2. Standard Chartered (StanChart) in Zim was a solid bank making good money. In 2016 StanChart made $13 Million in profit and was the 3rd largest bank by deposits in Zimbabwe.
3. Compared to StanChart Globally, however, the Zim operation was still a “small fish"
StanChart Zim Revenue = $55.02 Million
StanChart Group Revenue = $14.06 Billion
StanChart Zim Size = 0.4%
The good thing was in 2016 the small fish had limited drama & was profitable.
4. When you are a small fish in a big pond not attracting unwanted attention is very important.
That is what StandChart Zim did from 2016 - 2018.
They did not really feature in the StanChart Group Annual report & when they did it was for good news -they had won an award👏🏾
5. In 2019, however, that changed. Zimbabwe was suddenly called out in the annual report because it had contributed to the increase of Credit Grade 12 Balances😤 (which is really bad see why in the next tweet).
6. Credit Grade 12 is the worst rating aside from defaulting.
Think of that friend who never pays anyone back - Credit Grade 12.
Zim being called out despite being only 0.4% of the business was a bad sign.
This wasn't necessarily local management's fault however...
7. ...These downgrade issues were probably linked to the reintroduction of the Zim Dollar in Feb 2019.
Whatever the case, the small fish had started to pollute the water in the pond and attract attention,
8. The following year, 2020, Zim was again in the group's annual report. This time because of a decrease in Credit RWA driven by the depreciation of ZWD against the US Dollar.
Whilst not technically always a bad thing it was clear that Zim was on the radar due to currency risks.
9. In 2021, Zim showed up again more related to COVID.
Considering StanChart is in 59 Countries, it's interesting how Zim ended up as one of the examples - attracting attention again.
Why does being mentioned in the annual report matter? See the next tweet...
10. The annual report is the most important document a public company releases yearly. The CEO, CFO, Directors etc spend 100s hours reviewing it.
A small operation should not keep popping up with anything but good news.
Otherwise, Execs start asking why are we in that market.
11. Unsurprisingly in 2022 the decision was announced. StanChart would be exiting 7 markets including Zimbabwe to focus on the "most significant opportunities for growth" (i.e. bigger fish that swim nicely)
The small fish was getting kicked out of the pond.
12. The exit was completed last week with FBC acquiring 100% of Standard Chartered. Another international company bowing out of Zim.
The same applies to most Global companies when small markets become a headache - the effort is not worth the return and so they rather exit.
13. In conclusion, if you are a small market like Zim, to prevent foreign companies from existing - you need to be stable, & predictable, & not take management's attention.
This is not easy in Zim & so other companies may still follow.
What do you think? Comment & Retweet👏🏾
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3. The short recap is firstly, you Borrow to Build the network, then after that, you Sell services on your network, and with profits, you Service (payback) the loans, which allows you to Borrow more money and repeat the cycle.
Simbisa Brands recently released their results, and it seems they know something about Zimbabwe that most people don't.
Simbisa is investing heavily in a way that may be surprising but could set them up to dominate in the future.
Let's unpack.
🧵 THREAD 🧵
Background: Simbisa Brands is a fast-food operator that owns, operates and franchises a selection of well-known Quick Service Restaurant brands in 9 African Markets.
These brands include Pizza Inn and Chicken Inn, and Nandos and Steers of South Africa.
The financial results were solid driven by +7% revenue growth (+4% increase in customers) to $147m for the half year.
This is not necessarily blockbuster compared with the previous year, FY23, which had 23% growth.
1/28 Beyond the Headlines: The Untold Story Behind Deloitte's Zimbabwe Exit.
While Deloitte's departure from Zimbabwe made headlines, understanding the events requires digging into recent history to uncover the full story behind the news.
Let's unpack!
🧵 THREAD🧵
2/28 Last week Deloitte Zimbabwe announced it was leaving the Deloitte network.
This must have been a tough decision.
Deloitte is one of the biggest brands in the world and it comes with one of the best reputations.
And for accounting firms, reputation is everything.
3/28 An accounting firm's most well-known service is audit.
After an audit, an audit report is issued and all audit reports are standard and take the same format.
What makes one audit report more valuable than the other is the name signing off on the report.
1/12 When people say "Africa Is Poor Because People Are Too Religious" I always think of 👇🏾
The Connection Between a "Pastor" And The Birth Of The Swiss Watch Industry. 🕰️
The success of Rolex and many others can partly be attributed to the impact of John Calvin.
🧵 THREAD 🧵
2/12 Today Switzerland dominates the luxury watch market. If you Google "Top 10 Watch Brands", all the brands that come up are Swiss except for the German A. Lange & Söhne.
But this wasn't always the case & one of the most important shifts was due to the theologian John Calvin.
3/12 John Calvin was a religious leader who lived in Geneva, Switzerland in the 16th century.
In today's world, you could describe him as a pastor. He had such a big influence on Christianity that Time Magazine named him as one of the 100 most influential Christians in history.