{jcomments on}OMAR, AGNEWS, BXL, le 26 mars 2010 – news.oneindia.in- March 26, 2010–Even as South Africa gears up to host World Cup this summer, its government has acknowledged the possibility of violent protests breaking out during this year’s football carnival.
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SOUTH AFRICA:
South Africa: Marcus Takes a Bet On Rand Staying Strong
Mariam Isa/allafrica.com/businessday/26 March 2010
Johannesburg — STRENGTH in the rand and its negative effect on the economy played a key role in the Reserve Bank’s surprise decision to lower lending rates to 30-year lows yesterday.
Its governor, Gill Marcus, said the unit’s gains of 6% on a trade- weighted basis since the last policy meeting in January “was a significant factor”.
“At recent levels the exchange rate may contribute to constraints in the recovery of export and import-competing sectors of the economy,” she said. Deputy governor Daniel Mminele told reporters that the currency’s gains “featured strongly” in the deliberations of the seven-member monetary policy committee (MPC).
Currency strength is a double- edged sword as it curbs inflation — which is a good thing — while also making exports less competitive.
Predictably, the rand weakened 1,5% to R7,46 against the dollar after the Bank announced its decision to cut its repo rate to 6,5% from 7%. That was the lowest rate at which the central bank has lent money to commercial banks since December 1980.
But analysts warn that a half percentage point rate cut is unlikely to counter global forces which have supported the rand this year. By the same token, if global investor sentiment swings against emerging markets later this year, the rand could depreciate too fast for comfort, fanning inflation.
That would put pressure on the Bank to start raising interest rates before the economy is ready.
“If the rand remains stable, the latest rate cut can easily be vindicated,” said Citigroup economist Jean-Francois Mercier. “But if it does not, the MPC might end up having to reverse this cut rather early for its own taste, and for the economy’s needs.” The Bank was taking a risk by looking at coincident or lagging indicators rather than leading ones, he said.
Marcus pointed out that foreign capital inflows into SA have been strong so far this year, with net purchases of local equities and bonds amounting to R24,4bn.
This has been one of the trends which has buoyed the rand, and other emerging market currencies. The rand scaled a two-and-a-half- month peak at R7,27/ last week.
Rising prices for commodities such as platinum, which SA leads the world in exporting, is also a key factor. With an influx of foreign visitors to the Soccer World Cup likely to bring in even more foreign exchange, support for the rand may stay in place.
On the other hand, financial markets have a history of confronting governments which make their preferences for a freely floating currency known.
“There is now a risk that markets will test the Bank to see if it will keep cutting rates from here,” said Nomura International economist Peter Attard Montalto.
But most analysts took a benign view of the surprise cut, which was welcomed by business and cited as likely to help debt-laden consumers in a shaky job market.
“We do not see a 50-basis-point cut as a likely catalyst for sustained weakness,” said Thebe Securities economist Monale Ratsoma.
The latest rate cut took prime lending rates set by commercial banks down to 10% — their lowest since January 1981. SA’s interest rates have fallen by 5,5 percentage points since December 2008.
This reduction will probably be the last, with an upturn in growth and inflation likely to prompt higher rates next year.
Marcus hinted this was likely in response to a question on whether the rate-cutting cycle has ended. There was a “window” of opportunity and this was the moment to take it, she said.
Anglo, Efficient, Sasol: South African Equity Market Preview
March 26, 2010/By Garth Theunissen/Bloomberg
March 26 (Bloomberg) — The following is a list of companies whose shares may have unusual price changes in South Africa. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names and prices are from the last close.
South Africa’s FTSE/JSE Africa All Share Index advanced for the first time in four days, climbing 153.85, or 0.5 percent, to 28,555.53 at the close in Johannesburg.
Anglo American Plc (AGL SJ): Copper rose for a second day, climbing as much as 0.5 percent to $7,470 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange. Stock of Anglo, the diversified mining company that makes up more than 10 percent of South Africa’s benchmark stock index, gained 5.94 rand, or 2 percent, to 306.44 rand. Shares in larger rival BHP Billiton Plc (BIL SJ) rose 3 rand, or 1.2 percent, to 249.11 rand.
AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (ANG SJ): Gold rose for a second day, gaining as much as 0.6 percent to $1,096.10 an ounce, paring a weekly decline. Shares in AngloGold, Africa’s largest producer of the metal, dropped 2 rand, or 0.7 percent, to 275 rand. Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI SJ), Africa’s third-largest producer of the metal, fell 10 cents, or 0.1 percent, to 90.90 rand.
Efficient Financial Holding Ltd. (EFF SJ): The financial services company said first half profit fell 72 percent to 1.18 million rand ($158,000) in the six-months through February, compared with 4.29 million rand in the same period the previous year, according to a stock exchange statement. Efficient’s stock was unchanged at 5.50 rand.
Sasol Ltd. (SOL SJ): Oil rose for the first time in three days, adding 0.5 percent to $80.90 a barrel in electronic trading in New York. Stock of Sasol, the world’s biggest maker of motor fuel from coal, rose 5.51 rand, or almost 2 percent, to 288.01 rand.
The following stocks will begin trading without the right to the latest dividends:
AVI Ltd. (AVI SJ); FirstRand Ltd. (FSR SJ); RMB Holdings Ltd. (REM SJ); Woolworths Holdings Ltd. (WHL SJ).
Shares or American depositary receipts of the following South African companies closed as follows:
Anglo American Plc (AAUKY US) fell 0.6 percent to $20.20. AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (AU US) slid 1.9 percent to $36.12. BHP Billiton Ltd. (BBL US) dropped 1 percent to $65.69. DRDGold Ltd. (DROOY US) declined 2.4 percent to $4.80. Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI US) slipped 1.2 percent to $11.97. Harmony Gold Mining Co. (HMY US) fell 0.3 percent to $9.27. Impala Platinum Holdings Co. (IMPUY US) gained 0.6 percent to $27.12. Sappi Ltd. (SPP US) fell 2 percent to $4.33. Sasol Ltd. (SSL US) gained 0.3 percent to $38.02. Telkom South Africa Ltd. (TLKGY US) declined 1.5 percent to $18.47.
–Editor: Antony Sguazzin
South Africa admits violent protests can cloud World Cup
Friday, March 26, 2010/ news.oneindia.in
London, Mar. 26 (ANI): Even as South Africa gears up to host World Cup this summer, its government has acknowledged the possibility of violent protests breaking out during this year’s football carnival.
With poor sections of the country demanding access to basic services, South Africa has been rattled by escalating township protests over the last month.
“Obviously we are concerned. The violent and destructive nature of some of the protests is unacceptable,” The Telegraph quoted Themba Masek, a government spokesman, as saying.
“We do not want to see these demonstrations, especially during the World Cup, when the country’s attention and focus should be to be the best host ever,” he added.
Shootings, arson and stone pelting during the recent demonstrations have prompted the government to raise the security levels ahead of the June 11 World Cup.
But on Thursday, the head of the South African Army Chief to announce a security shake-up in the face of escalating violence.
Lieutenant General Solly Shoke told a press conference in Pretoria that the military would take over responsibility for border patrols on April 1 in order to free police officers for fighting crime.
“We are ready to help where needed with the World Cup. All army leave has been cancelled over this period. We will be on high alert,” Lt Gen Shoke told reporters
“This World Cup is not about security. It’s about enjoyment. People must be allowed to come here and enjoy the soccer,” he assured. (ANI)
AFRICA / AU :
Bharti Forms Units for Zain’s Africa Asset Purchase: Times Link
By Saikat Chatterjee/Bloomberg/March 26
March 26 (Bloomberg) — Bharti Airtel Ltd. has formed two special purpose vehicles in the Netherlands and Singapore to buy the African mobile phone assets of Kuwait’s Zain, the Economic Times reported, citing a person it didn’t identify who’s familiar with the transaction.
