Companies

A new platform for corporate financing has been introduced in Latvia – Financial News – Financenet

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“According to the company, with its help, small and medium – sized entrepreneurs can attract working capital online in a very short time – even within one business day – to stabilize cash flow.

Many Latvian companies are often hampered by late payments from customers, which do not allow them to pay their suppliers on time, pay salaries, buy stocks of goods, etc. The data available to Factris show that the average bill payment term for companies operating in Latvia is 52 days. Late payments are most often encountered by companies selling or renting construction, building materials and construction equipment, as well as companies engaged in wholesale or consulting activities.

In order to solve this problem, factoring is increasingly used in the world and also in Latvia, when the payment of debts is undertaken by the factoring company, financing the company’s working capital.

“Our observations show that fast access to low-cost working capital is especially important for companies during a pandemic, but such opportunities are very limited. In traditional credit institutions, bureaucratic requirements for obtaining financing are increasing, and banking competition in the market is reduced – bank branches are closed, personalized communication with bank customers is restricted, etc. Therefore, the new FAB platform helps small and medium-sized businesses about the work or services performed, settling accounts with suppliers, balancing cash flow and otherwise balancing the work, ”says Kaspars Barons, Managing Director of Factris in Latvia.

The new automated platform FAB provides an opportunity not only to apply for fast financing, ensuring an open, in-depth evaluation of all transactions, but also to easily manage the financed accounts. By joining the platform, the company has access to all information about its financial portfolio, its use, interest payments, customer payments and overdue invoices. The platform sends automatic e-mail notifications to the company’s debtors with a reminder to pay the bills, which allows the company not to think about customers’ late payments.

The new FAB platform has already gained recognition in the Netherlands and Lithuania and will be rolled out in other European Union countries.

Most factoring or invoice financing services in Latvia are currently used by wholesale, telecommunications and transport companies.

As Barons emphasizes, factoring is a good opportunity to develop business for small and medium-sized enterprises, for the financing of which there are currently relatively few competitive and efficient services in Latvia.

Using factoring, up to 90% of the invoice amount is received immediately, but the rest – after the customer pays the invoice. Factoring improves the company’s liquidity, balanced cash flow, eliminating risks to the business, Barons emphasizes.

Although the interest in factoring services in Latvia is growing, not all entrepreneurs in Latvia understand the benefits they provide and this segment still has great growth potential, Barons emphasizes.

According to the data federation of the European Union Factoring and Commercial Financial Sector, in 2018 the ratio of factoring to GDP in Latvia was 3%, while, for example, in Belgium and Cyprus – 17%, Estonia, France – 14, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom – 13, Lithuania – 8 %.

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Börse Express – ROUNDUP: Bayer reports significant progress with glyphosate comparisons in the USA

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Bayer is making headway in dealing with its glyphosate legal conflicts in the USA, according to its own statements. At a hearing on Thursday (local time), the Leverkusen-based pharmaceutical and agrochemical company reported to the federal court in San Francisco, which is responsible for tens of thousands of lawsuits, of significant progress in the negotiations on a “holistic settlement”.

The disputes over the alleged cancer risks of the weed killer Roundup with the active ingredient glyphosate were held up by Bayer with the acquisition of the US seed giant Monsanto in 2018. The company would like to get rid of the many US lawsuits in one fell swoop with a major settlement.

At the end of June it had already looked as if this had largely been achieved. However, a compromise negotiated with the plaintiff’s attorneys was classified by the judge as problematic on one essential point and must be revised. The aim is to clarify how possible future glyphosate lawsuits will be handled.

In order to be able to negotiate in peace, the parties to the dispute at the court hearing spoke out in favor of extending the suspension of the ongoing glyphosate proceedings until November. It is not uncommon for it to take months to complete a comparison of this dimension, which involves a number of different law firms, said a US spokesman for Bayer.

The up to 10.9 billion dollars (9.3 billion euros) expensive glyphosate comparison package from the end of June included 8.8 to 9.6 billion dollars for ongoing proceedings and 1.25 billion dollars for future cases. This part – which was objected to by the judge – is of great importance for Bayer in order to have legal certainty in the event of possible new lawsuits in the USA

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Microsoft Teams: New Features for Video Conferencing | Informatic direction

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During its Ignite virtual event, Microsoft announced several new video conferencing features for its Teams collaborative platform.

