BH24 Reporter

Listed beverages producer, Delta Cor-poration, has added a further 370 100 ordinary shares to the beneficiaries of its share option scheme.

This brings the number of Delta shares in issue from the previous 1 240 890 315 to 1 241 260 415 with effect from today. Earlier in July, Delta Corporation increased its shares in issue by 91 600

under the same scheme.

A share option scheme allows employees to buy shares in their employer at below market value. It can also be used as a possible measure to avoid income tax on what is effectively a benefit in kind – that is, the difference between the buying price and the market price. Last week Delta chief executive Pearson Gowero told the Parliamentary Committee on Indigenisation and Empowerment that

the company is 33 percent indigenised and Zimbabweans need to buy another 18 percent for Delta to comply with the country’s indigenisation laws.

“The company is valued at $1,6 billion hence indigenous Zimbabweans need to raise a minimum of $300 million to pay for the 18 percent that is required to achieve 51 percent," he said. The latest issuance of 370 100 will have some lim-ited impact on driving that indigenisation compliance upwards.

Delta has issued a total of 120 million shares to staff under the share schemes since 2009, which represents 6 percent of the current issued shares. 50 to 60 percent of the shares are sold to cover the purchase cost and 20 percent to cover pay as you earn (PAYE). Delta Corporation is one the best performing counters on the local bourse, although its

revenue declined marginally in the full-year to March 31, 2014.

Revenue marginally declined by 1 per-cent from $631,2 million in the prior period to $625,5 million against volume losses in larger beer. Finance costs were down from $7,5 million in 2013 to $5,7 million in the period under review.

Operating income decreased in line with revenue whilst operating margins improved marginally to 24,75 percent. Profit for the year stood at $107,2 million in the review period from $104,1 million.

Attributable earnings per share were 8,55c from 8,49c while diluted earnings per share were 8,49c from 8,42c.

The board declared a dividend of US2,25 cents per share which was paid to share-holders on June 7 2014, making it one of the best paying stocks on the ZSE. •

News Update as @ 1530 hours, Tuesday 9 September 2014

Feedback: bh24admin@zimpapers.co.zwEmail: bh24feedback@zimpapers.co.zw

Delta Corporation's share option scheme swells

2 NEWS2 NEWS

Chinamasa to unpack China tripFinance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa will tomor-row unpack the vast opportunities unlocked by President Mugabe’s visit to China last month at a breakfast for captains of industry, diplomats and the investigating public.

The breakfast meeting is sponsored by Zimbabwe Newspapers. President Mug-abe led a high powered Government delegation to explore business opportu-nities with the emerging global giant last month.

Double-digit mega deals were struck during the visit, most of which targeted infrastructure development to underpin economic turnaround and create millions of jobs. The Herald Business will host the China –Visit forum under the theme “Historic Sino- Zim Agreements –What’s next”.

The breakfast will be held at Rainbow Towers Hotel and will be moderated by respected businessman and chief exec-utive of Masimba Holdings, Mr Canada Malanga. Other speakers include former Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries president Mr Kumbirai Katsande. Zimba-

bwe and China signed mega landmark deals with the Asian giant providing financial resources targeted mostly at infrastructure development. The finan-cial support will go towards economic enablers in sectors that include energy, roads, railway networking, telecommuni-cations agriculture and tourism.

Infrastructure and Utilities development is a key pillar under the economic blue-print the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustain-able Socio-Economic Transformation.

The cluster focuses on rehabilitating upgrading and building key physical as well as social infrastructure and utilities to give impetus to the economic turna-round.

Zimbabwe has been facing infrastruc-ture challenges following failure to attract foreign capital due to years of economic sanctions imposed by the West. But China has emerged as Zimbabwe’s polit-ical and business partner providing criti-cal resources aiding the economic turna-round. Zimbabwe ranked as first in Africa to attract Chinese foreign direct invest-ment in 2013, luring more than $600 million covering areas such as agricul-

ture, manufacturing, construction, min-ing, and tourism among other sectors. Trade volumes surpassed $1, 1 billion in 2013. The President’s trip unlocked funding which is critical to the successful implementations of Zim-Asset.

Minister Chinamasa signed two master loan agreements with the China Exports and Import bank and the China Import Bank and the China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation which provides securitization framework for infrastruc-tural and productive sectors.