Zain has also agreed to reimburse any legal expenses relate to the takeover of the company’s Nigerian operations, the newspaper said. Special purpose vehicles are formed to carry out a specific transaction, the report said.
Is this a new species of human being?
Scientists have extracted DNA from a bone discovered in Siberia that almost certainly belongs to a new kind of human – one that may have lived as recently as 30,000 years ago. Will this transform our views of human evolution?
Ian Sample, The Guardian/Friday 26 March 2010
From nothing more than a piece of bone from a child’s little finger, the human family tree has gained another member, one who lived alongside modern humans perhaps as recently as 30,000 years ago.
Yesterday’s revelation, that scientists in Germany had discovered – to their amazement – that the bone recovered from a cave in the mountains of southern Siberia almost certainly belonged to a new species of human, has sent ripples of excitement through academic circles. For the first time, the analysis of ancient DNA has rewritten the human story. Some 30,000 years ago, human life was far richer than we could have imagined.
Until recently, palaeontologists’ view of human evolution was desperately lacking. Ask them to paint a picture of human existence 40,000 years ago, say, and they would mention modern humans, Homo sapiens, occupying vast territories. The only other hominid (a human or close relative) in existence back then, Homo neanderthalis, was eking out a life alongside us modern humans, but its populations were in terminal decline. Then the Neanderthals became extinct around 25,000 years ago. That much was agreed upon.
Things changed in 2003. Field researchers working in caves on the Indonesian island of Flores uncovered remains of a diminutive human relative that lived at least 13,000 years ago. The Flores “hobbits” grew to be a metre tall as adults and could be traced back to Homo erectus, the forerunner of modern humans that left Africa 1.9m years ago. The hobbits’ size is thought to be a direct result of their isolation.
Then there is the latest discovery, with which the number of early human species, or hominids, living 30,000 years ago has risen to four. In the space of a decade, the size of the human family has doubled.
And it’s not just the cast list of the human evolution story that has had to be revised. Excavations of fossilised human remains have now led scientists to talk of three great migrations out of Africa. The first footprints leading off the continent were left by Homo erectus (the ancestor we share with the Neanderthals, with those hobbits, and with this new species of human). The next migration, around 450,000 years ago, was the Neanderthals. Then, perhaps as recently as 60,000 years ago, the first modern humans left to populate Eurasia and beyond – the humans from whom all of us alive on earth today are descended. The new species of human appears to fit in with none of these migrations out of Africa, and instead points to yet another great exodus, one that happened around 1m years ago.
To some scientists, even this fairly complicated picture is beginning to feel over-simplistic. “I don’t think we can be absolutely certain about anything now,” says Professor Terry Brown, an expert in ancient DNA at Manchester University.
What we do know is that the story starts in Africa, but that early humans then decided to leave. “There’s no reason why a hominid should remain in Africa if the population increases,” says Brown. “The natural thing for it to do is to move.” The march out of the cradle of humanity may have been more of an ongoing wander, with early humans moving farther afield as and when they needed.
What’s also known is that with the exception of the hobbits of Flores, every human species is thought to have evolved before making its way out of Africa. How we ended up with a number of different hominids is probably down to geography: species can split into two when groups of individuals become isolated from one another. When they stop interbreeding, the genetic makeup of each group drifts and diverges. They adapt differently to their habitats. Eventually, the differences became so large they cannot reproduce even if they tried.
In Africa – a very big place – small groups of thousands likely occupied disparate territories, and many splits may have occurred. Eventually, as the evolutionary clock ticked by, some Homo erectus embarked on a route that culminated in the Neanderthals. Others went down the route that led to modern humans. Still others, scientists now believe, became the new human species that left its little finger in a Siberian cave.
The most intriguing thing, perhaps, about this new discovery is its location. The bone was uncovered in an area where the remains of humans and Neanderthals have all been found from around the same period in history. Together, the evidence points to a time, between 30,000 and 40,000 years ago, when all three species were there. Did they ever meet? Did they make out? Did they fight? And why was Homo sapiens the last human standing? Do we owe not only the Neanderthals but this new species a big apology?
