The Daily Economic Update

Group Corporate Strategy ZB Financial Holdings Limited 1st Floor, 21 Natal 21 Natal Road, Belgravia, Box 3198, Harare

Tel: +263 (0)8677002001

The Daily Economic and Business News Update, Thursday, 16 May 2019

Foreign Currency, Money, Equities & Commodities Markets Overview

Foreign Currency Markets International Stock Markets Year–On-Year Inflation Rates Currency 16-05-19 15-05-19 Index 15-05-19 14-05-19 Change Country Rate USD/RTGS 3.6500 3.6500 Dow Jones 25,648.02 25,532.05 +0.45% Zimbabwe 75.86%Apr USD/ ZAR 14.2338 14.2463 NASDAQ 7,822.15 7,734.49 +1.13% South Africa 4.5%Mar Mar EUR/ USD 1.1207 1.1209 FTSE All Share 3,997.67 3,972.47 +0.63% Malawi 9.3% GBP/USD 1.2844 1.2909 Nikkei 225 21,042.24 21,184.89 -0.67% Zambia 16 7.7% Apr USD /BWP 10.6838 10.6838 DAX 12,099.57 11,991.62 +0.90% Botswana 3.3% Mar Old Mutual Implied Exchange Rates Mozambique 3.27%Apr Currency 15-05-19 14-05-19 Dec 2018 Dec 2017 Dec 2016 Dec 2015 Namibia 4.5% Mar GBP/USD 9.0858 8.9287 6.7717 2.3828 1.684563 1.137004 Kenya 6.58% Apr USD/ZAR 49.9960 48.7836 35.4063 14.5289 10.13966 4.907358 Ghana 9.3% Mar Regional Stock Markets Nigeria 11.25%Mar Index 15-05-19 14-05-19 Change Interest rates 15-05-19 Brazil 4.94%Apr ZSE Industrial Index 478.63 478.24 +0.08% SARB Prime Rate 10.25% China 2.5%Apr ZSE Mining Index 189.63 189.63 0.00% BOB Prime Rate 5.00% Canada 1.9%Mar ZSE All Share 143.24 143.13 +0.08% LIBOR One Month 2.4378% Germany 2.0%Apr JSE All Share 56,043.21 56,234.28 -0.34% LIBOR Three Month 2.524 % Australia 1.8%Mar Ghana SE-CI 2,389.63 2,414.59 -1.03% LIBOR One Year 2.639 % U.K. 1.9%Mar Nairobi All Share 147.01 146.64 +0.25% Federal Discount Rate 1.000% Japan 0.5% Mar Nigeria All Share 28,286.08 28,422.76 -0.48% Federal Prime Rate 3.500% U.S.A. 2.0%Apr Last Daily YTD YTD Issued 15-05-19 14-05-19 Traded Change Change Change Zimbabwe Market Cap. ZSE Counter (US$) (US$) (US$) (US$) (US$) (%) Shares (US$) ZB Financial Holdings 0.4105 0.4105 0.4105 0.000 +0.0505 14.03% 175,190,642 71,915,758.54 First Capital Bank Limited 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.000 -0.01 -16.67% 2,156,260,176 107,813,008.80 CBZ Holdings Limited 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.000 +0.15 +100.0% 687,231,691 206,169,507.30 Econet Wireless Zimbabwe 1.0452 1.0778 1.0778 -0.0326 +0.1452 +16.13% 2,590,577,000 2,707,671,080.40 FBC Holdings Limited 0.3911 0.3911 0.3911 0.000 +0.1911 +95.55% 671,949,927 262,799,616.45 Fidelity Life Assurance 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.000 0.000 0.00% 108,923,291 11,981,562.01 Get Bucks 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.000 +0.043 +116.2% 1,093,567,251 87,485,380.08 NMBZ Holdings Limited 0.29 0.27 0.27 +0.02 +0.2 +222.2% 392,954,830 113,956,900.70 Old Mutual Plc 11.2991 11.0251 11.0251 +0.274 +6.5991 +140.4% 64,173,594 725,103,855.97 First Mutual Holdings 0.13 0.13 0.13 0.000 -0.065 -33.33% 690,143,060 89,718,597.80 Mashonaland Holdings 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.000 -0.0046 -13.29% 1,859,073,947 55,772,218.41 ZSE Gainers ZSE Losers 15-05-19 Previous 15-05-19 Previous Counter (US$) (US$) Change (%) Counter (US$) (US$) Change (%) NMB 0.2900 0.2700 +7.41% RTG 0.0602 0.0659 -8.65% Hippo 1.7100 1.6625 +2.86% Econet 1.0452 1.0778 -3.02% Old Mutual 11.2991 11.0251 +2.49% Turnall 0.0931 0.0920 +1.20% International Commodity Prices +0.042% ZSE Market Data Index 15-05-19 14-05-19 Commodity 15-05-19 14-05-19 Jan 19 Jan 18 Turnover Value ($m) 5.8595 7.9209 Gold (US$/oz) 1,296.10 1,296.30 1,283.50 1,317.10 Foreign Buys ($m) 3.5936 0.3420 Platinum (US$/oz) 844.00 853.00 792.00 942.00 Foreign Sales ($m) 5.5227 0.0914 Silver ( US$/oz) 14.765 14.760 15.470 17.150 Market Cap ($m) 18,714.33 18,699.37 Palladium ( US$/oz) 1,323.00 1,319.00 1,252.00 1,086.00 YTD Change (Market Cap) -2.48% -2.55% Brent Crude Oil (US$/barrel) 71.77 71.24 53.80 66.55

