February, 2023

• 3 February

  US to tap traditional African crops to solve food insecurity

  

  Bloomberg The US is launching a new initiative to identify and invest in climate adaptation for Africa’s most nutritious crops in a bid to deal with growing hunger on the continent. The program, announced by the US State Department together with the United Nations’s Food and Agriculture Organization and the African Union on Wednesday, will seek to identify crops in ...

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• 3 February

  KKR makes bid for Telecom Italia grid

    Bloomberg KKR & Co. has made a non-binding bid for a stake in Telecom Italia SpA’s multi-billion-euro network, the Italian carrier said on Thursday, as Chief Executive Officer Pietro Labriola seeks to turn the business around. The shares gained as much as 14% in Milan on Thursday following the announcement of the bid. Telecom Italia has struggled under a ...

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• 3 February

  Intel’s planned US chip plant has bankers looking for deals

  

    Bloomberg Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP’s $15 billion commitment last year to help finance Intel Corp.’s giant new semiconductor complex in Arizona, the first deal of its kind, sent investors and bankers racing to find similar opportunities. Brookfield, a major infrastructure investor, put up $2 billion in equity and borrowed $13 billion from a mix of foreign banks, pension funds ...

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• 2 February

  North Korea shuts door on US talks, raising risk of provocations

  

  Bloomberg North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said the door remains shut for talks with the US on winding down its atomic arsenal, setting the stage for renewed provocations by pledging to respond to what it saw as threats from Washington. “The DPRK is not interested in any contact or dialogue with the US as long as it pursues its hostile policy ...

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• 2 February

  UK, Australian leaders to unveil nuclear submarine plan at White House

  

    Bloomberg UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, are planning to go to Washington DC in mid-March potentially to unveil a proposal for Australia’s nuclear submarine project, according to a person familiar with the matter. President Joe Biden will host the British and Australian leaders, and the allies are expected to announce their preferred design ...

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• 2 February

  US wins expanded access to Philippine bases amid China row

  

  Bloomberg The US secured access to more Philippine military bases, clearing the way for a greater American presence in the Asia-Pacific region as tensions with China over Taiwan and the South China Sea persist. The announcement Thursday of a plan to designate four new locations in “strategic areas” where the US will have expanded access didn’t mention China. Instead, it ...

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• 2 February

  Japan urges regional banks to raise wages as inflation jumps

  

    Bloomberg Japan’s financial regulator is urging regional banks to raise wages for employees, people familiar with the matter said, responding to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s call for higher pay with inflation hitting its highest level since 1981. Officials at the nation’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) are telling regional banks — which number around 100 — that it’s important to ...

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• 2 February

  Credit Suisse weighs splitting China team

  

    Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG is weighing a plan to carve up its investment bank in China by retaining a domestic unit and shifting the overseas operation to the new CS First Boston division. The securities and wealth businesses in mainland China is likely to be kept under the Swiss lender, while Hong Kong staff focusing on offshore deals ...

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• 2 February

  Largest Indian lender SBI has $2.6 billion of loans to Adani

  

    Bloomberg State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest financier, has given loans of as much as $2.6 billion to companies in the Adani conglomerate, or about half of what is allowed under the rules, according to a person familiar with the matter. SBI’s exposure includes $200 million from its overseas units, the person said, asking not to be ...

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• 2 February

  South Africa’s digital bank secures $35m funding, eyes SME banking

  

    Bloomberg Lulalend will unveil South Africa’s newest digital bank, Lula, by March after it secured $35 million to expand its business. Lulalend, a startup founded in 2014, will partner with Nigerian lender Access Bank to establish Lula. The neobank will offer a bespoke suite of products that address the challenges faced by small and medium-sized enterprises in managing their ...

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