A digital copy of the Business News 24 (18 June edition). Zimbabwe's premier business news free sheet published by the Zimpapers Newspapers Group (1980) Limited and available every week day from 1530hrs to give a summary of the day's business news.

1. News Update as @ 1530 hours, Wednesday 18 June 2014
Feedback: bh24admin@zimpapers.co.zwEmail: bh24feedback@zimpapers.co.zw
By Rumbidzayi Zinyuke
Zimre Property Investments Limit-
ed’s performance for the five months
to May 2014 was subdued due to the
severe liquidity challenges that have
adversely affected the property sector.
Giving a trading update at the com-
pany’s annual general meeting, Zimre
managing director Edwin Mavingi said
the liquidity constraints had led to
subdued rent income, rising voids and
debtors, increased lease surrenders as
well as limited debt finance.
“Performance for the first five months
of 2014 was lower than last year but
we remained profitable,” he said.
He said total income for the period
went down 22 percent from last year’s
$3,2 million to $2,5 million while
operating profit was 29 percent lower
at $1 million from $1,4 million in the
prior period. Rental income was also
5 percent lower from $1,6 million in
May 2013 to $1,5 million in the review
period.
“Rental growth has been subdued and
weactuallyhaveagroupofourtenants
that have closed operations. This is not
necessarily a ZPI problem alone but it
is across the board,” he said.
The group’s project sales were 38 per-
cent down from the previous period as
the company limited sales in the first
half of the year due to low recovery
rate. He said the Masvingo and Bul-
awayo development projects were the
most affected by low recovery while
the project in Harare’s Tynwald surbab
was doing well. “The challenge is lack
of recovery of costs incurred. Our
main worry is in time taken to recover
money and realise profit.
"In Masvingo, 47 percent of the 338
stands had been sold to date with a
total cost recovery of 63 percent. But
lowendproductssellasisthecasewith
our Tynwald project. We have already
sold 64 percent of the stands with a 96
percent cost recovery rate,” he said.
Mavinge added that the company will
embark on an extension of Harare’s
Zimre Park residential area set to com-
mence in September this year and be
completedbyAugust2015.Theproject
will see the building of 229 residential
stands measuring 800 square metres
each at a total cost of $5,6 million. •
High voids, debts hurt Zimre Property Investments

2. BH24 Reporter
The deadline for all financial institutions
to submit their comprehensive re-cap-
italisation plans to meet Cabinet-ap-
proved levels is just two weeks away.
Commercial banks were initially
required by the central bank to have
minimum capitalisation of US$100
million by 2014, but this was later
extended to 2020.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)
set June 30, 2014 as the deadline for
all financial institutions to submit their
plans to meet the Cabinet approved
minimum capitalisation levels by 2020.
The $100 million capitalisation dead-
line was extended by six years to 2020
after the RBZ noted that the banking
sector was generally stable in spite of
the various underlying macro-eco-
nomic challenges and institution spe-
cific weaknesses.
A few institutions may fail to submit
acceptable re-capitalisation plans,
having failed to source funding and/
or strategic alliances, with Capital Bank
having relinquished its licence at the
beginning of this month. Other banks
appear better prepared, for instance
Tetrad Holdings Ltd shareholders last
month unanimously approved the
acquisition of a controlling stake in
its banking unit — Tetrad Investment
Bank (TIB) — by a Russian investment
group, Horizon Capital Consortium.
On the other hand Atlas Mara's
much-publicised acquisition of Ban-
cABC, with the deal expected to boost
the bank’s capital position.
The other financial intuitions have been
going about their business quietly.
Earlier this month, the RBZ proposed
plans to increase the threshold for
non-financial institutions in local bank
shareholding from 10 percent to 25
percent.
“Cognizant of the fact that institutional
shareholders, unlike individuals, are
morelikelyabletoinjectadditionalcap-
ital when called upon to do so, propos-
als are being made that shareholding
limits for companies be increased from
the current 10 percent to 25 percent,”
said the Reserve Bank in a statement."
The move will likely be received as a
positive development by most banks
that have turned to cash-rich foreign
investorsthatarenotnecessarilyfinan-
cial institutions.
Across the different types of financial
institutions, the December 31, 2020
capital thresholds are as follows: $100
million for Commercial and Merchant
banks, $80 million for Building Soci-
eties, $60 million for Finance Houses
and Discount Houses, $10 million for
Microfinance Banks and $25 000 for
Microfinance Institutions. •
2 NEWS
$100m banks capitalisation plan submission deadline looms

