Category: INTERNATIONAL
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S.A’s FSB may bring an end to unwanted SMS messages
Consumers will soon be able to opt-out of unwanted SMS communication from insurance companies thanks to a draft replacement of the Policyholder Protection Rules (PPRs) by the Financial Services Board (FSB). Speaking in a recent interview, Lezanne Botha, a senior specialist for the Insurance Regulatory Framework department at the FSB said: “There is existing consumer-protection…
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Kenya:Midiwo amendment seeks to push telcos to split business
Gem MP Jakoyo Midiwo has proposed changes to the telecoms law that if passed would see telecommunication companies face stricter regulation and apply legal pressure on authorities to split Safaricom. Mr. Midiwo on Wednesday issued a notice of intention to introduce amendments to the Kenya Information Communication Act (KICA), which will require mobile phone operators…
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Kenya: Sanlam defends move to withdraw profit warning notice
Insurance group Sanlam Kenya has defended its withdrawal last month of a profit warning published on December 30, saying it was in reaction to new guidelines issued by the regulator. The insurer on Thursday announced a near-tripling of its after-tax profit to Sh70.6 million from Sh27.3 million in December 2015 after adopting a liberal accounting…
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South Africa’s Standard Bank posts 4 pct rise in FY profit
South Africa’s Standard Bank Group Ltd reported a 4 percent rise in full-year profit on Thursday as the threat of sovereign ratings downgrade weighed on its home market. Standard Bank posted headline earnings per share (EPS) of 1,389 cents for the period to end-December, compared with 1,359 cents the previous year. Headline EPS is the…
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China February service sector growth slows to four-month low: Caixin PMI
Activity in China’s services sector expanded at the slowest pace in four months in February, with new business still growing at a solid rate but increasing competition making it harder for companies to raise prices, a private survey showed. The findings echoed a similar softening in growth in China’s official services activity survey released on…
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Nigerians Lost N18 Billion to Ponzi Scheme Operators, Says NDIC
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has said three million Nigerians lost N18 billion in the Ponzi scheme, popularly called Mavrodi Mundial Movement (MMM). Speaking yesterday during the NDIC day at the 38th Kaduna International Trade Fair, the Managing Director, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, said despite repeated warnings by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and…
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Egypt: Pilot Project to Purchase Garbage From Citizens to Start in Cairo, Paper
A pilot project to purchase garbage from citizens would start with two outlets in Cairo next week, the state newspaper Al-Akhbar quoted the governor of Cairo Atef Abdel Hamid as saying on Thursday. One outlet would be at Ibn Sender Square in Hadaek Al-qoba district and the other at Aswan Street in Heliopolis district, both…
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East Africa:Safaricom taps ex-Orange CEO, Ndemo to board
Safaricom has appointed former Information PS Bitange Ndemo to its board, seeking to tap his broad knowledge as a government technocrat and university lecturer. Vivek Badrinath, Vodafone’s regional chief executive for Africa, Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, also joins Safaricom as a director to represent the interests of the British multinational. The former Orange Group executive…
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South Africa’s MTN swings into first annual loss in 20 years
Africa’s biggest mobile phone operator MTN Group swung into a hefty $108 million annual loss on Thursday, its first in two decades, hit by a regulatory fine in Nigeria and unfavourable currency moves. MTN said its headline loss came in at 1.4 billion rand ($108 million), or 77 cents per share, in the year to…
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Nigeria: Naira Rises As CBN Pumps $180 Million Into Forex Market
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) injected another $180 million into the foreign exchange market, prompting the Naira to further appreciate by N10 against the dollar in the parallel market. Details of the foreign exchange supply showed that the apex bank injected $100m into the wholesale forwards segment of the market and sold an additional…