COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF
SocGen agrees Rosbank sale
French bank Societe Generale has agreed to sell its stake in Rosbank and the Russian lender’s insurance subsidiaries, it said on Monday.
The transaction to transfer SocGen's 99% stake in Rosbank to Interros Capital, a Russian business linked to oligarch Vladimir Potanin, requires regulatory approval, SocGen said.
"With this agreement the group would exit in an effective and orderly manner from Russia, ensuring continuity for its employees and clients", the French bank said in a statement.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has triggered a barrage of financial sanctions from the United States, Europe and Britain, prompting Western companies to sell their Russian assets.
The Rosbank deal will dent SocGen's CET 1 capital ratio by about 20 basis points, it said, adding that the ratio would remain "comfortably above" the company's guidance. -Reuters
VW rejects push for climate lobbying
Volkswagen has rejected a shareholder proposal for it to explain how its lobbying activities align with its climate goals - something two of the carmaker's leading competitors have already promised to do, one of the investors said on Friday.
A filing by a group of seven shareholders said that while Volkswagen does disclose its trade association memberships, it should go further and say whether the associations' aims are compatible with its emissions-cutting targets.
Fellow carmakers Mercedes-Benz and BMW have already committed to doing that.
"The Board is failing to deliver transparent oversight of the company's climate lobbying," said Charlotta Sydstrand, sustainability strategist at Swedish pension scheme AP7, one of the shareholders involved in the proposal.
Her comments were included in a statement issued by the Church of England Pensions group, which also backed the filing.
The statement said Volkswagen had rejected the proposal on the grounds that the issue was deemed to be beyond the competence of the general meeting. -Reuters
Saxo Bank terminates Russian clients
Danish investment bank Saxo Bank said on Saturday it had terminated clients from Russia and Belarus in response to sanctions imposed on those countries following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"It is a small number of clients, and a decision made on the basis of the tougher sanctions imposed on the two countries as a result of Russia's terrible invasion of Ukraine," a spokesperson for the bank said in a statement to Reuters.
As of Friday, customers from Russia or Belarus were no longer able to open new positions or increase the size of current ones. The terminations would take full effect on June 8, the bank said.
Until then, those clients will still be able to withdraw cash and securities, but the transactions would be subject to increased scrutiny, it added. -Reuters
Musk proposes changes on Blue subscription
Elon Musk, Twitter Inc's biggest shareholder, on Saturday suggested a raft of changes to the social media giant's Twitter Blue premium subscription service, including slashing its price, banning advertising and giving an option to pay in the cryptocurrency dogecoin.
Musk, who disclosed a 9.2% stake in Twitter just days ago, was offered a seat on its board of directors, a move which made some Twitter employees panic over the future of its ability to moderate content.
Twitter Blue, launched in June 2021, is Twitter's first subscription service and offers "exclusive access to premium features" on a monthly subscription basis, Twitter says. It is available in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
In a Twitter post, the head of electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc suggested that users who sign up for Twitter Blue should pay significantly less than the current US$2.99 a month, and should get an authentication checkmark as well as an option to pay in local currency. -Reuters
China EV maker Nio suspends production
Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Nio said on Saturday it has suspended production after the country's measures to contain the recent surge of Covid-19 cases disrupted operations at its suppliers.
"Since March, due to reasons to do with the epidemic, the company's supplier partners in several places including Jilin, Shanghai and Jiangsu suspended production one after the other and have yet to recover," the company said on its mobile app.
"Due to the impact of this Nio has had to halt car production."
The company will postpone deliveries of the EVs to users and will work together with the suppliers to strive for resumption while meeting the government's Covid-19 curbs, it added.
China has been taking strict lockdown measures to contain the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant in several places including Jilin province and Shanghai where plants of major auto part makers and automakers are located.
