TELECOMS
EE warns over spectrum cap
BT Group PLC’s EE Ltd threatened the British Office of Communications (Ofcom) with a High Court challenge yesterday, over its planned auction of mobile spectrum. Ofcom last month capped the maximum spectrum a company could win as it set new rules for the auction of mobile spectrum to safeguard competition. The auction, which is expected to take place later this year, would limit the amount of spectrum companies, such as BT and EE, could win to 85MHz in the 3.4GHz band, restricting the companies’ overall share of mobile spectrum. However, smaller rival Three, owned by Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings (長江和記實業), says the proposals needed to go further. “Three has already begun the legal process and our challenge doesn’t mean further delay,” EE spokesman said. “Tomorrow we will send a Letter Before Action to Ofcom, challenging their decision on the upcoming auction.”
BANKING
TBC profit jumps in Q2
TBC Bank Group PLC, Georgia’s largest retail bank, yesterday reported a 37.2 percent jump in second-quarter underlying net profit, as economic growth and a stable currency boosted lending. Net interest margin was 6.8 percent in the quarter, down 1.1 percentage points from a year earlier, said TBC, which became Georgia’s largest bank by loans and deposits after buying JSC Bank Republic from France’s Societe Generale and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Underlying net profit rose to 86.3 million laris (US$36.2 million) in the quarter ended June, from 62.9 million laris a year earlier.
INVESTMENTS
Oakbay to sell media stakes
South Africa’s Oakbay Investments, a company owned by business friends of President Jacob Zuma, yesterday said it would sell its holdings in two media groups, including news channel ANN7 for 450 million rand (US$34.06 million). Oakbay is owned by the Gupta family, which has been accused by senior members of the ruling African National Congress party of using links with Zuma to wield influence and win business. Zuma and the Guptas deny any wrongdoing.
ENERGY
Rosneft, partners buy Essar
Rosneft PJSC and partners, including Trafigura Group Pte, have finalized their US$12.9 billion purchase of India’s Essar Oil Ltd. The purchase gives Russia’s biggest oil producer and one of the world’s largest commodity traders access to a global demand center in Asia, while helping Essar Group reduce its debt by about US$11 billion and shift focus to its struggling steel business. Essar Group sold 49 percent of Essar Oil each to Rosneft and a consortium of Trafigura and United Capital Partners, it said in a statement.
GREECE
Yields dip on Fitch upgrade
Greek government bond yields dipped early yesterday after Fitch became the second ratings agency to upgrade it to “Single B” status, marking another milestone in the debt-laden state’s slow journey away from default territory. Fitch upgraded Greece’s long-term foreign-currency issuer default ratings to “B-” from “CCC” late on Friday, citing reduced political risk and sustained economic growth. Short-dated Greek government bond yields hit 3.25 percent at one stage, close to its lowest since 2009, a level hit earlier this month. “Greece is still a credit that is risky and volatile, but at least it’s now not one step away from default but two steps away,” DZ Bank strategist Daniel Lenz said.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day