SERVICES NEWS

Herzogenaurach, Germany - German sportswear maker Adidas AG forecast record sales for its soccer business in 2014, aiming to retain market leadership in the sport ahead of US rival Nike Inc in a soccer World Cup year. read more

Gartner predicts that by 2019, 90% of organisations will have personal data on IT systems that they don’t own or control. read more

Pharmaceutical firm Adcock Ingram has appointed Werner van Rensburg as its chief operations officer, and Doreen Kosi has been confirmed as the government relations executive. read more

Johannesburg - South African corn declined for a second day after a report from the US Department of Agriculture showed more production than anticipated.  read more

Johannesburg - South Africa’s International Trade Administration Commission said it plans a further probe into the poultry association’s request to raise tariffs on chicken imports to as much as 82 percent before making a recommendation. read more

Mr Delivery opts for three wheels, times 60 Mr Delivery has acquired 60 Mahindra three-wheeler vehicles, fitted with specially designed, lockable canopies, to service a new contract for the Pick n Pay Online Shopping delivery service, which operates from a number of hubs in the country.  read more

Carl Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management Inc are short-listing potential candidates to become the next Dell Inc chief executive should they succeed in a proxy battle against Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners, two sources close to the matter told Reuters. read more

Consumer confidence boost Vukile Windhoek - The value of Vukile Property Fund received a boost in the last financial year and the dual-listed South African property fund has just reported a 26.7 percent increase in profit or N$556.4 million available for distribution for the full year, as of March 31, 2013. read more

The 2013 MasterCard Top Global Destination Cities Index reveals that Johannesburg has taken the number one spot as Africa’s top destination. read more

Johannesburg - Oceana, South Africa’s biggest seller of canned fish, agreed to acquire Foodcorp’s fishing unit for 445 million rand ($45.9 million) to extend operations.  read more

A BBC World Service 2013 Country Ratings poll has revealed that global sentiment towards South Africa remains positive, overall, but only just. read more

Johannesburg - Jeff Wright has resigned as Country Bird Holdings [JSE:CBH] after five years at the helm‚ the poultry producer said on Friday. read more

The rand has dipped to a new 4-year low, breaking through the R10 to the dollar mark by mid-afternoon on Thursday (30 May). read more

Tiger Brands Ltd. (TBS), South Africa’s biggest food maker by market value, said the company regained volume in bakeries, rice and snacks and treats and maintained profit margins across many of its domestic businesses.  read more

Cape Town - A total of 54 000 new jobs were created in the agriculture sector in the first three months of the year, Agriculture Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson said on Wednesday. read more

Johannesburg - Unemployment in Gauteng decreased by nearly 5% between 2011 and 2012, Premier Nomvula Mokonyane said on Monday. read more

Google Inc intends to finance, build and help operate wireless networks from sub-Saharan Africa to Southeast Asia, hoping to connect a billion or so people in emerging countries to the Internet, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. read more

London - The downturn across eurozone businesses eased slightly this month, although a dearth of new orders means the bloc's economy is likely to contract again in the second quarter, business surveys showed on Thursday. read more

Johannesburg - Tongaat Hulett [JSE:TON] reported a 15% rise in full-year earnings on Friday as sugar production rose and said it expected further growth in the year ahead.  read more

Nairobi - Kenya's economy is expected to expand by about 6% in 2013, up from a growth rate of 4.6% last year, driven by a pick-up in sectors like agriculture, the planning minister said on Thursday. read more

Rosss Breeders Africa plans to invest US$17 million this year to expand its operations in Zambia, the company stated yesterday. read more

The South African supermarket chain, Shoprite, which invested its business in the country some years ago has dismissed recent speculations regarding the imminent closure of some of its stores and possible exit from Tanzania for good. read more

Pioneer Foods Ltd. said it expects slower spending to curb its full-year performance. read more

Shrinkage costs Pick n Pay During the financial year 2011/2012, Pick n Pay lost almost N$8million as a result of theft and pilferage which took place in a number of Pick n Pay stores across the country. In a bid to bring down shrinkage in its stores, the retailer introduced an anonymous tip-off line for the public and its stakeholders.  read more

The Witness newspaper has broken the mould of typical print media by integrating augmented reality as a way to extend the life its physical print content. read more

