In a blogpost, Mastercard executive vice president of digital asset and blockchain products Raj Dhamodharan mentioned that under the agreement, NFTs would be considered digital goods and could be purchased using a credit card.

Dhamodharan told the media, “Cryptocurrency enthusiasts are used to this process. But for most people, it’s not simple, it’s not intuitive. We think it should be much easier. That will ensure NFTs can be for everyone. Getting more people involved safely and securely is perhaps the best way to help the NFT market thrive.”

Since Coinbase first announced its NFT marketplace, under the name of Coinbase NFT, since October, more than one million people have signed up for it and are currently on the waiting list. The crypto exchange plans to make the NFT platform available to US users before opening up to users in other countries.

After the growth and the rising interest of the NFT sector in 2021, major crypto exchanges FTX and Binance launched their own NFT marketplaces before Coinbase’s October announcement. Last year in June, Binance launched an NFT platform that planned on providing the highest liquidity and cheapest fees for users.

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Alex Bessonov, group head of network development and strategic partnerships at Paysend, told the media, “The meteoric rise of mobile and app-based payments in China has brought convenience to the lives of over one billion people. This partnership with Tencent Financial Technology expands acceptance of Paysend transfers to Weixin users and underlines our ambition to use advanced technology to make payments faster and easier for millions around the world.”

People using this feature can make these transfers across borders, via licensed banks in China – with funds reaching the bank account linked to the Weixin application. Currently, Paysend has over five million customers on its platform and they are also working to increase their financial inclusion.

Wenhui Yang, general manager, Tencent Financial Technology Asia Pacific told the media, “As customer preferences change, companies like Paysend provide an easier, more convenient, and lower cost alternative for people to send money to friends and family. Ultimately, our partnership is another step in promoting openness and interoperability among the digital payment industry, thereby increasing convenience for customers who can send and receive money in the way that makes most sense to them.”

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Additionally, it will also let the users pay with the local payment methods like credit cards and mobile money, and this includes air shipping to several countrywide delivery points. The new marketplace also promises Cameroon-based customers to be able to purchase any product of their choice from categories like DVDs, books, computers, games, cosmetics, appliances, millions of SKUs and many more from their mobile in the near future.

The agreement was signed on November 4, 2021, in Douala to officialise it. Prior to this, Kiwi Pay Group was signing various agreements with different special economic zones (SEZs) like CEMAC, GIM-UEMOA and others, allowing them to offer transactions in the local currency, FCFA.

Fongod Nuvaga Edwin, director general of Customs in Cameroon told the media, “This strategic partnership with Bolloré Logistics and the Customs in Cameroon is allowing us to benefit from the strong growth of the e-commerce in the country while leveraging from decades of experience from our partners to ensure a trustworthy experience for the customers and compliance with the local tax system.”

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Since its launch in the US last year, Goldman Sachs Transaction Banking has attracted more than 250 clients, earned $35 billion in deposits and has processed several trillions of dollars through its system.

This latest digital offering aims to make business-to-business (B2B) payments easier and more streamlined for large corporate clients where they will be provided with multiple payment options in one platform.

Dean Henry, executive vice president of Global Commercial Services at American, told the media, “A major pain point for our large commercial card clients is managing multiple platforms and myriad time-consuming, costly and complex processes to make, track, and reconcile thousands of payment transactions every day.

“We are pleased to partner with Goldman Sachs to modernise these outdated legacy B2B payment processes. Together, we are setting a new standard in transaction banking for big business by offering access to faster payments and real-time tracking that can increase efficiency and reduce costs.”

With the increase of fintech companies taking away customers from traditional banking institutions, innovating themselves and keeping up with the market is becoming increasingly important for global firms like American Express and Goldman Sachs. American Express holds relationships with nearly 60 percent of Fortune 500 companies and this collaboration will allow Goldman to tap into that sizable group of Amex business card holders.

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Mohamed Assem, Egypt’s Mastercard country manager said in a statement, “We are delighted to join forces with Telda to introduce the first money app in Egypt. This milestone further promotes the digital transformation of the Egyptian economy and allows us to offer consumers a secure, convenient, and seamless experience for their payment transactions from the comfort of their own homes. We at Mastercard recognise our role and responsibility in supporting the Egyptian Government’s efforts towards an all-inclusive digital economy, and we are delighted to further advance this agenda through our partnership.”