The agreement with the China Exim Bank sets up a framework for the Gov-ernment to secure funding for projects in the productive and infrastructural sectors on a case by case basis. That funding will only come from China Exim Bank.

The agreements with the China Export and credit Insurance Corporation also provides a securitisation framework for infrastructure and productive projects that can be funded by both the State and non –State financial institutions. Only viable projects would attract such fund-ing. Minister Chinamasa signed another agreement on economic and technical

co-operation on provision of emergency food donation by the Chinese Govern-ment to the Government of Zimbabwe and a concessionary loan agreement for the NetOne Expansion Phase Two pro-ject.

Other deals signed during the President’s visit include mutual exemption of visa requirements for holders of diplomatic and service passports on the confirmed minutes of the Ninth Session of the Joint Commission that met from August 21 to 22 in Beijing ahead of President Mug-abe’s State visit to China.

Another agreement was signed between the Tourism and Hospitality Industry Min-istry and the National Tourism Adminis-tration of China on co-operation in the field of tourism. Minister Chinamasa is expected to detail the opportunities that exist in relation to co-operation in infra-structure development, tourism, mining and construction.

Chinamasa last week told Parliament that the Government had secured seri-ous engagements with the Chinese to fund bankable projects. — Herald Busi-ness •

BH24 Reporter

Employers and the employee represent-atives in the sugar milling sector have agreed to a wage increase effective April 1, 2014.

The sector's new minimum wages which will be in effect until March 31, 2015.

The collective Bargaining agreement, which is contained Statutory Instrument 133 of 2014 reads:

"Memorandum of Agreement is hereby

made and entered into, in terms of section 79 of the Labour Act (Chapter 28:01), between the Zimbabwe Sugar Milling Employers Association on the one hand and Zimbabwe Sugar Milling Industry workers on the other hand.

"Now, therefore, is hereby agreed that the following agreement entered into by the employers and the employees: that with effect from 1st April, 2014, through to 31st March, 2015, the wages of all employees whose grades are listed in the wage schedule below be increased

as indicated."

Across the grade differentials, A1 employees will now be earning a mini-mum wage of $170, up from $160.

A2 workers will now be earning $186,98, up from $175,98, while A3 workers will now be earning $205,67, up from 193,57.

The new monthly wage for those in the B1 category has risen to $257,04, up from $241,92, while those employees in the B2 category will be earning $282,86,

up from $266,22. B3 category employ-ees will be earning $311,11, up from $292,81.

In the B4 category, workers will now earn $388,96, up from $366,08, while the highest earners (B5) category are now earning $427,71, up from the previ-ous minimum wage of $402,55.

The parties also agreed that in instances where an employer is unable to provide accommodation, an accommodation allowance of $13,91 will be paid as from the effective date. •

3 NEWS

Sugar milling industry gets wage increase

Zim, DRC can dominate global tantalite market: Mines MinisterBH24 Reporter

Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo can have influence over the tantalite market if they work together, an official said recently.

Addressing members of the Senate last week, deputy minister of Mines and Min-ing Development Fred Moyo said the country could benefit greatly from the tantalite market.

“It may be of use for Senators to realise

that 80 percent of the world’s tantalite is produced between Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

If those two countries were able to put their thoughts together, they would have maximum influence over the tantalite market which is the mineral that pro-duces computers and cellphones,” he said.

Tantalite was discovered in Seke com-munal lands and the deposits are also

mined in Marondera, Mberengwa, Mure-hwa, Mutoko, Masvingo, and Buhera. The mineral is often smuggled to the DRC for sale.

Tantalite is a heavy black mineral which is found in granite rocks and mostly used in the electronics industry.

It is used for the manufacturing of elec-tronic capacitors for cell-phones and lap-top computer chips, among others.

Due to worldwide demand, prices for

tantalite occasionally soar to hundreds of dollars per kilogram.

Although Zimbabwe and DRC are cur-rently the leading producers of the min-eral on the continent, tantalite has also been discovered in Egypt, Namibia, Mad-agascar and Rwanda.

It is also found in northern Europe and some parts of the United States and Aus-tralia, which produced about 75 percent of the mineral as of 2006. •

BH24 Reporter

The Zimbabwean market has adjusted to suit the pockets of the consumers who have also adjusted their spending as the economy continues to sag under the heavy burden of liquidity challenges.

