by Reuters on Tuesday.



Mboweni said a letter he and Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan sent to SAA’s administrators last week instead committed to “mobilising funding” for the plan.



Mboweni added in the court papers that potential options the government might explore to mobilise funds included approaching institutions for investment of pension funds, private equity partners or other strategic partners who might want to acquire a shareholding in a restructured SAA.

South African government has not committed to fund SAA rescue plan, finmin says

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; Natural gas and helium producer Renergen has invited applicants for South Africa’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) auction for LNG produced at its project in the Free State, the company said on Monday.



Renergen, which said it holds the only onshore petroleum production rights in South Africa, has invited interested parties to apply to bid for the allocation of LNG produced at its Virginia Gas Project.



The registration for applications will close on Aug. 27 with a blind auction to be held thereafter at an unconfirmed date.



The project, which comprises exploration and production rights of 187,000 hectares of gas fields across Welkom, Virginia and Theunissen, will produce high-quality LNG with an average content of more than 95% methane, the company said.



It also has one of the world’s richest sources of helium, used to cool superconducting magnets in medical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners, as a gas to breathe in deep-sea diving and as a lifting gas in balloons and airships.



Renergen plans to complete phase 1 of the project to produce LNG and helium by 2021 and expects phase 2 to be available by 2023.

Liquid_natural_gas_membrane_tank

Renergen to hold South Africa’s first LNG auction

WASHINGTON (Reuters) &#8211; During a blue-sky moment in 2018 near the end of a decade-long economic expansion, it was the United States that helped pull the world along as the extra cash from tax cuts and government spending flowed through domestic and global markets.





But if it was U.S. policy that pushed the world higher then, it is U.S. policy that threatens to pull the world under now as the country’s troubled response to the coronavirus pandemic emerges as a chief risk to any sustained global recovery.



Officials from Mexico to Japan are already on edge. Exports have taken a hit in Germany, and Canada looks south warily knowing that any further hit to U.S. growth will undoubtedly spill over.



“Globally there will be difficult months and years ahead and it is of particular concern that the number of COVID-19 cases is still rising,” the International Monetary Fund said in a review of the U.S. economy that cited “social unrest” due to rising poverty as one of the risks to economic growth.



“The risk ahead is that a large share of the U.S. population will have to contend with an important deterioration of living standards and significant economic hardship for several years. This, in turn, can further weaken demand and exacerbate longer-term headwinds to growth.”



It was a clinical description of a grim set of facts: After the U.S. government committed roughly $3 trillion to support the economy through a round of restrictions on activity imposed to curb the virus in April and May, the disease is surging in the United States to record levels just as those support programs are due to expire. More than 3.6 million people have been infected and 140,000 killed. Daily growth in cases has tripled to more than 70,000 since mid-May, and the 7-day moving average of deaths, after falling steadily from April to July, has turned higher.



Meanwhile the country has fractured over issues like mask-wearing that in other parts of the world were adopted readily as a matter of common courtesy. With some key states like Texas and California now reimposing restrictions, analysts have already noted a possible plateau to the U.S. recovery with the country still 13.3 million jobs shy of the number in February.FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed coronavirus model is seen in front of a U.S. flag on display in this illustration taken March 25, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">A GLOBAL DISAPPOINTMENT</h3>



For other major economic powers, that is a weight added to their own struggles with the virus and the economic fallout.



The U.S. economy accounts for about a quarter of world gross domestic product. Though much of that is service-related, and much of the direct impact of the virus is tied up in industries like restaurants with weak links to the global economy, the connections are still there. A lost job leads to lower consumer spending leads to fewer imports; weak business conditions lead to less investment in the equipment or supplies that are often produced elsewhere.



Year-to-date U.S. imports through May are down more than 13%, or roughly $176 billion.



In Germany, whose measures to contain the pandemic are considered to have been among the most effective, exports to the United States plunged 36% year-over-year in May. Analysts see little prospect for improvement, with year-to-date U.S. auto sales through June down nearly 24% from a year earlier.



“That is really a disappointment,” said Gabriel Felbermayr, president of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, in a recent interview with radio network Deutschlandfunk. The spike in U.S. infections, he said, could not have been expected.



