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1. By Tawanda Musarurwa
HARARE – Mobile telecommu-
nications firm Econet Wireless
Zimbabwe’s revenue for the
year ended 29 February 29,
2016 slid to $641 million,
down 14, 1 percent down from
$746, 2 million in the prior
comparable period as voice
and SMS revenues continued
to underperform.
CEO Mr Douglas Mboweni said
the company had long antici-
pated the decline in voice and
SMS revenue, and the mobile
telecoms operator was basing
future revenue growth on
existing and anticipated data
products.
“The local telecom industry in
line with global trends is expe-
riencing a decline in voice rev-
enues. We long saw this trend
and over the years we have
invested in our infrastructure
and created an innovation
pipeline to create new reve-
nue streams. In a shrinking
industry we have maintained
market dominance getting 70
percent of the value share
while aggressively growing our
broadband and mobile finan-
cial services.
Through our robust business
model we are overcoming dis-
ruptive technology cycles and
strong economic headwinds,”
he said.
He said the declining voice
revenues will be eased by
incentives and packages that
suit declining disposable
incomes and growing our
broadband through wider 4G/
LTE coverage, offering afforda-
ble smartphones and rolling
broadband to the home.
Econet’s profit-after-tax stood
at $40, 2 million impacted by
high depreciation amounting
to $136, 8 million.
News Update as @ 1530 hours, Tuesday 31 May 2016
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Econet revenue slides on weak voice, SMS

2. Earnings before interest,
taxes, depreciation and amor-
tisation (EBIDTA) was $238, 4
million down from $285, 6 mil-
lion which was 16, 5 percent.
Commenting on the financials
this afternoon, finance director
Mr Roy Chimanikire said:
“These results reflect the
impact of the regulatory tariff
reductions as well as a cock-
tail of taxes and levies which
include 5 percent excise duty
and the increase in Universal
Services Fund (USF) levy.
This has effectively reduced
our tariffs while directly
increasing our costs through
additional tax burden. Through
an aggressive cost optimi-
sation programme we are
ensuring that we protect the
bottom line.”
During the period under
review, Econet recorded sub-
scriber growth of 9 percent
from 9, 2 million last year to
the current 10 million.
This growth was in spite of the
over 1 million subscribers who
were deregistered in compli-
ance with regulatory require-
ments for proper registration.
Management said revenue
lost from the de-registered
subscribers amounted to $2
million and the cost to re-con-
nect these subscribers came to
$500 000.
EcoCash continues to grow
Mr Mboweni said EcoCash has
become the largest mobile
banking and money transfer
service in Zimbabwe, and one
of the largest in the region. As
of year-end, EcoCash had 5,
8 million registered users and
had moved 6, 6 billion through
money transfer, both within
Zimbabwe and from Zimba-
bweans remitting money from
outside the country.
Other services such as Eco-
Sure and EcoFarmer had also
registered growth during
the period under review. For
example, he said EcoSure has
covered over 1 million lives
during the course of this year
while EcoFarmer now had 900
000 clients.
“We see great potential in
these two services and we
have exciting plans for them in
the coming months,” he said.
Going forward, the company
said it will continue to invest
in infrastructure and has an
extensive innovation pipeline
as Zimbabwe’s largest tel-
ecommunications company
continues to diversify reve-
nue streams away from the
traditional sources of voice
and SMS.
“The company’s resilience
through continued investment
in infrastructure and intro-
duction of innovative products
was also key to surviving and
growing in what is increasingly
becoming a volatile and com-
plex economic environment.
We are also focusing on cost
optimisation to protect reve-
nues,” said the CEO.●
2 news

