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1. BH24 Reporter
HARARE – Diversified listed
concern Meikles Limited on
Tuesday said its turnover for
nine months to December 30,
2015 stood as $347 million,
a 12 percent upturn from the
$310 million posted a year
ago.
In a trading update, the
group said overall margins,
together with operating
income margins at 21,8 per-
cent, were marginally better
than those of the previous
period of 21,2 percent, but
highlighted that this was not
the complete picture.
“The sales mix in the group
as a whole does distort this
comparison, as margins do
vary over group activities,”
said management.
Expenses expressed as a
percentage of turnover
decreased from 21 percent to
19 percent.
News Update as @ 1530 hours, Tuesday 08 March 2016
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Meikles 9-mnth turnover rises 12pc

2. Earnings before interest,
tax, depreciation and amorti-
zation (EBITDA) – a measure
of a company's operating
performance – increased by
$9,5 million compared to the
prior period.
Meanwhile Meikles told its
shareholders that it had
reached an agreement with
Government which has
undertaken to repay the out-
standing funds in terms of
the Reserve Bank of Zimba-
bwe (RBZ) Debt Assumption
Act of July 2015, lauding the
development as a “progres-
sive interaction between
Government and a partici-
pant in the private sector.”.
“The Government has under-
taken to repay the outstand-
ing funds in terms of the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
Debt Assumption Act of July
2015....The group will now
be able to grow to its poten-
tial and develop its strat-
egies, without the specific
uncertainties caused in the
period when negotiations
were still ongoing.”
“The financial implications of
the agreement with Govern-
ment will be included in the
Group’s audited results for
the full year to March 31,
2016,” added Meikles.
.●
2 news

3. BH243

4. BH244

5. HARARE - Government is
now the major shareholder
in mobile phone company,
Telecel Zimbabwe after fully
paying $40 million for the
60 percent stake in the firm
previously
owned by Russian telecoms
group, Vimpelcom, an official
said on Monday.
Government and Vimpelcom
signed an agreement for the
sale late last year. Zarnet,
a telecommunications com-
pany owned by government,
acquired the stake on its
behalf.
Vimpelcom said it would only
transfer ownership after the
Zimbabwean government,
through its proxy, fully met
the conditions of the sale.
Deputy Minister Information
Communication Technology,
Postal and Courier Services,
Dr Win Mlambo told journal-
ists government had fully
paid the purchase price last
month.
“Government acquired Telecel
using a special instrument
from Zarnet and that has
been completed,” Dr Mlambo
said.
Vimpelcom decided to divest
from Telecel after struggling
to dilute its majority share-
holding as required in terms
of the country’s indigenisation
laws.
Local ownership laws demand
that indigenous Zimbabweans
own at least 51 percent in the
firm.
The other 40 percent in
Telecel was already owned by
locals. Dr Mlambo said the
acquisition was smooth and
did not cause any disruptions
for the company.
“Taking over implies hostil-
ity, there was not anything
hostile about it,” Dr Mlambo
said, adding telecoms Minis-
ter, Supa Mandiwanzira would
soon disclose in full details
pertaining to the acquisition
of the stake.
Reports last week indi-
cated that pension fund,
the National Social Security
Authority had contributed $30
million out of the $40 that
was required to acquire the
stake. Zarnet had earlier paid
a $10 million deposit.
Telecel is the country’s small-
est mobile phone services
provider with an estimated
4.6 million subscribers at the
end of October 2015. At the
time, about 60 percent of
its subscribers were said to
be inactive according to the
Postal and Telecommunica-
tions Regulatory Authority of
Zimbabwe.
Through the Telecel acquisi-
tion, Government firmed its
grip on the mobile telecoms
sector as it already wholly
owns NetOne, the second big-
gest network provider.-New
Ziana●
5 news
Government concludes Telecel stake acquisition

6. BH246

7. BH247

8. BH24 Reporter
HARARE – Regional
resources firm Premier
African Minerals last week
received a direct subscription
for £500 000 in new ordinary
shares that will be used fur-
ther its exploration projects
and provide additional work-
ing capital.
Premier is in the process
of developing its flagship
project - the RHA Tungsten
Mine that is located approx-
imately 270km northwest of
Bulawayo..
The AIM-listed resources
firm said the subscription
consisted of an issue of 100
million new ordinary shares,
at a subscription price of 0,5
pence each, conditional on
admission.
Premier CEO Mr George
Roach said the funds will go
a long way in financing the
mainly the RHA Tungsten
project.
"The capital will support
existing project development
requirements and general
working capital in the period
leading up to achieving pos-
itive operational cash flow
from the RHA Project, that is
expected this spring, and we
do not currently anticipate
any further need to approach
the market for finance to
support general working cap-
ital in this period," he said.
"In addition, the ongoing
market conditions in the nat-
ural resources sector will, in
our view, continue to present
potential attractive oppor-
tunities for the company to
further expand its portfolio
of assets, and the proceeds
of the subscription will also
provide additional capital to
consider any such opportuni-
ties as and when they arise,"
he added.●
8 news
Additional funds for RHA Tungsten Mine