3. BH24 Reporter
Richard Summers is the new president of
the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and
Administrators in Zimbabwe (ICSAZ).
Summers, a former Cairns Foods dis-
tribution director, was elected president
of ICSAZ at the institute’s recent annual
general meeting. Prior to his appoint-
ment, Summers was vice-president of
ICSAZ for the past year. He is a Fellow
of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries
and Administrators and a registered pub-
lic accountant. He joined Astra Paints as
administrative manager in 1981. He was
appointed financial director of Astra Wild-
life Limited in October 1989.
In April 1990 he was appointed financial
director of Astra Trading and Agricul-
ture, incorporating Astra Wildlife, Astra
Silk, Expeditors and Claver Hill Farm. In
July 1993, Summers was promoted to
the position of financial director of Astra
Industries, incorporating Astra Paints,
Henry Dunn Steel, Astra Engineering and
Panasonic. He was appointed Astra Group
company secretary in July 1996. He held
several other positions within the group.
In February 2000 he became the general
manager and director of Paprika Zim-
babwe and a director of Cairns Foods.
In 2001, Paprika Zimbabwe became a
subsidiary of Cairns Foods, following the
Astra demerger. He took up the position
of Cairns Foods distribution director in
August 2005. He retired in December
2010. He was also the chairman of the
Cairns Holdings Group Accident Review
Committee.
In2009Summerswasappointedamem-
ber of the Marketing and Strategy Com-
mittee and the Investigations Committee
of ICSAZ. He was elected an institute
council member in 2010 and a member
of the institute’s continuous professional
development committee. He was also the
chairman of the Education and Examina-
tion Committee during 2013 to 2014
Meanwhile, the AGM also saw Zimbabwe
Economics Society president Lovemore
KadengeandbusinessconsultantSimbar-
ashe Dziva being elected vice presidents.
3 NEWS
By Lynn Murahwa
The Office of the Minister of State for
Liaising on Psychomotor Activities in
Education has engaged the Confeder-
ation of Zimbabwe Industries to boost
technical skills development.
CZI president Charles Msipa acknowl-
edged that the current educational
system does not benefit the country as
many school leavers and graduates are
left unemployed. “The current system
doesn’t serve the country very well. It
is generating many school leavers and
many people labeled as failures. The
few that manage to get into University
come out and are jobless. “We need to
figure out how we can help people and
how they can be equipped with skills
that they can create opportunities for
themselves," he said.
Speaking at the meeting with repre-
sentatives of industry Minister of State
for Liaising on Psychomotor Activities
in Education Josiah Hungwe said the
implementation of Psychomotor skills
into the education system will improve
job creation as well as remove poverty
in line with ZimAsset and the indigeni-
sationpolicy."Enhancingtheinfusionof
Psychomotor concept into education is
expected to improve the relevance of
education, increase employment crea-
tion and eradicate poverty in line with
the new Government thrust regarding
Indigenization, empowerment, devel-
opment and creation of employment
as outlined in Zim Asset" he said.
According to Minister Hungwe, consul-
tations are currently under way with
the Education Ministries on how to
mainstream the psychomotor concept
into the education system.
"Consultations are ongoing with the
Education Ministries and other relevant
Ministries that constitute the inter-min-
isterial committee on mainstreaming
the psychomotor concept into educa-
tion" he said.
The Office of the Minister of State for
Liaising on Psychomotor Activities was
set up last year to encourage entrepre-
neurship, technical and vocational edu-
cation training. •
Psychomotor Ministry engages industry
Summers is new ICSAZ president