The Telda app offers its users multiple features including sending and receiving money. It is also the first in the market to allow a fully digitised card payment experience with just a click of a button and doesn’t require its users to have a bank account. With the help of this app, customers will also be able to move funds in a few simple steps and control their prepaid accounts with money management features that allow them to stay on top of their finances.

Digital payments platforms represent a user-friendly alternative to the traditional brick-and-mortar banking services so that customers don’t have to visit a branch. The business model completely focuses on eliminating cash and promoting a digital paperless transaction.

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However, he did not explain the circumstances or the exact reason for the change of ownership. Vodafone’s stake has also gone up, as before it stood at 5 percent. The primary reason why Safaricom was given the leadership is because of its close geographical proximity to Ethiopia. Ethiopian Communications Authority (ECA) that Safaricom and another Safaricom consortium led by MTN Group were the only two parties bidding on the auction of two operating licenses.

Some media reports point that at some point they were a bit concerned by the alleged lack of transparency in the process and requirements that winners build their own network infrastructure such as towers. Additionally, they also felt that they were not ready to pay the amounts expected by the Ethiopian government.

Safaricom’s chances of winning one of the licences increased exponentially after nine other firms dropped out of the bidding process. The firms that dropped out of the bidding process are Orange, Etisalat, Telkom SA, Snail Mobile, Axian, Liquid Telecom, Electromecha International Projects, and Kandu Global Communications. The amount bid by Safaricom and MTN Group are expected to be disclosed after Ethiopia announces the result of the bidding.

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This new onshore substation facility will transform the power produced by Hornsea Project Two wind farm before it connects to the National Grid. Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick will deliver the mechanical and electrical services for the new state-of-the-art facility.

Duncan Clark, Programme Director for both Hornsea Projects One and Two, stated: “We’re delighted that Balfour Beatty will continue to work with us on these huge offshore wind farm projects. Having already constructed onshore substations for three of our other projects, this contract continues the long-term partnership between Ørsted and Balfour Beatty.

“Their team is already on site having nearly finished Hornsea Project One’s substation, and having this continuity of the team will ensure optimum efficiencies. We’re committed to investing in the UK and we’re very pleased to be working with a UK firm that we have confidence will deliver a good quality build, on time and most importantly, with a continued high focus on safety.” He added.

Hornsea Project Two won a Contract for Difference in September 2017, and will be built at the lowest price for offshore wind that’s ever been seen in the UK. The 1.4 gigawatt (GW) project will be located 89 kilometres off the Yorkshire Coast. Last month Ørsted offered confirmation that a total of 165 Siemens Gamesa turbines are being used for the project. The majority of the blades will be manufactured at the Siemens Gamesa facility located in Hull, where pre-assembly work will also be carried out.

Thomas Edgcumbe, Managing Director for Balfour Beatty’s  North and Midlands regional business, stated:  “Having recently completed works to Hornsea Project One, this award is testament to the long-standing relationship we have built with Ørsted over the past few years.

”We’re proud to continue this momentum, and look forward to successfully and safely delivering the substation; providing clean power to millions of homes across the UK.” He added.

Balfour Beatty will begin construction on the main build, with completion aimed for 2020.

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Andrew Williams, Partner and co-chairman said that  LJ Partnership is aiming to grow its Asian assets under management from $1.5 bn today, to $10bn by 2021, after Gulf investor – the New York-based family office Dilmun –  acquired a 40% stake in the company last month.

LJ Partnership will also rebrand itself to Alvarium Investments in 2019.

Williams refused to divulge Dilmun’s overall investment. Currently, LJ Partnership manages overall assets of $15 bn on behalf of family offices, foundations, charities and individuals across both real estate, and fixed income and equity securities.

“We want to reach the growth target for Asia-Pacific partly through opening new businesses in Australia and Singapore, and partly through acquisitions to build out our own in-house boutique investment capabilities that would include mergers and acquisitions, and subsequently private equity and technology,” he said.

