Author: Gugu Lourie

As an e-mobility pioneer, BMW has already delivered half a million electrified vehicles to customers worldwide. For more read: BMW Sold Half A Million Electric Cars Worlwide The German carmaker announced on Tuesday that a total of 145,815 electrified BMW and MINI vehicles were sold worldwide in 2019 – an increase of 2.2% over the previous year. The BMW i brand continued its positive sales trend last year with the BMW i3 and the BMW i8, which both saw a 12.1% increase to 42,073 units. This makes BMW i3 and the BMW i8, the top-selling electric cars in the BMW…

In South Africa, Vodacom continuously experiences an inconsistent supply of electricity due to load-shedding negatively impacting operational costs as a result of increased diesel consumption and new batteries. The South African Government has also recently introduced a carbon tax that will further increase the operating costs of running Vodacom’s network sites. In 2019, Vodacom said it consumed 474 GWh of electricity, predominantly from grid power and diesel and petrol. The company added in its recently published Sustainability Report that its carbon footprint was 640 926 tonnes of CO2 e (2% increase from 2018), predominantly as a result of growth in…

To understand the new smart monitors and other pro devices of tech health, we should look to Silicon Valley and the quantified movement of the latest generation. Apple’s Watch records exercise, tracks our moves throughout the day, assesses the amount of time we are stood up and reminds us to get up and move around if we have been sat for too long – let’s not forget Tim Cook’s “sitting is the new factor” line. Routinely evaluating your risk factors for various medical conditions, screening for cancer and other diseases, and assessing your lifestyle habits helps you stay healthy. It’s…

“Just Eat is not an acquisition we wanted to make at any cost,” argues Bob van Dijk, CEO of Prosus, after the tech giant walked away from the bidding war that started last year against rival Takeaway. Just Eat investors controlling 80.4% of its shares have finally backed Takeaway’s all-stock bid, which values the company at about £6.1-billion (R114-billion). The Amsterdam-based Takeaway has won the bidding war. Takeaway has placed a 5.9 billion pound ($7.7 billion) share offer that will create one of the world’s largest meal delivery companies. However, van Dijk said the tech giant believe that its final…

To understand the new smart monitors and other pro devices of tech health, we should look to Silicon Valley and the quantified movement of the latest generation. Apple’s Watch records exercise, tracks our moves throughout the day, assesses the amount of time we are stood up and reminds us to get up and move around if we have been sat for too long – let’s not forget Tim Cook’s “sitting is the new factor” line. Routinely evaluating your risk factors for various medical conditions, screening for cancer and other diseases, and assessing your lifestyle habits helps you stay healthy. It’s…

The latest announcement by the Attorney General of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Minister of Justice is good news for MTN Group, which has started the year with Iran crisis and US lawsuit. MTN Group announced on Friday that its Nigerian unit has been informed by means of a letter that the Attorney General and Minister of Justice has withdrawn a $2 billion tax demand against MTN Nigeria. They have referred the matter to Nigerian tax authorities. The letter was received by MTN’s legal counsel 8 January 2020. MTN said the letter states that “…following careful review and due…

PayU, the payments and FinTech business of Prosus, is planning to inject up to $200 million (R2.8 billion) in the new digital lending leader in India. The new entity will be created through the merger of LazyPay, PayU’s consumer lending business, with PaySense, one of India’s fastest-growing digital credit platforms. The merger is subject to regulatory and other legal approvals including by the Reserve Bank of India. To create the new PayU Credit unit, PayU intends to acquire a controlling stake in PaySense and all its assets at a valuation of $185 million (R2.6 billion). PayU also plans to inject…

To understand the new smart watched and other pro devices of recent focus, we should look to Silicon Valley and the quantified movement. Apple’s Watch records exercise, tracks our moves throughout the day, checks the amount of time we are stood up and reminds us to get up and move around if we have been sat for too long – let’s not forget Tim Cooks “sitting is the new coolness” line. What we like: Angled second screen is quite useful.Durability is top notch.Better dual-screen software.Powerful hardware features. What we dislike: Less battery life than other options.Keyboard and trackpad are flimsy.No…