“It could have been that there was a period of occupation, where as one species moved out, another moved in. Ten thousand years is a long, long time and it is possible they never actually met,” says Brown. “The alternative is that they may have been having parties every Saturday night, all three of them, getting together and talking about the Neanderthals down the road.”
If they did live alongside one another, they needn’t have been in constant conflict. Related species of other animals – big cats for example – share territories, yet show their neighbours nothing but cool indifference. Conflict is only likely when there is competition for the food, mates or shelter. That said, the three human species probably all hunted large mammals, including woolly mammoths and woolly rhinos, the remains of which have been unearthed in the area.
So what is the fourth human to be called? In lieu of a formal name for the new species, Svante Pääbo and Johannes Krause at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig – who extracted and analysed the DNA from the finger bone – gave our latest ancient relative the nickname “X-woman”. From the size of the finger bone, they suspect it belonged to a child aged between five and seven years old, but whether it was a boy or girl is unknown. The nickname is a nod to the laboratory tests they used to identify the creature as something new to science: they examined DNA locked up in tiny organelles called mitochondria, which are passed down the maternal line only.
What genetic material the scientists have analysed so far points to an early human that shared a common ancestor with modern humans and the Neanderthals 1m years ago. (Modern humans and Neanderthals split from their own common ancestor 500,000 years ago.)
The work at the Leipzig lab is ongoing, however. In the next few months, the team expects to have sequenced the creature’s full genome, a step that will do more than confirm whether it is a new species or not. One of the perennial questions in human origins research – and one genetics is uniquely well-placed to answer – is whether co-existing human species mated with each other. Detailed studies of several Neanderthal genomes by the same laboratory have found no compelling evidence that interbreeding happened between modern humans and Neanderthals. But only further work will rule it out, or in, completely.
There is good reason to suspect, however, that, even if our ancient ancestors never got up close and personal with each other, we played a role in their demise. The Neanderthals died out in Europe soon after the arrival of modern humans. A coincidence? Some scientists put the blame on climate change, and suggest the Neanderthals – who were probably not so different from us, using tools, possibly talking to each other – were poorly equipped for the upheaval that ensued. But the Neanderthals were hardy creatures and died during the middle of the last ice age, not during the major period of transition at the end. More likely, say some scientists, was that Homo sapiens out-competed the Neanderthals for food and other crucial resources.
The discovery of this new human species, one that lived at the same
time as modern humans and the Neanderthals, does nothing to make this uncertain picture any clearer. Now there are two human species that died out, if not in our presence, then certainly in our proximity. “That makes the whole argument more interesting and it is going to be the debate that is had over the next 10 years,” says Brown.
Casting an eye over the last 6m years of human evolution, from the moment we split from a common ancestor with modern apes, to the rise of Homo sapiens, it is hard not to notice that scores of other early human species have come and gone: evolutionary experiments that failed. And yet we prevailed. Why should Homo sapiens be any different? Could we die out too at some point? Or are we destined to be just another branch on the tree, one that paves the way for the next, more evolved version of a human being?
As for dying out, we are safer, perhaps, in being able to control our environment – to some extent at least. As to us evolving into something different, some biologists believe that Homo sapiens has to all intents and purposes stopped evolving, or at least that the pace of our evolution has slowed. That could leave us more vulnerable to new diseases or wild changes in the environment. It could also be turned on its head by a moment by an event of global proportions that we don’t even know is coming: the sort of event that may have done for the dinosaurs.
“If a global disaster wiped out much of the human race, leaving only a population of few hundred thousand, they would probably evolve into something very different to us,” says Brown. A passing asteroid might thump into the planet and leave only isolated pockets of Homo sapiens, living in a habitat unrecognisable to the world today. Some groups would inevitably die out, but those that survived would eventually carry on the human line under a new name.
