"Tidbits From TNT" Thursday Morning 5-13-2021

May 13

TNT:

Harambe: Bloomberg: Vietnam Sees Rising Remittances Aiding Currency (Dong) in Growth Push

(5/12/21)

Vietnam expects rising remittances from overseas Vietnamese to help keep the currency stable, allowing the central bank to focus on supporting virus-hit businesses and boosting economic growth, according to a senior central bank official.

Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy head of the State Bank of Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City, said remittances to the city are forecast to reach about $6.5 billion this year, after rising 15% to a record $6.1 billion last year. The city, Vietnam’s economic hub, received about 50% of the country’s total remittance inflows in previous years.

“Remittances have surprisingly surged during the pandemic, and significantly helped us keep the dong stable,” Minh said in an interview. “Apart from rising remittances, increases in foreign direct investment and exports this year will also help ensure sufficient supply of foreign currency, facilitating our policies in helping businesses cope with impacts from the Covid-19 outbreak.”

The central bank said last month it will continue to pursue monetary policies that reduce borrowing costs for businesses and boost economic growth while keeping inflation in check. The government wants to make sure the country remains among the world’s fastest-growing economies, and expects 2021 growth to meet its goal of 6.5%.

The dong traded at 23,058 per dollar as of 10:24 am in Hanoi, little changed from 23,060 yesterday, data from banks compiled by Bloomberg show. The dong gained about 0.3% last year, when it was among the most stable currencies in the region.

“Interest rates will probably be stable this year as there is not much room to cut policy rates while inflation is picking up,” Minh said. The central bank, which aims to balance growth and inflation, is pushing for more flexibility on loan-interest payments to help businesses struggling in the outbreak, according to Minh.

http://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/vietnam-sees-rising-remittances-aiding-currency-in-growth-push-1.1602516

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Harambe: Bloomberg: Mystery of Sanctioned Tycoon's Assets in Zimbabwe Revival Plan

(5/11/21)

In December, the government of Zimbabwe announced a multibillion-dollar project called Kuvimba Mining House Ltd. that would hold some of the nation’s most valuable gold, platinum, chrome and nickel mines and whose revenue would be used to revive the country’s moribund economy.

The venture would be 65% owned by the government and 35% by private investors, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said in a January interview, predicting it would be “highly profitable” within two years.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa said in December the venture will help “in unlocking the inherent richness and value of our country’s mineral deposits,” according to the state-controlled Herald newspaper.

The announcement was met with skepticism among local journalists and some industry analysts. Decades of graft and economic turmoil have left once-prosperous Zimbabwe a ruined state. The country has little formal employment, and inflation last measured 194%.

Past state works projects failed to turn things around, not least because public money had a way of disappearing into private hands. Mnangagwa’s declaration that “Zimbabwe is open for business” and promises of a fresh start after he came to power in late 2017 have come to nothing.

The government won’t say where it got the funds to cover its purchase of the mines, smelters and platinum concessions the Kuvimba venture says it now owns. Officials have provided no evidence of transactions confirming Kuvimba does in fact own the mines it says it acquired. Ncube, in interviews with Bloomberg, has declined on two separate occasions to identify the private partners, who stand to make billions of dollars from the project.

Kuvimba is held by government pension funds and Zimbabwe’s sovereign wealth fund, Ncube said in a separate interview. The pension funds haven’t disclosed what assets they’re managing and the sovereign wealth fund isn’t operational.

Previously unreported documents, emails and WhatsApp messages seen by Bloomberg help fill in some of the blanks. They show how, through a complex series of transactions, the mining assets that form the core of Kuvimba’s holdings were until recently owned by or tied to Kudakwashe Tagwirei, a politically connected businessman and presidential adviser who was sanctioned for corruption by the US last year.

Calls and emails to Ncube over the past month seeking responses to questions about Kuvimba and Tagwirei’s involvement weren’t answered; nor were messages that Zimbabwe’s Permanent Secretary of Finance George Guvamatanga, his assistant, and an outside communications adviser said they would deliver to him.

The documents, which cover a period from mid-2019 to late 2020, show that, at least until late last year, key Kuvimba entities —- including Freda Rebecca Gold Mine, Bindura Nickel Corp. and a 50% stake in platinum company Great Dyke Investments — were held by Sotic International Ltd., a Mauritius-based holding company that was part-owned by Tagwirei during that time frame through a complicated financial arrangement that makes his involvement difficult to see.

“The lack of transparency is stock-in-trade for the government, the party’s acolytes and its business and professional services’ enablers,” said Tara O’Connor, executive director of London-based Africa Risk Consulting, which in March produced a 46-page report on the links between Zimbabwe’s most powerful politicians and businessmen. “All the companies associated with this new company, Kuvimba, carry Tagwirei’s DNA.” The Africa Risk report said that Tagwirei had been an owner of Sotic.

The government has publicly and repeatedly denied Tagwirei has any involvement in the Kuvimba venture and Tagwirei didn’t respond to questions about whether he still has a stake in or control over any of the assets that now fall under Kuvimba. Connections to a person under U.S. sanctions might deter investors and complicate the government’s hopes to sell a stake in Kuvimba on a foreign stock exchange.

