Business & Tech News
Bank of Uganda – Cyber Theft Investigated
Highlighting the need for increased cyber security today, the Bank of Uganda has been targeted by a cyber-attack that has resulted in the theft of 62 billion Uganda Shillings ($16,8 million US). Ugandan President Museveni, has ordered a full investigation into the crime with speculation arising that there may have been insider assistance in the crime. Investigation reports indicate that some of the funds were transferred to Japan, raising suspicions that a Japanese Triad group may have been involved. This however is still to be established. Cyber-crimes in Africa have been on the increase in 2024 with thousands of attacks daily reported from most enterprises.
Boxer Stores Lists on The JSE
The Initial Public Offering (IPO), of Boxer Stores, a previously wholly owned subsidiary of the Pick n Pay Group with over 500 stores across South Africa happened yesterday (28 Nov). The listing will raise a potential of R8.5 billion cash for the struggling retail company, and represents one of the largest public offerings in the past decade. 157.4 million Boxer shares were allocated at R54 per share, representing 34.4% of its total issued share capital assuming a full uptake of pre-allotment of share. This implies a market capitalisation of R24.7 billion for Boxer. The offer was oversubscribed prior to the listing, indicating strong demand for retail stock investment. “The listing on the JSE will increase our profile and visibility, and provide Boxer with access to a large pool of capital for growth. The support from investors was overwhelming, clearly demonstrating the worth of the Boxer business, and unlocking value for both Boxer and Pick n Pay shareholders” said Marek Masojada, Boxer CEO.
Black Friday Purchases Exploding Today
As of 07H00 CAT today (29 Nov), black Friday sales were already spiking with massive volumes of online sales being processed before store opening times. The Eccentric Black Friday volume tracker indicates that R43,86 million ZAR, worth of sales had been processed via the Eccentric payment system as of 07H00, with 215 transactions per minute being cleared. The largest single purchase this morning so far was R53 200 with a total volume of 101729 transactions processed so far. Business Tech Africa will be providing further updates on the Black Friday Value and Volumes through till next week Tuesday.
Google – Canadian Court Case
In a new courtroom battle against the global tech giant, Canada’s Competition Bureau is taking legal action against Google for alleged anti-competitive behaviour in its online advertising business. In a statement, the country’s antitrust watchdog alleged Google had illegally linked two advertising tools to maintain market supremacy and used this dominant position to distort ad auctions by preferring its own tools. The agency filed an application with the Competition Tribunal, a court-like independent body, that would require Google to sell two of its ad technology tools.
Market News
Markets: Indices in the US indices, were all in the red at close yesterday with the NASDAQ closing down by -0,85%, the S&P 500 was down by -0,38 and the Dow Jones closing down by -0,31%.
Asian markets this morning have been trending lower with the Nikkei down by -1,47% and is at 38167 currently of a close of 38349 Yesterday, while the Hang Seng is slightly up today by -1,2% and is at 19366 currently after a close of 19603 yesterday (28 Nov).
Currencies: The US Dollar is currently trading at 1.0568 against the Euro, at 1,271 against the Pound, and at 150.19 against the Yen. The Rand has strengthened today, and is currently trading at R18.08 to the US dollar.
Commodities:
- Gold is trading higher this morning and is currently at $2,663 per ounce
- Platinum prices currently trading flat at $943 and with Palladium prices currently gaining some ground today and at $994 currently
- Brent crude is currently trading slightly up today and is at $73.30 with WTI also trading up at $69.08 currently.
- Cocoa prices are currently trading upwards again today and are at 7820 British pounds per ton.
- Coffee prices are trading upwards and is at $3.29 currently
(All prices quoted at 08H30 – Central African Time)
Other News in Africa Today
Namibian Election Polling Days Extended
The Electoral Commission of Namibia has announced that 36 polling stations will reopen today and on Saturday to accommodate voters who were not able to cast their votes in the general election held this week. There had been widespread reports of operational failures and voting stations running out of ballot papers, resulting in polling stations being closed while people were still queueing to vote.
Opposition parties had called for an extension of voting hours and that the vote count process be observed and verified, with a largely held belief that this election could see the end of the more than three-decade rule of SWAPO, the political Party that has been in power since Namibia’s independence in 1990.
Deadly Ugandan Landslide
Police reports out of Uganda indicate that 15 people are known to have died and a further 113 people are missing, after an extensive landslide event, buried multiple homes in six villages in eastern Uganda. There were 15 people rescued who were injured who have been admitted to Buluganya Medical Center. The Uganda Red Cross Society reported on Thursday that 13 bodies had been recovered after landslides buried 40 homes and the rescue effort was continuing. Local media reported that authorities expect the death toll could rise to 30. Heavy rains had fallen in the region that had resulted in multiple landslides in the mountainous district of Bulambuli, 280 kilometres east of the capital city Kampala on Wednesday evening.
Lights Out in Zimbabwe
In a “light moment” in African politics, a power cut left Zimbabwe’s parliament in darkness yesterday during the budget speech, as Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube was finishing his address. The lights had reportedly first flickered and subsequently died, leaving top officials, including President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga in the dark. Power Outages have become common-place in Zimbabwe and has become a point of contention with regular daily 12-hour blackouts driven by a prolonged drought that is affecting energy generation at the Kariba Dam hydro-generation power unit, the country’s main power source. Opposition party MPs shouted that the outage was an apt metaphor for the country’s state of affairs when they were left sitting in the dark.
