Ghana, Africa’s largest gold producer, is planning an up to $500 million (£389.11 million) listing of its gold royalty fund in London in October, though the deal could still run into political opposition, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Agyapa Royalties, a government-backed fund that holds equity interests including mining royalties in the state’s gold assets, has hired Bank of America <BAC.N> and JPMorgan <JPM.N> to pursue an initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange this year, the sources said. Royalties are payments that give the owner the right to receive a percentage of production from...
Travel and Tourism is ready to Increase in Activity, Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi
With the country just hours away from level one of the lockdown, Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane said the sector was ready to welcome an increase in activity for both domestic and international tourists. President Cyril Ramaphosa recently announced an easing of restrictions, which will kick in at the stroke of midnight on Sunday. With close to 660,000 confirmed infections of COVID-19, there are concerns the move could lead to a resurgence of infections. Government has also announced that from 1 October, travel in and out of South Africa will be allowed again, with strict conditions. Restrictions have been placed for travel to and from certain...
Millions of US users to be hit by WeChat block, they can’t do trade with Chinese Clients
Washington’s crackdown on WeChat will disrupt communications between millions of people in the United States and their friends, families and business partners in China. But the app had not managed to reproduce in the US its success in China as the dominant smartphone-based payments platform. The US Commerce Department announced partial bans on Friday on WeChat as well as video app TikTok. The order will slow down WeChat to make it unuseable in the United States for videochats with family and friends. “They are slowing the speed to technically make it virtually impossible to use audio, video, or send images,”...
Why things get lost in translation over Zoom – and how to fix it writes Lydia Smith
It’s no surprise that video conferencing apps have experienced a huge boom this year. Until March, when a nationwide lockdown was introduced, few people relied on using Zoom, Microsoft Teams and other platforms to host meetings — and we met over coffee in office rooms instead. Zoom, in particular, has seen staggering growth in 2020. Last December, there were approximately 10 million users participating in meetings on the app. Fast-forward to March, and 200 million were logging on to the software. Video conferencing apps have been integral to many employees working from home during the pandemic. But this new way of communicating...
WATCH: PlayStation 5 will be launched in South Africa in November – Hardware Reveal Trailer
The PlayStation 5 Digital Edition, which doesn’t comes with a disc drive, will have a recommended retail price of R9,999.99, while the PlayStation 5 will cost R11,999.99. It is a relatively dramatic design departure from the last several generations of PlayStation console, with a two-tone finish, dramatic fins, and a glowing blue light emanating from the interior crevices. The main PlayStation 5 – the “Standard Edition” – has an asymmetrical design, with the Blu-ray disc drive adding a bump to one side of the console. That unto itself is a departure from prior consoles, design-wise, to say nothing of the...
The Free Wi-fi hotspot in City of Joburg will help disadvantaged students
The City of Johannesburg has relaunched its free WiFi project, which comprises 84 active Joburg Free WiFi hotspots across the city. “We are re-launching the free #JoburgWiFi hotspots roll-out. This is after the free WiFi roll-out took a backseat in the past four years,” tweeted the City of Johannesburg. The project provides Johannesburg residents with 500MB of data per day, up from 300MB the last time the city tried to launch this initiative. Speeds available through these connections are capped at 5Mbps. “Over 1,000km of fibre optic cable has been laid out in the City as a backbone of the smart city initiative to...
The EU is planning to give itself the power to kick US tech giants out of Europe
The EU is looking to give itself sweeping new powers to crack down on US tech giants, EU commissioner Thierry Breton revealed to The Financial Times in an interview Sunday. Breton told the FT the new powers the EU is seeking include punitive measures such as forcing tech companies to break off and sell their European operations should their market dominance grow too large. Another massive penalty being considered is that the EU could boot tech firms out of the European single market altogether. Breton said these measures would only be used in extreme circumstances, but did not elaborate on what would...
Crypto Currencies based Platforms to Register digital assets, ICOs, others with Nigerian regulator
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Nigeria has issued regulatory guidelines for digital currencies and crypto-based companies or startups. The aim, according to Nigeria’s capital market and investment regulator, is to protect investors and create standards for ethical practices. Also, the Commission will regulate all Digital Assets Token Offerings (DATO), Initial Coin Offerings, Security Token ICOs , and other Blockchain-based offers within Nigeria by Nigerian issuers or by foreign issuers targeting Nigerian investors. According to a statement released on September 14, 2020, the SEC will be taking a three-pronged approach to regulate innovation in the crypto sector; these are:...
TikTok and WeChat to be Removed From U.S. App Stores This Weekend following Trump Orders
TikTok is to be removed from all U.S. app stores this weekend following an executive order signed by President Trump. The President has also signed an executive order targeting WeChat, which will not be available from any app stores. According to sources cited in Financial Times, people who currently use the apps will be not be forced to remove them, although future software updates will be unavailable. The source also believes that WeChat would quickly become unusable, while the experience of using TikTok would downgrade over the next two months unless a deal was approved by Trump. The decision to ban both services...
Tech giant Amazon Music takes on Apple and Spotify with launch of podcasts
Amazon Music is set to take on Apple and Spotify on yet another front after launching its own streaming service for podcasts. The tech giant announced the initial roll out of its podcasts business on Wednesday to users of Amazon Music in the US, UK, Germany and Japan. The audio service will be offered to users at no additional cost on all tiers on the app and Alexa. The venture will see Amazon create original shows, lining up celebrities such as Will Smith and DJ Khaled, a US rapper and producer, in an effort to expand its user base while including existing shows...