Company News in Brief
Salesforce to invest $1 billion in Singapore US cloud software giant Salesforce said Wednesday it planned to invest $1 billion (R18.3 billion) in Singapore over the next five years to boost the use of artificial intelligence agents (AI) in the workforce. The island state has been increasingly turning to technology to solve its workforce problem as it struggles to deal with a declining birthrate and an ageing population. The investment aims to accelerate the adoption in Singapore and the region of Agentforce, which enables businesses to create and manage AI agents designed to independently perform tasks such as sales, customer service and marketing. Unlike chatbots that follow a preset script, AI agents are more advanced as they can think, decide and take action and complete tasks such as booking appointments or processing requests. “We are in an incredible new era of digital labour where every business will be transformed by autonomous agents that augment the work of humans, revolutionising productivity and enabling every company to scale without limits,” Salesforce chief executive Marc Benioff said in a statement. - AFP.
Northvolt files for bankruptcy
Battery cell maker Northvolt has filed for bankruptcy in Sweden, the company said on Wednesday, marking one of the country’s largest corporate failures and effectively ending Europe’s best hope of developing a rival to challenge China. The Swedish company has received more than $10 billion (R183 billion) in equity, debt and public financing since its 2016 inception, and its biggest owners include Volkswagen, with a 21% stake, and Goldman Sachs, with 19%. The EV battery maker sought US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last November as its cash pile dwindled and it scrambled to secure funds to fix persistent problems in boosting output at its flagship plant in northern Sweden. “This was a decision we did not take lightly,” Northvolt chair Tom Johnstone told a press conference, saying every avenue had been pursued to avoid bankruptcy for the company, putting 5 000 jobs at risk. “Nevertheless, despite these exhaustive efforts, this decision represents the only realistic path forward for Northvolt and for its stakeholders.” Its debt stood at more than $8 billion across the nine Northvolt entities in the Chapter 11 process at the end of January, documents showed. The bankruptcy, which was officially declared by a Stockholm district court, is one of the biggest in Swedish corporate history and the most high-profile since carmaker Saab Automobile more than a decade ago. Europe’s auto sector had hoped Northvolt would reduce Western carmakers’ reliance on Chinese rivals such as battery maker CATL and EV and battery maker BYD. - Reuters.
Indiltex sales grow 10.5%Zara owner Inditex on Wednesday reported sales for its fourth quarter ending January 31 in line with analysts’ expectations, sealing another year of strong growth for the world’s biggest listed fast-fashion retailer. Sales grew 10.5% in currency-neutral terms, to €38.6 billion (R773 billion) for the year, Inditex said, as fourth-quarter sales came in at €11.2 billion. However, Inditex’s first quarter started a little more slowly, with sales up just 4% in currency-neutral terms over the February 1 to March 10 period, compared to an 11% growth a year ago. `- Reuters.
Pam Golding suffers hack
Real estate giant Pam Golding Properties announced on Tuesday that it had been hacked. The company said that an unauthorised and as-yet-unknown third party accessed some of the data on its customer relationship management system last Friday. The company’s notice about the incident is live on its website. It said that it had notified affected clients about the breach and reported the incident to the South African Police Service and the Information Regulator. “As soon as we became aware of the security compromise, we took immediate action to secure our systems and removed all unauthorised access,” the statement said. Pam Golding said that no banking details, financial information, commercial information and/or other documents were compromised. It said that the type of information stored in its customer relationship management system includes names, contact numbers, and, in some instances, identity numbers.
Northvolt files for bankruptcy
Battery cell maker Northvolt has filed for bankruptcy in Sweden, the company said on Wednesday, marking one of the country’s largest corporate failures and effectively ending Europe’s best hope of developing a rival to challenge China. The Swedish company has received more than $10 billion (R183 billion) in equity, debt and public financing since its 2016 inception, and its biggest owners include Volkswagen, with a 21% stake, and Goldman Sachs, with 19%. The EV battery maker sought US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last November as its cash pile dwindled and it scrambled to secure funds to fix persistent problems in boosting output at its flagship plant in northern Sweden. “This was a decision we did not take lightly,” Northvolt chair Tom Johnstone told a press conference, saying every avenue had been pursued to avoid bankruptcy for the company, putting 5 000 jobs at risk. “Nevertheless, despite these exhaustive efforts, this decision represents the only realistic path forward for Northvolt and for its stakeholders.” Its debt stood at more than $8 billion across the nine Northvolt entities in the Chapter 11 process at the end of January, documents showed. The bankruptcy, which was officially declared by a Stockholm district court, is one of the biggest in Swedish corporate history and the most high-profile since carmaker Saab Automobile more than a decade ago. Europe’s auto sector had hoped Northvolt would reduce Western carmakers’ reliance on Chinese rivals such as battery maker CATL and EV and battery maker BYD. - Reuters.
Indiltex sales grow 10.5%Zara owner Inditex on Wednesday reported sales for its fourth quarter ending January 31 in line with analysts’ expectations, sealing another year of strong growth for the world’s biggest listed fast-fashion retailer. Sales grew 10.5% in currency-neutral terms, to €38.6 billion (R773 billion) for the year, Inditex said, as fourth-quarter sales came in at €11.2 billion. However, Inditex’s first quarter started a little more slowly, with sales up just 4% in currency-neutral terms over the February 1 to March 10 period, compared to an 11% growth a year ago. `- Reuters.
Pam Golding suffers hack
Real estate giant Pam Golding Properties announced on Tuesday that it had been hacked. The company said that an unauthorised and as-yet-unknown third party accessed some of the data on its customer relationship management system last Friday. The company’s notice about the incident is live on its website. It said that it had notified affected clients about the breach and reported the incident to the South African Police Service and the Information Regulator. “As soon as we became aware of the security compromise, we took immediate action to secure our systems and removed all unauthorised access,” the statement said. Pam Golding said that no banking details, financial information, commercial information and/or other documents were compromised. It said that the type of information stored in its customer relationship management system includes names, contact numbers, and, in some instances, identity numbers.
