Company news in brief

NAMPA
Anglo expects higher production, lower costs

Mining group Anglo American Plc expects its production to rise more than previously expected in 2018 and 2021 while costs are seen lower for this year, its chief executive officer said on Tuesday.

CEO Mark Cutifani said Anglo expected 2018 production to be 2% higher than its previous forecast while costs will be 5% below previous guidance.

The company, whose products include platinum group metals, copper, and coal, said in an update to investors it expected the 3% rise in production in 2019 and a further 5% boost in both 2020 and 2021.

After cutting debt and raising dividends over the last few years, Anglo would now drive enhanced returns through its capital allocation options, Cutifani said.

Anglo's higher output contrasts with rivals BHP, and Rio Tinto, which in October signalled lower output for copper, a mineral expected to be in high demand from increased electrification. – Nampa/Reuters

Egypt threatens Apple with legal action

Egypt has warned it will take legal action against Apple if the US tech giant fails to remove alleged "restrictions" on local distributors within 60 days.

A decree threatening action was published in the official gazette on Monday after accusations from Egypt's Competition Authority that Apple had violated the country's competition law.

It said the company had "isolated the Egyptian market geographically" by restricting sales to distributors in the country from their counterparts abroad.

The authority also alleged Apple had restricted "parallel imports" of its products on the Egyptian market.

According to the authority, Apple's actions had caused an "unjustified" increase in prices of its products in Egypt, exceeding those in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait as well as the United States. – Nampa/AFP

Tencent Music raises nearly US$1.1 bln in IPO

China-based music streaming company Tencent Music Entertainment Group said it raised close to US$1.1 billion in its US initial public offering (IPO) after pricing its shares at the bottom of its targeted range.

The music arm of gaming and social network giant Tencent Holdings Ltd priced its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) at US$13 per share, at the low end of its indicated US$13 to US$15 per share range, it said in a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange.

The IPO values Tencent Music at US$21.3 billion and shows how companies are defying a bout of market volatility with flotations.

Tencent Music sold 41 million ADRs, while existing shareholders sold a further 40.9 million, the filing said.

Tencent Music's IPO tops off a bumper year for US listings by Chinese companies, with US$7.9 billion raised before Tencent Music's debut, Refinitiv data showed. That is the highest amount since 2014, the year of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's record US$25 billion IPO. – Nampa/Reuters

McDonald's to cut antibiotics in beef

McDonald's announced a plan on Tuesday for a phased reduction of antibiotics in beef, expanding a health-oriented reform to a new meat source other than chicken.

The fast-food giant described a three-stage process where it would first undertake a study of its top 10 beef sourcing markets of current antibiotic use in livestock and by 2020 establish reduction targets.

Starting in 2020, McDonald's will begin reporting progress against antibiotic reduction targets.

"McDonald's believes antibiotic resistance is a critical public health issue and we take seriously our unique position to use our scale for good to continue to address this challenge," said Keith Kenny, McDonald's global vice president for sustainability.

McDonald's, Walmart, Tyson Foods and others have already announced plans to restrict or phase out antibiotic use in chickens. – Nampa/AFP

Credit Suisse announces up to 1.5 bln Sfr buyback

Credit Suisse yesterday announced a share buyback of up to 1.5 billion Swiss francs (US$1.51 billion) in 2019 and plans to increase its dividend by at least 5 percent from 2019 onward, confirming its strategy as it wraps up a three-year revamp under chief executive Tidjane Thiam.

"The actions taken during the restructuring mean the bank is now more resilient in the face of market turbulence," Thiam said in a statement ahead of the bank's investor day.

Switzerland's second-biggest bank last year announced new 2019 and 2020 yield targets and a plan to distribute half of net profit to shareholders primarily through share buybacks or special dividends, saying it had made strong progress in an ambitious quest to become a leading wealth manager with strong investment banking capabilities.

By attracting a growing number of entrepreneurs especially in Asia to its client base, Credit Suisse hopes to increase profitability over coming years even as it faces headwinds from shaky markets and a hit to investor mood.