Mercedes-Benz and Geely announced that they have formally established the global joint venture “smart Automobile Co., Ltd” to build electric smart cars. The JV, which is valued at $780 million (R11 billion), has received regulatory approvals. The new generation of smart vehicles will be designed by the worldwide Mercedes-Benz Design network and developed by the Geely global engineering network. The companies said in a statement that future production will be located in China. The global headquarters of the new joint venture has been set in Hangzhou Bay, Ningbo with operational sales functions based in China and Germany. Tong Xiangbei has…

Samsung has unveiled at this year’s CES, Ballie, a small, rolling robot that understands you, supports you and reacts to your needs to be actively helpful around the house. This dog-like robot can act as a personal photographer and maid. This robot is part of Samsung’s vision of robots as ‘life companions,’ said H.S. Kim, CEO of Consumer Electronics Division, Samsung Electronics. “In the Age of Experience, we need to re-think the space we have to accommodate our diverse and evolving lifestyles,” he explains. “What makes Samsung’s approach unique is the fact that we have a very clear philosophy built…

For seven years now, the BMW i3 has played the role of iconic ambassador for electric driving pleasure, sustainability and intelligent connectivity in urban areas. These qualities have helped to make it the world’s best-selling electric car in the premium compact segment. At CES 2020, the BMW Group has unveiled an interesting version of its compact i3 electric city car called the Urban Suite. The BMW i3 Urban Suite showcase a mobility experience tailored entirely to the passenger’s individual needs. To achieve this, a standard BMW i3 underwent a complete transformation (with only the driver’s seat and dashboard left untouched)…

Google Assistant, a voice-activated digital helper that can be found across smart speakers and Smart Displays, phones, TVs, cars and more, now helps more than 500 million people every month to get things done. The search giant is “previewing” new features at CES for the Google Assistant. With a new feature called Scheduled Actions coming out later this year, you will be able to ask the Assistant to turn on/off or start/stop a compatible smart device at the time of your choosing, said Google. For example, you can say, “Hey Google, run the coffee maker at 6 a.m.” And from…

Mercedes Benz has unveiled a wild new concept car that was inspired by the 2009 movie Avatar called — what else? — the Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR at CES 2020. The VISION AVTR shows a completely new interaction between human, machine and nature, the German manufacturer said on Tuesday. For Mercedes-Benz, the VISION AVTR is a very untypical concept vehicle. “We have always looked to the future in our history, but we have never looked so far away. For me personally, however, that is precisely the appeal. The VISION AVTR is a mixture of science and creative speculation. It combines the technologically…

The shares of MTN Zakhele Futhi debuted last November on the JSE. Instead of making investors smile from ear to ear it unleashed disappointment as the shares traded below its net asset value. For more read: MTN Zakhele Futhi Investors Have Reasons to be Disappointed MTN’s Zakhele-Futhi is a ring-fenced special purpose vehicle aimed at facilitating investment by previously disadvantaged South Africans in MTN Group (MTN). It holds about 77 million shares in MTN, amounting to 4% of MTN’s issued share capital. It also has about 89 000 shareholders holding 123.4 million MTN’s Zakhele-Futhi ordinary shares. The MTN’s Zakhele-Futhi shares…

Avon Products announced on Friday its CEO Jan Zijderveld will step down, effective immediately, concurrent with the closing of the sale of the company to Brazilian-based Natura &Co. Zijderveld took the helm at the company in February 2018. He will be replaced by Angela Cretu, who is responsible for the business outside of Latin America and for the oversight of the Avon brand globally. In his nearly two years at Avon’s helm, Mr. Zijderveld has been instrumental in turning around the company through its Open Up strategy, which aims at making Avon the digital social selling beauty company by rebuilding the fundamentals and…

Already negatively impacted by US lawsuit for alleged funding the Taliban in Iran, MTN Group is now reeling from the US-Iran tension. The tension is occupying a global centre stage after the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. The price of oil surged late Thursday after the killing of Soleimani. For more read: ‘Westerners should leave UAE immediately’: Gulf warning as British troops put at greater risk in Iraq after US kills Iran military chief   The news of the assassination of Soeimani would spook investors in MTN who have grappled against the challenges the mobile phone operator has experienced in…

MTN Group announced on Thursday it has concluded an agreement to dispose of its 49% equity holdings in the Ghana and Uganda Tower Company investments to a subsidiary of American Tower Company for $523 million, approximately R7.3 billion. This transaction is expected to close in Q1 2020, the company said in a statement. The company added t that its Asset Realisation Programme (ARP) in March 2019 which aims to simplify its portfolio, reduce debt and risk, improve returns and realise proceeds of at least R15 billion over three years. Following on the proceeds raised from the disposals of its stakes…

