Company news in brief
SA banks scrap clause on legal representation
Some of South Africa's top banks have agreed to scrap clauses that prevented their law firms from representing customers in real estate disputes with the banks, the country's competition regulator said on Friday.
The watchdog said Standard Bank, Investec, FNB and Nedbank Group Ltd had agreed to remove such clauses from their contracts with law firms.
Most South African banks take legal advice for mortgage and property transactions - known as conveyancing services – and have insisted the law firms should not represent anyone against the bank on such matters.
This has reduced choice for consumers if they wanted to sue a bank over a property related matter, potentially putting them at a disadvantage against the banks.
"...it was agreed that contractual clauses that prevented law firms appointed to provide conveyancing services from acting against the banks on any matter should be removed," the competition commission said in a statement. – Nampa/Reuters
Zim accuses Econet of money laundering
Zimbabwean police have issued a warrant against the largest mobile phone operator Econet Wireless to hand over a list of its mobile money transactions and subscribers because authorities suspect it of involvement in money laundering, according to the warrant.
The government has already suspended some of Econet's mobile money transactions. Authorities last month also halted all trade on the local stock exchange.
In the search warrant issued on Friday night and seen by Reuters, police accused Econet of creating fictitious mobile money and converting it to cash to facilitate purchasing foreign currency on the black market and taking the money out of Zimbabwe.
The central bank has made similar accusations before, which Econet has denied.
A senior Econet official, who declined to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the media, said the government Econet would challenge the move in court.
A spokesman for the company said he could not immediately comment. – Nampa/Reuters
Total signs debt financing for Mozambique project
French oil major Total has signed a US$14.9 billion senior debt financing agreement for its massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Mozambique, the biggest project financing ever in Africa, it said on Friday.
The project includes the development of the Golfinho and Atum natural gas fields in the Offshore Area 1 concession, and the construction of a two-train liquefaction plant with a capacity of 13.1 million tons per annum, Total said.
Jean-Pierre Sbraire, chief financial officer of Total, said the signing, which secures the majority of the project's total investment of US$20 billion, shows financial institutions have confidence in the long-term future of LNG in Mozambique.
Mozambique LNG is one of several projects being developed in the country's northernmost province of Cabo Delgado after one of the biggest gas finds in a decade off its coast. Together, the projects are worth some US$60 billion.
Rival Exxon Mobil delayed the final investment decision on its nearby Rovuma LNG gas project due to the coronavirus pandemic, and Mozambique expects the decision next year. – Nampa/Reuters
British Airways retires 747 early
British Airways, the world's largest operator of Boeing 747s, will retire its entire jumbo jet fleet with immediate effect after the Covid-19 pandemic sent air travel into freefall.
For over 50 years, Boeing's "Queen of the Skies" has been the world's most easily recognised jetliner with its humped fuselage and four engines. But its days were already numbered before the pandemic struck earlier this year.
British Airways (BA) had been planning to retire the aircraft in 2024, but with passenger numbers decimated this year, and experts forecasting it will be years before they recover, the airline said it was unlikely its 747s would operate commercially again.
The 747 democratised global air travel in the 1970s, but fell behind modern twin-engine aircraft and now trails newer planes in fuel efficiency, making it expensive to run.
The move by BA comes after Australia's Qantas Airways said in June it would retire its remaining 747 fleet immediately, six months ahead of schedule. – Nampa/Reuters
Daimler stops building sedans in US
Daimler will stop building Mercedes-Benz sedans in the United States and Mexico as it seeks deeper cuts after posting a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss.
The German automaker will halt output of its Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, leaving the plant producing sport utility vehicles (SUVs) only, it said.
It will also stop producing of a variant of compact Mercedes-Benz A-Class in Aguascalientes, Mexico, to instead focus on the GLB, a newer, higher-margin SUV model.
It announced the changes alongside a second-quarter operating loss of 1.68 billion euro (US$1.91 billion) on Thursday ahead of the scheduled release date of July 23.
