COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Sanlam, MTN Group’s InsurTech alliance kicks off Sanlam and MTN Group announced that their strategic alliance to market and distribute insurance and investment products across Africa has reached a significant milestone with the fulfilment of the regulatory, competition and other requirements. The effective date of the transaction is 31 October 2022.The strategic alliance will be implemented through MTN Group’s InsurTech platform aYo Holdings (aYo) and each partner will hold 50% of aYo.Through aYo, the alliance will continue to build and develop digital insurance and investment offerings that provide people across Africa with easier access to Sanlam’s products, particularly those people who have typically been unable to access traditional distribution channels.MTN Group President and CEO Mr Ralph Mupita said the alliance was aligned to the Group’s strategic intent to lead digital solutions for Africa’s progress: “We are confident that this alliance will build and leverage the strengths and assets of both companies to establish a digital insurance and investment capability across Africa.” Said Sanlam Group CEO, Paul Hanratty: “We are delighted to reach such a critical stage in our drive to deepen penetration of insurance and investment products across Africa through strategic partnerships.”We are confident that a strong foundation is in place for this alliance. Sanlam believes that this strategic alliance with the MTN Group will make a considerable contribution to financial inclusion in Africa.”By leveraging off the MTN brand, Sanlam’s licensing, broad product capabilities, financial services expertise and both group’s geographical footprint across the continent, the alliance has the potential to pre-empt and adapt to digital disruption in markets where both companies operate. –Staff ReporterStandard Bank open to acquisitionsThe Standard Bank Group is open to acquisitions in Nigeria and Kenya as Africa’s biggest lender by assets expands its presence in key markets on the continent. The lender is also keen to bolster its businesses in Ethiopia – where it has a representative office – and its home-market South Africa, says Standard Bank Chief Executive Officer Sim Tshabalala."If there was an appropriate priced asset with acceptable risk [In Nigeria and Kenya], we would definitely look at acquiring," he said. Standard Bank paid US$400 million to take control of its Nigerian unit in 2007.Expanding in the continent’s biggest economies is part of a strategy to ward off intensifying competition and tap African companies growing within the region. There’s also potential for enhanced business as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the world’s largest regional trade arrangement by membership and population, slowly takes root."Unlike five to 10 years ago, there are a number of African multinationals, who have got regional strategies, as well as international multinationals who are operating in countries where we don’t operate in," Tshabalala said in an interview at Bloomberg’s Johannesburg office. "They want us to provide them a service, which forces us to think outside the existing network," such as in Ivory Coast, Morocco, and Egypt, he said.In Nigeria, unit Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, which runs a corporate and investment bank, posted a 38% jump in profit in the six months to 30 June, the biggest increase since 2018. Standard Bank wants the unit, which has 140 branches, to expand in Africa’s most-populous nation without hurting its “strong returns” in the country, Tshabalala said. For similar reasons, Ethiopia, the continent’s second-largest country by population, offers a big opportunity, he said. Standard Bank is also planning to bolster its mid-sized business in the very competitive Kenyan market, according to the CEO.-Fin24Three-day strike at Makro endsDespite their strike at Makro ending over the weekend, the South African Commercial, Catering, and Allied Workers' Union (Saccawu) says it is not budging from its wage demands from the wholesale giant, which has now been given a 48-hour deadline to respond to wage demands or face further industrial action.The limited-duration strike came to an end on Saturday, but the union handed over a memorandum of demands at sites, including Makro's store in Ottery, Cape Town, on Monday.The union is demanding an across-the-board increase of R900 or 12%, whichever is the greater, a minimum wage of R8 000, a 20% commission margin for salespersons, a 13th cheque separate from the December salary, and a moratorium on retrenchments.Saccawu said the refusal to meet its demands will force the union to intensify its strike with rolling mass action and a consumer boycott. Massmart, the parent company of Makro, maintained the wage and commission demands were unrealistic, offering a 4.5% increase.The memorandum stuck to the wage demands that the unions made ahead of their three-day strike. However, Massmart senior vice-president of corporate affairs Brian Leroni said Makro remained prepared for future strike action and had identified specific areas for efficiency improvements."For the most part, our staffing contingency plans worked and, in fact, got better as the strike progressed and temporary staff became even more familiar with their duties. In a few selected stores, we identified opportunities to increase the number of temporary staff and to conduct reinforcement training and have made arrangements to do this starting today," said Leroni.-Fin24

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