JazzCash, Western Union in partnership

KARACHI: JazzCash joined hands with Western Union to enable its customers to receive international money transfers at Jazz Experience Centres and Mobilink Microfinance Bank Branches (MMBL), a press release issued on Tuesday said.

Snapchat taps London as global base

LONDON: Snap Inc., which runs the camera messaging application Snapchat, said Tuesday it had chosen London as its international headquarters, praising the UK’s creative industries.

It comes after Facebook, Google and Apple last year announced major investments in London, underlining the capital’s status as a technology hub as Britain prepares to exit the European Union.

Snap has around 75 staff in the UK, up from six a year ago and is looking to add a nearby site to its office in London’s Soho district, she added.—AFP

Alibaba to buy China mall operator

SHANGHAI: Chinese e-commerce titan Alibaba will take control of domestic department store Intime through a $2.6 billion privatisation scheme, the companies said Tuesday, sending shares of the mall operator surging.

Alibaba, and Intime founder Shen Guojun have together offered to pay HK$10 per share to buy the shares they do not already own of the Hong Kong-listed chain.

The deal will increase Alibaba’s stake from 28 per cent to 74pc after it first invested $692 million in the firm in 2014.—AFP

VW sales top new record despite dieselgate

FRANKFURT: Volkswagen on Tuesday said it had sold 10.3 million cars worldwide last year, a new record for the German auto giant, despite grappling with a massive emissions cheating scandal.

The VW group, which also includes the brands Audi, Porsche and Skoda, saw sales increase by 3.8 per cent on the year, pushing it back over the magical 10m mark after slipping to 9.93m in 2015.

The results come as the company’s “dieselgate” crisis is back in the spotlight following the arrest this week of a VW executive in Miami who stands accused of helping to cover up the scandal.—AFP

Japan’s firm buying US cancer drugmaker

TOKYO: Japan’s top pharmaceutical company Takeda said it is buying a US cancer drugmaker for $5.2 billion, as its top executive left the door open to more overseas acquisitions.

Takeda is paying $24 a share for Ariad Pharmaceuticals, a premium of about 75 per cent over Ariad’s closing price on Friday, the companies said in a joint statement on Monday.

Ariad specialises in developing therapies for patients with rare forms of chronic and acute blood cancer leukaemia, lung cancer and other rare cancers.

Published in Dawn January 11th, 2017