A digital copy of the BH24 (01 December 2015 edition). Zimbabwe's premier business news free sheet published by the Zimpapers Newspapers Group (1980) Limited and available every week day from 15:30hrs to give a summary of the day's business news.

1. By Tawanda Musarurwa
HARARE -China CAMC Engi-
neering says it has signed a
water treatment contract to the
tune of $73,5 million in Zimba-
bwe.
The firm said in a statement that
the deal will see the $73,5 mil-
lion going towards the upgrad-
ing of "existing sewage treat-
ment plants, sewage pumping
stations and pipelines; to build
a new sewage treatment plant,
sewage pumping station and
other related facilities, laying
sewage pipeline."
The duration of the project is 33
months.
The latest deal is one of a num-
ber of the initiatives that China
CAMC Engineering is involved in
the country.
Earlier in September, China
CAMC Engineering also
announced plans to revive oper-
ations at Arda Mushumbi Pools
Estate in Mashonaland Central
by investing $200 million to
develop irrigation over the next
five years.
The Chinese firm has already
been actively involved in the
drive to revive Zimbabwe's agri-
cultural sector, and has already
supplied the country with agri-
cultural machinery such as trac-
tors, combine harvesters and
other implements worth about
$58 million since 2002.
China CAMC Engineering Co
Ltd is an incorporated com-
pany affiliated to China National
Machinery Industry Corporation
(SINOMACH).
It was established in May 2001
and was listed in Shenzhen
Stock Exchange in June 2006,
as the first IPO company after
full circulation stock reform was
carried out in the stock market
of China.●
News Update as @ 1530 hours, Tuesday 01 December 2015
Feedback: bh24admin@zimpapers.co.zwEmail: bh24feedback@zimpapers.co.zw
China CAMC Engineering signs $73,5m water treatment contract in Zim

2. By Tawanda Musarurwa
HARARE - Listed nickel producer
Bindura Nickel Corporation (BNC)
posted a $3,4 million loss after tax
in six months to September 30,
2015, a significant decline from
the profit of $8,5 million recorded
in the prior comparable period due
to low prices on the global market.
Also affecting the miner's perfor-
mance was a "planned major shut-
down" in July, meant to facilitate
the upgrade of the power supply
system and winders, the company
said.
Nickel prices have dropped consid-
erably further than expected this
year, hitting a low of $9 100 per
tonne in August and coming within
$650 of the lows at the nadir of the
financial crisis in 2009, according
to Fastmarkets, an online commod-
ities news agency.
BNC said the average price for the
period was $7 654 per tonne from
$11 809 last year while revenue
was down to $20,5 million from
$46,4 million. Chairman Mr Yim
Kwan said the company's new min-
ing model will focus on high grades
in light of low prices.
"In response to the declining nickel
prices, the mining plan of Trojan
Mine has been revised. The revised
plan entails reducing the original
tonnage by about 50 percent while
maximising higher grade massives
and minimising lower grade dis-
seminated ore," he said.
Last month, Goldman Sachs
slashed its 2016 price forecasts for
nickel, by more than 20 percent,
citing challenges to Chinese metals
and mining demand, according to
reports.
It cut outlook by 29 percent for
nickel to $14 500, citing low Chi-
nese demand, increasing competi-
tion from nickel pig iron output and
a depreciating Chinese currency.
Production for the period was 2 791
ounces down from 3 891 ounces
while sales volumes declined
by 29 percent to 2 762 tonnes,”
BNC, a unit of London listed ASA
Resources. The mine milled 231
000 tonnes down from 310 000
tonnes in the previous year, said
BNC. Loss per share was 0,27
cents against earnings per share of
0,69 cents, the comp any said.●
2 news
BNC posts $3,4m after-tax loss

