SINGTEL'S Singtel : Z74 -0.38% wholly-owned subsidiary Singapore Telecom International has monetised a 1.6 per cent stake in telecommunications company Airtel Africa through a market placement.

The telco raised net proceeds of about S$150 million from the placement exercise, which was "well oversubscribed", it said in a bourse filing on Friday (Mar 25).

ON Mar 14, the 2.5 billion people who make up the Commonwealth family, across 54 countries, come together to celebrate Commonwealth Day. This annual observation, which takes place on the second Monday of March every year, is a chance to convene to recognise the friendship and partnership among a family of nations that spans across the globe.

This year, the theme of Commonwealth Day, and of the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is "Delivering a common future".

PEFINDO has raised its ratings for PT Perkebunan Nusantara III (Persero) (PTPN) and its Medium-Term Notes (MTN) IV PTPN III Year 2019, MTN III PTPN III Year 2019, MTN II PTPN III Year 2018 to “idBBB+” from “idBBB”, and its ratings for PTPN’s Sukuk Ijarah II Year 2019 and MTN Syariah Ijarah I PTPN III Year 2018 to “idBBB+(sy)” from “idBBB(sy)”.



The corporate rating’s outlook is “Stable”. The rating action reflects Pefindo's expectation that PTPN will maintain its improved financial profile, particularly its capital structure and cash flow protection measures, driven by strong growth in its revenue and EBITDA triggered by improved productivity and high commodity price, and no additional debt except for the remaining disbursement of loan facility from national economic recovery (PEN) program.

Tanzania will start producing locomotives and wagons within a year if a foot plan by Malaysia’s railway engineering service provider to invest between $40 million (about Sh92 billion) and $100 million (about Sh230 billion)  comes to fruition.

Singapore-based food-tech startup Shandi has raised more than US$700,000 in a second-seed funding round led by Tolaram Group, one of Africa's largest packaged food conglomerates. The fresh capital will be used to set up a manufacturing facility in Singapore to commercialise and scale Shandi's proprietary plant-based chicken products, including expanding partnerships in the food sector.

Rwanda and Singapore last week formally entered into a partnership dubbed Financial Trust Corridor initiative, which seeks to facilitate transactions and create greater trust between financial institutions and businesses in Rwanda and Singapore.

AFRICA is on a trajectory that is different and on a higher incline compared to most regions in the next 20 years, providing opportunities for Singapore businesses, said Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Monday.

FOR education technology firm ACKTEC Technologies, the mobile micro-learning app they created for onboarding truck drivers in Cameroon, might just be one of the most interesting projects they have ever embarked on.