Category Archives: BUSINESS-FINANCE

South African-based fintech Tyme Group has attained unicorn status after securing $250 million in a Series D funding round. The new funding led by Nu Holdings, which owns Latin America’s largest fintech, NuBank, pushes Tyme’s valuation to $1.5 billion. M&G Catalyst Fund and other existing shareholders also participated in the round. A Vote of Confidence For Tyme Group “It is a unique vote of confidence in our business by the world leaders in our industry, essentially,” Coenraad Jonker, chief executive officer and co-founder of Tyme, said in an interview with Bloomberg. Founded in 2019, the fintech operates a hybrid digital banking model that combines online banking with physical service offices. It has over 10 million users in South Africa, where it is known as TymeBank and operates as a digital

A bitcoin rally is fizzling in the final days of a record-breaking year for the digital asset, as investors assess the remaining impetus from US president-elect Donald Trump’s embrace of the cryptocurrency sector. The largest token changed hands at US$95,600 as of 8.45am Friday in Hong Kong, holding a retreat of almost 3 per cent from a day earlier. Smaller rivals including ether and dogecoin, a favourite of the meme crowd, struggled for traction. Trump is pushing ahead with a promise to create a crypto-friendly environment in the US and has backed the idea of establishing a national bitcoin reserve. Traders are waiting to see if such a stockpile is feasible. The crypto market is also braced for the expiry of a substantial quantity of bitcoin and ether options contracts

Media Statement from the Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry The Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, wishes to address the pressing issues currently facing our commerce and industry sectors, particularly considering the ongoing energy crisis, rising exchange rates, rising cost of doing business,shortage of liquidity and the severe threat to food security posed by recent drought conditions. The energy crisis has had a profound impact on our industrial output and the broader economic landscape. Many businesses are grappling with inconsistent power supply, which disrupts production processes, increases operational costs, and ultimately threatens the sustainability of our enterprises. Coupled with the escalating exchange rates, limited and expensive capital, over regulation and licence requirements and multiple police check points with protracted procedures. These challenges have made it increasingly difficult for local

Hong Kong recorded almost 300,000 more arrivals in the two days before Christmas Eve compared with last year, largely driven by residents returning home via the six land checkpoints connected with Shenzhen. More than 994,000 entered the city on December 22 and 23 this year, up from about 697,000 in 2023, according to the Immigration Department. About 50 per cent, or 489,000 of the arrivals this year, were Hong Kong residents returning to the city via the checkpoints. In 2023, this group only accounted for 37 per cent, or 259,000 of the total. Mainland tourists, meanwhile, recorded a slight decline from 240,000 to 233,000 during December 22 and 23 compared with the same period last year. About 1.09 million left the city, of which 70 per cent are Hong Kong

‘FlySafair’s primary focus is, and always has been, to operate within the bounds of the law while delivering exceptional service to our valued customers.’ The Air Services Licensing Council’s findings on one of the biggest airlines in South Africa, FlySafair shows non-compliance with the Council’s Act. However, FlySafair’s Chief Marketing Officer, Kirby Gordon, told The Citizen there is no immediate threat to operations. FlySafair operates most of South Africa’s domestic flights, with more than 5 000 flights a month, using 36 aircraft. ALSO READ: Anger fills the air as passengers stranded at OR Tambo [WATCH] FlySafair non-compliance In a media statement, the airline said it received a letter from the Air Services Licensing Council (ASLC) dated, 19 December 2024, about the non-compliance with nationality provisions under the Domestic Air Services

The Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, has stated that curses and criticism from Nigerians will not stop him from his commitment to advancing tax reforms bills in the country. Speaking at the presentation of a technical committee report by the League of Northern Democrats (LND) in Abuja on Thursday, Oyedele revealed the extent of backlash he and his family have faced while working on the tax reform bills. “Even on social media, you need to see the number of people cursing me and my family. “I don’t take it personally. I just go through to see if there are any useful comments we can work on. It’s public service. You’re not meant to be appreciated and praised every time. It doesn’t happen anywhere

Alibaba Group Holding is taking a 9.3 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion) loss in its sale of Intime , one of China’s leading department store operators, as the e-commerce giant walks away from offline retailing to focus on its core businesses. The company is selling its entire stake in the retail chain, in which it first invested in 2014, to a consortium of purchasers comprising Youngor Group and members of Intime’s management team, according to a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday. Youngor Group is a textile and clothing company based in the eastern city of Ningbo. The deal was valued at around 7.4 billion yuan, less than half of what Alibaba sank into the company. The divestment comes seven years after it teamed up with Intime’s founder

