Bizness Lounge

Friday, 28 November 2014

Staff Fear The Chop In Samsung Electronics Annual Reshuffle

Samsung has said it will revamp its smartphone lineup to take on rivals in the growing smartphone market. Reuters

(Reuters) - Insiders say staff at Samsung Electronics have never been so anxious ahead of the annual reshuffle, as a weak smartphone performance and its worst earnings in three years are expected to cost many jobs.
As is customary for Korean businesses, Samsung is expected to announce its annual personnel changes in early December, a ritual that even in good times means weeks of distracting uncertainty for staff facing promotion, transfer or the sack.
The last of those options looks more likely after third-quarter operating profit fell by nearly two thirds.
Squeezed by Chinese rivals like Xiaomi Technology at the low end and Apple's iPhones at the top, Samsung's share of the smartphone market has also

A broker monitors an electronic board displaying stock prices during a trading session at Karachi Stock Exchange on Oct. 16, 2014. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro

(Reuters) - Mumbai-based SBI Funds Management will launch an Islamic equity mutual fund next month to tap into India's large but underserved Muslim population, although the country still lags in developing sharia-compliant debt alternatives.
India's 175 million Muslims, the largest Muslim minority population in the world, are unable to use Islamic banks because of laws requiring banks to charge interest, which is forbidden in Islam.
This policy has persisted since 2005, when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) set up a committee to study Islamic finance, although equity products have fared better and

Shoppers wait to enter Macy's to kick off Black Friday sales in New York on Nov. 27, 2014. Reuters/Andrew Kelly
Shoppers enter Macy's to kick off Black Friday sales in New York on Nov. 27, 2014. Reuters/Andrew Kelly
Shoppers enter Macy's to kick off Black Friday sales in New York on Nov. 27, 2014. Reuters/Andrew Kelly

Nearly 15,000 people shopped at Macy’s Herald Square flagship store in New York City on Thursday night, making it the highest ever early Black Friday shopping number for the store, Terry Lundgren, CEO of Macy’s, said according to USA Today.
Macy’s opened its doors at 6 p.m. on Thursday and customers rushed to take advantage of Black Friday sales a day ahead. Lundgren reportedly said that he was initially unsure about opening the stores at 6 p.m. but the move had turned out to be a success as thousands of people poured in and the main entrance remained blocked with shoppers 45 minutes after it opened, USA Today reported.
"This year it's definitely taking people much longer to

The skyline of downtown Austin, Texas on Nov. 5, 2009. Reuters/Lucy Nicholson

A suspect was shot dead by police in Austin, Texas, early on Friday after several downtown buildings, including the city’s police headquarters and the Mexican consulate, were fired at by the shooter, reports said. The police also evacuated the area while a bomb robot examined a device left near police headquarters, NBC News reported.
The city's police had said that three ambulances had reached the scene of the shooting but, at about 5 a.m. local time, they were still waiting for clearance from police officials to reach the wounded suspect. Officials suspected that the object left behind outside the police department could be a “booby-trap,” NBC News reported, citing Austin Travis County EMS spokesman Mike Benavides. There could be more than one improvised explosive device (IED) at the site, KEYE TV, a local CBS News affiliate, reported, citing police.
The Austin Police Department had asked people to stay away from the area as

Tigo Pesa Pays $1.8m As Profit To Customers

Onyedimmakachukwu Business, Finance/Money, Telecommunication

VENTURES AFRICA – Tanzania’s leading innovative telecommunication company, Tigo, announced today the first of its regular quarterly payments worth TZS3bn ($1.8 million) to its mobile money service of users.
Tigo Pesa, with a subscriber base of 3.6 million customers, became the first mobile money service in the world to pay profit to its users when three months ago it shared a profit of TZS 14.25 billion ($8.64 million) accumulated in the Tigo Pesa Trust Account.
The company has continued the initiative albeit with a lower sum which the General Manager, Diego Gutierrez, says is because the first was accumulated over three and half years. “This second payment is the profit accumulated from funds held in trust in commercial banks for three months in the quarter July to September 2014,” the General Manager said in a statement sent to Ventures Africa. “This second round of profit disbursement shows the company’s continued commitment to