Image: screenshot, Microsoft Ignite

The tech giant has notably improved the display mode ” Together “. Introduced in Teams last July, this option allows you to present all the participants of a meeting in a common virtual space, as if they were in the same room. With one click, users can switch from a mosaic display to an auditorium or cafe setting.

Starting in October, Teams meeting organizers will be able to divide their audience into multiple groups. It will therefore be possible to intervene separately with certain employees, then to bring together all the participants again.

Later this year, the Custom Layouts feature will allow video conference organizers to customize the way content is presented to attendees. A user could, for example, appear in the foreground of a PowerPoint presentation to get closer to their audience and maximize engagement.

To encourage interactions during conferences, Teams offers live reactions with emojis: a heart, clapping hands or a guy with a big smile.

The platform will soon produce a summary of each meeting containing the audio recording of the session, the transcript, the messages exchanged in the chat and the files shared. This summary will automatically be shared in the Chat and Details tabs of each meeting, as well as in the meeting time specified in the Outlook calendar.

By the end of the year, Microsoft will be adding features to make it easier to manage large-scale webinars on Teams. These interactive online conferences will now welcome up to 20,000 participants. Organizers will be able to send event invitations using automated emails and view a detailed dashboard after each webinar to observe attendee engagement.

Microsoft Teams will soon offer an option to ensure physical distancing is observed for in-person meetings. By analyzing the data captured by the cameras of conference rooms equipped with counting technologies, the “ Meeting room capacity notification »Will alert participants if the room is overcapacity. This scan will be performed using the maximum capacity settings defined by the organization’s IT administrator.

Tags: instant message, companies, virtual space, Microsoft, Microsoft Ignite, Microsoft Teams, updates, Outlook, telecommuting, video conference

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Survey of the Africa CEO Forum, the barometer of African business leaders

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Published on : Modified :

Publication this Tuesday morning September 22 of the second barometer of African business leaders. A vast study carried out by the Africa CEO Forum and the audit firm Deloitte.

This study has this interesting, this year, that it allows to understand the way in which the African bosses envisage the evolutions to come in their sectors, that is the initial objective, but especially the way in which they think that the global health crisis will influence these changes.

150 African business leaders operating in 30 countries were interviewed. At the beginning of the year first, then between April and June, precisely to take into account the health crisis.

We learn that, unsurprisingly, the optimism of African leaders for the current year has dropped from 80 to 25%, but that the level of confidence remains ” Student » « as for a return to normal by 2021 ».

For African bosses, the crisis was a “ innovation accelerator »

When you’re cornered, you have to evolve. Aziz Mebarek, co-founder of the private equity firm AfricInvest, mentions in particular “ the deployment of cost rationalization measures, digitization, the review of supply chains ” or ” renegotiation of certain long-term contracts ». « We can no longer be in the pattern before “, Still judges this pioneer of financial investments on the continent.

The sudden use of more teleworking and digitization, necessary to continue certain activities remotely, have in particular been accelerated. African bosses also testify to the simplification of certain administrative procedures in this context.

The study by the Deloitte firm also shows enthusiasm for the economic harmonization of the continent, and in particular for the Zlecaf …

The African Continental Free Trade Area (Zlecaf) was to be officially launched in July. Because of the pandemic, this launch has been postponed to 2021. Nevertheless, this single market project is acclaimed by the African business leaders interviewed. Tahirou Barry, Managing Director of Conakry Terminal, which belongs to the Bolloré group, is delighted, for example, by “ tremendous growth potential From Zlecaf. But ” priority site », According to the conclusions of the study, must involve the private sector more, and no longer be supported by the African public authorities alone. This is, without much surprise, what emerges from the testimonies of the leaders interviewed. This free trade area ” is not yet concrete because there are still obstacles to its implementation “, Cautiously advances Ahmed Bouzguenda of PGH-Tunisia, whose activities range from poultry farming to steel processing. Business involvement ” in the negotiations surrounding the creation of the Zlecaf Is therefore a requirement of the African private sector.