9. BH249

10. BH2410

11. BH24 Reporter
HARARE –The Zimbabwe
Council for Tourism is imple-
menting a number of meas-
ures aimed at attracting more
tourists into the country in
order for the sector to meet
its 6 percent growth.
ZCT president Mr Francis
Ngwenya said the tourism
sector is going to achieve
growth despite a decline
in tourist arrivals in other
source markets like South
Africa.
“The plan and prediction is
that there should be further
growth this year, even though
the growth might be 1 or 2
percent but we are looking at
restoring our growth target of
6 percent every year.
“Tourism is supposed to grow
by 6 percent or more so we
are trying to restore our
overseas markets which in
the past produced the highest
number of arrivals,” he said.
He was speaking during a
press conference to brief the
media on the outcomes of
Tourism Convention which
was held in Victoria Falls last
month.
Mr Ngwenya said tourism
arrivals fell from 600 000
arrivals between 1990 and
2000 to around 70 thousand
per year.
“Currently the bulk of our
tourists are coming from our
traditional markets France,
UK, US and Australia. The
South African market unfor-
tunately is declining due to
the depreciation of the rand
but we hope that market will
grow once the rand stabi-
lises,” he said.
Statics from the Zimbabwe
Tourism Authority indicated
that Zimbabwe’s overseas
markets is growing, in 2014
the arrivals from overseas
amounted to 283 000.
The Tourism Convention which
was held last month has
proposed that for the tourism
sector to regain growth there
is need to improve our roads,
reduce number of road blocks
and refurbishment of local
airports
.●
11 news
ZCT eyes tourism sector growth
Mr Francis Ngwenya

12. BH2412

13. BH2413

14. HARARE - The local bourse
was back trading in the red
today after the mainstream
industrial index eased 0.24
to close at 98.96 in trading
dominated with losers.
Seed producer SeedCo
dropped $0,0073 to trade at
$0,7927, while giant retailer
OK Zim lost $0,0053 to
$0,0300 while Hippo Valley
shifted down $0,0025 to set-
tle at $0,3370.
Crocodile skin producer
Padenga was down by
$0,0020 to close at $0,0580
and conglomerate Inns-
cor was $0,0005 weaker at
$0,1800.
BAT was the only counter
trading in the positive terri-
tory after adding $0,1472 to
close at $11,1472.
The mining index was flat
again at 19.14 points as all
the mining counters main-
tained previous price levels
- BH24 Reporter ●
ZSE14
Industrials back in the red

15. BH2415

16. Movers CHANGE Today Price USc SHAKERS Change TODAY Price USc
BAT 1.33 1,114.72 OK Zim -15.01 3.00
Delta 0.15 56.50 Padenga -3.33 5.80
Simbisa -1.30 12.83
SeedCo -0.91 79.27
Hippo -0.73 33.70
Innscor -0.27 18.00
Index Previous Today Move Change
Industrial 99.20 98.96 -0.24 points -0.24%
Mining 19.14 19.14 +0.00 points +0.00%
16 zse tables
ZSE
Indices
Stock Exchange
Previous
02 03
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17. BH2417

18. BH2418

19. 19 DIARY OF EVENTS
The black arrow indicate level of load shedding across the country.
POWER GENERATION STATS
Gen Station
08 March 2016
Energy
(Megawatts)
Hwange 404 MW
Kariba 460 MW
Harare 30 MW
Munyati 17 MW
Bulawayo 0 MW
Imports 0 - 500 MW
Total 1251 MW
•Thursday 24 March 2016 - Annual General Meeting of Willdale Limited; Place: Boardroom, Willdale Administration Block,
19.5km peg Lomagundi Road, Mount Hampden; Time: 1100 hours...
THE BH24 DIARY

