COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Unilever to invest in climate change fund Unilever Plc said it will invest 1 billion euros in a fund to invest in climate change projects and reduce to net zero greenhouse gas emissions from all its products by 2039, 11 years ahead of the Paris agreement deadline.Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch consumer products company whose brands include Dove soap and Knorr soup, said it was responding to the "scale and urgency" of the climate change crisis.The fund will invest in projects including reforestation, water preservation and carbon sequestration over the next ten years, it said.The net zero emission target is an extension of efforts already underway to cut emissions within the company by 2030 - such as reducing electricity consumption within offices."We are now going much wider in our commitments, we call it a cradle to shelf commitment across the value chain," Unilever chief supply chain officer, Marc Engel said. - Nampa/ReutersMetro Bank in talks with RateSetterBritain's Metro Bank Plc is in advanced talks to buy RateSetter, one of UK's biggest peer-to-peer lenders, Sky News reported.The price Metro Bank would pay for RateSetter is unclear and there is no guarantee that the talks between the two firms would lead to a transaction.A Metro Bank spokesperson said the company would not comment on rumour or speculation, while RateSetter said it had no comment on the report.Sky News reported in March that RateSetter was working with bankers on a potential sale or a merger amid a funding squeeze exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.RateSetter was launched in the UK in 2010. Peer-to-peer platforms bring together individual borrowers and lenders without a bank being involved. – Nampa/ReutersOrange eyes Nigeria and South Africa Orange, France's largest telecom operator, believes it would benefit from having a wider footprint in Africa and will give itself a few months to make a possible move, chief executive Stephane Richard told Les Echos business newspaper."It could make sense to be in economies such as Nigeria and South Africa," Richard was quoted as saying. "If one considers there are things to do, the time frame I am considering is rather a few months than a few years. “Richard declined to comment on a possible interest in South Africa's MTN Group Ltd.The Middle East and Africa, where Orange has a presence in 18 countries, is the company's fastest-growing market.The region makes a large chunk of its revenues from payment transfers - a key part of the group's diversification into financial services.Orange said earlier this year it was bringing its operations in the Middle East and Africa into a single entity, paving the way for a potential listing of the operations that could raise cash to invest in overseas expansion. - Nampa/ReutersAmlak float 30% of its shares Saudi Arabian real estate financing firm Amlak International said on Sunday it will float 30% of its shares in Riyadh, in what will be the exchange's first initial public offering (IPO) since the coronavirus crisis.The kingdom is encouraging more Saudi companies to list in a bid to deepen its capital markets as part of economic reforms aimed at reducing its reliance on oil revenues.Amlak, which has assets of around 3.1 billion riyals (US$826 million), said the final offer price would be announced on June 30 after a book-building process starting on June 22."Being a publicly listed company will give us more visibility among our clients, will help us build our business and will also help reduce our cost of capital and boost profitability considerably," Amlak chief executive Abdullah Al Sudairy told Reuters by telephone.Saudi Arabia's NCB Capital is the sole financial advisor, bookrunner, underwriter and lead manager for the deal, which will have tranches for retail and institutional investors.Major shareholders, which include the Saudi Investment Bank and Amlak Finance, a Dubai-based Islamic mortgage company, will be subject to a six-month lock-up period. - Nampa/ReutersMitsubishi to focus on space jet certification Japan's Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp said it will focus on work this fiscal year towards obtaining type certification for its space jet M90, and also announced executive changes as it seeks to weather challenges brought by the coronavirus pandemic.The delivery of the regional jet has been pushed back six times as Mitsubishi Aircraft and its chief shareholder, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, have contended with a series of design missteps.A type certificate is issued to signify the airworthiness of the approved design or "type" of an aircraft to be manufactured.The company said in a statement that Yasuhiko Kawaguchi will be the executive chief engineer for aircraft design and type certification, while it will largely focus on validating data earned from over 3,900 hours of flight test this fiscal year. -Nampa/Reuters

COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

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Namibian Sun 2026-09-28

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COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

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Namibian Sun 2026-09-28

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