5 best news for April
The Japanese are buying one of the largest IT employers in Ukraine
Japanese company Hitachi has announced the purchase of American developer GlobalLogic for $ 9.6 billion, according to Reuters.
The American company has several offices in Ukraine and is one of the three largest IT employers in the country.
GlobalLogic owns 45% in equal shares of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Swiss investment company Partners Group. The remaining 10% of shares belong to the company’s management.
Hitachi plans to close the purchase agreement by the end of July.
GlobalLogic has more than 20,000 employees in 14 countries, 5,712 of which are located in Ukrainian offices, namely in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv and Mykolayiv.
The rating of the most expensive brands of Ukraine appeared
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the total value of the most expensive brands in Ukraine increased by 1.5%. The Korrespondent magazine compiled the brand rating.
Thus, the top five most expensive brands in Ukraine included Kyivstar ($ 225.48 million), Rozetka ($ 210.42 million), Darnitsa ($ 187.23 million), Morshynska ($ 173.25 million) and Nova Poshta ($ 170.01 million).
Traditionally, only Ukrainian brands are included in the rating. Multinationals created outside the country are not considered.
When compiling the list, subjective indicators that are difficult to measure were not taken into account. Key macroeconomic indicators, such as GDP dynamics, inflation rates, etc., were also left out of brackets, since due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Ukrainian economy in 2020 decreased its growth rate by 4%.
“Ukrainian companies have become less susceptible to problems in the economy, and during a crisis, leaders win in comparison with those who catch up with them. Because in difficult times people want to trust those, to whom they bring their money. And trust is almost a key component of a brand, and therefore, and its value. ” – the article says.
It is noted that the three leaders – Kyivstar, Rozetka and pharmaceutical company Darnitsa, demonstrated the largest growth in brand value.
“And it is not surprising: the very top of the rating includes exactly those companies for which the brand and its perception in society is not an empty phrase,” the authors of the rating note.
The final list of the rating includes representatives of over a dozen industries: food and alcohol industry, fuel and energy and construction business, online commerce, distributors of household appliances and portable electronics, retail chains, banks, telecom companies, pharmaceutical giants, logistics and transport companies.
Amazon launches payment by scanning your palm in Whole Foods
Amazon announced on Wednesday the expansion of its Amazon One payment system at Whole Foods stores in Seattle.
Amazon One technology was introduced by the company last September and, according to Amazon, it “makes the payment process easy and fast.”
Unlike previous Amazon Go technology in stores of the same name, consumers do not need to bring a phone with the company’s application, and less than a minute to hold your palm over the turnstile to scan. Although the two technologies, according to the company, can work together and are used in pairs in Amazon Go stores.
For the first time, the system will ask you to “insert a credit card into the device and associate this card with the unique signature of the palm created for you by our computer technology in real time.”
Amazon claims high privacy and believes that palm scanning technology is more confidential than other biometric alternatives such as face recognition. According to the company, the data is encrypted and stored in a secure “specially created cloud”, in addition, the data is never stored on the device Amazon One (on the turnstile).
Amazon plans to sell the technology to third-party companies, last year the company said it was “actively discussing with several potential customers,” but did not name any in a press release yesterday.
Zoom has launched a $ 100 million investment fund
The video conferencing service Zoom has announced the creation of its venture fund Zoom Apps Fund, its volume will be $ 100 million, this is stated in a press release from the company.
Startups in the fund’s portfolio will receive from $ 250,000 to $ 2.5 million. In this way, the company wants to motivate developers using Zoom technology, start a business and thus build an ecosystem of services around its video calling platform. Dozens of Zoom applications are currently under development, according to the site. The investment will be given to partners with “viable” products and a small market share who will be able to give users a “valuable and engaging experience”. According to Zoom, new ideas should make Zoom-based communication more productive, efficient and fun.
Zoom intends to make investment decisions on a monthly basis. He writes that he will prefer investments in the very first round of A, but in general is not limited to them.
The company announced the Zoom Apps project for video service-based applications last year. At the same time, she launched an app store. In March 2021, Zoom released a software development kit (SDK) that made it easier for developers to embed Zoom features in their applications.
Zoom’s popularity skyrocketed in 2020, when many people had to switch to remote work and meetings with friends over video. As a result, the company’s revenues grew and its shares rose. Forbes estimates the fortune of the company’s founder Eric Yuan at $ 14.3 billion, according to the Forbes Real-Time rating, which is updated in real time.
Saudi Aramco may sell stake in pipeline assets for $ 10-15 billion
Saudi Arabian State Oil Company Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Saudi Aramco) is negotiating the sale of up to 49% of its pipeline assets to a consortium of American, Chinese and local investors, writes The Wall Street Journal, citing informed sources.
According to sources, the amount of the transaction could range from $ 10 billion to $ 15 billion. Thus, the Saudi Aramco pipelines will be estimated at more than $ 20 billion.
Among the investors involved in the negotiations are the American fund Apollo Global Management Inc., the investment company EIG Global Energy Partners, the Chinese infrastructure investment fund Silk Road Fund, as well as the direct investment fund China Reform Fund Management Co. and Saudi pension funds.
The parties can announce the operation this week.
Saudi Aramco intends to maintain control over its pipelines, sources said. Under the agreement in question, a joint venture could be set up to receive a fee for transporting Saudi oil via pipelines.