Company news in brief

Airlink eyeing SAA assetsPrivately-owned airline Airlink is interested in buying some of the assets of struggling state carrier South African Airways (SAA) and expanding on routes SAA discontinues, Airlink's chief executive told Reuters.SAA entered a form of bankruptcy protection in December and is fighting for its survival. Specialists appointed to try to rescue SAA said on Thursday that they would cut some domestic and international routes from the end of February and that they would consider asset sales.Airlink CEO Rodger Foster said Airlink could be interested in buying a stake in SAA's low-cost subsidiary Mango Airlines as well as some infrastructure at South African Airways Technical, if SAA's business rescue practitioners put those assets up for sale.He added that Airlink could look to increase flights on three African routes that SAA has decided to discontinue from the end of February, to Entebbe, Ndola and Luanda. – Nampa/ReutersGold Fields wants to generate own powerSouth African miner Gold Fields has wanted to build a solar plant at its South Deep gold mine outside Johannesburg for more than three years.But it is still waiting for ministerial approval and a licence from the regulator to build a large generating facility.Red tape has cost miners tens of millions of US dollars in lost revenue over the past year, as power blackouts have dented their output at a time when they could have been generating their own power, they say.After some mines shut down during the worst power outages on record in December, president Cyril Ramaphosa promised to ease regulatory curbs on "self-generation"."Government must accelerate the approval of renewable power projects planned by miners so that they can deal with job-destroying tariff hikes and supply interruptions," Gold Fields chief executive Nick Holland told Reuters.South Deep, one of the world's deepest gold mines, needs large amounts of power for cooling and ventilation. Gold Fields says its solar project could provide a fifth of the mine's annual power needs for 20 years. – Nampa/ReutersNippon Steel faces record lossJapan's Nippon Steel Corp said on Friday it will shut nearly 10% of its production capacity, an unprecedented move in the once-dominant Japanese steel industry hit by falling demand at home and competition from China.The world's third-biggest steelmaker is setting aside US$3.6 billion in charges and will close three blast furnaces in Japan, as it confronts a period of waning demand as Japan's population declines.Nippon expects to book a record loss of 440 billion yen (US$4 billion) this financial year, as a result of the charges from the closures, which also include smaller facilities in Japan and some production capacity overseas.Akio Migita, executive vice president of Nippon Steel, told a news conference the US-China trade war had added to the challenges.A construction boom for this summer's Olympics in Tokyo has ended, while areas devastated by the 2011 tsunami have also been mostly rebuilt. – Nampa/ReutersSamsung unveils new foldable phoneSamsung Electronics, the world's top smartphone maker, gave a glimpse of new square-shaped foldable phones in a surprise TV commercial aired during the Academy Awards on Sunday.The ad, broadcast only in the United States, comes two days before its Galaxy Z Flip phones, which open and close vertically like a flip phone, are due to be unveiled at an event in San Francisco.While there were many shots of the phones, which come in at least purple and black, there were few other details.They are, however, expected to be less expensive than the US$1 980 Galaxy Fold which opens like a book and was launched in September, delayed by several months after problems with its screens."The new Galaxy Z Flip foldable phone will create a halo effect for Samsung's brand and help it better compete with Apple's pricey models," said Tom Kang, an analyst at research firm Counterpoint, adding that Samsung had taken the lead in foldable phones at a time when Chinese rivals looked set to leap into the nascent market. – Nampa/ReutersFord shakes up top managementFord Motor Co on Friday shook up its top management, naming strategy chief Jim Farley as chief operating officer of the No. 2 US automaker and promising skeptical investors the company will kick a slow-moving turnaround into a higher gear.Ford's move positions Farley, 57, as potential heir to chief executive Jim Hackett, who took over in May 2017. Farley is currently president of new businesses, technology and strategy but will now be responsible for all global operations as well as future technology such as self-driving cars.News of Farley's promotion and the retirement of automotive president Joe Hinrichs, another potential CEO candidate, effective on March 1, came three days after Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford saw its shares slide following a disappointing forecast. On Friday, Ford shares were off as much as 2.8% to their lowest price since January 2019 and finished the day down about 1.7%.Farley told Reuters that Ford needs to move more quickly, especially around taking advantage of the software, data and connectivity in its vehicles including commercial vehicles. Farley added that Ford was "deep" in partnership talks with digital companies to improve its customer experience. – Nampa/Reuters

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Republikein 2025-04-18

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