COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Sasol steps up to develop aviation fuelsSasol&#039;s sustainability business has announced two new international partnerships to develop sustainable aviation fuels.The first is a consortium known as Green Fuels Hamburg and aims to decarbonise the aviation sector. Sasol ecoFT will be working alongside German-based energy companies Uniper and Siemens Energy and European aircraft manufacturer Airbus to investigate the feasibility of producing carbon-neutral or green kerosene – a sustainable aviation fuel, in Germany.If it is feasible, at least 10 000 tons of green kerosene will be produced annually for the aviation sector from the year 2026.The consortium is supported by the Technical University of Hamburg, a consultant partner, the Hamburg Senate and Hamburg Airport. According to the statement issued by Sasol ecoFT, Emirates Airline has also expressed interest in using the power-to-liquid kerosene produced.Hamburg has been identified as a good location for the large-scale project – the region is close to renewable energies and has customers in aviation. -Fin24Coca-Cola breached merger conditionsThe Competition Appeal Court has ruled that there was a breach of merger conditions when Coca-Cola Beverages SA retrenched 368 bargaining unit employees in 2019.The ruling, which relates to two mergers involving Coca-Cola, could result in merger approval being revoked - or in an administrative penalty or an order of divestiture if the firm and the Competition Commission cannot agree on a plan to remedy the breach.The two mergers included conditions intended to protect employees who were members of the bargaining unit from retrenchment as a result of the mergers.The first merger, between SABMiller, the Coca-Cola Company and Gutsche Family Investment, was approved by the Competition Tribunal in 2016, resulting in the formation of Africa’s largest bottling operations, Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA).The next merger transaction took place a just over a year later in 2017, when Coca-Cola acquired SABMiller’s CCBA stake.-Fin24Glencore&#039;s UK subsidiary pleads guiltyA British subsidiary of mining and trading giant Glencore this week formally pleaded guilty to seven counts of bribery in connection with oil operations in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and South Sudan.At a Southwark Crown Court hearing in London, Glencore Energy admitted to paying more than $28 million in bribes to secure preferential access to oil and generate illicit profit between 2011 and 2016. The company will be sentenced on November 2 and 3, the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said.Glencore, a Swiss-based multinational, has already said it expects to pay up to $1.5 billion to settle allegations of bribery and market manipulation and three subsidiaries in the United States, Brazil and Britain have now pleaded guilty to criminal offences.The company still faces Swiss and Dutch investigations. But after sweeping changes that culminated in the exit of CEO and top shareholder Ivan Glasenberg in 2021, the November sentencing will wrap up a multinational inquiry that has weighed on the business for more than four years.US authorities will account for the bulk of penalties after Glencore agreed to a $1.1 billion U.S. settlement last month to resolve a decade-long scheme to bribe foreign officials across seven countries - and separate charges alleging a trading division manipulated fuel oil prices at U.S. shipping ports. -Fin24Koo owner defends possible plant closureFood producer Tiger Brands says it is engaging with government in a bid to stop the closure of its Langeberg & Ashton Foods (L&AF) plant in the Western Cape after a prospective buyer failed to raise the necessary funding in time.The plant has been in production for more than 70 years, producing fruit and purees that mainly exported to markets such as Europe, Japan, China and Australia. According to Tiger Brands&#039; website, it processes 100 000 tons of fruit each year.Tiger brands said the deciduous business operates in an industry impacted by trade barriers that affects the competitiveness of local produce. It further pointed out that exchange rate fluctuations and global crop yields bring more volatility into the business.In 2020, Tiger Brands decided to exit the business as part of its strategic review, and a consortium of 160 growers approached it with a non-binding offer in the same year.However, the consortium’s efforts to raise the required funds of between R200 million and R300 million by the 31 March 2022 deadline, failed. -Fin24Nike to fully exit RussiaNike said Thursday it will permanently leave the Russian market after suspending its operations over the conflict in Ukraine, joining a long list of Western firms that have pulled out the country.Nike temporarily closed its stores in Russia after Russian troops entered Ukraine in late February, triggering unprecedented sanctions and sparking an exodus of foreign firms such as Adidas, Ikea, H&M, McDonald&#039;s and Starbucks."Nike Inc. made a decision to leave the Russian market," the US apparel maker said in a statement. "The Nike stores were temporarily closed recently and will not reopen."It added that its website and app will no longer be available in the country.Last month, the US company said it will not be renewing licensing agreements with Russian retailers.Also on Thursday, US tech giant Cisco announced its decision to "begin an orderly wind-down" of operations in Russia and its ally Belarus, saying it wanted to ensure its employees in these countries "are treated with respect”. -Fin24

COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-27

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COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-27

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