COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

UBS and Credit Suisse's Swiss units could merge by July 1 The merger of the Swiss units of UBS and Credit Suisse could be completed as early as July 1, a senior executive at UBS was quoted as saying on Tuesday.UBS, which acquired former rival Credit Suisse last year after the bank's collapse, had previously indicated the two units would be combined during the third quarter.Sabine Keller-Busse, president of UBS Switzerland, told the Neue Zuercher Zeitung newspaper in an interview that the plan was progressing "very well"."The merger could by done by July 1," she said.Customers will start transferring to UBS' IT systems in the course of 2025, Keller-Busse said.The merger of the parent companies of UBS and Credit Suisse concluded at the end of last month.Separately, UBS said in a statement it had on June 7 completed the transition to a single U.S. intermediate holding company, as planned.UBS' absorption of Credit Suisse has left Switzerland with a single global bank, which has a balance sheet around twice the size of the country's annual economic output.Keller-Busse, who reiterated that there would be 3,000 layoffs in Switzerland due to the overall merger, was also asked whether she would like to succeed UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti, who is expected to step down in the next three years or so.She is regarded as one of the potential candidates."I have one of the most interesting jobs in the banking industry," she told the paper. "That's what I'm concentrating on, as I always have. All this speculation is irrelevant to me."-REUTERS-Musk warns that he will ban Apple devices if OpenAI is integrated at operating system levelBillionaire Elon Musk said on Monday he would ban Apple devices at his companies if the iPhone maker integrates OpenAI at the operating system level."That is an unacceptable security violation," Musk, who is the CEO of electric-vehicle maker Tesla and rocket maker SpaceX and owner of social media company X, said in a post on X."And visitors will have to check their Apple devices at the door, where they will be stored in a Faraday cage," he said.Apple and OpenAI did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.Earlier in the day, Apple announced a slew of AI features across its apps and operating platforms and a partnership with OpenAI to bring the ChatGPT technology to its devices.Apple said it had built AI with privacy "at the core" and it would use a combination of on-device processing and cloud computing to power those features."It's patently absurd that Apple isn't smart enough to make their own AI, yet is somehow capable of ensuring that OpenAI will protect your security & privacy!" Musk said on X.It was unlikely that anyone would follow Musk's lead, Ben Bajarin, CEO of consulting firm Creative Strategies, said, adding that Apple was trying to educate people that private cloud was as secure as keeping data on a device."What (Apple) is trying to now add to the narrative is when (data) leaves and goes to the secure private cloud, it's similarly taking that same user data anonymization and firewalling of that information to you. Apple really never sees that," he said.Musk had sued OpenAI, which he co-founded in 2015, and its CEO Sam Altman at the beginning of March, saying they abandoned the startup's original mission to develop AI for the benefit of humanity and not for profit.He has also founded his own startup, xAI, in a bid to challenge OpenAI and build an alternative to the viral chatbot ChatGPT.xAI was valued at $24 billion in its last funding round, where it raised $6 billion in series B funding.-REUTERS- VW and Isuzu give major reality check to South AfricaVolkswagen AG and Isuzu Motors Ltd. have expressed scepticism about South Africa’s plans to develop electric and hydrogen-powered vehicle industries. While the government in February announced that automakers would be allowed to claim a 150% tax deduction on investment in facilities to make the vehicles, the local heads of both companies said they’d stay focused on internal combustion engine vehicles.The country’s automotive industry, which accounted for more than R271 billion in exports last year, is currently dependent on shipments to the European Union, where legislation is expected to gradually reduce demand for vehicles that run on diesel and gasoline. “They won’t call on us to make battery electric vehicles here” as there is enough capacity in Europe and transport costs would be lower, Martina Biene, chairwoman and managing director of Volkswagen South Africa, said at a conference in Gqeberha, close to her company’s 165,000 vehicle-per-year factory in the country.“We are not, in the long run, the exporter to Europe anymore.”Instead, she said the company is likely to focus on selling fuel-powered cars locally and to other markets in Africa. That position was echoed by Billy Tom, the chief executive officer of Isuzu’s South African unit.“We mustn’t rush and let go of what we have,” he said, adding that he expects internal combustion engine vehicles to dominate African demand for the next 20 to 50 years. “I don’t see big growth in Africa” for so-called new-energy vehicles, he said. Biene is also president of the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers, while Tom is president of South Africa’s National Association of Automotive Component and Allied Manufacturers.South Africa has also done little to develop a domestic market for the vehicles, the executives said. -BUSINESS TECH-Alexforbes declares special dividend – giving shareholders an extra R778 millionAlexfobes has declared a special dividend after a strong set of results for the 12 months ended 31 March 2024.The group’s operating income increased by 12% to R3.9 billion, while headline earnings per share from total operations were up 29% to 61.5 cents.The group’s closing assets under management and administration increased by 16% to R525 billion.The group said that the growth resulted from the deliberate execution of its strategy, new business wins, and acquisition implementation and reflects the positive market performance in the current year.“We set out to transform our business, and I am pleased with our disciplined execution, consistent delivery over time, capacity building and progress towards our ambition as a group,” said Dawie de Villiers.Amid the strong performance, the group declared a gross final cash dividend of 30 cents per share, resulting in a 19% increase in the annual dividend.The board also declared a gross special cash dividend of 60 cents per share, distributing R778 million in additional cash to shareholders and reducing the group’s surplus capital position.It said that declaring a special dividend reflects its strong cash performance and desire to improve capital efficiencies.“Alexforbes has been gearing itself towards the implementation of the two-pot retirement system that directly impacts its administration system capabilities, digital suite and engagement with members on an unprecedented scale,” said the group.“The company regards this as an opportunity to connect with, engage and educate members about their options and the long-term value of their retirement fund investments.”“In doing so, Alexforbes believes that it can build relationships with members that will ultimately result in the opportunity to provide the best advice.”-BUSINESS TECH-

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