Category: INTERNATIONAL
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Gupta brother says South Africa influence peddling emails are fake
One of South Africa’s Gupta brothers said leaked emails suggesting his family used links to President Jacob Zuma to win contracts and influence decisions were fake, a rare intervention in a scandal that has rocked the government. Atul Gupta – whose family business empire spans media, mining and technology – told the BBC he had…
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Nigeria: Dangote sells $236M stake in cement firm to foreign buyers
Nigeria’s Dangote Industries Limited has sold a 2.3 percent stake in Dangote Cement to foreign buyers in a stock market deal valued at 86.1 billion naira ($236 million). The stock exchange confirmed the Tuesday’s sale, adding that a total of 416 million shares of Dangote Cement were traded at 210 naira in six off-market deals…
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South Africa’s stock market defies recession, scales record highs
South Africa’s main stock index scaled a record high on Monday, underscoring the market’s disconnect from an economy mired in recession, hobbled by damaging ratings downgrades, and still largely defined by apartheid’s income inequalities. Skewed ownership patterns have made the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE), which has been mostly lifted by the offshore earnings of a…
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Virtual lender Branch Kenya loans hit Sh3.6 billion
Mobile-based lender Branch has disbursed a cumulative Sh3.63 billion ($35 million) loans in Kenya where virtual lending is growing in popularity. Branch, founded in 2015, says its customer base has grown to 350,000 individuals who have made over 1.5 million loan transactions. “We have seen fantastic growth at Branch because we know what our borrowers…
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Brexit: UK will not cut taxes, says Philip Hammond
The UK will not cut tax and regulations after Brexit in a bid to undercut EU rivals, Philip Hammond has suggested. The chancellor told French newspaper Le Monde that tax raised as a percentage of the British economy “puts us right in the middle” of European countries. “We don’t want that to change, even after…
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Eurozone unemployment rate falls to 9.1%
The unemployment rate in the eurozone has fallen to its lowest since February 2009, according to the latest official figures. The rate dropped to 9.1% last month, from a downwardly revised 9.2% in May. Separately, inflation remained unchanged in July at 1.3%, according to a preliminary estimate from Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics office. However,…
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Qatar ‘files complaint’ with World Trade Organization
Qatar is reported to have filed an official complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO), aimed at challenging an ongoing trade boycott by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates. The formal step would mark the first step in the WTO’s dispute process. It means the countries would have to sit down with Qatar to…
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iconic U.S. brand making cars in India
An iconic American brand is setting up shop in India. Jeep officially launched its first vehicle produced in India — the 2017 Compass — at an event in Mumbai on Monday. The Compass started rolling off the assembly line near Pune, a city known for its automobile manufacturing, in June. Some of the vehicles produced…
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Snapchat’s moment of truth is here
Snapchat has seen much of its market value disappear since going public in March. Now the situation could go from bad to worse. Snap(SNAP), the parent company of Snapchat, fell as much as 5% in early trading Monday to a new low as some company insiders finally get the chance to cash out. The stock…
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Deutsche Bank seals deal with Land Securities for new London HQ
Deutsche Bank has exchanged a pre-let agreement for its new City of London headquarters, the building’s developer Land Securities said on Tuesday. The announcement confirmed details of the deal first reported in March, adding that under the 25-year lease agreement the German lender had committed to take a minimum of 469,000 square feet in the…