BLOOMBERG Gabon blocked internet access during elections that is likely to see President Ali Bongo extend the 56-year stranglehold his family has had on political power in the oil-producing central African nation. Live network data show a nation-scale internet blackout across Gabon on election day, Netblocks, an organisation that monitors internet shutdowns, said . Authorities also imposed a nationwide curfew …

BLOOMBERG Malaysian conglomerate Sime Darby Bhd said it’s buying a 61.2% stake in UMW Holdings Bhd for 3.57 billion ringgit ($769 million) to further strengthen its position in the country’s automobile industry. Sime Darby entered into a conditional purchase agreement with the nation’s largest state-owned fund, Permodalan Nasional Bhd, to buy its shares of UMW. The company will subsequently make …

BLOOMBERG Hyundai Motor Co’s union workers voted to go on strike for the first time in five years, part of an effort to boost wages and raise the mandatory retirement age as inflation hits the South Korean economy. A majority of the roughly 45,000 unionised workers at Hyundai voted to strike, officials said in a text message on Friday. The …