The U.S. sanctioned Tagwirei for using his political influence to “gain state contracts and receive favored access to hard currency” and linked him to the disappearance of $3 billion from a farm-subsidy program, calling him “notoriously corrupt.”

The Kuvimba project’s success is critical for President Mnangagwa, who has yet to deliver on the turnaround he promised after longtime ruler Robert Mugabe was deposed in a power tussle. He needs the revenue to pay for public services, including civil servants’ pensions and compensation for White farmers driven off their land two decades ago.

The country has more than $8 billion in external debt and is effectively cut off from multilateral lenders such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Tagwirei is known in local media as “Queen Bee” for his commanding position in business and politics. Since Mugabe stepped down, “Tagwirei used a combination of opaque business dealings and his ongoing relationship with President Mnangagwa to grow his business empire dramatically and rake in millions of U.S. dollars,” the U.S. claimed in its statement imposing sanctions on him.

Tagwirei didn’t answer four calls to his mobile phone or reply to emails seeking comment. He has not spoken publicly about the sanctions.

The documents viewed by Bloomberg show that at least until late last year, Tagwirei effectively had control over Sotic, the company that owned some of the largest assets now claimed by Kuvimba, including major platinum and gold mines.

http://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/mystery-of-sanctioned-tycoon-s-assets-in-zimbabwe-revival-plan-1.1601992

Tishwash: Saudi companies prepare to launch giant investments soon in Iraq

Saudi businessmen revealed that Saudi companies are close to launching giant investments soon in Iraq in the areas of manufacturing industries, indicating that there are promising opportunities for Saudi products of building materials and food in the Iraqi market.

The businessmen explained in a press statement that "some Saudi companies specialized in raising livestock and cows have presented to the Iraqi government the idea of investing 4 million dunums in the Western Desert between Anbar Governorate, passing through the cities of Karbala and Najaf to the Samawah Desert, with a contract extending for more than 50 years to cultivate." agricultural and cattle breeding crops.

for his part, Mohammed predicted leader Vice Chamber of Commerce and industry Chairman of Riyadh, to witness the Saudi - Iraqi relations prospects welcome , especially in the field of economic, commercial and investment cooperation, pointing out that the visit of Prince Khalid bin Salman , deputy Minister of Defense, Iraq, come under Continuous integration, communication and coordination between the two countries, pointing out that it is a visit that supports closer relations at all levels, including economic ones.

The guide added that "the opportunities for integration between the Kingdom and Iraq are great." Other areas that we will soon see their fruits ... The Iraqi market is large and Saudi products are well received in it. "

For his part, Abdullah Al-Melehi, President of {Tamayouz} said: "There are promising opportunities for Saudi products in the Iraqi market, as the Iraqi market is one of the great opportunities for Saudi products. In sharing borders with Saudi Arabia, an opportunity to export the Saudi product with the facilities provided by the Kingdom through The Saudi exports program to open new markets for manufacturers in the Kingdom, in addition to supporting the Kingdom’s government and the leadership’s keenness to build relationships in various fields.

Al-Melehi added: “The Iraqi market is promising and there are many export opportunities that national companies can benefit from,” adding that “the volume of Saudi non-oil exports to the Republic of Iraq amounted to 2.6 billion riyals ($ 693.3 million) during the past year 2020, while topping the list of the most prominent sectors. The exported building materials activity amounted to 859 million riyals (229 million dollars), and the foodstuff activity with a value of 790 million riyals (210.6 million dollars). "

Al-Melehi pointed out that "there is a tendency to offer investments in the oil and gas field to Saudi companies, indicating that discussions are underway with the concerned authorities to clarify investment opportunities, as investors are always looking for specific opportunities or privileges to bring them to the market, especially after the Saudi Export Bank announced granting investors financing for the field." Exports are a factor that attracts investors, "noting that" both Saudi Arabia and the UAE have allocated more than 6 billion dollars to invest in Iraqi lands, strengthen economic relations and create new opportunities for cooperation and partnership. "

Al-Melehi explained that "there are Saudi investment projects currently in the Iraqi cities of (Anah) and (Al-Qaim)," indicating that "there are investments that Saudi companies will soon launch in Iraq in the fields of manufacturing, agriculture and various projects, while Saudi investment companies offered specializing in livestock breeding and cows on the Iraqi government 's idea to invest 4 million acres in located between the Anbar province , passing through the cities of Karbala , Western Sahara and Najaf access to the desert of Samawah, a contract extends to more than 50 years for the cultivation of agricultural crops and cattle breeding.

He Malihi: "among the investments The Emirati and Saudi companies will implement them by producing some domestic industries in Iraq, as joint factories between Iraq and these two countries will be implemented ... Also one of the most important investment projects is the interest in electric power projects from Saudi Arabia and the United States. link

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Riverplace: Proverbs 13:12 (TPT) [12] When hope's dream seems to drag on and on, the delay can be depressing. But when at last your dream comes true, life's sweetness will satisfy your soul.

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Mot: ~~~ Yet Another Valuable Tip from Mot!!! ~~~