But then there are no certainties here, and indeed the history of our understanding of human evolution shows us that whatever we believe now could be turned on its head within a matter of decades. It used to be believed, assumed rather, that Neanderthals were our ancestors – the cave men that came before us. Of course that turned out not to be true: they lived alongside us. And now it turned out that these others, the fourth humans, did too.
The really good news is that against the backdrop of this more academic debate, against all this uncertainty, there now lies a realm of new opportunity and new understanding thanks to the potential of DNA analysis. The discovery of X-woman marks a first in using genetics alone to identify what many palaeontologists believe must be a new human species. But this is also one of the earliest attempts to look at ancient DNA from human remains.
The fossil record we have for humans is patchy and incomplete, but tiny fragments that have been labelled, over the course of many decades, as Homo sapiens, or Homo neanderthalis, or Homo erectus, sit in museums and laboratories all over the world.
Are there fragments of bone from other unknown humans among them? “It could be that there is a whole load of human ancestors out there that we don’t know about yet, and I mean five, six, or seven types of human,” says Brown. “Everything is wide open now.”
Sony, UNDP & JICA Join Forces To Fight AIDS
Electronics Firm Sony wil be teaming up with the United Nations and the Japanese Cooperation to help raise wareness against AIDS/HIV.
By Massaër Ndiaye/ goal.com/Mar 26, 2010
Japanese electronics firm Sony will be teaming up this summer with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in a campaign to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa.
The United Nations have decided to make MDGs (Millenium Development Goals) to be achieved in the next five years. Those goals include to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, to establish universal primary education, to promote gender equality, to reduce child mortality, to improve maternal health, to ensure environmental sustainability, and of course stopping the rise of HIV and AIDS, as well as malaria and other diseases.
The partnership campaign, called “Public Viewing in Africa” will see Sony provide screens, video projectors, Blu-ray disc players, and other equipments necessary for the public viewing of games in 12 cities of Cameroon and Ghana, between June 13th and July 11th.
As a side show of the games, Sony will be offering AIDS/HIV testing, free condoms and counselling in areas where awareness is the most important. There will also be HIV testings made in both countries. As well as quizz shows and loal plays.
Even though hugely popular sport, football cannot be seen often in the targeted areas that are characterized by low rates of household TV penetration (22 percent in Cameroon, and 21 percent in Ghana) with many people unable to watch football matches on TV and support their home country. Cameroon and Ghana are both qualified for the next World Cup in South Africa.
By conducting the joint project during the biggest sporting event of the year, the World Cup, the partners aim to attract approximately 13,000 participants, and ensure there are approximately 1,800 recipients of HIV tests.
”Sony, as a global leader of network, consumer electronics and entertainment, will provide people in Africa and all over the world new entertainment experiences for the world’s top-level football games,” said Sony Chairman Howard Stringer.
“The World Cup brings people together, both as teams, and as nations cheering on their players. The same can be true for the Millennium Development Goals. There can be no spectators in the fight against poverty. Everyone has a role to play in scoring the 8 Millennium Development Goals, which if reached would improve the quantity and quality of life for many hundreds of millions of people across developing countries.” said UNDP Administrator Helen Clark.
“FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa is a wonderful opportunity to reaffirm the world’s solidarity with Africa. Sony, UNDP and JICA together will take a step forward to open the door to be closer to Africa. Collaborative efforts between people in Africa and all over the world are indispensable to bring about global peace and prosperity.” said JICA President, Sadako Ogata.
As part of the campaign, Sony will launch a website “Earth F.C.” that will donate one ball for every 1,000 clicks to African children.
UN /ONU :
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AUSTRALIA :
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CHINA :
China Stocks Gain Most in Week on Bank Earnings, Rate Outlook
March 26, 2010/Bloomberg
March 26 (Bloomberg) — China’s stocks rose the most in a week after banks reported higher profit and property developers rallied on speculation the government will delay raising interest rates.