According to the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe, consumers are now buying basic necessities resulting in the decline in the cost of living measured by the low income urban earner monthly basket for a family of six from $589,14 in July to $586,90 in August. The decline of 0.38 percent could also be attributed to the promotions running in some big super-

markets that resulted in the reduction of prices on some items in the basket. The food basket decreased by $2,56 from $146,11 to $143,55 by end of August. However, an increase in the price of laun-

dry bars resulted in an increase in the price of detergents by 3.54percent from $9.03 to $9.35. Decreases in prices were recorded in meat which went down by 50c from $4,30 to $3,80 per kg, mealie

meal by 36c from $11,96 to $11.60 and tea leaves by 12c from $1,87 to $1,75.

The price of tomatoes went down 10c from 80c to 70c per kg while onions went down by 6c from $1.05 to 99c. The price of a 2kg of flour also declined by 5c from $1,85 to $1,80 and bath soap by 4c from 59c to 55c.

Increases in prices were recorded in margarine which went up by 75c from $1,14 to $1,89, laundry bars by 12c from $1,00 to $1,12 and salt by 1c from 19c to 20c.

The prices of the other basic commodi-ties which include fuel, sugar, fresh milk, cooking oil, bread, rice, cabbage and washing powder remained unchanged from the end July figures. •

4 NEWS

Zimbabwe's cost of living slides as consumers adjust spending

BH24

AdM-DI156506-

By Funny Hudzerema

The University of Zimbabwe has devel-oped new organic fertilisers that exclu-sively utilises local resources that can meet the plant's requirements up matu-rity.

In an interview University of Zimbabwe vice chancellor, Professor Levi Nyagura the new local organic fertiliser will signif-icantly reduce the cost of fertiliser usage in the country.

“The cost of fertiliser is now around $40 dollars due to high demand which is not affordable to our local farmers and we have decided to develop new organic fertilisers which add value to our local manure to meet the fertiliser require-ments and it will cost $27.

“The organic fertiliser contains potash, phosphorous and lime which are essen-tial on the growth of plants so through applying the organic into local manure it will be enriching the manure into fertil-iser,” he said.

Prof Nyagura said research is an impor-tant factor in the development of agri-culture and local people must trust their researchers to reduce dependency on other countries.

Zimbabwe currently depends on foreign technologies in its agricultural sector which most of the foreign products are not suite with our climatic conditions.

UZ agriculture lecturer Raymond Nazare said the new local organic fertilisers are in stock which can cover all the country's provinces.

Nazare also said Zimbabwe has an advanced technology systems that can assist in respect of drought and dis-aster management, for example, but these have not be properly utilised in the recent past.

“Disaster management and predication are available in our country before the outbreak of the Tokwe Mukose floods the researchers had noticed it before but people do not trust our local researchers,”

he said. Experts says local technology is very important to boost the agricultural production and the country should look inwards not out wards and the produced

products will be Zimbabwean. The development of the local organic fertiliser is said to have been started around six years ago. •

6 NEWS

University of Zimbabwe develops all-in-one organic fertiliser

BH24

8 NEWS8 BH24

BH24

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11 BH24 COMMENT

A little forward planning never goes amissIn 2011 the then Government announced that a national infrastructure audit was in the pipeline.

The audit would help determine Zimba-bwe’s infrastructure status. Indications too, at that time, were that following the audit an infrastructure master-plan would be formulated that would act as a template for rehabilitation programmes.

But alas we are almost at the close of 2014, and the national infrastructure audit is still in the pipeline and we have to depend on external studies such as those of the World Bank and the African Development Bank among others.

Such sluggishness has one of the key factors behind the lack of delivery of new infrastructure projects and the rehabilitation of old infrastructure.

Money is a key element, obviously. But there is so much more than can be done even when funds are not yet available, for instance planning. A dilapidated state of key infrastructure in the coun-try, including social services can be said to be stalling real economic growth inso-far as the current state cannot sustain a possible improvement in the level of industrialisation. But what plans outside ZimAsset have we put in place for infra-

structure development, say the funds....or rather funding becomes suddenly available? Because in a way it suddenly has. Last week Zimbabwe signed mega landmark deals with China to provide the former with financial resources tar-geted mostly at infrastructure develop-ment.