In Japan, the speed of the recovery is seen tied directly to U.S. success in stemming the virus.



“Japan’s recovery will be really delayed if the spreading of the coronavirus in the United States isn’t stopped and U.S.-bound exports from various Asian countries don’t grow,” said Hideo Kumano, a former Bank of Japan official who is now chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">PESSIMISM AT BOTH BORDERS</h3>



The IMF projected U.S. GDP will shrink this year by 6.6%, in line with many analysts’ projections.



The Bank of Canada is more pessimistic, forecasting U.S. GDP to fall 8.1% on the year. That has already been lowered once as the health situation decayed.Slideshow&nbsp;(2 Images)



A further leg down would hit Canada directly, with perhaps three-fourths of the country’s exports headed over the U.S. border.



“We did take down our U.S. projection &#8230; I would underline that there’s a lot of uncertainty, and the principle source of the uncertainty is the evolution of the coronavirus itself,” said BOC governor Tiff Macklem.



At the southern border, Mexico is also posting record daily numbers of new cases, but President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has at times deflected criticism of his government’s efforts by pointing to the U.S. numbers.



Lopez Obrador undertook a risky visit with President Donald Trump earlier in July, couching his journey to Washington as a matter of economic necessity as Mexico attempts to revive an economy that could shrink by 10% or more this year, according to forecasts.



The Mexican president hopes the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade deal, which took effect on July 1, will spur business and investment, but pessimism about the outlook has been growing.



“To the point that people in the U.S. are losing jobs or incomes it is a downward weight &#8230; and it will have ramifications on the ability to consume globally,” said Elizabeth Crofoot, senior economist at the Conference Board, which documented a record drop in global consumer confidence in a recent survey.



“We take one step forward and two steps back.”

US COVID-19

When the U.S. sneezes, the world catches a cold. What happens when it has severe COVID-19?

GENEVA (Reuters) &#8211; Kenya’s candidate to the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) top post said on Monday she is seeking Washington’s backing and expressed some sympathy with its criticism of the global body as she emerges as one of two reform-minded African female frontrunners.



Amina Mohamed told Reuters a closed-door vetting session last week went “really well” as she outlined her platform to steer the body out of crises from global trade tensions and rising protectionism to a COVID-induced dive in business.



Delegates say Mohamed, a 58-year-old minister and former WTO chair, is one of the favourites alongside Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to replace Brazil’s Roberto Azevedo as director general, although weeks of campaigning lie ahead.



The WTO has never been led by a woman or an African.



“The rulebook needs to be upgraded because of the concerns that are being expressed about the rules not being fit for purpose,” she said, adding that resuming the top appeals court would be a priority and that she hoped this would be on the agenda of the next major WTO meeting in 2021.



The United States has paralysed the Appellate Body by blocking new judges.



In an apparent nod to Washington, she referred to concerns about the body’s “overreach”.



Asked if that meant she sympathised with the U.S. position, she said: “Those concerns that have been raised, they would not have been raised if they did not have solid reason to raise them.”



The U.S. mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



Mohamed’s supporters say she combines deep WTO knowledge with a drive to overhaul its 25-year-old rules. “The difference between me and them is I have worked this system,” she said.



However, she must win over those African countries who have expressed support for Okonjo-Iweala.



Over the past week, countries have been hosting Geneva cocktail parties to showcase candidates.



The WTO eliminates them in batches, starting with those unlikely to win consensus from 164 members.

Amina Mohamed

Vowing reform, Kenyan emerges as one of early WTO front runners

NEW YORK/SEOUL (Reuters) &#8211; Convinced of Tesla Inc’s (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/TSLA.O">TSLA.O</a>) imminent meteoric rise, Orestis Palampougioukis, a Netherlands-based software developer, took out a 43,000 euro ($49,000) loan in early October to invest it all in the electric carmaker, which at the time was trading at around $230 a share.FILE PHOTO: Tesla electric vehicles for test driving are parked in Hanam, South Korea, July 6, 2020. Picture taken on July 6, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo



Since then, Palampougioukis’ bet has paid off as Tesla’s share price has increased more than six-fold, trading around $1,500 on Monday and surpassing every rival to become the world’s highest-valued automaker. After investing an additional 14,000 euros in personal funds, he has pocketed around 10,000 euros in profit to date, even when accounting for the 7% interest he pays the bank.



“To me it didn’t feel like a bet because I studied what Tesla does very closely and it’s simply inevitable that it would dominate,” Palampougioukis said, adding that he plans to own the shares for decades.



He is not alone. Retail investors around the world, staunch believers in the company&#8217;s mission to lead the auto industry into a battery-powered future, have invested their personal money, and at times their parents&#8217; retirement funds, in Tesla and reaped handsome rewards. 



Tesla reports second-quarter results on Wednesday after the close of trading. While analysts polled by Refinitiv on average expect the company to report a loss, a surprisingly strong vehicle delivery report boosted hopes among many retail investors for a profitable quarter.



Discussions about Tesla on online retail investor forums have surged, with users debating whether to hold their shares in hopes of even higher returns or cash out. (Graphic:&nbsp;<a href="https://tmsnrt.rs/3jmlmWr">tmsnrt.rs/3jmlmWr</a>)



While the total number of Tesla retail investors is not known, around 75% of the company’s stock is owned by large institutional investors and Tesla executives, including Chief Executive Elon Musk, according to Refinitiv data.



Tesla shares are among the most popular on U.S. retail investor platforms, such as Robinhood Markets Inc and TD Ameritrade (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/AMTD.O">AMTD.O</a>). The number of users holding Tesla stock on the Robinhood trading app increased more than 400% from the first two weeks of July 2018 to the same point this year, according to data from Robintrack.net, which compiles data on the investing platform.



In South Korea, where Tesla has become the latest craze among tech-savvy professionals, the company is the most-traded overseas stock, with Koreans buying $3.2 billion worth of Tesla shares so far this year, up nearly 13-fold from all of 2019.



Choi Jong-wan, the former head of Korea’s Tesla owners’ club, borrowed money to invest in Tesla after the company unveiled its Model 3 in 2016. He also bought Tesla stock for his seven-year-old son, taking advantage of Korean inheritance tax breaks.



Choi, who bought a Model S, said the company’s shares are supported by its many fans buying stock. Convinced of Musk’s vision, Choi bought when Tesla shares tanked in the past.



“I am getting more confident about Tesla,” he said. “I will sell Tesla stock when other automakers introduce better electric cars than Tesla at competitive prices.”



Some investors have invested their stock proceeds in the company by buying its vehicles. David, a marketing specialist from Oakland, California, who asked that his last name not be used, bought a Tesla Model 3 last August after selling some of his Tesla shares.



He bought his first Tesla shares for a couple of hundred dollars right out of college in 2010. The company had just listed publicly, with the shares trading around $29.



David has since invested about another $40,000 and currently holds 180 shares.



“Tesla has treated me well so far. I believe in their vision and I believe in Elon Musk,” he said. “But the house we bought needs a new roof and I’m thinking to just sell a few shares to pay for that.”



Musk’s own net worth has soared even higher thanks to the latest share price rally. The outspoken Tesla boss is within reach of another share-based payday potentially worth as much as $2 billion. Including previously vested tranches, Musk would own options for about $4 billion worth of Tesla shares.

African born Elon Musk’s Tesla share rally propels early fan investors to riches

HAVANA (Reuters) &#8211; State-run stores in Cuba began selling some food and hygiene products in U.S. dollars on Monday as the import-dependent country faces a grave shortage of tradable currency to purchase goods abroad.People wait in line to enter a store that sells products in U.S. dollars in Havana, Cuba, 



Cuba last had to open such dollar stores for basic goods in the 1990s when the fall of the Soviet Union plunged the Communist-run island into a deep economic depression.



This time it is the coronavirus pandemic, which has shuttered tourism and hit other revenue earners, worsening an existing liquidity crisis due to the implosion of ally Venezuela’s economy and the tightening of U.S. sanctions on old foe Cuba.



Lines formed in front of the stores on Monday and Cubans packed banks to obtain the bank card needed to purchase dollar goods although most residents resigned themselves to obtaining the basics in local currency.