3. BH243

4. HARARE - The Reserve Bank
of Zimbabwe (RBZ) said on
Tuesday bond notes will come
into circulation in October,
dismissing rumours in the
market the currency would be
introduced in August.
The bond notes, backed by a
$200 million Africa Export and
Import Bank bond facility,
are being introduced as part
of wider measures to address
cash shortages that have hit
the economy in the past few
months.
The measure has been met
with mixed feelings and has in
part fuelled current demand
for cash which has resulted
in long queues at banks of
panicking clients withdrawing
their funds.
RBZ governor, Dr John Man-
gudya said modalities were
currently being put in place
for the introduction of the
bond notes.
“We are disbursing the bond
notes starting in October,” Dr
Mangudya said.
The central bank boss was
speaking at a Roman Catholic
Church organised breakfast
meeting that sought to dis-
cuss various issues affecting
the economy.
Dr Mangudya said external-
isation of funds, which was
putting pressure on banks
that are already struggling to
support productive sectors of
the economy, was fueling cash
shortages.
He said it was imperative that
exporters, whom he described
as the goose that lays the
golden egg, be supported at
all costs as they were the
country’s major foreign cur-
rency earner.
“When a teacher goes into
the queue to withdraw money,
that money is coming from
those exports,” he said, while
lauding tobacco farmers,
small scale gold miners for
earning the country forex.
Cash imports through banks
and the RBZ, Dr Mangudya
said, had doubled to over $40
million a month as a result of
increased demand.
He said the country’s porous
borders allowed people
to take money out of the
country, which was forcing
the central bank to introduce
controls to limit access to
cash.
“This governor does not
believe in control but this
governor does also not
believe that economy must
be left alone when things are
going wrong,” Dr Mangudya
said. “When things go wrong,
that is when we begin to do
our work.”
He said Zimbabwe’s trade
deficit, averaging $2.5 billion
a year, meant that local
industries were suffering
as people imported cheaper
goods.
As a result the central bank
had introduced a priority
list for imports to weed out
unnecessary and unproductive
imports, he said.
Dr Mangudya said the Zim-
babwean economy had been
“over liberalised”
when the country adopted use
of multi-currencies in 2009,
without safeguards having
been put in place to ensure
sustainability of the system.
Without exports, continued
use of multi-currencies would
be compromised, he said.
Barclays Bank managing
director George Guvamatanga
said had it not been for
externalisation, his bank had
imported enough cash for the
Zimbabwean economy since
2009.
“But the money we brought
into this country has disap-
peared. If it had not disap-
peared we would not have
these shortages,” he said.
New Ziana.●
RBZ says bond notes introduction set for October
4 news

5. BH245

6. BH246

7. Papau New Guinea – President
Robert Mugabe on Tuesday urged
the African, Carribean and Pacific
group of countries to find ways
of weaning the organisation from
dependence on financial support
from the European Union as it
moves towards mobilizing its
resources for sustainable devel-
opment to benefit its people.
Addressing the 8th summit of
ACP Heads of State and Govern-
ment here, President Mugabe
noted that over 40 years of
receiving financial support from
EU had created the reviled
dependency syndrome, while the
group continued to be produc-
ers and exporters of primary
products.
"While we are appreciative of
such provided financial sup-
port, it has increasingly become
clear that financial self-suffi-
ciency should be our new modus
oparandi as we drive our efforts
towards the mobilization of
resources aimed at a more robust
and beneficial thrust, prioritising
our collective interests as devel-
oping countries" he said.
He noted that ACP regions were
endowed with a vast array of nat-
ural resources comprising flora
and fauna, minerals, marine life,
land as well as highly educated
citizens, yet they remained on
the margins of the global econ-
omy.
"We cannot continue to be spec-
tators while our primary com-
modities are driving an economic
boom in the North and West,"
he said. He noted that the EU
had embarked on an institutional
transformation to strengthen its
position as a global player by
shifting its strategic interests to
focus on its immediate neighbors
in Eastern Europe and the Medi-
terranean.
"Naturally the ACP has to respond
to these dynamics as the Cotonou
partnership agreement nears its
end in 2020," he said.
President Mugabe said focusing
on trade, investment, industri-
alisation, development, cooper-
ation, Science and Technology
and Research and Development
would assist the ACP to capitalize
on it's numerical strength and
geographical spread to pro-
mote equitable and sustainable
development for the benefit of its
people.
He urged the summit to clearly
re-define its core principals
and align its objectives to suit
changes in global realities and
challenges. President Mugabe
commended the initiative of the
ACP to establish a working group
of ambassadors as well as that of
Imminent Persons to reflect on
the future of the organisation.
He urged the new ACP to avoid
duplicating activities that other
regional and international organ-
isations which member countries
already belonged to were carry-
ing out. Similarly, he said, Eco-
nomic Partnership Agreements
which members of the group had
negotiated with the EU should not
negate regional integration in the
ACP. - New Ziana.●
7 news
President Mugabe urges ACP to be self-sufficient

