šŸ¦ Access Holdings to acquire Bidvest Bank

Plus: šŸ‘Øā€šŸ¦° Elon Musk 1st to cross $400bn net worth

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Todayā€™s Menu ā˜•ļø

šŸ¢ Access Holdings to acquire 100% stake in South Africaā€™s Bidvest Bank
šŸ‘Øā€šŸ¦° Elon Musk becomes first person to reach $400 billion net worth
šŸŖ™ Binance records $23 billion in deposits so far in 2024
šŸ“±Apple unveils new Apple Intelligence features with ChatGPT integration in iOS 18.2
šŸ“±Snapchat introduces week-long message retention in chats

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šŸ¦ BANKING

Access Holdings to acquire 100% stake in South Africaā€™s Bidvest Bank

Access Holdings, through its banking subsidiary Access Bank Plc, has finalized an agreement to acquire 100% equity in Bidvest Bank, a prominent second-tier South African bank, in a transaction valued at approximately $159 million. The announcement was made by Access Holdingsā€™ Secretary, Sunday Ekwochi, in a filing on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Thursday.

Roosevelt Ogbonna, Managing Director/CEO of Access Bank Plc, emphasized that the acquisition aligns with the bankā€™s strategic goal to expand its footprint across Africa and strengthen its presence in key markets, with South Africa being a top priority.

The acquisition is expected to be completed in the second half of 2025, subject to regulatory approvals. Upon finalization, Bidvest Bank will merge with Access Bankā€™s existing South African subsidiary, aiming to create a larger platform to support the bankā€™s growth plans in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region....ā€¦ā€¦continue reading

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šŸ‘Øā€šŸ¦° PEOPLE

Elon Musk becomes first person to reach $400 billion net worth

Elon Musk has achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first person to reach a net worth of $400 billion, solidifying his position as the worldā€™s richest individual. The latest surge in Muskā€™s wealth was primarily driven by an insider share sale of his privately held company, SpaceX. This transaction boosted Muskā€™s net worth by approximately $50 billion, bringing his total to $439.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Muskā€™s financial fortunes have seen a remarkable recovery since late 2022, when his net worth had plummeted by more than $200 billion. The recent acceleration in his wealth can be attributed to several factors, including the political landscape following Donald Trumpā€™s election victory last month. Musk, a prominent political donor and advocate for Trump, has benefited from the marketā€™s positive response to the election results.

Teslaā€™s stock has surged by about 65% since just before the election, driven by expectations that the Trump administration will streamline the rollout of self-driving cars and eliminate tax credits for electric vehicles that benefit Teslaā€™s competitors. Musk is set to play a significant role in the new administration as co-head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, providing him with a powerful platform in Washington and direct access to the Oval Office.....ā€¦ā€¦continue reading

šŸŖ™ CRYPTOCURRENCY

Binance records $23 billion in deposits so far in 2024

According to data from DeFiLama, a prominent DeFi data aggregator, Binance saw its customers deposit a staggering $23 billion into the crypto exchange between January 1, 2024, and December 12, 2024. This amount is the highest among all centralized exchanges worldwide during this period.

ByBit ranked second with deposits totaling $8.13 billion within the same timeframe. Following ByBit were OKX, Bitmex, and Robinhood, with deposits amounting to $5.36 billion, $3.44 billion, and $2.31 billion, respectively.

Remarkably, Binanceā€™s deposits surpass the combined total of the next five leading exchanges, underscoring its dominance in the global blockchain industry. Despite its market dominance, Binance has faced significant regulatory challenges in various countries. In the United States, for instance, the company was fined $4.3 billion for violating anti-money laundering regulations....ā€¦ā€¦continue reading

šŸ“±APPS

Apple unveils new Apple Intelligence features with ChatGPT integration in iOS 18.2

Apple has introduced new Apple Intelligence features with the release of iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2. These features include an image playground, Genmoji, enhancements to writing tools, and integration with ChatGPT.

Additionally, Apple has expanded language support for Apple Intelligence to include localized English in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the U.K. Previously, the AI suite of features was only available in U.S. English.

One of the most anticipated AI features is the integration of ChatGPT. With this update, Siri can now offer the option to ask ChatGPT certain questions that it cannot answer itself. While Apple Intelligence-powered writing tools do not generate text for you, the new ā€œcomposeā€ option allows users to call on ChatGPT to create text based on a given prompt......ā€¦ā€¦continue reading

OTHER STORIES

  • Snapchat introduces week-long message retention in chatsā€¦ā€¦read more

  • Nigerian police arrest customers linked to Flutterwaveā€™s ā‚¦11 billion fraud amid broader security concerns..ā€¦ā€¦read more

  • Microsoft introduces file sharing between iPhone and Windows PCs via Phone Link appā€¦..read more

  • PalmPay partners with Jumia to enhance direct payment options for Nigerian customersā€¦ā€¦read more

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Rowland Osahon
Innovation Village