Disclaimer: This document may be legally privileged and/or confidential and has been prepared for informative purposes only. No liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from the use of this review or its contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith shall be accepted by ZB Financial Holdings, any of its directors, employees, or associates. Any person who makes use of this document shall be solely responsible for making his or her own TheSundayMail investigation of the issues discussed in this report. ZB Financial Holdings accepts no responsibility whatsoever for the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this document.

-Page 1- Group Corporate Strategy ZB Financial Holdings Limited 1st Floor, 21 Natal 21 Natal Road, Belgravia, Box 3198, Harare

Tel: +263 (0)8677002001

Local Business News

1. Measures contained in the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) and 2019 National Budget have seen Government revenue collections surpassing targets by 8.2%, Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube has said. He said this while delivering a State of the Economy report in Parliament, amid high drama, especially from opposition legislators who continued to interrupt the business of the day. The presentation was stopped midway as Parliament rules dictate that business cannot continue any time after 6.55pm, and is expected to continue today at the instigation of the august House. (Herald)

2. Toronto Stock Exchange-listed and Zimbabwe-focused mining firm, Caledonia Mining Corporation says it is encouraged by efforts being made by the Government in improving the country’s business environment including the recent setting of a new gold support price. Last week, Fidelity Printers and Refiners (a subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe) announced that it had raised the price it pays for gold to US$44 000 per kilogram or US$1 368.55 an ounce. The new price is a premium of approximately $86 per ounce to the spot price in London. (Herald)

3. Sugarcane farmers in Chiredzi are looking forward to receiving their initial payments in foreign currency this month as part of Government’s thrust on export incentivisation. Most farmers are in high spirits after indications that Tongaat Huletts Zimbabwe had exported all the sugar produced in the last farming season. The sugar milling giant is said to have cleared all sugar which was at its Triangle and Hippo Valley storage facilities, after foreign registered vehicles were seen ferrying the product to Mozambique and South Africa respectively. Commercial Sugarcane Farmers Association of Zimbabwe chairman Admore Hwarare said their members were expecting their share from the exported sugar in foreign currency. (Herald)

-Page 2- Group Corporate Strategy ZB Financial Holdings Limited 1st Floor, 21 Natal 21 Natal Road, Belgravia, Box 3198, Harare