Johannesburg - Illovo Sugar Ltd., Africa’s largest sugar producer, rose to a record as investors anticipate a recovery in output after a drought. read more

Achieving consistent growth in spend and a devoted shopper base, Nicolway Bryanston Shopping Centre has made its first year of trade, and its unusual concept, a success story. read more

Diversified company Lifestyle Holdings has introduced a TN Virtual Mart — where it will deliver groceries to its clientele’s doorstep, as competition in the country’s retail sector intensifies. read more

Imperial Holdings has gained a foothold in Nigeria’s fast-growing logistics market with the acquisition of a 49 percent stake in leading Nigerian provider MDS for $26 million (R237m) in cash. read more

A Namibia Trade Forum official has defended proposed government plans to grant interim protection to the local broiler industry against cheap imports.  read more

Johannesburg - Poultry producer Astral Foods [JSE:ARL] on Monday reported a 82% plunge in diluted headline earnings per share to 94 cents in the six months ended March 2013 as operating profit slumped by 80% despite a 5% rise in revenue to R4.234bn. No interim divided was declared. read more

Nakumatt’s stores on wheels targets outdoor events Regional retailer, Nakumatt Holdings has announced plans to introduce a containerised mini retail stores. The outlets will provide shopping solutions during key events in remote locations. read more

The gloves are off in the fight for a giant share of Kenya’s multi-billion shilling beauty industry as French multinational acquires part of the company that owns Nice & Lovely. read more

The big hole being dug in Newtown is the start of a R1.3 billion retail and office development incorporating some of Johannesburg's most historic buildings, it was reported on Monday. read more

The Rockefeller Foundation will pledge close to US$100 million (R900m) to create digital field jobs in Africa, it was announced at the World Economic Forum on Africa on Thursday (9 April).  read more

Microsoft Corp on Wednesday named Amy Hood, head of finance of its Office division, as its new chief financial officer.  read more

The output of textile, clothing and leather sub-sector of the Zambian industry increased marginally by 3.5 percent year-on-year in 2012, according to the Central Statistical Office (CSO). read more

ZAMBIA’s inflation rate for this month has slowed down by 0.1 per cent to 6.5 per cent from 6.6 per cent in March, while the trade surplus has gone up to KR307.7 million. read more

Johannesburg - SA’s entertainment and media companies have reached the “end of the digital beginning”‚ with digital activities now becoming the “new normal” for traditional media companies‚ according to a report by professional services firm PwC.  read more

London - Microsoft, trying to find growth markets for its mobile products, is projecting that rising demand in South Africa will help it pass BlackBerry and Android and pave the way for further gains on the continent. read more

Johannesburg - Foreign direct investment from emerging markets into Africa outpaced that from developed markets in 2012, but the number of new FDI projects into the continent fell 12 percent from the previous year, Ernst & Young said on Monday. read more

Johannesburg - Credit information services company Experian SA found that more than 2 million South Africans could be affected by a proposed credit information amnesty that seeks to provide relief to indebted consumers and improve their access to credit.  read more

The informal economy is the major contributor to a number of emerging economies globally. In sub-Saharan Africa, the sector constitutes 70 percent of the workforce while in other countries such as Ghana, the informal economy employs 85 percent of the workforce. In India 400 million people work in this sector. read more

Johannesburg - Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan and his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma will discuss ways to boost trade between Africa's two biggest economies during talks in Cape Town next week. read more

An Indian business delegation was in Botswana last week to seek investment opportunities and strengthen ties with local stakeholders.  read more

Johannesburg - South African corn futures rose the most in more than two months after US prices gained as a government report showed cold and wet weather slowed planting.  read more

Pretoria - Germany is to increase its economic investment in South Africa and other African states, Foreign Affairs Minister Guido Westerwelle said in Pretoria on Monday. read more

April 29 - Bankrupt photography pioneer Eastman Kodak Co said it will sell two of its remaining imaging businesses to its UK pension fund for $650m. read more

Harare - South African investors are considering investing at least $1.6bn (R13.37bn) in capital projects in various sectors of the Zimbabwean economy, a Zimbabwean government minister said on Monday. read more

Samsung has opened a Smart Care Centre in Johannesburg, offering consumers a same-day walk-in carry-in service across a wide of range products. read more