8. BH24 Reporter
HARARE-– In an initiative to
boost even more Zimbabwean
flying fastjet, the low-cost pan-Af-
rican airline, has announced that
any passengers purchasing tickets
today will be entered into the first
ever fastjet Big 10 lottery to win
10 free return flights on any fast-
jet route on the airline’s African
network.
Scooping the lottery for the 10
return flights will give the winning
passenger the power to go on a
dream holiday or a once-in-a-
lifetime shopping trip with friends
and family that they have always
dreamed of.
Or for Zimbabwean entrepreneurs
the flights could be used to give
their business the boost it needs
by saving on travel costs for the
next 10 times they need to travel.
Regional marketing executive Ms
Faith Chaitezvi said:
“Very simply, fastjet Zimba-
bwe’s goal is to make it possible
for more Zimbabweans to fly,
whether it be for business, visits
to their friends and family, or
enjoying leisure travel.
“Air travel is the key to the contin-
ued stimulation and growth of the
Zimbabwean economy by making
it easier for easier for families,
business people, and tourists to
travel.
Qualifying routes include all flights
from Harare to Dar es Salaam,
Victoria Falls and Johannesburg
and flights from Victoria Falls to
Johannesburg, as well as flights
from Dar es Salaam to Mbeya,
Mwanza, Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar,
Nairobi, Entebbe, Lusaka, Harare
and Johannesburg, and between
Kilimanjaro and Entebbe,
fastjet currently connects 11
African destinations for business
people, tourists and families who
have welcomed its low fares and
the convenience of air travel. ●
8 news
fastjet gets Zimbabwe flying

9. HARARE -The local equities
market slid into the negative
as the mainstream industrial
index marginally declined by
0.08 to close at 104.70 in
today’s trades on the back of
a $0,0020 loss in Pearl Prop-
erties, which at $0,0200.
Barclays, BAT, Innscor and
Simbisa were unchanged at
$0,0240, $11,8000, $0,2025,
and $0,1400 respectively.
Beverages giant Delta was
the only counter trading in
the positive after adding $0,
0003 to settle at $0,7100.
The mining index was steady
at 25.54 as Bindura, Fal-
gold, Hwange and RioZim
maintained previous price
levels at $0,0120, $0,0050,
$0,0300 and $0,1610 respec-
tively
. BH24 Reporter ●
Industrials fall in the red
9 zse
02 03
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10. Movers CHANGE Today Price USc SHAKERS Change TODAY Price USc
Delta 0.04 71.00 Pearl Properties -9.09 2.00
Index Previous Today Move Change
Industrial 104.78 104.70 -0.08 points -0.08%
Mining 25.54 25.54 +0.00 points +0.00%
10 zse tables
ZSE
Indices
Stock Exchange
Previous
today