4. 4 NEWS
BH24 Reporter
Insurance firms Old Mutual, Zimnat
and Nyaradzo have partnered Telecel
Zimbabwe for the payment of insur-
ance premiums through its mobile
electronic wallet service Telecash.
In addition to Eagle Insurance and First
Mutual Life, this brings to five the num-
ber of insurance companies that Tele-
cash subscribers are able to make pay-
ments to, said Telecel in a statement.
"As with all Telecash transactions, the
subscriber will be required at some
point in the transaction to enter his
or her Telecash personal identification
number (PIN) to confirm that the per-
son paying the bill is the holder of the
Telecash account linked to the mobile
phone that is being used.
"After selecting the service provider
whose bill is to be paid, the subscriber
is asked to enter his or her account
number with the service provider, that
is with Old Mutual, Nyaradzo or which-
ever company it is whose bill is to be
paid, and the amount to be paid," said
Telecel.
Recently, TelOne and the City of Bula-
wayo also recently signed agreements
with Telecel for the payment of tele-
phone bills and municipal bills with
Telecash.
The list of service providers accepting
payment with Telecash now includes
Cimas, DSTV, City of Harare, City of
Bulawayo, TelOne, Eagle Insurance,
First Mutual Life, which in addition to
insurance also has a medical savings
fund, and now Old Mutual, Zimnat and
Nyaradzo.
Telecash is an electronic wallet into
which money can be deposited and
withdrawn at any Telecash agent and
from which payments can be made for
bills and goods and services. Money
can also be transferred from a Telecash
account to the mobile phone of anyone
else, regardless of network.
Currently there are more than 3 000
Telecash agents, including all Bon
Marche, OK Bazaars and TM Super-
markets and all post offices. •
Old Mutual, Zimnat and Nyaradzo join Telecash

5. 5 NEWS
Zimbabwean startup ZimStocks has
announced an update to its stock per-
formance-monitoring platform, allow-
ing users to discuss the companies
listed on the country’s stock exchange.
HumanIPO reported in March Zim-
Stocks hoped to provide a tool to mon-
itor performance of stocks and educate
current and future investors about the
trading on the country’s exchange.
The company has now launched a
discussion feature, allowing users to
“to create content and participate in
discussions for the Zimbabwe Stock
Exchange companies that [they] care
about”.
Users have the ability to participate in
an already existing discussion or create
a new one from within the ZimStocks
app.
A drop down menu enables the user to
select what he thinks should be done
with the company’s stocks: buy, hold,
sell or do nothing.
The updated platform also has a trend-
ing section showing which top five
companies are currently under discus-
sion.
The company has also recently
launched an iOS app, adding to its
already existing website and Android
app. ― Human IPO •
ZimStocks app adds discussion feature
By Elita Chikwati
The2014fluecuredtobaccosellingseason
will close next week, earlier than the pre-
vious seasons with deliveries expected to
surpass200millionkilogrammes.
Auction floors normally close in July. Due
to the high deliveries being received at
the contract floors, sales will continue until
further notice. Tobacco Industry and Mar-
ketingBoardchiefexecutiveofficerAndrew
Matibiri said this season has been fast.
“Thefluecuredtobaccomarketingseason
willcloseonFridayJune27withfinaldeliv-
eriesacceptedonThursday26June.
“All growers who sell on auction floors are
therefore advised to complete their grad-
ing and baling operations by Wednesday
25 June at the very latest. “Most farmers
have delivered their crop for sale and we
are confident that the tobacco deliveries
will surpass 200 million kgs,” he said. The
fluecuredauctiontobaccocleanupsalefor
the2014marketingseasonwillbeheldon
July15.
Statistics from the TIMB show that 194
million kgs of flue cured tobacco worth
$619millionhasbeensoldsincetheopen-
ingofsellingseasoninFebruary.Thisisan
increase of 32 percent from the 147 mil-
lion kg of tobacco worth $543 million sold
sameperiodlastyear.Lastseason166mil-
lionkgsoftobaccoweresold. •
Contract floors push auction floors early closure

