South Africa’s Investec Property Fund (IPF) said it expects retailer Edcon’s decision to seek bankruptcy protection to have a limited impact on its business.

Last Wednesday South Africa’s biggest non-food retailer filed for a business rescue becoming the country’s first major corporate casualty of the coronavirus pandemic.

Edcon, which owns department stores chain Edgars and budget clothing retailer Jet, is a tenant of six of the Fund’s retail properties, with gross leasable area (GLA) exposure of about 15,900 square meters or only 1.4% South African GLA.

IPF said it had limited exposure to the struggling retailer because when Edcon received a 2.7 billion-rand ($143.9 million) lifeline in new cash and rent deductions from its main shareholder and participating landlords last year, IPF elected to contribute via the reduced rental option instead of equity.

Harmony Gold Mining Company Ltd said it planned to raise up to $200 million via a share issue to fund part of its purchase of AngloGold Ashanti’s last remaining assets in South Africa.

AngloGold said in February it would sell the assets, including Mponeng mine the world’s deepest gold mine, for about $300 million to Harmony turning it into the country’s largest gold producer.

Harmony said the fundraising would allow the company to benefit from balance sheet flexibility and optionality given the current uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shares in Harmony fell 6% to 66.59 rand by 1357 GMT after the company said it was seeking authority to issue the ordinary shares for cash while Shares in other gold miners listed on the Johannesburg Stock exchange were up around 3%.

Diversified miner Anglo American said on Thursday it prefers unbundling and listing its thermal coal operations in South Africa on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in the next two to three years to other available options.

In written responses to shareholders, Anglo said a demerger was its preferred method of exiting from the business, but that it was still considering other possibilities.

South Africa’s rand dipped early on Thursday, erasing gains of the previous session as risk sentiment was dampened by resurfacing of tensions between China and the United States and more signs of economic weakness locally.

At 0645 GMT the rand was 0.07% weaker at 18.7480 per dollar, adding to the previous day’s 1% drop in the face of growing demand for the greenback by nervous investors unconvinced by the prospects of an emerging market recovery.

Pressure on risk sentiment as the Trump administration renewed its criticism of China and weighed punitive actions against Beijing over its early handling of the virus outbreak. Locally, a plunge in the purchasing manager’s index.

The United Nations food agency on Thursday warned that World food prices has fallen for a third consecutive month in April, hit by the economic and logistical impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) food price index, which measures monthly changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat and sugar, averaged 165.5 points last month, down 3.4% on March.

The meat index shed 2.7%, with a partial recovery in import demand from China failing to balance a slump in imports elsewhere.

FAO also said major producing countries suffered logistical bottlenecks, while coronavirus lockdowns in many nations had caused a sharp fall in sales.

The IMF on Wednesday said Uganda will receive an emergency loan worth $491.5 million to help cushion its economy from the impact of the new coronavirus.

Key sectors of the East African economy such as tourism have taken a heavy blow from the crisis. The effect has been compounded by a lockdown of the entire population to curb the spread of the virus.

The IMF said the weakening economic conditions emanating from the Covid-19 pandemic have put significant pressures on revenue collection, expenditure, reserves and the exchange rate, creating urgent large external and fiscal financing needs

The IMF’s emergency financial support under the Rapid Credit Facility, along with the additional donor financing it is expected to help catalyse, will help address Uganda’s urgent balance of payments and budget support needs.

The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday has approved $739 million in emergency financing to help Kenya respond to the economic shock caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The IMF said it was in close contact with Kenyan authorities and stood ready to provide policy advice and further support, as needed.

The virus has badly hurt major sectors such as tourism, horticulture and manufacturing.

The IMF in a statement said the impact of COVID-19 on the Kenyan economy will be severe. It will act through both global and domestic channels, and downside risks remain large.

The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria has issued a warning to employers of labor in the industry against cutting salaries and allowances in the name of COVID-19.

The President of the union, Adewale Adeyanju, gave this warning, saying any attempt to do so would be resisted by the union.

Adeyanju said workers did not deserve to be punished for the COVID-19 lockdown since it was not their fault.

He said the union had received information that some managements in the port had issued internal memo on planned pay cut.

He further said it is unscrupulous of managements to cut the salaries, wages and allowance of our members without any probable cause.

Seafarers have protested their stay aboard vessels beyond the normal length of time due to the COVID-19 lockdown in some states.

Apart from Nigeria, all over the world, vessels have neglected to change their crew members because of the pandemic.

The Deputy President General of Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, Douglas Eromoboh, raised the alarm recently when two seafarers stabbed each other onboard.

He said all over the oil platforms and rigs, seafarers were attacking their captains because they wanted to go home.

Eromoboh threatened that the union could be forced to take a drastic action that would lead to shutting down the oil and gas sector.

He said workers in the upstream sector were not considered essential service providers by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.

The Nigerian Shippers’ Council has called on freight forwarders charged demurrage fees by shipping lines from March 30 to May 3 to come forward for refunds.

Majority of the shipping lines had issued notices to their affiliates in Nigeria and importers informing them of the suspension of demurrage during the period, others had continued issuing debit notes to freight forwarders for demurrage charges.

The Head of Public Relations, Rakiya Zubairu, stated that they are aware some freight forwarders and shippers have difficulties with regard to the issue of refund of demurrage charges and are still billed despite the suspension.

He encouraged them to contact the council through the help lines and e-mail addresses published on the NSC website and other social media handles.