11. 11 DIARY OF EVENTS
The black arrow indicate level of load shedding across the country.
POWER GENERATION STATS
Gen Station
31 May 2016
Energy
(Megawatts)
Hwange 407 MW
Kariba 569 MW
Harare 0 MW
Munyati 30 MW
Bulawayo 22 MW
Imports 0 - 400 MW
Total 1319 MW
31 MAY -- Pearl Properties (2006) Limited Annual General Meeting; Place: Royal Harare Golf Club, Harare; Time: 14.30hrs
2 JUNE -- Zimplow Annual General Meeting; Place: Zimplow Holdings Limited Head Office, 36 Birmingham Road, Harare;
Time: 10:00hrs
9 JUNE -- First Mutual Holdings Annual General Meeting; Place: Royal Harare Golf Club, Harare; Time: 14:30hrs
22 JUNE -- Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe Annual General Meeting; Place: Manresa Club, Arcturus Road, Harare; Time: 10:30hrs
30 JUNE -- African Sun Annual General Meeting; Place: Inyangani Room, ground floor at Holiday Inn Harare, Corner 5th
Street and Samora Machel Avenue; Time: 12:00hrs
THE BH24 DIARY

12. LONDON - Standard Char-
tered is to launch its mobile
and online banking platform
in eight African countries, its
consumer banking chief for
the region told Reuters, as
the lender seeks to grow in
Africa at a time when some
European banks are retreat-
ing.
StanChart will launch the
service for its 1 million cus-
tomers in Botswana, Ghana,
Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania,
Uganda, Zambia and Zimba-
bwe in the first half of 2016,
the bank's regional head for
retail banking Jaydeep Gupta
said.
"Africa's populations are
moving quickly to embrace
mobile banking and local
banks have made material
investments on the digital
side, so to protect and grow
our market share we are
investing," he said.
Gupta said StanChart hopes
to grow long-term retail
banking revenues in Africa
by three to four times the
pace of the region's growth
in economic output.
The bank's strategy stands
in contrast to European
rivals who have beat a rapid
retreat from Africa in recent
years, stung by plunging
commodities prices and
weaknesses in African cur-
rencies.
Barclays said on March 1
it was seeking to sell its
African business as part of a
plan by new Chief Executive
Jes Staley to simplify the
bank's structure.
The International Monetary
Fund on May 3 cut its 2016
growth forecast for sub-Sa-
haran Africa by 1 percent-
age point to 3 percent, the
lowest level in 15 years and
half the average over the
last decade.
The tough environment has
seen bank stocks in Africa
plunge and lenders in coun-
tries such as Kenya and
Zambia fail.
StanChart is nonetheless
expanding its physical pres-
ence in the region, adding
10 branches in the Nigerian
capital of Lagos as part of a
strategy to focus on Africa's
capital and top-tier cities
which Gupta said account for
roughly 80 percent of con-
sumer banking revenues.
Gupta declined to put a
figure on the bank's Africa
investment. Africa accounts
for 10 percent or around
8400 of the lender's total
employees, and StanChart
made a net loss in the region
of $32 million in 2015 on
rising bad loans, according
to company data.
Former Barclays chief
executive Bob Diamond is
also optimistic about the
region and is bidding on his
former employer's African
unit, even as his investment
vehicle Atlas Mara reported
a $2 million loss for the first
quarter as its African bank-
ing investments struggled.
[nL5N18N0XB]
StanChart's Gupta, like
Diamond, advocate looking
beyond Africa's short term
economic woes.
"Africa is a multi-speed mar-
ket with some countries such
as Kenya bounding ahead
while others like Zimbabwe
and Nigeria remain challeng-
ing, but we see attractive
long-term growth opportu-
nities for the continent,"
Gupta said. - Reuters●
regioNAL News12
StanChart launches mobile banking push in Africa as rivals retreat