6. BH24

7. International interest in this year’s Min-
ing, Engineering and Transport (Mine
Entra) exhibition is high as five foreign
nations have so far confirmed partici-
pation compared to three countries
that participated at the event last year.
Mine Entra 2014 is set to provide an
ideal marketing forum for mining,
engineering and transport companies
to showcase their latest products, tech-
nology and services applicable to the
fast growing mining sector in Southern
Africa. “The show has so far attracted
over 100 exhibitors with 3,500 square
metres of exhibition space booked.
International interest is high as five for-
eign nations, represented by 21 com-
panies, have so far confirmed partici-
pation. These are Belgium, Botswana,
China, Germany and South Africa,”
said the Zimbabwe International Trade
Fair Company general manager, Noma
Ndlovu, during a press conference
yesterday. She said exhibition space
was still available adding that the ZITF
Company encouraged exhibitors who
have not yet taken up stands to do so
before the early booking discount offer
expires on June 30.
The expo will run from July 23 to 25 at
the Zimbabwe International Exhibition
Centre in Bulawayo under the theme,
“Innovation, Beneficiation, Growth”.
The theme seeks to explore how inno-
vative technologies and ideas can be
used to beneficiate Zimbabwe’s min-
eral resources so as to achieve national
economic growth and prosperity. Being
a sector-specific exhibition, Ndlovu said
amixofmining,engineeringandtrans-
port products and services would be on
display.Theexhibitionwillalsopromote
supporting sectors in order to provide a
total solution to the industry.“Some of
the services on show include banking,
security, insurance, customs, clearing,
medical and chemical supplies. Build-
ing and construction equipment exhib-
its introduced last year will also be a
prominent feature as well as protective
clothing and other safety products,”
she said.
Small scale miners and representa-
tives from Women in Mining have also
shown interest in participating at the
exhibition. Mine Entra 2014 and Joint
Suppliers and Purchasers Conferences
are some of the highlights of the exhi-
bition.
The official opening ceremony of Mine
Entra 2014 will be held on July 24 and
the guest of honour is expected to be
announced in due course. ― Chroni-
cle •
MINING7
5 foreign nations confirm participation at Mine Entra

8. BH24

9. The equities market have returned to
positive trading after dropping a mar-
ginal 0.01 percent yesterday, bumping
0.81 percent in today's trades.
A number of key heavyweights drove
the positive performance as the Indus-
trials Index added 1.47 points to
close at 182.50 points as the gainers
exceeded the losers 9 to 3.
Cement producer PPC gained 9 cents
to 225 cents, while Hippo advanced
2.01 cents to trade at 70.01 cents.
Telecoms giant Econet was up 1.50
cents to 73.50 cents and beverages
producer Delta gained 1.09 cents to
118.10 cents, while Meikles inched up
a cent to 21 cents.
On the downside ZBFH slipped 3 cents
to close at 3 cents. GBH and Medtech
retreated 0.02 cents each to settle at
0.04 cents and 0.05 cents respectively.
The mining index gained 2.50 points
(or 4.80 percent) to close at 54.58
points as Bindura continued in buoyant
mood, gaining 0.21 cents to trade at
4.21 cents. The other mining counters,
Falgold, Hwange, and Riozim all main-
tainedprevioustradinglevels.Turnover
today was significantly higher at $2,4
million compared to less than 41 mil-
lion since the opening of the week.
— BH24 Reporter •
9 ZSE REVIEW
Equities make quick bounce back