Britain officially became the 12th member of a trans-Pacific trade pact which includes Japan, Australia, and Canada on Sunday as it seeks to deepen ties in the region and build its global trade links after leaving the European Union. Britain announced last year it would join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in its biggest trade deal since Brexit. The accession means Britain will be able to apply CPTPP trade rules and lower tariffs with eight of the 11 existing members from Sunday – Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. The agreement enters into force with Australia on December 24, and will apply with the final two members – Canada and Mexico – 60 days after they ratify it. The pact represents Britain’s

NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 13 – Treasury is set to disburse an additional Sh32 billion to Counties by Thursday next week, being the amount due for November 2024. The announcement was made Thursday during the 25th Ordinary Session of the Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council (IBEC) which took place at Deputy president Kithure Kindiki’s Karen residence. In a joint communique, IBEC resolved that the National Treasury prioritizes disbursement of arrears accruing to the Equalization Fund. The Council lauded the Treasury for the disbursement saying it would help ease the cash crunch. “The Council appreciates the expedited action of the National Treasury of disbursing funds to County Governments,” read the statement signed by DP Kindiki who is the IBEC Chair and Council of Governors (CoG) chair governor Ahmed Abdullahi of Wajir. Speaking

Originally supposed to the called EQG, the G580 will sit atop the local G-Class range, but with a comparatively small price premium over the combustion engine AMG G63. Having disclosed pricing of the revised AMG G63 last month, Mercedes-Benz South Africa has now done to the same with the first all-electric G-Class, the G580 by EQ Technology. New range-topper Originally supposed to the called EGQ, but renamed at its world premiere in April in response to the EQ brand’s imminent demise, the G580 will make its market debut in the first quarter of 2025 as the second of an eventual three-model G-Class line-up. ALSO READ: Spruced-up Mercedes-Benz G-Class arrives headed by AMG G63 Priced marginally above the G63 with a sticker of R4 647 456 versus R4 630 600, the G580 becomes the torquiest

King joins star Raye on Christmas visit to Battersea Power Station PA Media The King met Apple boss Tim Cook and singer Raye on a visit to Apple HQ King Charles got into the festive spirit with an enthusiastically received visit to a Christmas market in Battersea Power Station in south-west London. A community choir was singing the carol We Three Kings as he arrived – and they had at least one real-life King there in person to listen. “You must be frozen. You’ll need a stiff drink,” the King said to the singers, outside in the December drizzle. The King also met Apple chief Tim Cook at the computer firm’s UK headquarters in the huge former power station building, before singer Raye gave them a seasonal serenade of “Holy

Despite intensifying restrictions from the US intended to stifle China’s semiconductor trade, Beijing’s shipments of the bedrock technology stood out as a rare bright spot in a recent export data release. China’s integrated circuit exports hit a record US$144.7 billion in value for the first 11 months of 2024, growing 18.8 per cent year on year according to customs data released on Tuesday. In addition to rising global demand and the rapid development of AI, the scale of manufacturing for China’s “legacy” chips – semiconductors behind the bleeding edge of innovation but still widely used for less intensive applications – is reshaping the market. Chip export volume reached 271.6 billion units from January through November, an 11.4 per cent gain over the same period last year. China’s mastery of 28-nanometre

Baby-boomer homeowners have benefited from skyrocketing housing prices amid a home shortage. But now they’re facing a shortage of accessible homes to retire in. Many older adults are stuck in homes they’re increasingly struggling to live in and pay for. Baby boomers have been the big winners in the US housing market, but as the generation retires, its members are facing a new challenge in finding accessible housing. It’s a problem they had a hand in making. Homeowners in the generation — now from 59 to 78 years old —have seen their home equity surge, particularly over the past decade, as a growing home shortage across the US has pushed home prices sky-high. But as the generation approaches 80, boomers are beginning to suffer from their own housing woes: a severe

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 22 – Katiba Institute has filed a petition challenging the constitutionality of public notices issued by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) and the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), which require individuals to register their International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers. The lobby which seeks to champion constitutionalism in the country argues that the directive is unjustified and disproportionate. It warned granting CA and KRA access to mobile service provider data could allow them to monitor individuals’ movements and communications on an unprecedented scale. IMEI numbers, uniquely tied to a device’s hardware, enable mobile providers to pinpoint a phone’s location within a 100-meter radius and access insights into a person’s communication history. “Without proper safeguards, it appears the government is usurping powers it does not have to establish