13. Nestle SA agreed to pay DBV
Technologies SA, a French
developer of therapeutic skin
patches, as much as 100
million euros ($110 million)
for the right to sell an exper-
imental test to detect milk
allergy, the most common
food allergy in children.
Nestle will pay the Mon-
trouge-based company 10
million euros upfront for
development of the test,
which Nestle will have the
right to sell globally pending
regulatory approval, DBV
said in a statement Tuesday.
DBV said it will fund devel-
opment and expects to ask
authorities for clearance by
2021.
Nestle aims to build a $10
billion business out of its
health-science unit, created
in 2011 to fight chronic dis-
eases. Last year, the maker
of Gerber baby food and
KitKat chocolate bars bought
a stake in Seres Therapeutics
Inc., a Cambridge, Massa-
chusetts-based developer of
drugs designed to improve
the effectiveness of microor-
ganisms in the human body.
Some types of Nestle’s infant
formulas reduce the risk of
allergic reactions because
they contain whey protein
that’s broken down.
“Our pediatric allergy port-
folio ideally positions us to
bring this patch to market,”
Greg Behar, head of Nestle’s
Health Science unit, said in
the statement.
Precursor Test
DBV, which was founded in
2002 by a pediatric gastro-
enterologist, started selling
an older, less sophisticated
version of the testing kit in
French pharmacies 12 years
ago. The product, called
Diallertest, generated about
200,000 euros in revenue
last year. Regulators allow
DBV to make Diallertest
available in drugstores but
havent allowed the French
company to market it, export
it nor be reimbursed for it
since late-stage clinical trials
haven’t finished.
“We didn’t have the means
to develop it further before,”
Chief Operating Officer David
Schilansky said in a phone
interview. “Now, in the hands
of Nestle, with a plan to
grow it in the US, Europe
and Asia, the potential is
very different.”
The new product will provide
a “richer” and more relia-
ble diagnosis than Diallert-
est, which was made with a
different technology, Chief
Executive Officer Pierre-
Henri Benhamou said by
phone.
DBV, which is traded in Paris
and on the Nasdaq, is using
its Viaskin technology to
develop another patch that
may increase tolerance in
children who are allergic to
peanuts. DBV shares have
gained 36 percent in the
past year, giving the French
biotechnology company a
market value of 1,4 billion
euros.
About 5 percent to 15
percent of infants show
adverse reactions to proteins
contained in cow’s milk,
according to the companies.
Diagnosing the allergy is
difficult because there are no
unique tell-tale symptoms. –
Bloomberg●
internatioNAL News13
Nestle buys rights to milk-allergy test from french company DBV

14. By Dominic Mhiripiri
Popular Kenyan entertain-
ment blog Ghafla was last
week acquired by Ringier One
Africa Media, five years after
the site was founded.
Reports say Ghafla had hum-
ble beginnings, starting off
as a lyrics portal in 2011, but
grew in readership and popu-
larity as it established itself
one of the biggest media dis-
ruptors in the East African
country.
The site had evolved into a
provider of news and updates
about Kenyan celebrities.
Although announcements
about the takeover did not
specify how much money
exchanged hands, our own
analysis of the site based
on its traffic, business (and
advertising) model, shows
that Ghafla cannot have sold
for anything less than $250
000. Having begun with only
$25 000 as startup capital,
the site’s evolution repre-
sents growth by a whole order
of magnitude (10X growth.)
Can Zimbabwe raise its
content game?
A number of startups in Zim-
babwe have been acquired by
corporations or larger compa-
nies; in fact, the group that
acquired Ghafla, One Africa
Media, also bought a signif-
icant equity stake in local
classifieds company Webdev
as it extended footprint into
Southern Africa.
Apart from Webdev, the other
examples of startups that I
can think of that were bought
up are all into
There has however been little
M&A (mergers and acquisi-
tions) activity when it comes
to content; the Zimbabwean
“blogosphere” is vibrant and
diverse, but no website cre-
ated locally has either merged
with, or been acquired to
become part of something
bigger.
Why does it matter? M&A in
any startup ecosystem is an
indication that some value
has been created. It signals
an entrepreneurial culture
that is nurturing founders and
builders who start from little
and then get to somewhere.
It’s also reflective of dynam-
ics existing more generally in
the country, such as the state
of the economy and the ease
of doing (entrepreneurial)
business.
And of course one other huge
benefit is the synergy created
from cross pollinating expe-
rience, especially when the
acquisitions are made by out-
side, pan-African investors.
One Africa media and their
continent-spanning portfolio
are a classic example.
Our local scene needs more
stories like Ghafla’s.
– TechZim●
14 analysis14 analysis
Here’s why local startups need more mergers & acquisitions