Johannesburg - The Competition Tribunal on Thursday approved Rainbow Chicken's [JSE:RBW] acquisition of a 64.2% interest in Foodcorp Holdings with conditions‚ which were not immediately available. read more

Johannesburg - An incentive to encourage businesses to employ young South Africans and reduce youth unemployment was announced in Johannesburg on Tuesday. read more

Ghanaian firm AFB has launched a new credit card service in the Kenyan market as the fight for stake in the fast-growing plastic money business heightens.  read more

The hefty R2,3bn price tag and 6,7% yield commanded by Somerset Mall, the rather dowdy-looking shopping centre alongside Cape Town’s N2 freeway en route to the winelands, sets a new benchmark for retail property prices in SA. read more

Eskom chief executive, Brian Dames says that the impending winter will be different to previous winters, as the group will have to perform long duration planned maintenance during the coldest months.  read more

Rebosis, the listed black-managed and substantially black-held property fund, increased turnover from its retail portfolio by 10 percent in the six months to February despite the increasing pressure on consumer expenditure. read more

Ougadougou - Burkina Faso set a minimum farmgate price for cotton growers of 235 CFA francs per kilogram for the 2013/14 growing season, down from 245 francs the previous year, the Interprofessional Cotton Association of Burkina (AICB) said on Thursday. read more

Johannesburg - The SA consumer could switch some of their expenditure from consumption to home buying‚ FNB household and consumer sector strategist John Loos said on Wednesday read more

Johannesburg - Consumer confidence plunged to a nine-year low during the first quarter of this year‚ signalling that household spending‚ the economy's main engine‚ would be subdued this year‚ according to a survey released on Tuesday. read more

Dube TradePort is set to be the main KwaZulu-Natal beneficiary of new multibillion-rand Chinese and Indian deals to come out of the Brics summit hosted in Durban last week.  read more

MULTICHOICE Zambia has opened a new Digital Satellite Television (DStv) agent outlet in Kitwe to serve its customers effectively and efficiently. read more

Seoul - South Korea's Samsung Electronics said on Friday it expected a sharp increase in first-quarter operating profit to 8.7-trillion won ($7.7-billion), up 52.9 percent from the first three months of 2012. read more

A section of Breakwater Boulevard at the V&A Waterfront will be temporarily closed from 8 April 2013 as work starts on a vehicle and pedestrian tunnel that will link basement parking in Victoria Wharf to the Breakwater Parking Garage.  read more

Johannesburg - Adcock Ingram Holdings Ltd.’s board of directors said it won’t propose Bidvest Group Ltd.’s offer for a 60 percent stake in the drug maker to its shareholders. read more

Johannesburg - The rand was slightly softer at midday on Tuesday on lower than expected purchasing managers index (PMI) figures.  read more

London - The Dow Jones industrial average touched another record high Tuesday after reports on auto sales and factory orders provided the latest evidence that the US economy is strengthening. read more

The price of petrol (95ULP) will increase by 10 cents a litre at the coast and 12 cents a litre in Gauteng, with effect from midnight on Tuesday. read more

Johannesburg - Growth in the manufacturing base will enable the Brics countries to achieve their desired economic growth and job creation, Indian Minister of Commerce Anand Sharma said on Wednesday.  read more

Nicosia - The two main banks at the centre of Cyprus's financial crisis slashed the daily cash withdrawal limits from ATM machines on Sunday, state media reported. read more

Michael Dell is about to find out if other bidders think his company is worth more than he does.  read more

Johannesburg - South African conglomerate the Bidvest Group [JSE:BVT] offered around $665m in cash and shares for control of the country's second-largest but under-performing drugmaker Adcock Ingram Holdings [JSE:AIP]. read more

Dairy producer Clover is investigating the possibility of moving its cheese facility closer to milk sources at the coast. This would save on transport and distribution costs, the firm said this week. read more

Johannesburg - The SA Reserve Bank's concern about growth and consumer growth in particular shows that interest rate hikes are just not possible, economists say. read more

A German court ruled in favor of Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia on Tuesday, saying some devices made by Taiwan’s HTC infringed on its power-saving patent. read more