Last month, Ken Costa, a former global head of M&A at UBS, joined LJ Partnership as partner and shareholder. In his most recent role as chairman of Lazard International, Costa had advised Egyptian billionaire Mohammed al-Fayed’s $1.9 bn sale of the Harrods department store to the Qatari royal family.

Based in London, Costa will now steer LJ Partnership’s boutique investment infrastructure, which will initially be focusing on Europe.

In expanding its global property investment portfolio, Williams– who himself is Auckland-based—said that LJ Partnership has invested US$50 mn in New Zealand since 2017. In Australia, where it expects to be operational in 2019, Williams stated that LJ Partnership  plans to focus on senior secured financing to property developers — an area from which many banks have withdrawn in recent years because of regulations.

“The regulatory framework imposed on banks in Australia and New Zealand has left a large funding gap for lending outside those provided by the formal banking system. Borrowers now have to pay double-digit yield to senior lenders for loans, and we are happy to be in that space,” he stated.

Williams said that LJ Partnership invests about $500 mn to $ 1 bn in real estate each year across 20-plus transactions on average. LJ Partnership will often co-invest with other family offices or private equity investors.

In March 2017, LJ Partnership bought Generator Hostels, which runs 14 hostels in cities including London, Amsterdam, Miami and Barcelona, through subsidiary Queensgate Investments for $520.4 mn. Queensgate is a real estate private equity firm set up by LJ Partnership, the Peterson Group and Jason Kow.

In Singapore, LJ Partnership is obtaining regulatory approval to set up an office, which will become operational “in the next few months”. For now, the office will focus on acquiring new clients.

Tony Yeung, managing director of Peterson Group and a partner at LJ Partnership, said in China, Pradera, a fund manager in which LJ Partnership owns a stake, manages four retail properties in Chongqing, Shanghai, Qingdao and Xian through its joint venture with Macquarie Retail Real Estate Management.

Yeung said LJ Partnership was looking to also expand its presence in China, but he gave no concrete timeline regarding that.

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October 6, 2016: Allianz Group and International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, have signed a partnership under the Managed Co-Lending Portfolio Program (MCPP). Under the agreement, Allianz intends to make an investment of $500 million which will be co-invested alongside IFC debt financing for infrastructure projects in emerging markets worldwide.

The infrastructure debt team of Allianz Global Investors has structured the transaction and will manage the fund on behalf of investors. IFC will originate, structure and administer the loans on behalf of the fund in addition to providing a first loss protection.

Allianz Global Investors has established an infrastructure debt fund that will co-invest with IFC in a portfolio of loans which IFC has granted to infrastructure projects in emerging economies and fulfill a defined set of eligibility criteria. The IFC will provide a first loss protection in order to reflect the risk/reward profile of an institutional investor. This will offer Allianz insurance entities access to Emerging Markets infrastructure loans, which have historically been funded by international development institutions, local banks and some international banks.

Allianz Global Investors has 25 offices in 18 countries. It provides global investment and research capabilities with consultative local delivery. It has more than £469 billion in AUM for individuals, families and institutions worldwide and employs more than 500 investment professionals. Its infrastructure debt team, led by Claus Fintzen, focuses on senior and stable debt investments in the essential infrastructure sector. The team currently has £8bn under management.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. In FY16, long-term investments in developing countries rose to nearly $19 billion.

Oliver Bäte, CEO of Allianz SE, says, “We work to ensure that our activities are profitable and sustainable. We create long-term value by embedding sustainability in our core business. The partnership with IFC and our co-investment in infrastructure is a perfect example how Allianz can provide thought leading investment expertise to support the economic development of emerging countries as well as serving the interest of our customers.”

“Modern infrastructure is essential for economic growth and lasting prosperity,” said IFC CEO Philippe Le Houérou. “Yet, a huge investment gap exists in this sector—totaling trillions of dollars a year in emerging markets alone. MCPP infrastructure marks a breakthrough in the search for large-scale financing solutions to the challenges of development. It is a key building block in the global effort to move from billions to trillions in development finance.”

Andreas Gruber, Allianz Group Chief Investment Officer, says, “This partnership underlines how we at Allianz can create value for our customers by combining entrepreneurial investment ideas with industry-leading implementation know-how. Together with IFC we were able to conceive a reliable investment vehicle appropriate to the very long-term perspectives of all parties involved.”

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