For the rest, the concerns of African employers are classic concerns

In particular, on governance issues, this involves taking greater account of risk management, whether health, and therefore operational, or financial. ” Companies in Africa are currently in survival mode, says Abi Ajayi, Director for Sub-Saharan Africa at Bank of America. Blockages and containment measures, and the global economic slowdown have generated massive disruption. It will take time, still judge the Nigerian, to return to normal pre-Covid flows. »

The need to renew leaders in boards of directors and to promote gender equality are also mentioned.

In terms of financing, the bosses of the continent as always want more solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises which, as the study reminds us, ” represent the overwhelming majority of businesses in Africa and remain the backbone of the continent’s economic growth. »

The challenges linked to the climate and the defense of the environment have not been forgotten …

Or let’s say they are less so. The Africa-CEO-Forum-Deloitte barometer modestly arrives at the conclusion that ” the environmental imperative seems progressively better taken into account by the private sector “. Here again, the health crisis plays a role: in raising the awareness of managers, but also in the changes it implies for the future, particularly in terms of supply chains. These changes will therefore have to take this environmental issue more into account.

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Economic problems are driving companies to flee Argentina

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(MENAFN – Al-Borsa News) An increasing number of foreign companies are heading to reduce the level of investment in Argentina or flee completely from the country, fearing the increasing intervention policies of the left-wing government, which aim to stabilize the faltering economy.

The Financial Times reported that the Chilean retail giant Vallabela has become the latest to join the chain of companies that announced their intention to withdraw from Argentina last week, as the government moved to tighten already stringent capital controls to protect dwindling foreign exchange reserves.

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez was able to achieve a major victory by reaching a deal with private sector creditors to restructure the $ 65 billion in external debt last month, but the outbreak of the epidemic after only 3 months of assuming the reins of power has impeded his attempts to rebuild investor confidence.

“It is an exaggeration to say that there is some kind of mass migration going on, but companies are struggling with the increasing trend of interventionist policies, which may worsen with deteriorating economic conditions as well,” said Kezia McKej, director at the consulting firm McLarty Associates.

The American auto parts manufacturer Aksalta, the German and French BASF company, Saint-Gobain Securit, and the French pharmaceutical company, Pierre Fabre, were among the other companies that left Argentina recently. Latin America decided to withdraw from the country last July.

The Coronavirus crisis has dealt a blow to the Argentine economy, which remains subject to one of the strictest and longest lockdowns in the world.

However, investors and analysts insist that the escalating state intervention is the main reason that companies made decisions to move away from Argentina, which they have not done anywhere else in the region.

McKeej of McLarty Associates added that the huge challenges posed by increasingly stringent capital controls, import restrictions and price increases bans are making companies in some sectors such as consumer goods increasingly unsustainable.

In addition, an executive at a multinational company operating in the country said, “In light of everything that’s happening here right now, you can forget about foreign companies making any investments at the moment.”

Alejandro Diaz, chief executive of the American Chamber of Commerce in Argentina, said controls on currency, imports and prices are deepening concerns and raising questions about developing business plans.

The “Financial Times” reported that some are using a brave face, such as “Fly Bondi”, the first low-cost airline in Argentina, despite the departures in the aviation sector in recent months.

“If the government can create a sound and fair regulatory environment, we will continue to invest in Argentina,” said Peter Yu, managing partner of Cartesian Capital, the controlling shareholder of Fly Bondi.

Despite expectations that the Argentine economy will contract by 12.1% in 2020, the economy is also expected to record a recovery of 5.5% in 2021, but economists say that expectations of an inflation rate of 29% next year are a very optimistic assumption, especially after The country has resorted to printing money a lot in recent months.

Economists fear that the recent tightening of capital controls only delays the devaluation. In this regard, economist Luis Secco said: “They are only buying time, and this does not solve the real problem.”

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Helios Investment Partners invests in the African reinsurance sector

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(Agence Ecofin) – Helios Investment Partners has joined forces with two former heads of services in Africa at Axa assurance and Old Mutual, to launch a new company. This will offer reinsurance solutions for exceptional situations such as those caused by covid-19.