20. JOHANNESBURG -FirstRand
Ltd, South Africa's big-
gest bank by market value,
reported a slight increase
in half-year profit on Tues-
day as the effects of weak
consumption and investment
spending in Africa's most
advanced economy weighed.
The company said diluted
headline earnings per share
(EPS) rose to 185,4 cents
in the six months to end
December compared with
180,5 cents a year earlier.
Headline EPS, the main
profit measure in South Afri-
can that strips out certain
one-off items.
Lending to companies
had become the mainstay
for banks in South Africa
as banks retreated from
the high margin but risky
business of giving personal
unsecured loans.
But a slowing economy,
estimated to grow at less
than 1 percent in 2016 due
to drought and a collapse
in commodity prices, has
tempered corporate credit
demand, FirstRand said. - Reuters●
regioNAL News20
FirstRand H1 headline EPS rises
PRETORIA - South Africa's cur-
rent account deficit widened to 5.1
percent of gross domestic product
in the fourth quarter of 2015 from
a revised shortfall of 4.3 percent in
the third quarter, the central bank
said on Tuesday.
Economists surveyed by Reuters
had expected a 4.35 percent gap
for the fourth quarter. Year-on-year,
the current account deficit shrunk
to 4.4 percent of gross domestic
product compared to a 5.4 percent
deficit in 2014.
Exports slumped while imports rose
during the quarter, leading to a
sharp increase in the trade balance
deficit to 57 billion rand ($4 billion)
compared with a revised 22 billion
rand gap in the third quarter, the
reserve bank said in its quarterly
bulletin.
"The bank has officially identi-
fied November 2013 as the upper
turning point in the business cycle,
implying that the South African
economy is now officially in a
downward phase," the central bank
noted.- Reuters●
SA's Q4 current
account deficit
widens to 5,1pc of
GDP

21. Brent oil halted gains above
$40 a barrel as forecasts
that US stockpiles would
remain at the most since
1930 competed with specula-
tion producers may agree to
an output freeze.
Futures in London lost as
much as 1.6 percent after
closing above $40 for the
first time since December
on Monday. US supplies
probably rose 3,5 million
barrels last week, according
to a Bloomberg News sur-
vey before government data
Wednesday. Ecuador’s foreign
ministry said Latin American
producers will meet on Friday
to discuss oil prices, while
Russia said last week major
suppliers may meet by April
1. China’s crude imports rose
to a record in February, while
product exports fell to the
lowest in nine months.
“Fundamentals are not there
yet, but we’ve also seen a
change in sentiment now
over the past couple of
weeks,” Ole Hansen, head of
commodity strategy at Saxo
Bank A/S, said in a Bloomb-
erg Television interview. “The
market is starting to believe
now we have seen the low.”
Oil in London has advanced
more than 40 percent since
slumping to a 12-year low in
January amid speculation a
proposal to freeze produc-
tion will trim a global glut.
A meeting among major
producers to discuss cap-
ping output may be held
in Russia, Doha or Vienna
sometime between March 20
and April 1, Russian Energy
Minister Alexander Novak
said on state television last
week.
Brent for May settlement
fell as much as 65 cents
to $40,19 a barrel on the
London-based ICE Futures
Europe exchange and traded
at $40,30 at 2:40 p.m. Hong
Kong time. The contract
climbed $2,12 to $40,84 on
Monday, the highest close
since Dec. 4. The global
benchmark crude was at a
premium of 99 cents to West
Texas Intermediate for May.
China Imports
WTI for April delivery
dropped as much as 1,5
percent to $37,35 a barrel
on the New York Mercan-
tile Exchange. The contract
gained $1,98 to $37,90 on
Monday, the highest close
since Dec. 24. Total volume
traded was about 19 percent
above the 100-day average.
China increased crude
imports by 19 percent in
February to 31,8 million met-
ric tons from a month earlier,
according to data from
the Beijing-based General
Administration of Customs on
Tuesday. That’s equivalent to
about 8,04 million barrels a
day, the highest daily aver-
age on record. Oil product
exports slid a second month
to 2.99 million tons.
US stockpiles rise as pro-
duction falls:
• US crude output fell for a
sixth week to 9,08 million
barrels a day, according to
Energy Information Adminis-
tration data. Stockpiles are
at 518 million barrels, the
most since 1930.
• There will probably be a
price correction by the end
of the year, Suhail Al Maz-
rouei, energy minister of the
United Arab Emirates, said
Monday.
• Saudi Arabia, Russia, Qatar
and Venezuela agreed last
month they would freeze
output, if other producers
followed suit, in an effort to
tackle a global oversupply in
the oil market.
.-Bloomberg●
internatioNAL News21
Brent halts gain near $40 as stockpiles counter freeze proposal