10. World postal service has dwindled as
demand has become low. The once-
proud postal services that helped
build modern society are scaling
back operations, risking further
declines.
Zimbabwe has not been spared. The
post office used to make most of its
money from letters but they now
contribute only 20 percent of their
revenues.
What has happened to the remaining
80 percent?
Zimpost was handling 100 million
pieces every year in 2010 but is now
carrying only 14 million. Total rev-
enues have slumped to $20 million
while the employee base has gone
from 3000 to 1169.
And this is only because they cannot
keep shedding more personnel and
cannot close any branches. Opti-
mally, the postal service provider
should be employing 800 employ-
ees.
So what is the strategy to keep the
postal service alive? The value of the
mail goes beyond money in many
places, including rural areas. The
postal carrier serves as a focal point
for the community.
A lot of players are going for a digi-
tal strategy, and fewer are doing the
direct-mail approach,” said Walter
Beyleveldt, managing director for
Asia Pacific region. “Because of that,
the mailbox will get emptier. It will
potentially become an exciting place
to go and look.”
For now, a boom in internet shop-
ping is helping keep alive moribund
postal services across the developed
world.
It was heartening to hear Zimpost
managing director Douglas Zim-
bango saying the future of Zimpost
will be anchored on e-commerce.
This shows that they are not wait-
ing for technology to beat them to
extinction but are maximizing on the
digital revolution.
“As long as other businesses are
surviving, we will tap into them. We
actually encourage the development
of e-commerce because we are there
to do the physical delivery.
If you buy things over the internet,
the internet will not deliver. Zimpost
will be there to deliver so we will lev-
erage on technology.
"With over 70 percent of our reve-
nue coming from agent services,
the company’s future is very bright
because as we do our business with
third parties we also get a share of
their revenue,” he said.
Harnessing technology will get them
more revenues considering that they
have a big workforce to take care of.
But the problem is that internet
shopping has not become that big in
Zimbabwe. People still prefer to do
their shopping physically.
However, if Zimbabweans take up
internet shopping like most devel-
oped countries have done, there will
be an increase in business for our
post offices.
We will never go back to direct mail
but the world will keep improving
with technology.
So if the post office can take advan-
tage of their positioning in the
remotest parts of the country then
they can benefit more from this dig-
ital era. •
10 BH24 COMMENT
Zimpost moving with the times
Programme and Duration Entry Requirements
The Senior Assistant Registrar (Admissions)
University of Zimbabwe
P.O. Box MP 167
Mount Pleasant, HARARE
Email: admissions@admin.uz.ac.zw
Tel: 04 303211 ext 11116/11181/11112
You can also download our application form from
www.uz.ac.zw and enclose the application fee.
Internationals. Only cash will be accepted.
Faculty of Commerce The closing date for receipt of application forms is 20th June,
2014. Late applications will be considered up to 27th June, 2014
Masters in Accountancy (MACC) (3yrs P/T) A first degree in Accounting or upon payment of a late application fee of US$70.related field with a 2.1 or
better. Applicants with 2.2 must
have two years relevant post- Application forms should be obtained from and forwarded to:
graduate work experience.
Masters in Strategic Marketing (MSM) (3yrs P/T) A first degree in Marketing or
related field with a 2.1 or better.
Applicants with 2.2 must have two
years relevant post-graduate
work experience.
Applications and further information
Application forms are available upon payment of a non-
refundable fee of US$50 for Zimbabweans and US$70 for
UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE
POSTGRADUATE PROGRAMMES: AUGUST 2014 INTAKE
AdM-DI155882-C7
Applications are invited for the following programmes commencing in August 2014:

11. BH24

12. South Africa’s inflation rate climbed
to 6.6 percent in May, the highest in
almost five years and exceeding the
central bank’s target for a second
month.
Inflation accelerated from 6.1 per-
cent in April, Pretoria-based Statistics
South Africa said on its website today.
The median estimate of 25 econo-
mists surveyed by Bloomberg was
6.5 percent. Prices rose 0.2 percent
in the month.
The Reserve Bank kept its benchmark
repurchase unchanged at 5.5 percent
last month even as it forecast infla-
tion would stay outside the 3 percent
to 6 percent target band until the sec-
ond quarter of next year.
Africa’s second-biggest economy
is threatened with recession after
a 20-week platinum strike caused
gross domestic product to contract
an annualized 0.6 percent in the first
three months of the year.
The inflation data “will most certainly
continue to highlight the Reserve
Bank’s current dilemma of manag-
ing an uncomfortable domestic infla-
tion environment amid a weakening
economic backdrop,” Jeffrey Schultz,
an economist at BNP Paribas Cadiz
Securities in Johannesburg, said in
an e-mailed note to clients before the
release of the data.
The core inflation rate, which
excludes food, non-alcoholic bever-
ages, gasoline and electricity costs,
was unchanged at 5.5 percent in May.
― Bloomberg •
12 REGIONAL News
South African inflation accelerates to highest in almost 5 years
enjoy the CAIO ride!

13. 13 DIARY OF EVENTS
The black arrow indicate level of load shedding across the country.
POWER GENERATION STATS
Gen Station
18 June 2014
Energy
(Megawatts)
Hwange 418 MW
Kariba 750 MW
Harare 45 MW
Munyati 29 MW
Bulawayo 21 MW
Imports 170 MW
Total 1433 MW
26 June - Pioneer 44th Annual
General Meeting of Sharehold-
ers, Venue: Pioneer Corporation
Africa Limited Boardroom, Corner
Hood/Hermes Roads, Southerton,
Harare, Time: 10:00 hrs
26 June - Masimba Holdings
Limited Thirty-Ninth Annual
General Meeting of Mem-
bers for the period ended 31
December 2013, Place: 44 Til-
bury Road, Willowvale, Harare,
Zimbabwe, Time: 12:00
30 June - TA Holdings 79th
Annual General Meeting of the
ordinary members Venue: Miti
Room, Sango Conference Centre,
Cresta Lodge, Harare, Time: 1400
hours
30 June - ZIMRE 16th Annual
General Meeting of members,
Venue: NICOZDIAMOND Audito-
rium, 7th Floor Insurance Centre,
30 Samora Machel Avenue, Time:
1230 hours
THE BH24 DIARY