Huaxia Bank Co. surged the most in four months and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. added 0.6 percent on increased earnings. Poly Real Estate Group Co. climbed for the first time in five days after the central bank said current measures to control liquidity work “very well.” Kweichow Moutai Co. rose 1.1 percent after saying operations weren’t affected by a drought.
“With the interest rate uncertainties, investors are cautious in the near term,” said John Praveen, chief investment strategist at Prudential International Investments Advisers LCC, a unit of Prudential Financial Inc., which oversees $667 billion. “We should see interest coming back to this market once the concerns of interest rates settles down.”
The Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.3 percent to close at 3,059.72, the most since March 17. The index lost 0.3 percent this week amid concerns that a drought in southwest China will push up food prices and fuel inflation. The CSI 300 Index added 1.4 percent to 3,275, with all 10 industry groups advancing.
–Chua Kong Ho. With assistance by Zhang Shidong in Shanghai, Susan Li and Karolina Miziolek in Hong Kong, Chen Shiyin in Singapore. Editors: Allen Wan, Richard Frost
China to Dominate Emerging Market Stocks, Garner Says (Update1)
March 26, 2010/By Shiyin Chen/Bloomberg
March 26 (Bloomberg) — China will increasingly dominate developing-nation stocks at the expense of Brazil and South Africa over the next decade as household wealth in the Asian country outpaces other emerging markets, Morgan Stanley said.
The market capitalization of MSCI’s emerging-markets index may rise to between $7 trillion and $14 trillion by 2020 from the current $3.2 trillion as economic growth boosts income, Morgan Stanley strategist Jonathan Garner wrote in a report yesterday. China’s weighting in the index may more than double to 39 percent in from 18 percent, while Brazil’s will fall to 9 percent from 17 percent and South Africa’s decline to 3 percent from 7 percent, he wrote.
“We see major gains in market capitalizations of emerging stocks and in their share of global equity markets,” Garner, Morgan Stanley’s chief Asian and developing-nation strategist, wrote. “The emerging-market index is going to become significantly skewed toward China.”
China, which commands the biggest weighting among the 22 nations in MSCI’s index, is already driving the performance of developing-nation stocks. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index has lost 0.3 percent this year, compared with a 2 percent gain by MSCI’s developed-nation gauge, as the MSCI China Index slumped 4.1 percent.
The number of households earning $10,000 a year may more than triple to 356 million from 109 million in the largest developing nations of Brazil, Russia, India and China, or BRICs, according to the strategist, who cited analysis by researcher Euromonitor. China will account for about 62 percent of the increase, according to the report.
Rankings by Weight
South Korea may become the second-biggest member of the MSCI gauge with a 12 percent share, while Brazil and Russia will tie for third place, according to the report. Mexico’s share will halve to 2 percent in 2010 from 4 percent.
China’s market capitalization to GDP ratio is about 12 percent currently and may increase to 21 percent in the next decade, Morgan Stanley said. The brokerage said its analysis doesn’t factor in any merger of the mainland and H-share market in Hong Kong.
“Strong” economic growth and share-price performances along with a surge in new listings has helped boost the value of emerging markets from about $500 million in 2002, Garner said.
Further gains are likely as the market capitalization to gross domestic product ratio in emerging markets rises to 29 percent in 2020 from 23 percent last year, converging with ratio seen in developed nations outside of the U.S., he said.
–Editors: Richard Frost, Linus Chua
INDIA :
India Elected Chair Of UNESCO-Linked Body IPDC
3/26/2010 /RTTNews
(RTTNews) – India is elected to head a UN-associated body on media and communications that promotes free and pluralistic media, making it the first developing country to get the honor. Raghu Menon, India’s Secretary for Information and Broadcasting, will be its chairperson.
India defeated Switzerland by a 23-14 vote in the elections for the Chairmanship of the 39-member Inter-Governmental Council of the International Program for Development of Communications (IPDC).
India’s candidature was endorsed by the Asia-Pacific Regional Group and supported by countries from Africa, the Middle East and North Africa besides Lain America.