Hurt by a slump in demand amid dealership closures and lockdowns, Damiler’s Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans unit posted an operating loss of 1.13 billion euro. – Nampa/Reuters
Some of South Africa's top banks have agreed to scrap clauses that prevented their law firms from representing customers in real estate disputes with the banks, the country's competition regulator said on Friday.
The watchdog said Standard Bank, Investec, FNB and Nedbank Group Ltd had agreed to remove such clauses from their contracts with law firms.
Most South African banks take legal advice for mortgage and property transactions - known as conveyancing services – and have insisted the law firms should not represent anyone against the bank on such matters.
This has reduced choice for consumers if they wanted to sue a bank over a property related matter, potentially putting them at a disadvantage against the banks.
"...it was agreed that contractual clauses that prevented law firms appointed to provide conveyancing services from acting against the banks on any matter should be removed," the competition commission said in a statement. – Nampa/Reuters
Zim accuses Econet of money laundering
Zimbabwean police have issued a warrant against the largest mobile phone operator Econet Wireless to hand over a list of its mobile money transactions and subscribers because authorities suspect it of involvement in money laundering, according to the warrant.
The government has already suspended some of Econet's mobile money transactions. Authorities last month also halted all trade on the local stock exchange.
In the search warrant issued on Friday night and seen by Reuters, police accused Econet of creating fictitious mobile money and converting it to cash to facilitate purchasing foreign currency on the black market and taking the money out of Zimbabwe.
The central bank has made similar accusations before, which Econet has denied.
A senior Econet official, who declined to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the media, said the government Econet would challenge the move in court.
A spokesman for the company said he could not immediately comment. – Nampa/Reuters
Total signs debt financing for Mozambique project
French oil major Total has signed a US$14.9 billion senior debt financing agreement for its massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Mozambique, the biggest project financing ever in Africa, it said on Friday.
The project includes the development of the Golfinho and Atum natural gas fields in the Offshore Area 1 concession, and the construction of a two-train liquefaction plant with a capacity of 13.1 million tons per annum, Total said.
Jean-Pierre Sbraire, chief financial officer of Total, said the signing, which secures the majority of the project's total investment of US$20 billion, shows financial institutions have confidence in the long-term future of LNG in Mozambique.
Mozambique LNG is one of several projects being developed in the country's northernmost province of Cabo Delgado after one of the biggest gas finds in a decade off its coast. Together, the projects are worth some US$60 billion.
Rival Exxon Mobil delayed the final investment decision on its nearby Rovuma LNG gas project due to the coronavirus pandemic, and Mozambique expects the decision next year. – Nampa/Reuters
British Airways retires 747 early
British Airways, the world's largest operator of Boeing 747s, will retire its entire jumbo jet fleet with immediate effect after the Covid-19 pandemic sent air travel into freefall.
For over 50 years, Boeing's "Queen of the Skies" has been the world's most easily recognised jetliner with its humped fuselage and four engines. But its days were already numbered before the pandemic struck earlier this year.
British Airways (BA) had been planning to retire the aircraft in 2024, but with passenger numbers decimated this year, and experts forecasting it will be years before they recover, the airline said it was unlikely its 747s would operate commercially again.
The 747 democratised global air travel in the 1970s, but fell behind modern twin-engine aircraft and now trails newer planes in fuel efficiency, making it expensive to run.
The move by BA comes after Australia's Qantas Airways said in June it would retire its remaining 747 fleet immediately, six months ahead of schedule. – Nampa/Reuters
Daimler stops building sedans in US
Daimler will stop building Mercedes-Benz sedans in the United States and Mexico as it seeks deeper cuts after posting a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss.
The German automaker will halt output of its Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, leaving the plant producing sport utility vehicles (SUVs) only, it said.
It will also stop producing of a variant of compact Mercedes-Benz A-Class in Aguascalientes, Mexico, to instead focus on the GLB, a newer, higher-margin SUV model.
It announced the changes alongside a second-quarter operating loss of 1.68 billion euro (US$1.91 billion) on Thursday ahead of the scheduled release date of July 23.
Hurt by a slump in demand amid dealership closures and lockdowns, Damiler’s Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans unit posted an operating loss of 1.13 billion euro. – Nampa/Reuters
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