Tel: +263 (0)8677002001

4. On the back of impressive Isuzu trucks sales in Zimbabwe, the Minister of Industry and Commerce Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu yesterday visited the vehicle manufacturing company’s production facility in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The minister is the first Zimbabwean dignitary to visit Isuzu Motors South Africa’s production facility in Struandale since it’s opening last year. As the second biggest export market of Isuzu Motors South Africa, Zimbabwe accounts for approximately 27% of all African exports, said Isuzu Motors South Africa executive: Corporate Affairs, Business Strategy and Legal, Denise van Huyssteen. (Herald)

5. Government will soon come up with a new Pensions Bill which will compel insurance companies and pensions funds to compensate pensioners whose pension contributions have been eroded by inflation. The new Bill will also hold managerial staff at companies accountable for non- remittance of their employees’ pension contributions. This was said by Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) spokesperson Lloyd Gumbo during an insurance and pensions workshop held in Kwekwe on Monday. Gumbo said most workers are usually left counting their losses due to inflation and other monetary policies hence the need to protect pensioners’ funds. (Herald)

6. The Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe’s Investor Protection Fund (IPF) has grown to $15 million, since it was established in 2009 to compensate investors in the event of losses. The growth in the IPF helps boost investor confidence on the market. The fund levels are determined by performance of the stock market, which constitutes 45% of its investment. Under the fund, licensed securities traders and dealers collect a levy on every buy or sale deal and remit the money to the regulator SECZ. Speaking at the inaugural C-Trade Investor Day Conference in the capital yesterday, Ministry of Finance and Economic Development deputy director Public Finance Management System Unit, Masausa Kaliati said the IPF was also working on programmes to enhance access to information for investors which should help boost their confidence. Kaliati is also a board member of the fund, representing the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. (Herald)

-Page 3- Group Corporate Strategy ZB Financial Holdings Limited 1st Floor, 21 Natal 21 Natal Road, Belgravia, Box 3198, Harare

Tel: +263 (0)8677002001

7. Finance Minister Mthuli yesterday announced the rebasing of the economy following the adoption of a new currency earlier this year, and said growth would be slowed this year by a drought and a cyclone that hit eastern regions. The economy grew higher than expected in 2018, Mthuli Ncube told Parliament. The central bank scrapped the peg between its quasi- currency bond note and electronic dollars against the U.S dollar in February and merged them into a single transitional currency called the RTGS dollar. Rebasing the economy broadly means changing the reference points used to calculate the country’s gross domestic product. (NewsDay)

8. Zimbabwe realised about $455 million from mineral sales, excluding gold and silver, in the first quarter of the year, with chrome being the biggest contributor, an official has said. "The first quarter was not bad for all our minerals. In total, the country produced about 399 000 tonnes of minerals valued at $455 million. However, this figure was below our target by 3%. We had targeted to realise $471 million for the quarter,” Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) general manager, Tongai Muzenda said. Muzenda said the biggest drivers in terms of tonnage were chrome concentrates, chrome ore as well as ferrochrome, with hitting 240 000 tonnes. Platinum group metals (PGMs) amounted to 30 000 tonnes. He, however, warned that some mining companies would fail to break even because of subdued metal prices in the period under review. (NewsDay)

9. Transport minister Joel Biggie Matiza yesterday told the National Assembly that the $400 million National Railways of Zimbabwe and DIDG Transnet deal which President Emmerson Mnangagwa commissioned last year, had hit a funding snag. Matiza said the problem was a contractual issue, where DIDG Transnet was awarded the deal to refurbish NRZ under the condition that they would raise money within 12 months, but they failed to do so. “We said if the money and proof of funding were not there, then we cannot expose ourselves because the

-Page 4- Group Corporate Strategy ZB Financial Holdings Limited 1st Floor, 21 Natal 21 Natal Road, Belgravia, Box 3198, Harare