Volkswagen provides a glimpse into the future in which the search for charging stations for electric cars comes to an end. The company has announced a concept for a mobile charging robot that comes to electric cars and charges them on its own. The mobile robot brings a trailer in the form of a mobile energy storage device to the vehicle and connects them; it then uses this energy storage device to charge the battery of the electric vehicle. The mobile energy storage device stays with the vehicle during the whole charging process. The robot, in the meantime, charges other…

A consortium led by Chinese tech giant Tencent is buying a 10% stake in Vivendi’s Universal Music Group for 3 billion euros (R47 billion), the companies announced Tuesday. The sale values the world’s largest music company at 30 billion euros (R470 billion). The Tencent-led consortium is joined by Tencent Music Entertainment and certain global financial investors. The consortium has the option to acquire up to an additional 10% equity stake in UMG at the same enterprise value by January 15, 2021. Prior to the closing of the Consortium-Universal Music Group transaction, Tencent Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group also intend to…

Mauritius is an island that is famed for its beautiful beaches and for its reputation as an “African success story”. Since its independence from the UK in 1968, it has had tremendous economic progress, consolidated its democracy and maintained political stability. AfrAsia Bank and New World Wealth have reviewed Africa: Wealth growth by country, 2008 – 2018 as part of their 2019 Africa Wealth Report. The 2019 Africa Wealth Report provides a comprehensive review of the wealth sector in Africa, including HNWI trends, luxury trends and wealth management trends in 17 countries and 20 cities across the continent. Total wealth held in…

AfrAsia Bank and New World Wealth have reviewed the most popular luxury cars in Africa as part of their 2019 Africa Wealth Report. The 2019 Africa Wealth Report provides a comprehensive review of the wealth sector in Africa, including HNWI trends, luxury trends and wealth management trends in 17 countries and 20 cities across the continent. Luxury car brands with dealerships in Africa are listed below, ranked by African revenue. As reflected Porsche has dealerships in South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, Nigeria, Mauritius and Morocco. Porsche sells around 2,000 cars in Africa per annum (of which around 1,300 are sold in South…

Telkom has unveiled its Big Deal for January 2020. The SmartBroadband 20GB Wireless is an LTE data offer, which includes 20GB Telkom anytime data a month and 20GB night surfer data a month. The deal includes the following: 20GB Anytime data 20GB Night Surfer data Huawei LTE router, A R99 Once-Off SIM This deal will run until the end of January 2020 and is only available on a 24-month contract. The unused inclusive anytime data on SmartBroadband 20GB Wireless Post-paid plans shall roll over to the end of the next calendar month. Rolled over data will be depleted first before the…

South Africa’s MTN vowed to defend itself against lawsuits alleging that the company paid the Taliban for protection, providing the insurgency with money that was used to attack and kill U.S. troops. Africa’s and the Middle East biggest mobile phone operator faces a lawsuit filed United States District Court for the District of Columbia on Friday, 27 December 2019, for violation of the anti-terrorism act. The complaint was filed on behalf of American service members and civilians, and their families, who were killed or wounded in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2017. The Wall Street Journal reported that the plaintiffs are the…

Naspers-owned tech giant Prosus has tabled a final cash offer to buy Just Eat, which operates a leading global hybrid marketplace for Online Food Delivery. Just Eat has rejected a £5bn hostile swoop by Prosus, the Dutch arm of South Africa internet titan Naspers. Its board is instead recommending investors support a planned merger with Takeaway.com that was announced this summer. In October, the Euronext and JSE-listed tech giant made a bid of 4.9 billion pounds ($6.35 billion or R94 billion) or 710 pence a share, in cash for Just Eat. For more read: Naspers’ Prosus Makes R94bn Bid For Just Eat Earlier…

BMW i3 has undergone a complete transformation (with only the driver’s seat and dashboard left untouched) so that its interior now has the relaxed feel of a boutique hotel. For seven years, the BMW i3 has played the role of iconic ambassador for electric driving pleasure, sustainability and intelligent connectivity in urban areas. These qualities have helped to make it the world’s best-selling electric car in the premium compact segment. And now the BMW Group has brought the BMW i3 Urban Suite to this year’s CES in Las Vegas to reveal a mobility experience tailored entirely to the passenger’s individual…