22. By Evans Wadongo
The African Development
Bank just launched the Africa
Visa Openness Report 2016,
and it highlights a huge
problem: as Africans, we
cannot move easily between
our countries.
On average, Africans need
visas to travel to 55 percent
of other African countries
and can only get visas on
arrival in 25 percent of other
countries. This means they
can only travel to 20 percent
of the countries without a
visa. Even though countries
such as Seychelles, Mau-
ritius, Rwanda, Ghana and
Kenya have tried to reduce
visa restrictions, other coun-
tries are not reciprocating.
This revelation is in sharp
contrast to the African
Union’s goal to introduce an
African passport and abol-
ish visa requirements for all
African citizens in all African
countries by 2018.
What is really appalling is
that it is easier for Europe-
ans or Americans to travel
within Africa than for many
Africans themselves. In
2015, holders of a United
States of America passport,
for example, could travel to
172 countries and territo-
ries visa-free or with visa on
arrival, including at least 20
African countries.
Ultimately, the visa restric-
tions mean that African
countries are losing out.
One of the benefits of free
movement of people that
visa restrictions inhibit is
increased tourism. Tour-
ism contributes to one in
every 11 jobs and 9 percent
of gross domestic product
worldwide. With high youth
unemployment, improved
tourism could create thou-
sands of jobs and help
reduce inequality. More
visitors mean more hotels,
restaurants, shopping malls,
and a growth in transport
and entertainment sectors.
The impact could be felt in
both urban areas and rural
areas.
Currently, according to
the Africa Tourism Monitor
report, while Africa accounts
for about 15 percent of the
world population, it receives
only about 3 percent of world
tourism receipts and 5 per-
cent of tourist arrivals.
The report further says that
visa requirements imply
missed economic opportuni-
ties for intra-regional trade,
and the local service econ-
omy (such as cross-country
medical services or edu-
cation). Visa policies are
among the most important
22 analysis22 analysis
We must open up Africa to Africans if we really want to boost growth

23. 23 analysis23 analysis
governmental formalities
negatively influencing inter-
national tourism.
This is not just about non-Af-
ricans visiting our continent.
As the new generation of
middle class is ushered into
Africa, spending on holidays
and shopping is increas-
ing, but African countries
may not fully benefit. Many
of my friends opt to travel
to Europe for holidays and
shopping as opposed to other
African countries.
They cite as major reasons
the ease of travelling in
the Schengen area, which
allows a visitor access to 26
countries within Europe, with
one visa. Combined with the
cost-effective and easy inter-
connectivity through rail, air
and road transport, it is no
surprise that Europe receives
the highest number of tour-
ists globally.
Businesses beyond tour-
ism are affected, too. As an
entrepreneur, when choosing
a new country to venture
into, I consider the openness
and ease of doing business,
with free movement of labor,
goods and services as key
indicators. I’m not alone.
The ongoing integration in
the East African community
has seen many businesses
that were initially based in
one country expand into the
others. For instance, a num-
ber of Kenyan based banks
have expanded into Rwanda,
Uganda and South Sudan
because of the improved
ease of doing business within
the region.
According to the paper
Economics and Emigration:
Trillion-Dollar Bills on the
Sidewalk? open borders could
lead to a one-time boost in
world gross domestic product
by about 50-150 percent.
Hence, African countries
should strive to make the
dreams of the founders of
the then Organization of
African unity (OAU) true by
allowing Africans to move
easily and encourage intra
Africa trade and investments.
Easier movement could also
help the unemployment
rates. I have often found
European or Chinese ‘expa-
triates’ doing jobs that could
be done by highly skilled
Africans, some of whom lack
opportunities in their home
countries, if only they could
more easily move between
countries for work. Move-
ment of people can also be
a driver of technological
change and a fresh source of
entrepreneurs.
Much innovation comes from
the work of teams of people
who have different perspec-
tives and experiences. This
can also make countries
within Africa to be more
attractive to foreign direct
investment.
While some have argued
that strict travel regulations,
including visa requirements,
are necessary for security
purposes, there has been no
direct link showing how free
movement of people has per-
petuated terrorism.
resident Paul Kagame of
Rwanda has been on the
forefront saying that a few
bad elements should not be
used to restrict millions of
good citizens who want to
travel for leisure or business.
Political executive editor
of the Telegraph James
Kirkup recently argued too
that “Simply, all the border
checks in the world will not
keep us safe.
Passport controls can’t stop
the spread of ideas, and it is
ideas, not people, that are
the essence of the terror-
ism that has just killed so
many in Paris and Beirut and
Baghdad.”
I agree.
Ultimately, there are many
more reasons to remove visa
restrictions for Africans trav-
eling in Africa than keeping
them. I hope that by 2018,
that truly is a reality. –
Quartz Africa●