The financial support will go towards economic enablers in sectors that include energy, roads, railway network-ing, telecommunications agriculture and tourism.

So the question now is: do we have any implementation matrix in place for the projects? What are the timelines for the conclusion of the various projects under the energy, roads, railway networking, telecommunications agriculture and tourism sectors?

What is the private sector's role in the implementation of the nine mega infrastructure deals that the country's authorities signed with China? And is the private sector in line to benefit directly from the agreement with the China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation that will provide a securiti-sation framework for infrastructure and productive projects? Because in reality

infrastructure development is not a pre-serve for the public sector. It also only realistic to assume that the deals inked in China do not constitute the entirety of Zimbabwe's infrastructure development and refurbishment requirements.

In that case what are our priority targets even within the afore-mentioned sec-tors? The mega-deals we signed with China aside, does Zimbabwe currently have a national framework on Private Public Partnerships (PPPs), which would typically give much needed confidence to potential investors going forward?

Delivering concrete outcomes in infra-structure development requires a mul-ti-year approach and commitment by the country.

ZimAsset sort of addresses that issue, but the five-year broad economic pol-icy is not too telling on implementation matrices.

That would have been better addressed by a national infrastructure master-plan that dovetails with the ZimAsset.

A masterplan would also go a long way in negating the effects of regulatory and bureaucratic constraints that can and have been the biggest hurdles in the path of infrastructure development.

With a little more forward planning on our part, some of the questions raised here, wouldn't be as important. •

Trading on the ZSE continued on a downward trend on the second day of this week, dropping 0.40 percent.

The industrial index retreated by 0.80 points to close at 200.13 points in mixed trading as some key heavy-weights underperformed.

Giant beverages producer Delta lost 3 cents to close at 135 cents, while conglomerate TA Holdings shed a cent to close at 14 cents and the cement maker PPC shed 0.51 cents to 230 cents.

Bankers Barclays lost 0.30 cents to 3.50 cents and Zimpapers was 0.05 cents lower to trade at 0.65 cents.

The gainers included Natfoods which led the movers with a 5 cents gain to

close at 235 cents and OK Zimbabwe went up 0.99 cents to trade at 17.50 cents.

Giant telecoms Econet gained 0.98 cents to trade at 85 cents and NTS was up 0.30 cents to trade at 2 cents.

The mining index was unchanged at 98.24 points as Bindura, Falgold, Hwange and Riozim all remained unchanged at 8.50 cents, 4.01 cents, 8 cents and 22.50 cents respectively. ― BH24 Reporter •

12 ZSE REVIEW

Equities extend losses

REGIONAL NEWS

Rand near month low vs dollar, investors worry about current a/c

13

The rand weakened to near a month-low against the dollar early on Tues-day as investors worried about the health of South Africa's economy, while the dollar enjoyed broad-based strength.

Investors are waiting the South Afri-can Reserve Bank's release of reams of second quarter data in its quarterly bulletin report at 0800 GMT.

The main focus will be the current account number, which analysts expect to have widened to a deficit of 5.45 percent of GDP, from 4.5 per-cent in the first three months of the year.

The data is also likely to show depressed consumer spending trends and high household debt.

A wider current account gap high-lights South Africa's external vul-nerability and puts pressure on the

currency because the account is tra-ditionally funded by portfolio inflows.

The dollar is rallying against major currencies as investors reassess their interest rate expectations after a branch of the U.S. Federal Reserve published a paper saying market expectations of lower rates for longer were running below those of policy-makers.

At 0640 GMT, the rand was at 10.8200, slightly weaker than its close in New York. It has tested a ses-sion low of 10.8300 so far, its weakest since Aug. 8. "The market has failed in the 10.80 – 10.88 area six times in the past four months so resistance will be steep but, for the first time in weeks, there is a real risk of a break of the range to the topside," John

Cairns, currency strategist for Rand Merchant Bank, said in a market note.

Rand Merchant Bank will release its RMB/BER Business Confidence Index at 1000 GMT, which is likely to show underlying weakness in the produc-tive sectors of the economy. The manufacturing and mining indus-tries have contracted in the first six months of this year.

The yields on the benchmark 2026 government bond rose 6.5 basis points to 8.16 percent.