14. BH24

15. 15 zse
ZSE
Movers CHANGE Today Price USc SHAKERS Change TODAY Price USc
Cottco 11.11% 1.00 ZBFH -50.00% 3.00
BNC 5.25% 4.21 General Beltings -33.33% 0.04
Meikles 5.00% 21.00 Medtech -28.57% 0.05
PPC 4.17% 225.00
NicozDiamond 4.00% 1.30
Hippo 2.96% 70.01
Econet 2.08% 73.50
Dairibord 1.18% 8.60
Delta 0.93% 118.10
Indices
Index Previous Today Move Change
Industrial 181.03 182.50 +1.47 points +0.81%
Mining 52.08 54.58 +2.50 points +4.80%
Stocks Exchange

16. 16 AFRICA StockS
Botswana 8,664.65 -11.96 -0.14% 12July
Cote dIvoire 246.37 +2.18 +0.89% 07Mar
Egypt 7,949.60 -75.68 -0.94% 06Mar
Ghana 2,343.98 +9.46 +0.41% 06June
Kenya 4,881.56 +12.30 +0.25% 06June
Malawi 12,662.47 +0.00 +0.00% 07Mar
Mauritius 2,074.51 -3.51 -0.17% 07Mar
Morocco 9,544.10 +21.01 +0.22% 07Mar
Nigeria 41,529.11 -40.98 -0.10% 06June
Rwanda 131.27 +0.00 +0.00% 24Oct
Tanzania 2,018.97 +25.40 +1.27% 07Mar
Tunisia 4,624.39 -39.32 -0.84% 07Mar
Uganda 1,503.90 +0.81 +0.05% 10Sep
Zambia 4,242.74 +14.95 +0.35% 10April
Zimbabwe 178.58 +1.54 +0.87% 06June
African stock round up Commodity Prices
Name Price
Crude Oil 1,300.91 -0.21%
Spot Gold USD/oz 1,292.63 -0.26%
Spot Silver USD/oz 19.38 -0.46%
Spot Platinum USD/oz 1,421.25 -0.33%
Spot Palladium USD/oz 798.50 -0.64%
LME Copper USD/t 6,770 -0.18%
LME Aluminium USD/t 1,780 -1.17%
LME Nickel USD/t 18,230 -1.73%
LME Lead USD/t 2,095 -1.41%
Quote of the day —"The secret
of success is consistency
of purpose." - Benjamin Dis-
raeliGlobalshareholder.com