Tel: +263 (0)8677002001

fundamental issue was of proof of funding,” he said. “The information on funding was not given and the final 12 months agreement expired and we had to give them another extension of six months, but we removed the exclusivity clause to allow other external investors to come in.” Matiza said now government was coming up with a policy framework to ensure there is a sustainable rail system in the country. But MPs were not impressed with his responses, with Norton MP Temba Mliswa (independent) demanding to know why government failed to get rid of DIDG/Transnet immediately after they failed to honour the contract in the first 12 months. (NewsDay)

10. The Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) says power production during the first quarter of 2019 surpassed target by 20.26% driven largely by improved contribution from Kariba Power Station. The Zesa Holdings unit in its first quarter power column update said despite economic challenges that the country is facing, it continues to strive towards providing electricity. “ZPC sent out a total of 2,457.55 GWh of energy in the last quarter of 2019, thereby surpassing its target of 2,043.56 GWh by 20.26%,” the company said. ZPC noted that production at the thermal stations was during the first quarter constrained due to various issues faced at Hwange which resulted in the shutting of some units and delayed return to service. (DailyNews)

11. The reintroduction of severe load shedding by Zesa Holdings, 3 years after power cuts had markedly eased, is likely to worsen Zimbabwean industries’ woes. Particularly mines and manufacturers’ capacity utilisation, and the economy’s recovery efforts, analysts warn. This also comes as President Emmerson Mnangagwa has reassigned Energy minister Joram Gumbo to the less influential Implementation and Monitoring ministry and the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries has said commercial production in the country will further decline by 34.3% this year, down from 48.2% in 2018, due to rising inflation, acute fuel and foreign currency shortages. (Fingaz)

-Page 5- Group Corporate Strategy ZB Financial Holdings Limited 1st Floor, 21 Natal 21 Natal Road, Belgravia, Box 3198, Harare

Tel: +263 (0)8677002001

12. Troubled national airline Air Zimbabwe has sent some of its few remaining workers home as part of cost-cutting measures. Government last year appointed Grant Thornton Zimbabwe founder Reggie Saruchera as AirZim’s administrator with a mandate to resuscitate the ailing parastatal. While it was not clear how many workers had been affected by the latest retrenchment exercise, which came into effect on May 10, industry experts said Saruchera had taken a bold step in realigning the State-run passenger carrier’s costs with declining revenues. (Fingaz)

13. Boustead Beef Zimbabwe managing director Nick Havercroft says “no-one knows his company structure, profile of investors and balance sheet”, and Zimbabweans must believe that he has the capacity to revive the Cold Storage Company. This comes after some social media reports that the British investor and “white knight” had a balance sheet worth a mere US$10 000. “I am aware of all the abuse directed towards me on social media. All negative, people chose not to want to hear or listen to the positive, we have taken on a monumental task and are very confident that we will make this a success”, Havercroft said yesterday. (Fingaz)

14. Carlson Rezidor, one of the world’s largest hospitality groups, said construction work at its US$85 million iconic Radisson Blu Hotel will commence next year. This comes as construction work of the hotel, being undertaken by Calson Rezidor and its local partner Streamwalk, was delayed by economic and political challenges experienced by Zimbabwe in the last 3 years. (Fingaz)

Regional News

1. South Africa’s rand strengthened yesterday alongside emerging market currencies on hopes of more stimulus for China’s slowing economy, but local stocks dipped after data showing another weak month for retail sales. At 1530 GMT, the rand traded at 14.1850 to the dollar, 0.5% stronger than its New York overnight close. China, South Africa’s biggest trading partner,

-Page 6- Group Corporate Strategy ZB Financial Holdings Limited 1st Floor, 21 Natal 21 Natal Road, Belgravia, Box 3198, Harare

Tel: +263 (0)8677002001

reported unexpectedly low retail sales, suggesting that consumers were distressed about U.S.- China trade talks. Beijing typically responds rapidly to signs of economic weakness. South African retail sales were 0.2% stronger year-on-year in March, data showed yesterday, highlighting lingering economic weakness ahead of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s highly anticipated cabinet announcement. (Reuters)

2. Tunisia’s economic growth slowed to 1.1% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2019, as agricultural activity declined, the state statistics institute said yesterday. That compared with 2.7% in the same quarter last year and 2.1% in the last three months of 2018. Despite the weaker first quarter data, annual growth is expected to reach about 3% this year, compared to 2.5% in 2018. Tunisia also aims to cut its budget deficit from 5% in 2018 to 3.9% in 2019. Tunisia’s economy has been recovering slowly since taking a hit following the overthrow of autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011 and two major militant attacks in 2015. (Reuters)

3. MTN Nigeria announced plans to float its stock in Lagos today in a deal valued at $6 billion, following the South African telecoms group’s agreement with Nigerian regulators to settle a long-running dispute. Nigeria, MTN’s biggest market with 52.3 million users in 2017, accounts for a third of the Johannesburg-based company’s annual core profit, but it has faced problems in the country in recent years. In December, MTN agreed to make a $53 million payment to resolve a dispute in Nigeria. The move ended a multi-billion dollar dividend repatriation row, hitting its share prices in Johannesburg. (Reuters)

4. Uganda said yesterday it had agreed to pay a higher tariff to use a pipeline planned to run through neighbouring Tanzania, boosting the prospects of a project vital for Uganda’s nascent petroleum industry. Landlocked Uganda in 2016 picked a route for a pipeline through neighbouring Tanzania to the Indian Ocean port of Tanga to help export its crude. At a length

-Page 7- Group Corporate Strategy ZB Financial Holdings Limited 1st Floor, 21 Natal 21 Natal Road, Belgravia, Box 3198, Harare

Tel: +263 (0)8677002001

of 1,445 kilometres, the project will cost $3.5 billion and has been described as the world’s longest electrically-heated pipeline. (Reuters)

5. Kenya shortened yesterday the tenor of its new dual-tranche Eurobond issue to seven and 12 years from the 12- and 31-year issues it had previously planned, due to changes in market conditions, Refinitiv’s capital markets news service IFR said. The East African nation offered guidance of 7.25% for the seven-year bond and 8.25% for the 12-year tranche, Refinitiv IFR said, adding that orders of $6 billion had so far been received. (Reuters)

6. The world’s top platinum miners are bracing for a fresh round of negotiations with South African workers as a rise in producer profits is likely to provoke higher wage demands from labour unions including the militant AMCU. Higher prices for palladium and rhodium and a weaker rand currency have boosted profits at miners such as Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), Sibanye- Stillwater, Impala Platinum and Lonmin after several years of losses. (Reuters)

7. High government budget deficits could impair monetary policy objective price stability, the Bank of Namibia said. The bank made these observations in a working paper on the 'Impact of Fiscal Deficit on Inflation in Namibia' recently. According to the working paper, unsustainable fiscal policy could lead to higher inflation expectations. The central bank further advised that fiscal and monetary policy needs to be well-synchronised to bring the fiscal deficit to acceptable levels. “Given that the main monetary policy goal in Namibia is to achieve price stability, the results in this study suggest that monitoring budget deficits and price developments in South Africa to develop informed policies, is one way to achieve this objective,” they said. (Namibian)

-Page 8- Group Corporate Strategy ZB Financial Holdings Limited 1st Floor, 21 Natal 21 Natal Road, Belgravia, Box 3198, Harare

Tel: +263 (0)8677002001

8. The Zambia Airports Corporation has recorded a reduction of 19, 140 passengers using its four international airports in the first quarter of 2019 compared to the same period last year. The Corporation recorded a total of 394,821 general passengers this year from 413, 961 in the first quarter of 2019 at all four international airports namely Kenneth Kaunda, Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe, Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula and Mfuwe in the first quarter of 2019. General passengers include both arriving and departing passengers, transit passengers, domestic and international passengers, according to Mwembe Sikaulu, the Company Communications and Brand Manager. (LusakaTimes)

9. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday said the country's outstanding domestic debt stood at N12.44 billion as at December 2018. This was contained in the bank's 2018 Annual Activity Report released by the Financial Markets Department, CBN, and posted on its Website yesterday in Lagos. (AllAfrica)

10. At least 30 Indian businesswomen have declared interest in Zambia as a destination of choice for trade and tourism. Speaking when a delegation of 30 women where hosted at Zambia High Commission in New Delhi, India, Womenovator Founder Tripti Shinghal said the delegation was interested in discussions that would result in visible progress. “Womenovator has a robust network of women entrepreneurs desirous of expanding their businesses globally to countries of vast opportunities such as Zambia,’ she said. (ZambianEye)

International News

1. A tanker carrying Iranian fuel oil in violation of U.S. sanctions has unloaded the cargo into storage tanks near the Chinese city of Zhoushan, according to ship tracking data on Refinitiv

-Page 9- Group Corporate Strategy ZB Financial Holdings Limited 1st Floor, 21 Natal 21 Natal Road, Belgravia, Box 3198, Harare

Tel: +263 (0)8677002001

Eikon. The discharging of the nearly 130,000 tonnes of Iranian fuel oil onboard the tanker, the Marshal Z, confirmed by a representative of the oil storage terminal, marks the end of an odyssey for the cargo that began four months ago. Reuters reported on March 20 that some Iranian fuel oil had managed to evade the United States’ sanctions on petroleum exports by using ship-to-ship transfers involving four different ships, including the Marshal Z, and by using forged documents that masked the cargoes as originating from Iraq. (Reuters)

2. Shares of Japanese automation machinery makers, construction firms and suppliers to Apple Inc. have borne the brunt of recent selling in the country’s stock market after an escalation in U.S.-Sino trade tensions. The Nikkei index has fallen on 7 out of the last eight trading sessions amid a global market rout. The slide came after a setback in the long-running trade war, when U.S. President Donald Trump hiked tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, saying China reneged on commitments made earlier during negotiations. China retaliated on Monday. (Reuters)

3. Persistent uncertainty is undermining confidence and creating major risks to the global economy, the European Central Bank’s chief economist said yesterday. Peter Praet, whose mandate runs out at the end of the month, cited Brexit and trade tensions as two sources of uncertainty. (Reuters)

4. Fitch Solutions Macro Research said 2019 will be a challenging year for the banking sector given that global outlook risks may spill over to the small and open economy of Singapore. In a report on Singapore bank loan growth, the market research firm said bank earnings will come under mild pressure as interest rates stabilise due to the US Federal Reserve's (US Fed) dovish pivot, combined with the re-escalation of US-China trade tensions. It maintains its forecast, first made on Jan 29, for Singapore bank loans to grow 0.5% in 2019, down from 5.6% and 3% in 2017

-Page 10- Group Corporate Strategy ZB Financial Holdings Limited 1st Floor, 21 Natal 21 Natal Road, Belgravia, Box 3198, Harare

Tel: +263 (0)8677002001

and 2018 respectively. (StraitTimes)

5. British Prime Minister Theresa May will launch another push next month to approve Britain’s exit from the European Union before the summer break, setting a new deadline for her Brexit plan and a potential timetable for her own departure, write Guy Faulconbridge and Elizabeth Piper. Nearly three years after the United Kingdom voted 52% to 48% to leave the EU, politicians still disagree about when, how or even if the divorce will take place. Brexit had been due to take place on 29 March, but May was unable to get her divorce deal ratified by parliament, which rejected the so-called Withdrawal Agreement three times, and now the date is set for 31 October. (Eureporter)

6. Since the latest the crisis in 2008/2009, central banks around the world have been doing their best to expel risks from financial markets. By lowering interest rates, fixing them at extremely low levels, or issuing more credit and money, monetary policymakers make sure that ailing borrowers are kept afloat. In fact, central banks have put a “safety net” under the economies and the financial markets in particular. As it seems, this measure has been working quite effectively over the last ten years or so. (NewsNow)

7. Australia's unemployment rate has pushed higher for the second consecutive month, putting pressure on the Reserve Bank's stance that the jobs market needs to improve for the economy to meet its goals. The seasonally adjusted jobless rate is now 5.2% having bottomed out at 4.9% in February. More than 28,000 new jobs were created in April despite a net loss of 6,300 fulltime positions. Part of the rise was due to more people looking for work, but labour market 'slackness' will keep downward pressure on wages In seasonally adjusted terms, the unemployment rate ticked up to 5.2% in April, from an upwardly revised 5.1% the month before. It was 4.9% in February. In the more stable trend terms, unemployment was steady at

-Page 11- Group Corporate Strategy ZB Financial Holdings Limited 1st Floor, 21 Natal 21 Natal Road, Belgravia, Box 3198, Harare

Tel: +263 (0)8677002001

5.1%. (NewsNow)

8. The 8th edition of the international economic forum Innovations. Investments. Prospects is opening in Vitebsk on 16 May. The main events of the forum will take place in the Summer Amphitheater and the adjoining area. All in all, the forum will bring together 81 business delegations and representatives of the diplomatic corps from 23 countries. (NewsNow)

9. Britain's biggest domestic lender Lloyds Banking Group said today it would pay quarterly dividends from the first quarter of 2020. The move is aimed at distributing income to its 2.4 million shareholders more regularly and efficiently. The new approach will see the lender adopt three equal interim ordinary dividend payments for first three quarters of year followed by, subject to performance, a larger final dividend in the fourth quarter, the bank said in a statement. It currently pays out dividends twice a year. (NewsNow)

11. Britain’s company pension schemes, grappling with ageing former employees and low investment returns, may start to transfer their assets into new so-called superfunds in the coming weeks, according to people involved in the process. There are around £2 trillion (€2.3 trillion) in more than 5,000 UK private defined benefit or final salary pension schemes. Nearly two-thirds are in deficit, putting a burden on companies looking to strike merger deals or restructure debt. (NewsNow)

12. Paris-based Societe Generale today said it has received banking authorisation from Australia's financial regulator, years after winding down operations in the country. Societe Generale, one of the world's biggest banks by assets, said the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has given permission for the bank as a foreign authorised deposit-taking institution. The French

-Page 12- Group Corporate Strategy ZB Financial Holdings Limited 1st Floor, 21 Natal 21 Natal Road, Belgravia, Box 3198, Harare

Tel: +263 (0)8677002001

bank was one of the several foreign banks circling Australia once again, as they bet on resources and infrastructure investment gathering pace at a time when local banks were distracted by a government inquiry following a string of scandals. (BusinessTimes)

13. Japan's biggest banks have warned investors of a tough year ahead. The nation's three megabanks have been relying on the healthy status of borrowers and sales of so-called cross- shareholdings for earnings as rock-bottom interest rates crimp lending profitability. Results yesterday showed they are losing those benefits at a time when the economy is weakening, trade tensions are escalating and the Bank of Japan's extraordinary monetary easing looks set to stay. (BusinessTimes)

14. The European Commission is working on its largest regulatory push on banking since the financial crash that could curb Britain's access to the bloc, according to an internal draft document seen by Reuters. In the 12-page strategy document, EU officials outline provisional financial services plans for the bloc's executive body, which sets the legislative agenda, and is due to see a change of top officials this year for a new five-year term. The document makes clear that there will be an acceleration of financial regulation, after many years when little has happened following the wave of rules after the financial crash. (BusinessTimes)

-Page 13-