Treasury results of a weekly sale of 2.35 billion rand ($217 million) of fixed income bonds are due after the auction closes at 0900 GMT. ($1 = 10.8190 South African rand) — Reu-ters •

14 DIARY OF EVENTS

The black arrow indicate level of load shedding across the country.

POWER GENERATION STATS

Gen Station

9 September 2014

Energy

(Megawatts)

Hwange 644 MW

Kariba 625 MW

Harare 0 MW

Munyati 26 MW

Bulawayo 20 MW

Imports 0 MW

Total 1317 MW

Hippo Valley Estates Limited fifty-eighth Annual General Meeting of shareholders Venue: Meikles Hotel, Harare, Date: 22 September 2014 Time: 1200 hours

NMBZ Holdings Limited 9th Annual General Meeting Venue: The Registered Office of the Com-pany at 4th Floor, Unity Court, Cor-ner 1st Street/ Kwame Nkrumah Avenue Date: 22 September 2014 Time: 1000 hours

Dawn eleventh Annual General Meeting Venue: The Ophir Room, Crowne Plaza Date: 12 September 2014 Time: 1000 hours

THE BH24 DIARY

15 ZSE

ZSEMOVERS CHANGE TODAY PRICE USC SHAKERS CHANGE TODAY PRICE USC

NTS 17.64% 2.00 BARCLAYS -7.89% 3.50

RTG 7.69% 1.40 ZIMPAPERS -7.14% 0.65

OK ZIM 5.99% 17.50 TA -6.66% 14.00

MASIMBA 5.49% 2.11 DELTA -2.17% 135.00

NICOZDIAMOND 3.22% 1.60 ZIMPLOW -0.49% 6.00

NATFOODS 2.17% 235.00 PPC -0.22% 230.00

PADENGA 1.19% 8.50

ECONET 1.16% 85.00

IndicesINDEx PREVIOUS TODAY MOVE CHANGE

INDUSTRIAL 200.93 200.13 -0.80 POINTS -0.40%

MINING 98.24 98.24 +0.00 POINTS +0.00%

Stocks Exchange

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 2,205.83 +0.96 +0.04% 03Sep

Kenya 5,163.28 +0.07 +0.00% 03Sep

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 41,207.79 -56.86 -0.14% 03Sep

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 199.69 +2.28 +1.16% 03Sep

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 — "Anything in life worth hAving is worth working for." - An-drew CArnegie Globalshareholder.com

The dollar climbed against most peers, touching its strongest level versus the yen since 2008, while U.S. and European equity-index futures fell with bonds amid specula-tion about prospects for U.S. interest rates. Crude oil rebounded and nickel led metals lower.

The U.S currency bought 106.22 yen by 7:25 a.m. in London, while the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index headed

for its highest close in almost 14 months. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures lost 0.1 percent and Euro Stoxx 50 Index contracts dropped 0.4 percent. Oil in New York rose from an eight-month low. Yields on 10-year Australian bonds advanced 11 basis points as the rate on three-year Treasuries moved above 1 percent before debt auctions this week. Nickel retreated 1.4 percent. The dollar is cementing gains amid speculation

over U.S. interest rates, with Federal Reserve research suggesting inves-tors may be underestimating how quickly policy makers could raise key borrowing costs. Markets in mainland China resume after a holiday today, after data yesterday showed a sur-prise drop in imports fueled a record trade surplus in August. Ukraine’s defense ministry claimed rebels con-tinued shelling its positions in the country’s east as the European Union

delayed additional sanctions on Rus-sia over the conflict. “Higher U.S. yields are fueling U.S. dollar buy-ing,” said Naohiro Nomoto, an asso-ciate for foreign-exchange trading at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York. “There looks to be fur-ther upside in U.S. yields, especially on the long end. There is speculation that the Fed will revise its forward guidance at next week’s meeting.” — Bloomberg •

Facebook Inc’s market value exceeded USUS$200 billion (RM638.46 billion) to put it among the world’s biggest corporations, as investors bet on the company to capitalize on the future of mobile advertising.