“Not all Cubans can buy there, we don’t all have family abroad,” Lazara Rodriguez, 43, a dancer who lives near one of the stores, said.



The government said 62 stores were opening across the country with more to follow in the coming months.



Some 80 outlets selling domestic appliances, car parts and other items such as motorbikes opened late last year, and used cars went on sale for greenbacks earlier in 2020.



The Cuban state monopolizes retail and foreign trade but pandemic fallout has worsened shortages of food, medicine and other goods and there are long lines at retail outlets.



Consumers said the dollar stores provided an option amidst scarcity for some, but complained they still lacked many products.



“Its good, the prices are acceptable, but it does not have many products like detergent, oil and ham,” retiree Guillermo Antigua said, exiting a store in Havana.



Cuba is reopening with no new cases of COVID-19 reported on Monday, but private eateries with no access to wholesale markets have been finding it difficult to put together an offer.



The new stores are an option for some.



“This is good. We have options to keep working. At least they are selling us products,” cafeteria owner Daniel Gonzalez said as he packed cheese and other items into his car.



Cuba legalized the dollar after the fall of the Soviet Union but it was taken out of circulation in 2004.



Since then, there have been two currencies, the peso and the convertible peso, which is valued at 24 pesos, circulating although possession of the dollar and other tradable currencies remained legal.



Cubans who patronize the dollar stores need a dollar-denominated bank card from an account opened with tradable currencies which may be obtained through offshore remittances or other means such as exchanging local pesos on the street.Slideshow&nbsp;(3 Images)



The government claims the convertible peso is equal to the dollar, but imported goods, when available, have huge mark-ups as they are purchased in tradable currencies. The peso and convertible peso have no value abroad.



“As in the 1990s, national currencies have lost their convertibility and do not allow companies to pay debts and import inputs,” Pavel Vidal, a former Cuban central bank economist who teaches at Colombia’s Universidad Javeriana Cali, said.



“To ensure that at least some sectors and markets work, they have to dollarize them.”

1280px-Comité_Central_PCC

In Cuba, the old foe’s greenback makes a comeback

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; Vodacom Group plans to create a ‘super app’ in partnership with digital payment provider Alipay, part of China’s Alibaba group, to allow consumers in South Africa to shop online, pay bills and send money to family from next year.



The app will also help small to medium enterprises (SME) access financial services such as lending and insurance, the two companies said in a joint statement on Monday.



Vodacom and other mobile operators in South Africa are seeking to expand their mobile payment apps into online market places to leverage their network and customer base.



They are also looking to tap more than 11 million South Africans who do not have bank accounts, to offer lending and other financial services.



South Africa’s biggest mobile operator by subscribers, MTN, plans to offer a similar app, while Telkom has repurposed its almost 70-year old Yellow Pages telephone directory business into an online market place app called Yep.



“This partnership is a significant milestone in promoting greater financial inclusion within the communities in which we operate, accelerating our financial services aspirations across Africa,” Vodacom Group Chief Executive Shameel Joosub said in the statement.



The super app, much like WeChat, a platform developed by Tencent Holdings Ltd in China, will be operated by Vodacom Financial Services, with Alipay as the technology provider, the firms said in their statement.



Alipay is owned by Ant Financial, the financial affiliate of the Alibaba Group Holdings.



The partnership will be a growth opportunity for Vodacom Financial Services, which in just four years has grown from a loss-making entity into a business with more than 12 million customers and contributes 1 billion rand ($59.98 million) in profit to the Vodacom Group, the mobile operator said.



The app will also allow consumers to stream music and follow news.



($1 = 16.6722 rand)

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Russia’s Alrosa starts diamond prospecting in Zimbabwe through JV with ZDCD

African raised Elon Musk qualifies for $2.1 billion payday

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Talks on the Nile in attempt to solve Renaissance Dam deadlock

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Vowing reform, Kenyan emerges as one of early WTO front runners

African born Elon Musk’s Tesla share rally propels early fan investors to riches

In Cuba, the old foe’s greenback makes a comeback

Vodacom partners with China’s Alipay to create ‘super app’ in South Africa

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