Helios Investment Partners has partnered with two former senior executives from the African reinsurance industry to develop and launch the Africa Specialty Risk Group (ASR), a reinsurance company that will deliver its solutions to businesses on the continent.

The Africa-focused private equity firm uses a previously taken approach, teaming up with seasoned executives with proven track records to build top-tier businesses to meet unmet needs that are identified in its markets .

The chosen directors are Mikir Shah, former director of AXA Africa Specialty Risks, and Bryan Howett, former director of reinsurance operations at the African level of Old Mutual. “We have identified that there is a long-term lack of adequate insurance capacity in Africa, which has been further exacerbated by covid-19”, said Souleymane Ba, partner at Helios.

“ASR was created to fill this gap by providing specialized risk mitigation products that companies and capital providers operating in Africa have struggled to access to this day,” he added.

The coronavirus pandemic has indeed put many companies in difficulty, whose activities have been brought to a halt due to the containment measures decided by various governments in the region. Added to this are the recent floods which affected Senegal, Niger, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Cameroon and Sudan in particular.

Faced with these situations, regulators in the African risk coverage sector have not had the same reaction. Insurers are presented as guilty of not having honored their commitments, but are also victims.

Many of the companies in the industry are investors in companies that are going through difficult times. ASR does not say precisely what type of client will be advised.

To finance the establishment of this structure, Helios Investment Partners will use the resources of its fourth fund dedicated to Africa and which targets a global amount of $ 1.25 billion.

Idriss Linen

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For the boss of Orange, Huawei must make “radical” changes

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The CEO of telecoms operator Orange Stéphane Richard, convinced that the “lack of governance” at Huawei creates a problem, on Monday advised the equipment manufacturer, accused of being controlled by the Chinese state, “to proceed with quite radical changes “.

“If Huawei is ever to come back to the world stage, it has to make some pretty radical changes. That’s my opinion,” Richard said on Europe 1.

“I have respect for the Huawei teams, they are real professionals. The company’s system, its governance, its lack of governance for that matter, creates a major problem when you are in such a sensitive sector. than technology, ”he added.

Many countries accuse the Chinese company of spying on its customers on behalf of Beijing and gradually removed it in recent months from the list of their equipment manufacturers, especially with regard to future 5G technology.

“Many countries do not want to see Huawei on their telecommunications networks, starting with France even if it does not say so explicitly. It is not for me to say whether it is good or not. We try to stick in each country where we are with the geopolitical reality. In France, we do not deploy with Huawei. We do it a little in Spain, in Africa “, continued Mr. Richard.

“I do not want to demonize this or that application or company because it is Chinese but at the same time, we must not be naive. We may have been so in recent years”, nevertheless still estimated Mr. Richard .

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no decision on deal with Oracle, says Trump

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The Trump administration had not taken a decision Wednesday evening on the agreement between TikTok and the American Oracle, which should allow the popular application to remain active in the United States, said Donald Trump, ensuring that he does not want any loopholes on security.

The agreement “must be 100% national security level. And no, I am not ready to sign anything. I need to see the agreement,” Donald Trump said Wednesday during a press conference at the White House.

“We need security, especially after what we have seen on China and what is happening,” he added, adding that a report on the text of the agreement would be made to him on Thursday morning.

The agreement should allow Americans to continue using this application, which makes it possible to make short videos, often musical or humorous.

The days of TikTok are numbered in the United States. The application is accused of spying on behalf of the Chinese government by Donald Trump, which demands the sale of its American activities by September 20, under penalty of a ban in the country.

An agreement, which would make the Californian software group Oracle the “trusted technology partner” of TikTok, owned by the Chinese group ByteDance, has been mentioned since a takeover proposal made by the American giants Microsoft and Walmart was refused by ByteDance.

It would therefore be a minority stake in Oracle.

“I don’t like that”, commented Donald Trump, who wants TikTok’s American activities to completely leave the Chinese fold and pass into American hands, via a sale, hoping that the United States will recover part of the the money paid by the buyer.