3. BH243

4. 4 news
Tongaat Hullet appeals to Supreme Court over strike
BH24 Reporter
HARARE -Sugar producer Tongaat
Hullet Zimbabwe says it awaits a
Supreme Court ruling on the collec-
tive job action that started last week.
Tongaat Hullet corporate affairs and
communications manager Ms Ade-
laide Chikunguru said: "Tongaat
Hullet has appealed to the Supreme
Court and await SupremeCourt rul-
ing," she said, however acknowl-
edging that "the job action has been
peaceful so far."
Zimbabwe Sugar Milling Worker's
Union secretary general Mr Ten-
deukai Chinooneka told Chronicle
recently that the workers want a
minimum wage to be increased to
$350 from $170 per month, which
would be at par with Tongaat's sub-
sidiaries in Swaziland, South Africa
and Mozambique.
The decision by the sugar cane pro-
cessor followed a number of failed
interventions, with the company
having failed to reach an agreement
on wage negotiations with the Zim-
babwe Sugar Milling Worker's Union.
This is despite discussions going to
the Ministry of Public Service, Labour
and Social Welfare for conciliation,
after which the union chose to pull
out of the arbitration process.
Tongaat Hullet owns Hippo Valley
and Triangle estates and sugar mills
in Zimbabwe’s lowveld region, which
have a combined installed milling
capacity in excess of 4,8 million
tonnes of cane annually and over
640 000 tonnes of sugar.
It is not yet clear how the on-going
strike has so far affected (or not) the
producer's sugar output.
The company however maintains
that the current minimum wage of
$170 is reasonable.
"Tongaat Hullet's minimum wage
of $170 is considered to be among
the highest in the agriculture and
agro-processing industries. Employ-
ees also receive subsidised housing,
education , amenities and free health
care services," said Ms Chikunguru.
For the full-year to March 31, 2015,
the company reported a five percent
dip in sugar production to 228 000
tonnes, attributable to reduced cane
deliveries from outgrowers and low
water supplies.
.●

5. 5 news
Electronic transactions down 3pc: RBZ
By Funny Hudzerema
HARARE - Electronic payment
transactions slid 3 percent for the
week ended November 20, 2015,
figures from the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe show.
According to the RBZ's latest
weekly economic report Real Time
Gross Settlement (RTGS) was
largely responsible for the dip.
RTGS system transactions stood at
$794,60 million, 2 percent down
from $809,88 million recorded
during the previous week.
In terms of proportion to the total
value of national payment sys-
tem transactions (NPS), RTGS
accounted for 81,11 percent:
mobile, 8,41 percent; Automated
Teller Machines (ATMs), 6,20 per-
cent; Point of Sale (POS); 4,01
percent; and cheques 0,27 per-
cent.
The distribution of transactions by
volume was as follows: mobile-
based transactions, 87,10 percent;
POS, 7,15 percent; ATM, 5,01 per-
cent; RTGS, 0,60 percent; and
cheques 0,14 percent
Volume-wise, total NPS transac-
tions for the week ended Novem-
ber 20 amounted to $5,2 billion,
a 9 percent decline from the 5,7
billion recorded in the prior week.
Meanwhile, the RBZ stats show
that average deposits rates for
deposits of 3 month tenor and sav-
ings deposits remained unchanged
at 8,06 percent and 3 percent
respectively.
Interest rates for deposits of 1
month tenor, however, retreated
marginally to 7,44 percent from
7,47 percent recorded in the pre-
vious week.
Weighted commercial bank lending
rates for individual and corporate
clients increased from 10,91 per-
centage and 7,31 percent to close
the week under review at 10,93
percent and 7,77 percent respec-
tively..●

6. BH24
TAA:DI251386-Y22Laz DI324241-D15
6

7. HARARE -The mainstream
industrial continued to be bearish
as selected heavyweight stock
losses dragged the index 1.47
lower to close at 116.08 points.
Conglomerate Innscor led the
losers with a $0,0450 loss to
$0,2950, giant cigarette man-
ufacturer BAT lost $0,0254 to
settle at $12,1500 while NMB
Bank eased $0,0030 to close at
$0,0350.
Beverages giant Delta shifted
down $0,0136 to trade at
$0,7251, while Fidelity Life and
seed producer SeedCo were each
$0,0050 weaker at $0,1100 and
$0,8650 respectively.
Trading positively however was
giant insurer Old Mutual, which
rose by $0,0050 to $2,1150 and
crocodile skin producer Padenga
advanced by $0,0043 to settle
at $0,0793. Simbisa increased
by $0,0010 to $0,1560 while
Barclays $0,0002 to close at
$0,0434 as dairy processor Dair-
ibord gained by similar amount
to trade at $0,0834.
The mining index was flat at
22.33 points as there was no
activity in all the four mining
stocks for the umpteenth time
yesterday.
- BH24 Reporter ●
ZSE7
Industrials maintain losing streak