India will be the chair of the 30-year-old IPDC Council, which is associated with the UNESCO, till its next session in 2012. New Delhi has contributed USD 1.4 million to IPDC Program since its inception, and is strongly committed to the Fund and its program.
The Indian Ministry for Information and Broadcasting said Thursday this was for the first time in the history of the IPDC that a developing country would assume the chair of the Council of the IPDC.
Comprising 39 member-states elected by the UNESCO’s General Conference and supervised by its inter-governmental Council, the IPDC aims to mobilize the international community to discuss and promote development of the media, especially in the third world.
The Council is tasked with making policy, and guiding the planning and the implementation of the IPDC’c programs. It implements national, regional and inter-regional projects in promoting freedom of expression and media pluralism, development of community media, building capacity and promotion of international partnership.
In his acceptance speech, Raghu Menon thanked the members of the Council for reposing faith in his country’s leadership, and assured its full commitment for strengthening the implementation of programs under the IPDC’s mandates.
by RTT Staff Writer
Bharti shares down 1 pc on BSE
economictimes.indiatimes.com/26 Mar 2010
MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel, the country’s largest private telecom company, on Friday fell by one per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange, a day after the
company announced entering into “definitive agreements” with Kuwait-based Zain Telecom to acquire the latter’s African assets.
Shares of Bharti Airtel were trading at Rs 310.30 on BSE, down by one per cent over previous close.
“The stock is in consolidation phase after gaining in previous trading sessions. The stock is under pressure as their is no clear picture coming out on the Bharti-Zain deal,” SMC Capital vice-president Rajesh Jain said.
On the National Stock Exchange, the stock dipped 1.33 per cent to Rs 310.20.
A total of 1.96 lakh shares of Bharti Airtel changed hands on both the bourses.
“There are some doubts in the minds of investors as their is still no concrete statement regarding the deal. The stock will trade under pressure for a while as it had gained a lot,” Jain added.
The two companies had entered into exclusive talks on February 15. Since then the stock has gained nearly 10 per cent to close at Rs 313.75 yesterday.
Bharti Airtel, yesterday, gave a positive indication of having clinched the mega $10.7 billion deal with Zain Telecom.
The company in a statement has said that Bharti is now working with Zain towards finalising the definitive agreements which would address all key terms and findings arising out of the due diligence.
The company added that definitive agreements are expected to be signed soon. Upon signing, the parties will move towards obtaining any required approvals.
With the acquisition, Bharti Airtel will enter the world’s fastest growing market in Africa. The two businesses combined will have more than 165 million subscribers with total revenue of $13 billion.
Bharti has valued Zain’s African assets at $10.7 billion. The deal is likely to result in Bharti paying out around $9 billion based on the estimated net debt of approximately $1.7 billion as on December 31, 2009.
Bharti Airtel had last week tied up $8.3 billion debt with financial institutions to fund the transaction, while the remaining $700 million would be paid a year later.
BRASIL:
Africa: Whither African Cotton Producers After Brazil’s Success?
26 March 2010 /www.truthabouttrade.org/AllAfrica News/Isolda Agazzi
Geneva — African cotton-producing countries hope that Brazil’s intended retaliation after its success at the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) dispute settlement body will have a positive spin-off for them but seem reticent about pursuing a similar course of action against the U.S. for its continued use of subsidies in cotton production.
“True, we don’t benefit directly from the WTO ruling,” Prosper Vokouma, representative of Burkina Faso to the United Nations in Geneva and coordinator of the C4, told IPS. The C4 is the grouping of four cotton-exporting African countries of which Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Chad are the members. It has helped put the issue of the “white gold” on the WTO agenda.
“But the WTO ruling gives legitimacy to the C4’s demands,” Vokouma says. “It is a strong criticism of massive and distorting subsidies. The WTO dispute settlement body has confirmed that U.S. subsidies damage other countries’ producers because of their impact on world market prices,” declares Vokouma.
