COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF
Nigeria grants MTN licence
Mobile money is a growing contributor to MTN Nigeria's income, and the new banking licence would allow the company to explore growth opportunities presented by the country's unbanked population.
MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita said granting the final approval to commence the operations of MoMo bank was an "important milestone" for the company’s Ambition 2025 strategy unveiled a year ago. Nigeria, the continent's populous nation, is MTN's largest market.
Mobile money is an electronic service that enables users to send and receive money, make payments and perform other transactions using their mobile phones. The system is used across a number of MTN's African markets, including Zambia, Ghana, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In January MTN revealed that MTN Nigeria's mobile money service had attracted 9.4 million active users since launching in August 2019, a growth the company said provided a "solid foundation" for the upcoming establishment of the bank.
The company says the bank will "provide a powerful platform to drive digital and financial inclusion in Nigeria". The volume of transactions performed through the service rose by 167% to 137.5 million in the 2021 full financial year. -Fin24
SAA has about R1 billion stuck in Zim
South African Airways (SAA) still has about R1 billion in revenue from ticket sales stuck in Zimbabwe which it can't get as the southern African country continues to battle a liquidity crisis.
This is according to a report by the Auditor-General, which forms part of the state-owned airline's 2017/18 financial statements, tabled in Parliament in March. The financial statements weren't released before because the auditors withheld their audit opinion, as SAA's status as going concern was at significant risk. SAA went into business rescue in December 2019.
SAA earned the money from tickets it sold in Zimbabwe, but has been unable to recover it.
"SAA was unable to repatriate monies owing for ticket sales amounting to approximately US$87.9 million (about R1.285 billion) due to the liquidity crisis in Zimbabwe. This amount was impaired in full in the 2019 financial year as it was doubtful that the funds would be collectable," states the AG's report.
"SAA has managed to access some funds and utilised them within Zimbabwe and repatriated small amounts to South Africa over time. The current balance in Zimbabwe stands at US$70 million (about R1.023 billion)."-Fin24
Eskom warns of load shedding
Eskom has warned that load shedding may have to be implemented at short notice after a number of generating breakdowns.
Four generation units - at Matla, Kriel and Camden power stations – broke down, while a generating unit each at Tutuka and Matla power stations have been delayed from returning to service. The unplanned breakdowns have removed 15 514 MW of capacity from the system, while almost 5 000 MW is out due to planned maintenance.
"This together with the inclement weather, which has increased the demand for electricity, has placed the power system under pressure," Eskom said.
Parts of the country have seen heavy rain in recent days, with KwaZulu-Natal hit by flooding and mudslides. Eskom urged the public to cut their electricity usage.
Should the situation deteriorate further, load shedding may need to be implemented at short notice, Eskom warned.
The "constrained supply situation" may persist throughout the week. South Africa last suffered load shedding in mid-March. -Fin24
EasyEquities grows to almost 1m accounts
Low-cost investment platform EasyEquities now has almost 1 million accounts, with R36.5 billion held in those accounts.
Its revenue for the six months to end-February increased by 28% to R108.7 million, while the business reported a profit after tax of R23.3 million – 4% higher than the previous year.
EasyEquities’ operating cost per invested client fell by almost 25% to R80 per client, and its acquisition cost and onboarding cost per new EasyEquities client amounted to R47.76 and R6.77, compared to R61.53 and R9.43, respectively, in the previous year.”
"EasyEquities’ platform capability caters to the evolving needs of all customer types, recognising that today’s managed investor is tomorrow’s day trader, the curious 20 something crypto trader, next decade’s advised passive parent,” the Purple Group, which owns EasyEquities, said in its results statement.
EasyEquities has partnerships with Satrix, Capitec Bank, Discovery Bank, Telkom and Bidvest Bank. -Fin24
Nokia says to stop doing business in Russia
Telecom’s equipment maker Nokia is pulling out of the Russian market, its CEO told Reuters, going a step further than rival Ericsson, which said on Monday it was indefinitely suspending its business in the country.
Hundreds of foreign companies are cutting ties with Russia following its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine and after unprecedented Western sanctions against Moscow.
While several sectors, including telecoms, have been exempted from some sanctions on humanitarian or related grounds, Nokia said it had decided quitting Russia was the only option.
"We just simply do not see any possibilities to continue in the country under the current circumstances," Chief Executive Pekka Lundmark said in an interview.