8. BH248

9. Movers CHANGE Today Price USc SHAKERS Change TODAY Price USc
NMBZ 9.37 3.50 Innscor -13.23 29.50
Padenga 5.73 7.93 Fidelity Life -4.34 11.00
Simbisa 0.64 15.60 Delta -1.84 72.51
Barclays 0.46 4.34 SeedCo -0.57 86.50
Dairibord 0.24 8.34 BAT -0.27 1,215.00
Meikles 0.23 8.44
Old Mutual 0.23 211.50
Index Previous Today Move Change
Industrial 117.55 116.08 -1.47 points -1.25%
Mining 22.33 22.33 0.00 0.00%
9 zse tables
ZSE
Indices
Stock Exchange

10. BH2410

11. 11 DIARY OF EVENTS
The black arrow indicate level of load shedding across the country.
POWER GENERATION STATS
Gen Station
01 December 15
Energy
(Megawatts)
Hwange 572 MW
Kariba 468 MW
Harare 30 MW
Munyati 18 MW
Bulawayo 24 MW
Imports 0 MW
Total 1079 MW
•1 December 2015 - The 33rd Annual General Meeting of the Members of Radar Holdings
Limited; Place; The Board Room, 6TH FLOOR, Tanganyika House, 23 Third Street, Harare; Time:
15:00
•11 December 2015 - Buy Zimbabwe Awards; Venue: Rainbow Towers, Harare
THE BH24 DIARY

12. BH2412

13. Johannesburg -South Afri-
ca's trade deficit widened
more than expected in October
as exports fell, official data
showed on Monday, pushing
the rand currency to its weak-
est on record against the dol-
lar.
The data points to contin-
ued pressure on the current
account deficit, traditionally
covered by portfolio flows
which are however expected
to wane should the Federal
Reserve start raising U.S.
interest rates in December as
forecast.
The trade gap for Africa's
most industrialised econ-
omy was at 21.39 billion rand
($1.5 billion) in October, the
South African Revenue Service
(SARS) said, up sharply from
a revised 1.26 billion rand in
September.
Economists polled by Reuters
had expected a shortfall of
just 4.9 billion rand.
The rand extended losses
against the dollar to an all-
time low of 14.4600 from
14.3800 after release of the
data.
Exports decreased by 6 per-
cent to 86.35 billion rand,
while imports jumped by 15.7
percent to 107.74 billion rand
on a month-on-month basis,
SARS said.
Exports of precious metals and
stones, vegetable products,
mineral products and vehicle
and transport equipment fell
significantly during October.
- Reuters●
regioNAL News13
SA trade deficit widens more than forecast, pushes rand to record lows

14. Hedge funds are betting this week’s
OPEC meeting will deliver another
bearish blow to crude.
A year ago, Saudi Arabia led the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries in keeping production quo-
tas steady, exacerbating a global glut
and sending prices tumbling. Ana-
lysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect
a repeat this year when the group
meets on Dec. 4 in Vienna. Iran has
said it will announce plans during the
meeting to expand its output.
"Without the Saudis nothing is going
to happen and it’s pretty clear they
aren’t about to cut," said Mike Wit-
tner, head of oil-market research in
new York at Societe Generale SA.
"It’s hard to even come up with
scenario where there would be an
agreement for a cut."
Money managers’ net-long position
in West Texas Intermediate crude fell
20 percent in the week ended Nov.
24, the biggest drop since July, data
from the U.S. Commodity Futures
Trading Commission show.
WTI has declined 39 percent in the
past year and was trading at $41.92
a barrel at 12:14 p.m. Singapore
time. Futures advanced 5.4 percent
during the report week to $42.87.
OPEC’s decision to keep the spigot
open has compounded a worldwide
surplus of crude. The 12-member
organization pumped 32.121 million
barrels a day in November, the 18th
straight month above its target of 30
million, according to a Bloomberg
survey of oil companies, producers
and analysts. U.S. stockpiles stand
at more than 488 million barrels, the
highest for this time of year since
1930.
The group’s effort to defend its
market share is slowly paying off.
Shale drillers have idled rigs and cut
spending by $40 billion in the first
nine months of this year, according
to data compiled by Bloomberg on
61 independent U.S. producers. The
country’s production has remained
flat in 2015 after three consecutive
years of adding 1 million barrels a
day.
"U.S. production is coming down,
but at a very slow rate, which is
bearish," Wittner said. "The market
is very much in wait and see mode
right now. There’s no expectation for
OPEC to take any action this week."
Speculators’ net-long position in WTI
fell by 24,311 contracts to 96,521
futures and options combined, the
lowest since August, CFTC data
show. Shorts increased by 6.4 per-
cent to 164,102, the most since
March. Longs declined by 5.2 per-
cent to 260,623.
Hedge funds boosted their net-long
position in London-traded Brent
crude by 12 percent to 177,945
contracts, according to data from
ICE Futures Europe. Brent gained
5.9 percent to $46.12 a barrel dur-
ing the period and was at $44.77 on
Tuesday.
In other markets, net bearish
wagers on U.S. ultra low sulfur diesel
increased by 16 percent to 45,372
contracts, the most in records dat-
ing back to 2006. Diesel futures
advanced 2.3 percent to $1.3997
a gallon in the report period. Spec-
ulators flipped back to a net-long
position in gasoline, adding 16,463
contracts to 15,189. Gasoline futures
climbed 12 percent to $1.3902 a gal-
lon.
The gasoline buying "at least
matched up with the strength in
the market," Tim Evans, an energy
analyst at Citi Futures Perspective in
New York, said by phone. "Gasoline
has been the strongest energy mar-
ket."
. - Bloomberg●
internatioNAL News14
Oil bulls brace for repeat of OPEC's bearish blow at meeting

