1.CITIGROUP:Â Â Citigroup’s corporate and investment banking revenue for its Saudi Arabia business has “nearly tripled” since returning to the kingdom in 2018, a senior executive said on Thursday.
Citi obtained a capital markets licence in 2017, allowing it to return to the kingdom in 2018 after a 13-year absence. It has advised Saudi Aramco on its $29.4 billion listing in 2019, in what was the world’s biggest initial public offering, as well as on several sovereign and corporate bond deals.
“We have seen record growth in our year-on-year revenue from corporate and investment banking over the last two years,” Rizwan Shaikh, head of Citi’s EMEA emerging markets corporate banking told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference.
“Citigroup’s corporate and investment banking revenues from Saudi Arabia have nearly tripled” since the bank obtained its CMA License, Shaikh said.
​ He did not provide more exact revenue figures, which include both onshore and offshore elements of the business, but said Saudi Arabia is one of the largest opportunities for Citigroup to acquire new clients.
2.PEPSICO:- -PepsiCo Inc said on Thursday it plans to reduce sugar content in sodas and iced teas by a fourth in the European Union and launch more nutritious snacks by 2025, to attract more health-conscious consumers in its second-biggest market.
As part of its push, the company aims to reformulate products using low-calorie sweeteners, launch healthy snacks like its popcorn line PopWorks and take low-fat brands including the Lay’s Oven Baked range to new markets.
Soda makers have been under pressure to reduce added sugar in their drinks, especially in Europe where several countries have levied taxes on sweetened sodas, fruit juices and flavoured water to tackle health and obesity issues.
“In Europe today, almost one in three beverages we sell is sugar-free and we believe this trend will continue to grow over time,” said PepsiCo Europe’s Chief Executive Officer Silviu Popovici.
Europe accounted for nearly a fifth of PepsiCo’s overall sales last year, making it the second-biggest revenue generating region after North America.
The company is planning for a 25% reduction in added sugar levels by 2025 and a 50% cut by 2030 in beverages like Pepsi-Cola, Lipton Ice Tea and 7UP sold across Europe.
With an eye on making healthy snacks its fastest growing food category over the next four years, PepsiCo is aiming for a more than tenfold increase in sales by 2025 and expanding it to a $1 billion portfolio by 2030.
3.BOEING CO:-Boeing Co on Wednesday named former General Electric executive Brian West as its chief financial officer, more than two months after the planemaker announced the surprise retirement of long-time financial head Greg Smith.
West, who will take charge on Aug. 27, spent 16 years at GE, where he served as CFO of its aviation and engine services businesses.
His appointment comes as Boeing faces one of the most turbulent periods in its history, marked by a safety crisis followed by rising debt during the pandemic.
“I have had the pleasure of working with Brian previously, and he is an exceptional leader,” Boeing Chief Executive Officer David Calhoun said in a statement.
West and Calhoun had worked together at GE earlier. West was with the conglomerate from 1990 to 2007, while Calhoun left it in 2006 after 26 years. West then joined Nielsen, which was then headed by Calhoun.
Boeing has named senior vice president Dave Dohnalek as interim financial chief until West takes over.
West has been the CFO of financial market data provider Refinitiv since 2018.
4.FORD MOTORS:– Ford Motor Co said on Wednesday several of its North American factories will be shut for a few weeks in July and August due to a global shortage of semiconductors.
The supply crunch would cost it $2.5 billion this year and halve vehicle production in the second quarter, the Dearborn, Michigan-based company had said in April.
“While we continue to manufacture new vehicles, we’re prioritizing completing our customers’ vehicles that were assembled without certain parts due to the industry-wide semiconductor shortage,” Ford said in a statement.
The No.2 U.S. automaker said its Chicago assembly plant, which makes the Explorer sport utility vehicles (SUVs), will be shut from the week of July 5 to the week of July 26. The plant will run two shifts during the Aug. 2 week.
The company said it would also shutter the production line for one of its best selling vehicles, the F-150 pickup truck, at its Kansas City assembly plant for a couple of weeks next month.
Ford’s Michigan assembly plant that recently started shipping its Bronco SUVs will be down for two weeks in July due to a shortage of certain auto parts, the company said, adding that this was unrelated to the chip shortage.
5.RENAULT – Renault unveiled a more ambitious strategy for electric vehicles (EVs) on Wednesday, betting on new, affordable versions of its iconic small cars of the past to catch up with Volkswagen in the fast-growing sector.
The French carmaker’s Chief Executive Luca de Meo said it would launch 10 new EVs by 2025 and that all-electric vehicles would account for up to 90% of its models by 2030, dropping its reliance on hybrids to hit the target under a previous plan.
Renault is betting that an electric version of its classic Renault 5 compact car, which was discontinued in the 1990s, will capture the imagination of today’s drivers when it goes on sale in the first half of 2024.
At a live-streamed presentation on Wednesday, the company also offered a fleeting glimpse of its new electric “4ever”. Two sources close to the company said it was a revival of the Renault 4 hatchback which went out of production last century.
“Today is an historic acceleration of Renault Group’s EV strategy,” de Meo said in a statement.
De Meo said that new, purpose-built electric car platforms and a cluster of production sites in northern France would allow Renault to deliver EVs at a lower cost.
The first of its new EVs will be the MeganE hatchback which is due to go on sale in the first half of 2022.
By 2030, Renault and its alliance partners, Nissan and Mitsubishi, will be producing one million EVs globally a year, up from the 200,000 they made in 2020, the French carmaker said.