Intel Corp’s media group has been on a hiring spree as it prepares to launch an Internet television service later this year, underscoring the chip maker’s seriousness about the new business. read more

Bucharest - French food industry group Danone said Monday it had withdrawn some of its dairy products from sale in Romania after a potentially carcinogenic substance was found in milk from one of its suppliers.  read more

Sydney - The head of Blackberry has taken a swipe at Apple, saying in an interview the iPhone's operating system was outdated, while promising thousands of new apps as it prepares to launch its new Z10 handset. read more

Johannesburg - The Consumer Goods Council of SA represents 11 000 companies working with consumer goods in the retail, wholesale and manufacturing industries. read more

VENTURES AFRICA – Barloworld Logistics, a unit of the JSE-listed diversified industrials giant, Barloworld Goup, is expanding its specialised logistics solutions to the Arab states of the Gulf, it said on Monday. read more

Johannesburg - The South African economy needs a larger manufacturing sector in order to improve employment, Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel said on Thursday.  read more

Johannesburg - Manufacturing production increased by 3.9% year-on-year (y/y) in January after an unrevised 2.0% (y/y) rise in December‚ data released by Statistics SA on Thursday showed. read more

Cape Town - The opening of a factory manufacturing high-tech gadgets could boost employment not only in the Western Cape but South Africa as a whole, Cape Town premier Helen Zille said on Tuesday. read more

Johannesburg - Consumer goods group AVI [JSE:AVI] has reported an 8% rise in headline earnings per share to 210c in the six months ended December 2012‚ from 194.2c a year ago.  read more

Johannesburg - Transnet might have to cut its planned R300bn capital expenditure programme by R50bn if economic growth proved disappointing or strikes affected the sector‚ CEO Brian Molefe said on Monday. read more

Johannesburg - Withdrawals from ATMs across the country remained stagnant in February, increasing only 0.69% from January, Spark ATM Systems said on Monday. read more

Social network Facebook has continued to lose South Africa users in February, according to data from social media monitoring firm, SocialBakers. read more

Grindrod shares rose to their highest level in more than four years yesterday as investors bet on earnings growth driven by diversification into ports and terminals. read more

Legislation paving the way for putting e-tolling on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) into practice was approved in the National Assembly on Tuesday.  read more

Johannesburg - The Producer Price Index (PPI) for final manufactured goods increased annually by 5.8% in January 2013, Statistics SA said on Tuesday.  read more

According to the GSMA report, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) racked in US$1.002 trillion in 2012, representing a 1.4% contribution to the global GDP. read more

Johannesburg - Unemployment and inequality are the biggest problems facing the South African economy, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said on Monday.  read more

Johannesburg - Clover Industries [JSE:CLR] and Nestlé SA on Friday announced the formation of the new entity‚ called Clover Waters.  read more

Cape Town - Despite consumers baying for blood, the food researcher who exposed the meat scandal refuses to name and shame the suppliers, retailers and butchers whose products were tested.  read more

Rabat - Morocco and the European Union began discussions on Friday aimed at concluding a free-trade agreement, as EU Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso visited the country.  read more

The Red Meat Industry Forum (RMIF), which represents the entire red meat industry chain, from primary producer through the abattoir to the meat trader and eventually the consumer, has noted with extreme concern the condemning statements made on the research findings by Prof Louw Hoffman and his colleagues on the inclusion of various unlabeled ingredients used in meat products sampled from retail butcher stores and butcheries. read more

Johannesburg - Litha Healthcare, a South African drugmaker, rose the most in almost ten months after saying its considering buying shares back and going private.  read more

Johannesburg - Shares of Grindrod [JSE:GND] rose more than 2% after the shipping firm posted a 22% rise in full-year earnings, beating market expectations. read more

Johannesburg - The National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) will on Thursday announce its decision on Eskom's proposed electricity tariff hike.  read more

Mumbai - Indian drugmaker Cipla on Thursday sweetened its offer by 17% to take over South Africa's third-largest drugmaker, Cipla Medpro South Africa [JSE:CMP], ending the uncertainty of an earlier offer that had been put on hold by the Indian company. read more

Pretoria - South Africa's economic growth quickened to 2.1% quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter of 2012 on a seasonally adjusted and annualised basis from 1.2% in Q3, Statistics South Africa said on Tuesday.  read more