15. By Kuda Hove
One piece of legislation which is meant
to complement the National ICT Policy
is the Electronic Communications and
Electronic Commerce Draft Bill. This bill
seeks to achieve a number of objectives
that are associated with electronic com-
munications and e-commerce.
Firstly, it seeks to promote the legal
certainty and enforceability of electronic
transactions and electronic commerce.
Secondly, the draft Bill seeks to grant
legal recognition to electronic communi-
cations and writing. Thirdly, the draft Bill
is to provide for the legal effect of elec-
tronic signatures and secure electronic
signatures.
The draft Bill makes provision for the
admissibility of electronic evidence in
hearings and court proceedings, this
is important because current Zimba-
bwean law of evidence is silent on the
submission of electronic evidence.
The Bill also seeks to protect consumers
in the online environment, for example,
by regulating electronic marketing prac-
tices. Finally, the draft Bill seeks to limit
the liability of service providers, service
providers refer to a person or party that
makes information system services
available.
Important distinctions in the bill
The draft Bill has a few interesting defi-
nitions. It defines “a consumer” as a
natural person or non-profit organisa-
tion. Profit making organisations are not
included in this rather narrow definition.
What does this exclusion mean for a
profit-making organisation that buys
goods from another organisation via
an online transaction? Does it mean the
organisation procuring goods does not
receive any protection from this Bill?
This draft Bill is the first local statute to
mention “e-government services”.
E-government services refer to any
public service provided by means of
electronic communications by any pub-
lic office. One example of an e-govern-
ment service is when City Council sends
residents their utility bills via e-mail.
E-governance greatly improves service
delivery and offers faster and often
cheaper ways of communicating. An
“electronic transaction” means a
transaction, action or set of actions of
either a commercial or non-commer-
cial nature, and includes the provision
of information and/or e-government
services.
In the Bill, an “electronic record” refers
to anything stored in the form of a
stored electronic communication. An
electronic record may, therefore, be in
the form of an SMS message, e-mail, or
a message sent via an application such
as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger.
The Bill refers to “electronic signa-
tures” which means data, including an
electronic sound, adopted to identify a
party in a unique way and to indicate
that party’s approval or intention in
respect of the information contained in
the electronic communication.
If a law requires the signature of a per-
son,anelectronicsignatureisvalid,pro-
vided the electronic signature complies
with the requirements as prescribed by
Regulation. The Bill lists instances when
an electronic signature is not valid for
examplewhensigningacontractforthe
long-term lease of immovable property
in excess of 10 years.
“Secureelectronicsignatures”area
more secure version of electronic signa-
tures. Individuals and organisations can
produce and use electronic signatures.
However, the production and authen-
tication of secure electronic signatures
will be the responsibility of what the
draft Bill calls “Certification Authori-
ties”.
The Minister responsible for admin-
istering this Bill has the mandate to
issue regulations and licensing require-
mentsfortheseCertificationAuthorities.
Besides prescribing the quality stand-
ards certification authorities have to
maintain, the Minister is also responsi-
ble for defining when an authentication
product qualifies as a secure electronic
signature.
The Minister’s role will also include
making regulations with respect to the
technical requirements that an authen-
tication product must meet, be it based
on an asymmetric cryptosystem, biom-
etrics or a combination of these or other
authentication methods to qualify as
secure electronic signatures.
IbelievethatthedraftBillgivestheMin-
ister too much control over the certifica-
tion authorities. Furthermore, the Minis-
ter’s role, for example, defining what a
secure electronic signature is, is highly
technical. This is specialised knowledge
that unfortunately may be over the
head of the average Minister. To be able
to carry out the
To be able to carry out the mandate
given to him or her in this Bill, the Minis-
15 analysis15 analysis
Some thoughts on Zimbabwe's Electronic Communications & E-commerce Draft Bill

16. 16 analysis16 analysis
terwillprobablyoutsourceorhirepeople
that have the relevant knowledge of the
technicalitiesandproceduresinvolvedin
the making and use of secure electronic
signatures.
Electronic contracts, data mes-
sages will be recognised
Where a law requires information to be
in writing, electronic communication
will suffice if the information contained
therein is accessible to be usable for
subsequent reference. For example, it is
a legal requirement that contracts are in
writing. This Bill permits the formation
of contracts through use of electronic
communications.
This Bill makes it clear that a data mes-
sage cannot be denied legal effect,
validity, or enforceability solely on the
ground that it is in the form of an elec-
tronic communication.
Some legal actions still need to be exe-
cuted on good old pen and paper. For
example, the conveyance of immovable
property or a contract for the transfer of
any interest in immovable property.
This may be an attempt to reduce the
likelihood of using electronic communi-
cationsasameansofcommittingfraud.
The Bill does not force anyone to accept
or use e-transactions; however, a per-
son’s conduct may infer an agreement
to use or accept electronic communica-
tions.
Regulation on e-commerce trans-
actions
The e-commerce aspect of the draft Bill
requires each supplier to display infor-
mation about themselves and their
range of products and services. After
the conclusion of an electronic transac-
tion, the supplier must give the buyer
an opportunity to review the electronic
transaction.
Thisallowsthebuyertocorrectanymis-
takes, or to withdraw from the transac-
tion completely. A supplier has 30 days
to supply the goods bought. Where
the supplier has failed to supply goods
within this 30-day period, the buyer can
giveawrittennoticerequestingthecan-
cellation of the order and return of the
money used.
ThedraftBillalsogivesthebuyera7-day
cooling off period, during this cooling off
period the buyer can return the goods
thatheorsheboughtonline,backtothe
supplier and get his or her money back.
This is an attempt to address buyer’s
remorse. This cooling off does not apply
to goods like foodstuffs or software. The
buyer is responsible for paying shipping
costs involved in returning the goods
back to the supplier.
Unfortunately, the draft Bill is silent on
the use or regulation of debit cards
(Zimbabwe financial organisations cur-
rently do not issue credit cards). The
bulk of e-commerce transactions are in
the form of debit cards used at points of
sale in both physical and online stores.
The draft Bill is also silent on the
regulation of mobile money ven-
dors. More and more Zimbabwe-
ans are transferring money and
making payments through their
mobile devices.
The Bill does address online mar-
keting and says that online mar-
keters must give consumers the
option to opt-out of receiving mar-
keting messages.
Lastly, information services pro-
viders bear no civil liability in
instances where there is that of
being a mere conduit of informa-
tion. The Bill states that service
providers have no legal obligation
to monitor the activities of their
users. Fortunately, the Bill does
give consumers the power to give
take down notifications to service
providers, for the takedown of
material, the user may deem to be
a violation of his or her rights.
After going through this draft
Bill, I got the impression that the
Bill tries to address far too many
issues at once. As a result, the
draft Bill does not adequately
cover all the aspects of the topics
that it touches on.
In my opinion, electronic commu-
nications is a wide enough field
that is sometimes so technical that
it really deserves its own in-depth
Bill separate from e-commerce.
As a result, e-commerce did not
get the satisfactory attention that
it deserves, in its current form the
draft Bill leaves a number of unad-
dressed areas as far as e-com-
merce in Zimbabwe is concerned.
The fact that both electronic com-
munications and e-commerce
share a platform does not neces-
sarily mean that they should be
bundled together and dealt with as
one entity. - TechZim●