Company news in brief

Nedbank warns land expropriation could spark banking crisis

South Africa’s plans to change the constitution to allow the expropriation of land without compensation could hit property prices and trigger a banking crisis, the chief executive of Nedbank told parliament on Friday.

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Aug. 1 that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) planned to change the constitution to allow land to be expropriated without compensation, as whites still own most of South Africa’s territory.

Speaking to the Constitutional Review Committee, which is investigating proposed changes to the constitution, Mike Brown said there was no need to alter the law because the existing legislation already allowed the state to expropriate property for land reform purposes.

-Nampa/Reuters

Alibaba's Jack Ma to step down

Jack Ma, the charismatic co-founder of China’s largest e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, will step down as chairman in one year to concentrate on philanthropy and education, passing on the reins to trusted lieutenant Daniel Zhang.

Ma, who turned 54 on Monday, has long flagged plans to step back, insisting that Alibaba management should be relatively young and his retirement is not expected to affect the running of the company.

But it is still extremely rare for a founder of big and transformative tech firm, especially one with a cult-like status like Ma, to retire so early.

-Nampa/Reuters

J&J to work with India on compensation

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) said it would work with the Indian government to compensate patients who had suffered from hip implants that were recalled by the US healthcare firm eight years ago after data showed high failure rates.

This follows last week’s recommendation from a government panel that J&J pay at least 2 million rupees (US$27 812) to each patient for the faulty ASR hip implant. The federal government has asked states to help patients get relief soon.

About 93 000 people worldwide received ASR implants which were recalled in 2010. The Indian panel said in its report that about 4 700 of those people were in India.

-Nampa/Reuters

Apple says China tariffs will boost prices

Apple, the world’s most valuable company, said proposed US tariffs on US$200 billion worth of products imported from China will raise prices for some of its popular consumer goods such as the Apple Watch and AirPods headphones.

The Mac mini desktop computer, Apple Pencil stylus accessory for iPads, various chargers and adapters and tooling equipment used to manufacturer and design some products in the US will also be affected, the Cupertino, California-based company told the Office of US Trade Representative in a letter dated September 5.

The US has imposed US$50 billion worth of tariffs on Chinese goods with another US$200 billion in the final stages. The public had until Thursday to comment on the administration’s plan. US President Donald Trump said Friday he is considering another US$267 billion of tariffs on China, which analysts said will affect virtually every category of consumer goods, to retaliate against what he calls unfair trade practices.

-Fin24

Broadcom sees fourth-quarter boost

Broadcom Inc on Thursday forecast current-quarter revenue largely above estimates on higher demand for components that power data centers, while the launch of Apple Inc’s new iPhones is expected to bolster its wireless business.

Shares of Broadcom rose 4% to US$224.90 in extended trading after the chipmaker also reported third-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates.

Revenue from enterprise storage business jumped 70% in the reported quarter as the acquisition of Brocade helped drive sales gains at the unit.

-Nampa/Reuters