Airtel Launches First 4G Internet Service In Seychelles

November 28, 2014 Busayo Business, Telecommunication

VENTURES AFRICA – Airtel Africa, a subsidiary of Indian telecommunication multinational, Bharti Airtel, has launched its first commercial Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in Seychelles, confirming the growing need for better internet services across Africa.
The 800 MHz network based on FD-LTE will ‘more than meet the growing customer demand for mobile broadband services, whilst delivering superior network performance.’
“It will (also) enable an enhanced mobile experience and reliable services, and will facilitate new and exciting opportunities for businesses, the society and the people in the country,” Danny Fure, Vice President of Seychelles, said while launching the network.
Airtel is expected to deploy the network to about 10,000 LTE subscribers in the first phase of the roll-out, giving its customers improved smartphone experience with

OPEC’s New Decision Provokes Further Oil Price Drop

November 28, 2014 Editor Business, Editor's Pick, Energy

VENTURES AFRICA – Yesterday, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) took a definitive stance; it would not be reducing oil production but will rather stick to the group’s existing target output of 30 million oil barrels per day. Following the announcement, the prices of oil slumped further, an expected reaction to a subdued decision.
Crude oil prices plummeted over 6 percent to sit below $68 a barrel after OPEC made the announcement, that’s the lowest price in about four years.
“Some analysts have said that oil prices could slide to $60 per barrel if OPEC does not agree to a significant output cut. Benchmark Brent futures dropped over $1 on Thursday to $76.28 a barrel, the lowest level since September 2010. U.S. crude also dropped over $1 to a session low of $72.61,” an analysis by Reuters read.
Currency sickness
The rest of the world is already beginning to catch

Enhancing Diversification: NEXIM Bank Tenders $1.3bn Loan To Nigerian Exporters

November 28, 2014 Editor Economic Development & Policies, Investing, Markets

African-trade-growth-drives-demand-for-new-marine-and-cargo-insurance-solutions

VENTURES AFRICA – With the cry for diversification of the Nigerian economy growing ever louder, the Nigerian Export Import Bank (NEXIM) has announced that it will offer a N300 billion ($1.3 billion) funding to support Nigerian exporters. This move is expected to spark a surge in non-oil exports and further re-direct the income to other key growth sectors of the economy.
This was disclosed by Nexim’s Managing Director, Mr Roberts Orya, at the 2014 Nigeria Non-oil Export and Investment Development Conference organized by Business Journal in Lagos, adding that the bank is committed to further promoting export-import trade and attracting foreign investments. To date, the bank has facilitated upwards of $1.3 billion in foreign exchange, provided guarantees of over $430 million, while creating some 2,000 jobs.
As expected, he stressed the need for the diversification of the economy and the promotion of the non-oil sector, and implored stakeholders to seek out avenues to

Cameroonian Economist Secures UNIDO Appointment

November 28, 2014 Niyi Aderibigbe Leadership

VENTURES AFRICA – Cameroonian economist, Célestin Monga, has been appointed as Managing Director at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the UN body mandated to promote and accelerate inclusive and sustainable industrial development in developing countries and economies in transition.
Monga is currently Director of the Oxford University Press Handbook of Africa and Economics. He is also a leading member of the Swiss based Quantum Global group’s Advisory Board. Quantum’s work targets African private equity, investment and infrastructure interests.
“I am humbled that UNIDO’s Director-General Li Yong offered me this new opportunity,” said Monga. “For more than two centuries, industrialization has been the main engine of growth and prosperity in the world and has helped lift out of poverty hundreds of millions of people.”
He however noted that the current modes of industrialization are

Merkel Ignoring Risks in Feel-Good Economy, DIW Head Says

By Rainer Buergin

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is ignoring risks to Germany’s economic health and making a mistake by balancing the budget as the economy cools, Marcel Fratzscher, head of the DIW economic institute, said.
Germany’s economic strength relative to other euro-area members is giving the chancellor and her Social Democrat coalition partner a false sense of security, Fratzscher said in an interview. Merkel, whom Germans re-elected to a third term last year, has focused since then on redistributing wealth rather than pursuing pro-business policies, he said.
“The perception is that we’re doing so well that all we have to think about is how to share the cake and who gets which piece,” Fratzscher said in Berlin yesterday. Germans tend to think “structural reforms aren’t needed -- that’s something for our neighbors,” he said.
The comments add to criticism by the government’s council of