Tesla has also suspended production at its Shanghai plant since March 28, Reuters reported, after the city started a two-staged lockdown which was later expanded citywide. -Reuters
French bank Societe Generale has agreed to sell its stake in Rosbank and the Russian lender’s insurance subsidiaries, it said on Monday.
The transaction to transfer SocGen's 99% stake in Rosbank to Interros Capital, a Russian business linked to oligarch Vladimir Potanin, requires regulatory approval, SocGen said.
"With this agreement the group would exit in an effective and orderly manner from Russia, ensuring continuity for its employees and clients", the French bank said in a statement.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has triggered a barrage of financial sanctions from the United States, Europe and Britain, prompting Western companies to sell their Russian assets.
The Rosbank deal will dent SocGen's CET 1 capital ratio by about 20 basis points, it said, adding that the ratio would remain "comfortably above" the company's guidance. -Reuters
VW rejects push for climate lobbying
Volkswagen has rejected a shareholder proposal for it to explain how its lobbying activities align with its climate goals - something two of the carmaker's leading competitors have already promised to do, one of the investors said on Friday.
A filing by a group of seven shareholders said that while Volkswagen does disclose its trade association memberships, it should go further and say whether the associations' aims are compatible with its emissions-cutting targets.
Fellow carmakers Mercedes-Benz and BMW have already committed to doing that.
"The Board is failing to deliver transparent oversight of the company's climate lobbying," said Charlotta Sydstrand, sustainability strategist at Swedish pension scheme AP7, one of the shareholders involved in the proposal.
Her comments were included in a statement issued by the Church of England Pensions group, which also backed the filing.
The statement said Volkswagen had rejected the proposal on the grounds that the issue was deemed to be beyond the competence of the general meeting. -Reuters
Saxo Bank terminates Russian clients
Danish investment bank Saxo Bank said on Saturday it had terminated clients from Russia and Belarus in response to sanctions imposed on those countries following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"It is a small number of clients, and a decision made on the basis of the tougher sanctions imposed on the two countries as a result of Russia's terrible invasion of Ukraine," a spokesperson for the bank said in a statement to Reuters.
As of Friday, customers from Russia or Belarus were no longer able to open new positions or increase the size of current ones. The terminations would take full effect on June 8, the bank said.
Until then, those clients will still be able to withdraw cash and securities, but the transactions would be subject to increased scrutiny, it added. -Reuters
Musk proposes changes on Blue subscription
Elon Musk, Twitter Inc's biggest shareholder, on Saturday suggested a raft of changes to the social media giant's Twitter Blue premium subscription service, including slashing its price, banning advertising and giving an option to pay in the cryptocurrency dogecoin.
Musk, who disclosed a 9.2% stake in Twitter just days ago, was offered a seat on its board of directors, a move which made some Twitter employees panic over the future of its ability to moderate content.
Twitter Blue, launched in June 2021, is Twitter's first subscription service and offers "exclusive access to premium features" on a monthly subscription basis, Twitter says. It is available in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
In a Twitter post, the head of electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc suggested that users who sign up for Twitter Blue should pay significantly less than the current US$2.99 a month, and should get an authentication checkmark as well as an option to pay in local currency. -Reuters
China EV maker Nio suspends production
Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Nio said on Saturday it has suspended production after the country's measures to contain the recent surge of Covid-19 cases disrupted operations at its suppliers.
"Since March, due to reasons to do with the epidemic, the company's supplier partners in several places including Jilin, Shanghai and Jiangsu suspended production one after the other and have yet to recover," the company said on its mobile app.
"Due to the impact of this Nio has had to halt car production."
The company will postpone deliveries of the EVs to users and will work together with the suppliers to strive for resumption while meeting the government's Covid-19 curbs, it added.
China has been taking strict lockdown measures to contain the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant in several places including Jilin province and Shanghai where plants of major auto part makers and automakers are located.
Tesla has also suspended production at its Shanghai plant since March 28, Reuters reported, after the city started a two-staged lockdown which was later expanded citywide. -Reuters
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