The bank has cut thousands of jobs over recent years and reduced its financing costs. – Nampa/Reuters

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Namibian Sun 2024-03-29

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Katima Mulilo: 19° | 36° Rundu: 19° | 29° Eenhana: 19° | 29° Oshakati: 21° | 30° Ruacana: 20° | 33° Tsumeb: 19° | 29° Otjiwarongo: 16° | 29° Omaruru: 19° | 32° Windhoek: 17° | 29° Gobabis: 17° | 30° Henties Bay: 16° | 20° Wind speed: 22km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 11:22, High tide: 05:24, Low Tide: 23:26, High tide: 17:46 Swakopmund: 16° | 17° Wind speed: 24km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 11:20, High tide: 05:22, Low Tide: 23:24, High tide: 17:44 Walvis Bay: 16° | 22° Wind speed: 27km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 11:20, High tide: 05:21, Low Tide: 23:24, High tide: 17:43 Rehoboth: 19° | 30° Mariental: 23° | 34° Keetmanshoop: 24° | 35° Aranos: 22° | 33° Lüderitz: 15° | 28° Ariamsvlei: 24° | 35° Oranjemund: 14° | 25° Luanda: 27° | 28° Gaborone: 20° | 32° Lubumbashi: 17° | 26° Mbabane: 16° | 21° Maseru: 11° | 29° Antananarivo: 16° | 27° Lilongwe: 17° | 27° Maputo: 20° | 28° Windhoek: 17° | 29° Cape Town: 17° | 28° Durban: 20° | 24° Johannesburg: 16° | 24° Dar es Salaam: 26° | 32° Lusaka: 20° | 30° Harare: 16° | 29° Currency: GBP to NAD 23.79 | EUR to NAD 20.36 | CNY to NAD 2.62 | USD to NAD 18.89 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.33 | EGP to NAD 0.39 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.74 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.77 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.23 | USD to DZD 134.14 | USD to AOA 832.63 | USD to BWP 13.71 | USD to EGP 47.35 | USD to KES 130.98 | USD to NGN 1415.13 | USD to ZAR 18.89 | USD to ZMW 25.01 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 74536 Up +0.85% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1528.69 Up +0.84% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 12986.94 Up +0.04% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 27559.35 Down -2.36% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 233.12/OZ UP +1.93% | Copper US$ 3.99/lb UP +0.12% | Zinc US$ 2 455.50/T UP 0% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 87.65/BBP UP +1.46% | Platinum US$ 908.62/OZ UP +1.53% Sport results: Weather: Katima Mulilo: 19° | 36° Rundu: 19° | 29° Eenhana: 19° | 29° Oshakati: 21° | 30° Ruacana: 20° | 33° Tsumeb: 19° | 29° Otjiwarongo: 16° | 29° Omaruru: 19° | 32° Windhoek: 17° | 29° Gobabis: 17° | 30° Henties Bay: 16° | 20° Wind speed: 22km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 11:22, High tide: 05:24, Low Tide: 23:26, High tide: 17:46 Swakopmund: 16° | 17° Wind speed: 24km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 11:20, High tide: 05:22, Low Tide: 23:24, High tide: 17:44 Walvis Bay: 16° | 22° Wind speed: 27km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 11:20, High tide: 05:21, Low Tide: 23:24, High tide: 17:43 Rehoboth: 19° | 30° Mariental: 23° | 34° Keetmanshoop: 24° | 35° Aranos: 22° | 33° Lüderitz: 15° | 28° Ariamsvlei: 24° | 35° Oranjemund: 14° | 25° Luanda: 27° | 28° Gaborone: 20° | 32° Lubumbashi: 17° | 26° Mbabane: 16° | 21° Maseru: 11° | 29° Antananarivo: 16° | 27° Lilongwe: 17° | 27° Maputo: 20° | 28° Windhoek: 17° | 29° Cape Town: 17° | 28° Durban: 20° | 24° Johannesburg: 16° | 24° Dar es Salaam: 26° | 32° Lusaka: 20° | 30° Harare: 16° | 29° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 23.79 | EUR to NAD 20.36 | CNY to NAD 2.62 | USD to NAD 18.89 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.33 | EGP to NAD 0.39 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.74 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.77 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.23 | USD to DZD 134.14 | USD to AOA 832.63 | USD to BWP 13.71 | USD to EGP 47.35 | USD to KES 130.98 | USD to NGN 1415.13 | USD to ZAR 18.89 | USD to ZMW 25.01 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 74536 Up +0.85% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1528.69 Up +0.84% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 12986.94 Up +0.04% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 27559.35 Down -2.36% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 233.12/OZ UP +1.93% | Copper US$ 3.99/lb UP +0.12% | Zinc US$ 2 455.50/T UP 0% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 87.65/BBP UP +1.46% | Platinum US$ 908.62/OZ UP +1.53%