Author: Gugu Lourie

Global tech investors Prosus announced plans to buy up to 45.4% of shares in its parent company, Naspers.  Post the transaction, Prosus free float would double to more than $100 billion (R1.4 trillion), increasing liquidity, market index weightings and enhanced trading dynamics. The Prosus board believes that the company will benefit from the step-up in size of its free float resulting from the proposed transaction. This transaction is expected to bring increased liquidity, improved market index weightings as a Top 20 STOXX 50 company, and enhanced trading dynamics, creating value for both Prosus and Naspers shareholders over the long term.…

Transaction Capital, the owners of SA Taxi, is in talks to buy an additional stake in WeBuyCars, a South African online car marketplace. The JSE-listed company informed investors today that it has entered formal negotiations with WBC Holdings (WBC Holdco), the holding company of WeBuyCars, and its shareholders to conclude a transaction in the short term. Transaction Capital said the deal would result in Transaction Capital Motor Holdco holding 74.9% of the shares in and acquiring control of WBC Holdco. Founders of WeBuyCars would have the remaining 25.1% stake. The company currently holds a 49.9% stake in the South African…

Phuthuma Nhleko, former MTN Group executive chairman, has been appointed as an independent non-executive director of the JSE. His appointment is effective 1 July 2021. The JSE also announced that Nhleko has also accepted the board’s invitation to serve as chairman-designate and will assume the role of JSE board chairman, with effect from the annual general meeting to be held in May 2022. “The board extends a warm welcome to Phuthuma and looks forward to his contribution and leadership,” said the JSE. Nhleko has extensive experience, both in South Africa and globally, in telecommunications, organisational strategy development, operations, M&A, corporate…

The South African government is embarking on developing regulations that will guide and regulate the implementation and roll-out of autonomous vehicle technology (AVT). In its Annual Performance Plan for the financial year 2020/21, the Department of Transport disclosed that we could not avoid the imminent changes in our road transportation system as a country. “These regulations, therefore, will ensure that the country remains competitive towards what the world will be offering. The country will be in a position where it can trade and operate the vehicles with autonomous technology,” the department said. The rest of the world is confronted with…

Twitter is officially adding the Tip Jar feature to the platform to enable users to send money directly to their favourite accounts. Starting today, everyone using Twitter in English can send tips to applicable accounts on Twitter for iOS and Android. “You drive the conversation on Twitter and we want to make it easier for you to support each other beyond Follows, Retweets, and Likes. Today, we’re introducing Tip Jar – a new way for people to send and receive tips,” Esther Crawford, Twitter’s Senior Product Manager, wrote in the company’s blog. “We $ee you – sharing your PayPal link…

The Estonian government’s e-Residency programme, a pioneer of the world’s first digital residency initiative, has launched a new digital ID card collection in Johannesburg. Many people have traveled from country to country while they remote worked over the past decade, but there were limited ways to do so legitimately until recently. Antiquated visa systems required travelers to define themselves as entrepreneurs or workers and required a company to sponsor their stay — an expensive, bureaucratic route with few guarantees. Instead, most people chose to label themselves as “tourists” but risked deportation if the authorities caught them out. For more read:…

The Facebook Oversight Board has ruled to uphold the decision to ban former US President Donald J. Trump from the social media network. Facebook’s Oversight Board acts as a quasi-court over the company’s content decisions. The former president was banned from both Facebook and Instagram in January following the Capitol Hill riots. The Oversight Board said it has upheld Facebook’s decision to suspend Trump’s access to post content on Facebook and Instagram on January 7, 2021. However, as Facebook suspended Trump’s accounts ‘indefinitely,’ the company must reassess this penalty, it said. “Within six months of this decision, Facebook must reexamine…

Attacq, the owners of Mall of Africa in Midrand, has launched SHôPING, a new app to offer online shopping. The app, launched in April 2021, allows The Mall of Africa’s customer and merchant community to access the Dashpay transaction platform. the platform facilitates in-mall navigation, wallet-less shopping and cashless gift card solutions, consolidating communication channels and offering a seamless customer experience to take the brick & mortar experience into the digital space. SHôPING is set to benefit merchants by increasing basket sizes as customers make use of a bespoke virtual currency – ZAKA – which can be earned and spent…

Crystal Partners, a newly launched female-owned and led South African investments entity, wants to be the premier choice partner for global and local companies seeking to establish and expand their footprint on the African continent. The investment firm has appointed sixteen specialists to seek agriculture, energy, technology & innovation, health, and mining opportunities. The company has been established as the Alternative Investment arm of the Sandton-based pan-African diversified investment company Beryl Group, focusing on proprietary investments. It holds equity interests in a balanced portfolio of medium and large capitalised companies spanning three core sectors: Logistics and Rail, Coal, and Financial…

The MoMo, a mobile money service, for MTN is gaining traction with its South African subscribers. Since its relaunch in South Africa in January 2020, MoMo has performed well, with approximately 3.1 million registered users on 31 March 2021, said MTN. “The focus remains on scaling the MoMo business and deepening financial inclusion through driving adoption as well as innovative and relevant service offerings,” the company informed investors today. Also read: Why the Relaunch of MTN’s MoMo is More Than a Mobile Money Service in SA? MoMo allows users to purchase airtime, prepaid electricity, and pay for their municipal bills…