He added Nokia would continue to support customers during the exit process, and it was not possible to say at this stage how long the withdrawal would take. -Reuters
Mobile money is a growing contributor to MTN Nigeria's income, and the new banking licence would allow the company to explore growth opportunities presented by the country's unbanked population.
MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita said granting the final approval to commence the operations of MoMo bank was an "important milestone" for the company’s Ambition 2025 strategy unveiled a year ago. Nigeria, the continent's populous nation, is MTN's largest market.
Mobile money is an electronic service that enables users to send and receive money, make payments and perform other transactions using their mobile phones. The system is used across a number of MTN's African markets, including Zambia, Ghana, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In January MTN revealed that MTN Nigeria's mobile money service had attracted 9.4 million active users since launching in August 2019, a growth the company said provided a "solid foundation" for the upcoming establishment of the bank.
The company says the bank will "provide a powerful platform to drive digital and financial inclusion in Nigeria". The volume of transactions performed through the service rose by 167% to 137.5 million in the 2021 full financial year. -Fin24
SAA has about R1 billion stuck in Zim
South African Airways (SAA) still has about R1 billion in revenue from ticket sales stuck in Zimbabwe which it can't get as the southern African country continues to battle a liquidity crisis.
This is according to a report by the Auditor-General, which forms part of the state-owned airline's 2017/18 financial statements, tabled in Parliament in March. The financial statements weren't released before because the auditors withheld their audit opinion, as SAA's status as going concern was at significant risk. SAA went into business rescue in December 2019.
SAA earned the money from tickets it sold in Zimbabwe, but has been unable to recover it.
"SAA was unable to repatriate monies owing for ticket sales amounting to approximately US$87.9 million (about R1.285 billion) due to the liquidity crisis in Zimbabwe. This amount was impaired in full in the 2019 financial year as it was doubtful that the funds would be collectable," states the AG's report.
"SAA has managed to access some funds and utilised them within Zimbabwe and repatriated small amounts to South Africa over time. The current balance in Zimbabwe stands at US$70 million (about R1.023 billion)."-Fin24
Eskom warns of load shedding
Eskom has warned that load shedding may have to be implemented at short notice after a number of generating breakdowns.
Four generation units - at Matla, Kriel and Camden power stations – broke down, while a generating unit each at Tutuka and Matla power stations have been delayed from returning to service. The unplanned breakdowns have removed 15 514 MW of capacity from the system, while almost 5 000 MW is out due to planned maintenance.
"This together with the inclement weather, which has increased the demand for electricity, has placed the power system under pressure," Eskom said.
Parts of the country have seen heavy rain in recent days, with KwaZulu-Natal hit by flooding and mudslides. Eskom urged the public to cut their electricity usage.
Should the situation deteriorate further, load shedding may need to be implemented at short notice, Eskom warned.
The "constrained supply situation" may persist throughout the week. South Africa last suffered load shedding in mid-March. -Fin24
EasyEquities grows to almost 1m accounts
Low-cost investment platform EasyEquities now has almost 1 million accounts, with R36.5 billion held in those accounts.
Its revenue for the six months to end-February increased by 28% to R108.7 million, while the business reported a profit after tax of R23.3 million – 4% higher than the previous year.
EasyEquities’ operating cost per invested client fell by almost 25% to R80 per client, and its acquisition cost and onboarding cost per new EasyEquities client amounted to R47.76 and R6.77, compared to R61.53 and R9.43, respectively, in the previous year.”
"EasyEquities’ platform capability caters to the evolving needs of all customer types, recognising that today’s managed investor is tomorrow’s day trader, the curious 20 something crypto trader, next decade’s advised passive parent,” the Purple Group, which owns EasyEquities, said in its results statement.
EasyEquities has partnerships with Satrix, Capitec Bank, Discovery Bank, Telkom and Bidvest Bank. -Fin24
Nokia says to stop doing business in Russia
Telecom’s equipment maker Nokia is pulling out of the Russian market, its CEO told Reuters, going a step further than rival Ericsson, which said on Monday it was indefinitely suspending its business in the country.
Hundreds of foreign companies are cutting ties with Russia following its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine and after unprecedented Western sanctions against Moscow.
While several sectors, including telecoms, have been exempted from some sanctions on humanitarian or related grounds, Nokia said it had decided quitting Russia was the only option.
"We just simply do not see any possibilities to continue in the country under the current circumstances," Chief Executive Pekka Lundmark said in an interview.
He added Nokia would continue to support customers during the exit process, and it was not possible to say at this stage how long the withdrawal would take. -Reuters
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