Facebook shares rose 0.8 per cent to US$77.89 at yesterday’s close in New York, valuing the company at US$201.6 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That made it the 22nd- largest company in the world, behind Verizon Communica-tions Inc. and ahead of Toyota Motor

Corp. The stock has jumped 9.3 per cent since July 23, compared with a 0.7 per cent increase in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, after Facebook reported a 61 per cent increase in second-quarter sales to US$2.91 bil-lion. Mobile promotions accounted for 62 per cent of ad sales, up from 59 per cent in the prior period.

The gains are a far cry from Face-book’s May 2012 initial public offer-ing, when a lack of mobile revenue led to a plunge in its stock.

Chief executive officer Mark Zuck-

erberg, the world’s 13th-richest person according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, has made ads on

smartphones and tablets Facebook’s core business and is building on that

foundation with a mobile network to spread the company’s ads across the Web and wireless devices.

“This latest rally stems from their last earnings announcement, when they reported higher demand and sales numbers for their mobile ads,” said Jeffrey Sica, who oversees more than US$1.5 billion in assets as president of Sica Wealth Management, in an e-mail. “If they can continue to grow their mobile ads, they will have a sus-tainable demand for their stock.” — Bloomberg •

17 INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Dollar hits six-year high versus yen while bonds fall

Facebook's market value tops $200 billion

18 ANALYSIS

Intra-African Trade - Going beyond political commitmentsBy Masimba Tafirenyika

Among Africa's policy wonks, under-performing trade across the con-tinent within the region is a favoured subject.

To unravel the puzzle, they reel off facts and figures at conferences and workshops, pinpoint trade hurdles to overcome and point to the vast oppor-tunities that lie ahead if only African countries could integrate their econ-omies. It's an interesting debate but with little to show for it until now.

The problem is partly the mismatch between the high political ambitions African leaders hold and the harsh eco-nomic realities they face.

Case in point: they have set up no less than 14 trading blocs to pur-sue regional integration. Yet they have shown "a distinct reluctance to empower these institutions, citing loss of sovereignty and policy space as key concerns," says Trudi Hartzenberg, executive director at the Trade Law Centre for Southern Africa (Tralac), an organisation that trains people on trade

issues. As a result of this reluctance, she says, "Regional institutions remain weak, performing mainly administra-tive functions."

Trade flourishes when countries pro-duce what their trading partners are eager to buy. With a few exceptions, this is not yet the case with Africa. It produces what it doesn't consume and consumes what it doesn't produce.

It's a weakness that often frustrates policy makers; it complicates regional integration and is a primary reason for the low intra-regional trade, which is between 10% and 12% of Africa's total trade. Comparable figures are 40% in North America and roughly 60% in Western Europe.

Over 80% of Africa's exports are shipped overseas, mainly to the European Union (EU), China and the US. If you throw into the mix com-plex and often conflicting trade rules, cross-border restrictions and poor transport networks, it's hardly surpris-ing that the level of intra-Africa trade has barely moved the needle over the past few decades. Not everybody

agrees intra-Africa trade is that low. Some experts argue that a big chunk of the continent's trade is conducted informally and at times across porous borders.

Most borders, they point out, are often poorly managed or informal trade sta-tistics are simply not included in the official flows recorded by customs offi-cials.

"We don't have a way of captur-ing these types of activities because they're informal," said Carlos Lopes, the head of the UN Economic Commis-sion for Africa (ECA), in an interview with Africa Renewal.

The ECA, he explained, is planning to plug this information gap with a more precise picture of economic activities in Africa and give economic planners a better data set with which to work.

Regional economic blocs. To accelerate regional integration, the World Bank is advising African leaders to expand access to trade finance and reduce behind-the-border trade restrictions such as excessive regulations and

weak legal systems.

Nevertheless, saddled with weak econ-omies, small domestic markets and 16 landlocked countries, governments believe they can achieve economic integration by starting at the regional level and working their way up, merg-ing all the regional trading blocs into an African Free Trade Area.

But with 14 different trading blocs, crit-ics say that's just too many. Some blocs have overlapping members and many countries belong to multiple blocs.

Yet, the challenge is not simply the number of trading blocs, experts say, but their track record. Governments need to implement their trade agree-ments.

On this score, African countries per-form poorly despite their strong polit-ical commitment to regional integra-tion, notes Hartzenberg in her report, "Regional Integration in Africa", pub-lished by the World Trade Organization, a global body on trade rules. - —Africa Renewal •