Hong Kong dollar dropped to four-year low against US dollar and continue to dive. Its continuous plunge lead to the biggest weekly loss for more than a decade.
Industry
MUFG buys 20% stake in Philippines' Security Bank
Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group is said to have agreed to buy a 20 percent stock in Philippines' lender Security Bank Corp for $773 million (36.9 billion pesos), as an effort to strengthen its growth in Southeast Asia.
African startups commence 2016 with $10mln investment
Technology startups in Africa may get $10 million funding in early 2016 as Silvertree Capital sees the rosy picture. Silvertree Internet Holdings is keen on scaling technology and commerce companies and has already invested $5 million in business building operations and acquisitions. South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya are favored the most among African countries.
Lower oil prices to check inflation in Kenya
The Kenyan government is hoping to control inflation rate with the support from lower oil prices. Lower oil prices are supporting the Kenya's economy as the growth rate is expected to be six percent in 2016 from 4.5 percent in 2015. Inflation rate breached the government's target band of 2.5 percent to 7.5 percent as it reached to eight percent.
YPF, American Energy Partners sign deals on shale gas
American Energy Partners and Argentina state-run energy company YPF have signed a partnership deal on developing the shale resources in the South American country. Argentina government is providing subsidies to attract investments in the energy sector and to enhance business climate in the country.
Latest News
The Fed may hold its next interest rate hike, following a current plunge in oil market that affectsthe stock market. This will give market a breather.
The California Public Utilities Commission has fined Uber $7.6 million for failing to follow requirements that would protect passengers from discrimination. The company will pay the fine, but appeal the decision.
Morgan Stanley, has been reported to tatter with its fixed income division. Following the industry precedence of changing or reshuffling the executives, it has named Sam Kellie- Smith as the head of fixed income and commodities. The Wall Street Bank’s recent moves haven’t surprised the analysts at all.
Qualcomm Inc. and TDK group tie up to form a $ 3 billion project in Singapore. After completion of the venture by 2017, Qualcomm will own 51% of the new company with a provision to purchase TDK’s stake at a later time. Following the joint venture, Qualcom’s share price has fall a little but TDK share price has jumped by 5.5%, highest change within last two moths.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has finally agreed to pay $5.1 billion on Wednesday to resolve a seven years’ pending dispute over faulty mortgage securities. The penalty amount remains lower compared to those counted by other Wall Street competitors. Fourth quarter profit of the firm may be hit by the penalty counting. But investors welcome the settlement and its share price rises by 1.5% on Thursday.
Ford has succeeded in test driving its autonomous cars in snowy conditions surpassing all of its competitors. The carmaker’s self-developed 3D maps have enabled in built LIDAR and cameras to drive the autonomous car through controlled environment. But the problem hasn’t been solved totally. Still snow or rainfall makes the guidance system to falter till now.
The UK-based technology firms mobilized $3.6 billion (£2.5 billion) funds from venture capitalists (VC) in 2015 and this is 70 percent higher than $2.1 billion in 2014. London technology companies accounted for more than half of the mobilized VC funds. The increasing investor appetite for technology startups and fintech firms has been the main factor that propelled the VC funding.
The San Francisco-based cloud software company Anaplan has closed the latest round of VC funding to the tune of $90 million giving a valuation of the company at $1.09 billion. The latest investment round was led by Indian firm Premji Invest.
Several firms from Canada, China and Europe among 77 renewable energy firms have submitted bids for solar projects in Australia. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has shortlisted 22 projects, which will have capacity of 766 megawatts at combined project cost of $1.68 billion. The solar energy projects developers will also receive a grant of $30 million for each project from the Australian government.