17. BH24

18. The gold industry will discuss changes
to the century-old gold fixing bench-
mark that’s used by mining companies
to central banks to trade and value the
metal.
Banks to refiners to exchanges are
being invited by the World Gold Coun-
cil to meet on July 7 in London to talk
about reforming the rate set daily by
four banks, the industry group said in
ane-mailedstatementtoday.TheU.K’s
Financial Conduct Authority will attend
as an observer.
The gold fix is set twice a day on a
call between Societe Generale SA,
Bank of Nova Scotia, HSBC Holdings
Plc and Barclays Plc. A similar silver
price-setting ritual will end in August
when Deutsche Bank AG quits the
daily meetings, with companies due
to make proposals for an alternative
mechanism this week. The regulatory
focus on financial benchmarks is inten-
sifying after rigging was uncovered
in everything from interbank lending
rates to currencies.
“It is not surprising that it needs
to change to meet today’s market
expectations for enhanced regulation,
transparency and technology,” Natalie
Dempster, managing director, central
banks and public policy, said in the
statement. “Modernisation is impera-
tive in order to maintain trust across
the industry.” A reformed gold fixing
process or alternative method should
be based on executed trades rather
than submitted quotes, tradeable and
not just a reference price, the council
said. Data should be transparent, pub-
lished and subject to audit.
There could be “reform to the fix to
bring it in line with the IOSCO princi-
ples or it could see an alternative price
benchmark emerge,” Dempster said,
referring to the International Organi-
zation of Securities Commissions. ―-
Bloomberg •
Militants have attacked Iraq's largest oil
refinery. The governments of multiple
countries have reported missing citi-
zens and vowed to do everything they
can to protect national interests within
Iraq.
The attack on the refinery by rebels
from the Islamic State of Iraq and the
Levant (ISIS) started at 4 a.m. (0100
UTC) in Baiji, security sources and
employees told news agencies. One
mortar hit a spare-parts warehouse
and smoke billowed from the building,
the sources told the news agency Reu-
ters. Authorities evacuated foreigners
from the refinery Tuesday as forces
braced for the attack. Late Tuesday,
reports had suggested that the com-
pound was still being held by elite gov-
ernment troops, while the nearby town
fell to ISIS fighters.
On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia's foreign
minister warned of potential civil war in
Iraq as Sunni militants pulled within 60
kilometers (40 miles) of Baghdad. The
ISIS insurgents, who launched their
lightning assault on June 9, have since
captured Mosul, a city of more than 2
million inhabitants, and a large area of
land north of the capital.
Soldiers from the Iraqi army and Shiite
militias have joined forces to repel the
ISIS fighters. ― DW •
18 INTERNATIONAL NEWS
ISIS attacks Iraq's Baiji oil refinery
Gold industry to discuss century-old fixing benchmark

19. The Group of 77 (G77) plus China
summit concluded Sunday in the east-
ern Bolivian city of Santa Cruz with the
adoption of a declaration calling for a
new world order that is equitable, sta-
ble and peaceful.
The Santa Cruz declaration underlined
their commitment to reducing poverty
and inequality, fostering sustainable
development, protecting sovereignty
over natural resources and promoting
fair trade.
With the theme of New World Order
for Living Well, the two-day summit
also marks the 50th anniversary of the
establishment of the G77, which has
grown into a coalition of 133 UN devel-
oping member states.
UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon
said at the summit that the G77 has
enabled the Southern Hemisphere to
speak with a common voice.
"Acting together, member states can
eradicate extreme poverty and pro-
vide opportunity for all within the finite
bounds of our planet's resources," Ban
said. More than 100 delegations of the
G77 block attended the summit, pre-
sided over by Bolivian president Evo
Morales.
Morales said that the G77 will follow
a sustainable development paradigm
that seeks not only balance between
human beings but also balance
between man and nature.
In the Santa Cruz declaration, the G77
also underlined its pledge to strive for a
fair world order that would better meet
the needs of developing countries.
Poverty was another issue on top of the
summit's agenda. The G77 has pro-
posed a new goal to eradicate extreme
poverty within its member states by
2030.
Chen Zhu, a vice chairman of the
Standing Committee of the National
People's Congress of China, attended
the summit as a special envoy of Chi-
na's president Xi Jinping.
ChenpledgedthatChinawillstrengthen
coordination and cooperation with the
G77 to promote common development
and prosperity. At the conclusion of
the summit, Le Hoai Trung, Vietnam's
permanent representative to the UN,
claimed that China operated a drilling
rig "in the exclusive economic zone of
Vietnam" and sent warships to drive
away Vietnamese vessels, which
"infringed on Vietnam's sovereignty
and territorial integrity." The Vietnam-
eseofficialevendemandedhisclaimbe
incorporated into the declaration.
Rebutting Vietnam's accusations, La
Yifan, a deputy director-general of the
Chinese Foreign Ministry's Interna-
tional Organizations and Conferences
Department, said the Xisha (Paracel)
Islands are an integral part of Chinese
territory under the jurisdiction of the
Chinese government.
He emphasized that all the successive
Vietnamesegovernmentspriorto1974
had formally acknowledged the islands
aspartofChina'sterritorysinceancient
times. Participants in the summit
turned down Vietnam's demands. The
G77, the largest intergovernmental
organization of developing countries,
is aimed at promoting collective eco-
nomic interests and gaining leverage
within the international community. ―
Xinhua •
19 Analysis
G77+China summit calls for new world order
UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon