Angola prepares ACP summit

Luanda – Angola hosted this Thursday, in Luanda, a concert meeting to assess the preparation level of the 10th Summit of the Head of States and Government of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP), set to take place from 6 to 9 December, in Luanda.

The meeting was chaired by the secretary of the State for Cooperation and International Communities, Domingos Vieira Lopes, reads a note from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

The ACP Summit was held in Libreville, Gabon from 6 to 7 November 1997, during which its leaders are committed to meeting regularly.

 

Since then the ACP countries started to hold their summit every two years.

 

Its main objective is based in the sustainable development of its member States and its gradual integration in global economy.

 

This year Angola assumes the presidency of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP).

MPs recommend training on administrative procedure

Luanda – National Assembly members recommended the investment in the training of civil servants, for the effective application of the Code of Administrative Procedure, whose proposal was under debate in specialty on Friday.

It is a document of the initiative of President of the Republic and which aims to bring together the labour procedural rules in force in a single document and adapt them to the constitutional reality.

With this proposal, the Executive intends to revolutionise public administration, bring public services closer to citizens and make them faster and more efficient.

Angola sets USD 10,000 ceiling for travelers

Luanda - National and foreign citizens are allowed to bring into or take out of the national territory an amount of USD10,000 in cash, duly declared to the customs authorities, National Bank of Angola (BNA) has stated.

The measure is contained in Notice No. 6/22 of 3 March, of the BNA, which revokes, the previous one, No. 1/16 of 12 April.

Border authorities are authorized to condition the exit of national or foreign currency, regardless of whether the amounts comply with the limits regulated in this Notice, whenever the traveler is suspected of any criminal offense, under the terms of the legislation in force.

BNA justifies the updating of the rules with the need to improve national and international regulations in the foreign exchange market, as well as the prevention and fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

Thus, the total amount in cash is updated to USD 10,000.00 with natural persons, nationals and foreigners, who can enter and leave the national territory, added the financial institution.

However, it is pointed out that there will be situations in which they will be obliged to declare to the customs authorities the value that travelers take.

National citizens residing abroad, as well as Angolans who emigrate, diplomats or their relatives who intend to leave the country, with a value equal to or greater than the stipulated, must provide proof of entry of this value, through the declaration completed upon entry into the country.

As for the cases of departure, the BNA notice determines the same value, for individual citizens, considered to be foreign exchange residents.

Minors under 18, who travel alone, are authorized to carry the amount in cash, in local or foreign currency, totaling USD 1,000.00.

Angola and Japan analyze TICAD ministerial meeting

Luanda - The Angolan minister of Foreign Affairs, Téte António, met this Friday with the head of the Japanese Diplomatic Mission to Angola, Jiro Maruhashi, with whom he discussed information regarding the ministerial meeting of TICAD-8.

The Tokyo International Conference on Africa´s Development (TICAD) will take place on 27th and 28th of August this year, in Tunis, Tunisia.

 

It will be the second TICAD High Level Summit to be held in Africa, after Kenya hosted the event in Nairobi in August 2016.

 

In light of the results of TICAD-7, held in Yokohama, Japan, in August 2019, the co-organizers of the event will continue to support the holding of the forum in close collaboration with the host country, Tunisia.

 

Among the co-organizers of TICAD are UNOSAA, UNDP, the African Union Commission (AUC), the World Bank and the Government of Japan.

 

Also in this day, the head of the Angolan diplomacy, Téte António, received in audience the Serbian ambassador to Angola, Milos Perisic.

 

The meeting served to analyze the strengthening of cooperation between the governments of Angola and Serbia, in addition to reviewing issues related to multilateralism.

 

Angola and Serbia cooperate in agriculture and entrepreneurship.

Angola records 34 new cases of covid-19

Luanda – Angola announced this Friday, the registration of 34 new cases in the last 24 hours.

According to the daily bulletin, there are 25 cases diagnosed in Cabinda, 6 in Luanda, 2 in Huambo and 1 in Zaire.

 

These are 32 male and 2 female patients, aged between 3 and 58 years.

 

In the same period, no deaths or recoveries were reported.

 

In the last 24 hours 6,405 samples were processed, with a positivity rate of 0.5 percent. The cumulative points to 1,460,619 samples processed with a positivity rate of 6.8 percent.

 

The country has a cumulative 98,905 confirmed cases, of which 166 are active, 1,900 have died and 96,839 have recovered.

 

From the active cases, there are 1 moderate, 5 mild and 160 asymptomatic.

 

In the treatment centers, 6 patients are hospitalized, 38 are in institutional quarantine and 160 are in isolation.

Ukraine conflict: Growing numbers of firms pull back from Russia

Thirty years ago when communism collapsed in the Soviet Union, Western firms stepped up their presence in Russia.

The arrival of big Western companies symbolised the start of a new era with Russians becoming eager consumers of brands ranging from fast-food chain McDonalds to Levi jeans and luxury goods.

Now, in the wake of President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, a growing number of firms have suspended activities in Russia.

So which firms, in which sectors, are exiting and why have others held back?

Fast food and drinks giants

McDonald’s Coca-Cola, Starbuck and Heineken are the latest companies to announce they are halting business in Russia after mounting pressure to act.

McDonald’s said it was temporarily closing its roughly 850 restaurants in Russia, while Starbucks also said its 100 coffee shops would shut.

The firms initially remained tight lipped over the conflict, but took action because shareholders “wouldn’t stand” for the continued generation of profits from Russia, says Anna MacDonald, a fund manager at Amati Global Investors.

“It was affecting their share prices and the feeling was that it was just utterly inappropriate to continue to do so,” she told the BBC.

Pepsi, which has a much larger presence in Russia than rival Coca-Cola, said it was halting the production and sale of Pepsi and other global brands in Russia, but the company, which employs 20,000 people there, said it would continue to offer other products.

Food companies Nestle, Mondelez, Procter & Gamble and Unilever have halted investment in Russia, but said they would continue providing essentials.

Retail

The world’s biggest cosmetics firm L’Oréal and rival Estee Lauder are both closing shops and ceasing online sales. Estee Lauder, whose brands include Michael Kors, DKNY, Clinique and Bobbi Brown, has had a presence in the country for about 30 years and Russia was where it had some of its strongest sales.

In fact, Russia was the fifth largest European retail market globally last year, valued at £337.2bn. So some brands may not want to burn their bridges, if there’s a chance of returning at a later date.

That is why many firms, including other luxury retailers like Burberry and Chanel, simply say they are “suspending” sales and temporarily shutting stores rather than withdrawing altogether, says Chris Weafer, chief executive of consulting firm Macro-advisory Limited.

With sanctions limiting forms of payment and huge uncertainty over future prices and consumer appetite, the business climate is “extremely challenging” he adds, making the decision to hit pause easier.

The world’s biggest fashion retailers H&M and Zara-owner Inditex, which has 502 stores in the country,  for example have already suspended sales in Russia, citing “tragic developments” in Ukraine. Other brands like Nike have simply said they can’t currently guarantee delivery of goods to customers in Russia.

More brands are likely to follow suit, according to Maureen Hinton of retail consultancy Global Data. Boohoo, Swedish furniture giant Ikea and Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo which initially kept its 49 shops Russian stores open ,saying clothes were a ”necessity of life”, are some of the other names to have now cut ties.

Even Levi’s, the jeans brand that became a symbol of post-Soviet business in Russia, has closed its shops. The all-American jeans firm said about 4% of its total net sales came from Eastern Europe and Russia last year, but “any business considerations are clearly secondary to the human suffering experienced by so many”.

Technology

 Samsung, the leading supplier of smartphone in Russia, has said it will suspend shipments to the country but has not said whether its shops will close.

Japan’s Sony and Nintendo suspended deliveries of gaming consoles, and Sony suspended the launch of racing game “Gran Turismo 7”.

Apple has also halted all of its product sales in Russia, and limited other services such as Apple pay and Apple maps. Its shops have closed too.

All shops under the Restore in Moscow have been shut as Apple halts all product sales in Russia

For a firm like Apple selling imported items, that’s a relatively straightforward decision to take, suggests Macro-advisory’s Chris Weafer.

“Companies do not want to be associated with the Russian regime and what’s happening in Ukraine,” he says. Their Russian business may be profitable, but “the rest of the world is more important” when it comes to reputational risk.

Some tech companies, flooded by misinformation, are also restricting Kremlin-linked media outlets posting on their platforms. Facebook was blocked in Russia after it said it had refused to stop fact-checking and labelling content from state-owned news organisations.

Meanwhile, TikTok has blocked all non-Russian and suspended live streaming, although it is allowing historical content uploaded by domestic accounts to stay online, including videos by state-backed media services.

Consultancy firms

Large consultancy and law firms were some of the first to set up a presence in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union but they mostly operate out of the spotlight.

All of the Big Four accounting groups – Deloitte, KPMG, EY and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) – have said they will no longer have a member firm in Russia because of the invasion. Top-tier law firm Freshfields says it will no longer work with any clients linked to the Russian state either.

Others say they are reviewing their client base and Russian links.

 

A senior executive for consultancy firm McKinsey, for example, wrote online that the company would “no longer serve” any government or state-owned entities in Russia. According to McKinsey’s website, it serves 21 of the 30 biggest Russian companies.

Oil and gas

When the conflict in Ukraine broke out, energy firms came under immediate pressure. And that is set to intensify now the UK, US and UK have announced bans or curbs on Russia oil and gas.

BP owns a large stake in Russian energy giant Rosneft, but within days of the war starting it had announced the operation would be hived off.

That was closely followed by pledges from shell, ExxonMobil  and Equinor to cut their Russian investments following pressure from shareholders, as well as from governments and the public.

A Rosneft oil rig drilling the first exploration well in the Khatanga Bay, Russia

Firms want to be seen to be doing the “right thing”, says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

Meanwhile, Total Energies, another big player in Russia, has said it won’t fund new projects in the country, but unlike its peers does not plan to sell existing investments.

It is still far from clear what will happen to those investments – whether they can eventually be sold, recouping some of their value, or if they will simply be written off at great cost.

Entertainment

Film fans in Russia wanting to go and see Warner Bros’ new blockbuster The Batman won’t be able to after the company suspended new film releases in the country.

The US movie-maker was joined by Disney and Sony, with premieres of animation Turning Red and Marvel adaptation Mobius also being withdrawn. Disney has also paused its TV channels.

Netflix, a fairly new entrant in Russia, has suspended its service in the country and put all “future projects” on pause.

Pixar’s new animated film Turning Red won’t be released in Russia

All companies said their decisions were based on the “humanitarian crisis” in Ukraine, rather than as a result of sanctions that have been imposed.

Finance

Payment giants Visa, Mastercard, American Express and PayPal are pulling out of the Russian market in protest.

Russian banks have, however, already downplayed the impact of the announcements on their clients.

IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES

Sberbank, for example, said that Visa and Mastercard-branded cards would continue to work on Russian territory because all payments in Russia are made through a national system.

However, domestically issued cards won’t work abroad, and foreign-issued ones won’t work inside the country.

US investment bank Goldman sachs has said it is closing its operations in Russia, becoming the first Wall Street bank to pull out. The bank said it was doing so in compliance with regulatory and licensing requirements.

Cars

Jaguar Land Rover, General Motors, Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce are among the car-makers that have halted deliveries of vehicles to Russia due to the conflict, while construction equipment manufacturer JCB has paused all operations. 

Jaguar Land Rover said sales were paused due to “trading challenges”

Cars are the biggest UK export to Russia, but still only 1% of UK cars went to Russia last year.

So any decision to stop exporting won’t be particularly costly, and will have been made easier by nagging concerns over whether or not payments will arrive, says investment analyst Russ Mould.

Transporting cars to Russia could prove difficult anyway, with the world’s two largest cargo shipping companies, MSC and Maersk, suspending routes to and from Russia, except for food, medical and humanitarian supply deliveries.

Which firms remain?

While the flood of announcements from companies stepping back goes on, there are calls for more to join them.

Attention has turned to big food firms like Burger King who have condemned Russia’s actions and have pledged support for Ukraine, but are yet to pull out.

Some firms will also find it much harder to extricate themselves, even if pressure mounts in the coming days and weeks.

In retaliation against sanctions introduced by Western countries, Moscow has banned the sale of Russian assets. So firms that, in recent years, have been encouraged to establish a presence in Russia are “locked in” with local businesses, staff and supply chains.

Marks & Spencer, for example, has 48 shops in Russia but they are operated by a Turkish franchise company called FiBA. M&S has said it is suspending shipments of its goods to FiBA’s Russian business, but the shops in the country remain open.

Restaurant Brands International, which owns Burger King, said; it’s Russia outlets were operated by franchisees with which it had “long-standing legal agreements” that were not easy to change.

Yum Brands, which owns KFC and Pizza Hut, said it was suspending operations in the Russian KFC restaurants it owns, and finalizing an agreement with its main franchisee to temporarily halt Pizza Hut operations.

Mr Weafer predicts it is likely that some large consumer brands may express concerns over the military conflict, but try to “ride it out”.

For instance, British American Tobacco has said it is suspending its operations in Ukraine to ensure the “safety and wellbeing” of its staff, but its work in Russia will continue. It says it is complying will all international sanctions.

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