“We know that the U.S. has a bad conscience regarding this issue. Some 2,500 large farmers share more than three billion dollars between them every year, whereas 20 to 30 million African cotton producers live in misery because the product of their hard work is not even enough to feed them,” explains Vokouma.
Studies by international organisations show that the total abolition of U.S. subsidies would increase the world cotton price by 14 percent. According to the charity Oxfam, this would translate into additional revenue that could feed one million more children per year, or pay the school fees of two million children in West Africa.
“If Brazil can push the U.S. to eliminate its distorting subsidies, it will also indirectly be a victory for the C4 and the other 32 African cotton producing countries, as well as for the WTO and its credibility,” Vokouma points out.
If this happens, what is the next step for the C4? “We hope that we can find a solution within the framework of multilateral negotiations but without resorting to the dispute settlement mechanism,” admits Vokouma.
“This option would be the last that the C4 would use to show to the world that we don’t give up on a grave non-compliance with the rules of international trade. For the time being, we alternate between multilateral negotiations and bilateral contacts with the main stakeholders,” he adds.
The C4’s response comes after Brazil on Mar 8 published a list of 100 U.S. goods on which it will increase custom duties to a value of 591 million dollars. These goods include tyres, cars, cosmetics, food items, pharmaceuticals and, of course, cotton, on which the increase in duty is almost 100 percent. The increase is due to enter into force within 30 days.
One week later, earlier than originally announced, Brasilia went a step further: it published a list of 21 retaliation measures concerning intellectual property, up to a total value of 238 million dollars. It concerns the suspension – without compensation and for a limited period of time – of the payment of patents on medicines, chemicals and biotechnological products for agriculture.
Payments are also suspended for copyright on music, books and U.S. movies. The Brazilian government set a deadline of 20 days for consultations on these new sanctions.
These steps happened after the WTO’s historical decision in the Brazil-U.S. commercial war that has lasted for more than eight years. On Aug 31, 2009, a WTO arbitration panel authorised Brazil to retaliate against the U.S. for an amount lower than what Brasilia had asked for but which is the second highest ever granted.
In return, the panel authorised the adoption of counter-measures in sectors other than goods, namely intellectual property and services.
The WTO allows this kind of “cross-retaliation” only when measures in the same field would do more harm than good to the country concerned – for example, the application of a 100 percent custom duty on products that it badly needs, explains Nicolas Imboden, director of the Ideas Centre in Geneva.
It is the second time that the WTO has allowed this and, if Brazil puts its threats into action, it would set a precedent in the history of the organisation.
If Brazil does take retaliating steps against intellectual property, this could put pressure on the U.S. government because lobbyists other than cotton producers could try to influence the administration and U.S. congress, according to Imboden whose centre advises the C4 and is an independent organisation assisting low-income countries with integration into the world trading system.
“Taken on its own, the WTO ruling will not change U.S. policy, even though suspending the payment of the patents on medicines could hurt the Americans a lot,” says Imboden.
“However, considering the other trade pressures facing the U.S. administration – negotiation of the Doha Round, the threat of new dispute settlements, the budgetary deficit – these sanctions could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
“The importance of these sanctions is underlined by the fact that the Americans have immediately reacted to the publication of the lists by announcing their intention to travel to Brazil and find a friendly solution. But one has to hope that the Brazilians will stick to their positions,” Imboden emphasises.
The Brazilian private sector, which fears a decrease in U.S. investment, is strictly against the sanctions.
The Brazilians and the Americans have announced their intention to negotiate. Imboden doubts that Brazil will attack intellectual property: “Rather, the U.S. will probably pay compensation to Brazil without changing its cotton policy.”
It will be a moral victory that puts pressure on the U.S. in the Doha Round talks but the effects could be limited as those negotiations “are not going anywhere”, states Imboden. In such a case, the Africans would be the big losers.
EN BREF, CE 26 mars 2010 … AGNEWS / OMAR, BXL,26/03/2010