“I want a large part of this money to go to the United States government because we made it possible (this sale, editor’s note),” he said, lamenting that lawyers tell him “that there is no way to do that “.

The administration does not seem united on the agreement with Oracle. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is in favor, CNBC reported earlier today.

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Numeric car keys and a real-time translation app … these are the new features of Apple’s iOS 14 operating system

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New York, USA (CNN) – Apple recently unveiled new versions of the Apple Watch and the iPad, but the new iPhone is still behind the curtain and is expected to remain so until next month.

However, even if you are unable to get the latest Apple phone now, the latest operating system, iOS 14, will provide you with a free new update for your current phone, as the new operating system can work on the iPhone 6S and all devices that were released after that.

But, what are the latest OS features for Apple phones? Here are the most prominent ones as follows:

Widgets

Apple will provide an easier way to discover and access new applications, using a feature called “App Clips”. The feature provides a small portion of the app for use at the desired time, whether it’s ordering a scooter or a burger from a restaurant. These apps are small in size and work with Apple’s payment system, Apple Pay. Users can then choose to download the full version of the app from the app store if they want to.

Updates for group chats

Apple has announced new updates to group chats, including the option to pin most important conversations at the top of the message list and tag others in group chats. Users will also be able to set a group photo using an image or an emoji. Additionally, Apple’s avatars, known as Memoji, now have more hairstyles, age options, and face masks coinciding with the pandemic era.

Digital car keys

In the beginning, Apple got rid of credit cards, and now it wants to exchange your car keys as well. Apple has explored a new tool that allows people to use an iPhone or Apple Watch to unlock and start their car. Initially, the feature will be available only with new BMW 5 cars from 2021. The car’s digital keys can also be shared with other people, such as family members, via the messaging app.

Airpods

Apple AirPods will also be upgraded, as the popular wireless earbuds will be able to move more easily between different devices. For example, users will be able to finish an audiobook and then go to watch a series on an iPad, but when someone calls, the speaker will automatically connect to the phone to make the call.

Translation application

The new translation app can translate texts and audio recordings into 11 different languages, including English, Spanish, French and Mandarin. The app can also translate in real time while two people speak different languages ​​in front of an iPhone.

Watch videos while doing other things

The picture in picture feature will allow users to continue watching the video or making a video call while using other apps, such as iMessage. Users can move the video around the screen as well, or hide it while still listening to the audio.

Incoming calls will not take over your screen anymore

Finally, Apple will address a big problem for users: incoming calls will no longer take over your screen, appearing instead as a banner at the top of the screen.

Privacy updates

Apple has focused heavily on privacy in recent years as a way to differentiate itself from other tech giants. In its latest move, Apple will give users the option to share only their approximate location with the apps, rather than their exact location. In the app store, users will also be able to see a summary of the privacy information that the apps use before downloading them.

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Forbes has compiled a rating of the largest private companies in Russia

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Forbes has published a rating of the 200 largest private companies in Russia. The first place was taken by the company “Lukoil», Whose revenue in 2019 amounted to 7.841 trillion rubles. She previously topped this ranking in 2018.

The first top 10 also includes:

Evraz – 770.3 billion rubles.

Megapolis – 752.3 billion rubles.

In total, the ranking includes 200 private companies, their total revenue in 2019 amounted to 45.3 trillion rubles. At the same time, the five leaders in the list remained the same. The rating includes 17 oil and gas companies, their total revenue amounted to 13.3 trillion rubles, which is 3.3% less than a year earlier.

The list includes 51 trading companies. They earned a total of 10.6 trillion rubles. At the same time, the proceeds of the agro-industrial enterprises of the rating increased by 12.5%, the newspaper notes. According to him, the revenue of companies in the “real estate” sector grew by 27.7%, IT – 21.7%, “construction” – 12%, “non-ferrous metallurgy” – 11.7%, “finance” – 11.6% , “Telecommunications” – 9.93%, “mechanical engineering” – 9.4%, “chemical industry” – 1.8%. When compiling the rating, Forbes gave preference to data on the IFRS. The assessment was based on information provided by the companies themselves. In the absence of official data, an estimate was made.

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