BUSINESS BUSINESS DIGEST DIGEST

STANDARD EXPANDS TO N/AFRICA

Standard Bank is considering expanding beyond Sub-Saharan Africa for the first time by venturing into the North African nations of Morocco and Egypt in an effort to better serve multinational and SA-based corporate clients with operations in the largely Arabicspeaking region. Africa’s largest lender by assets believes Morocco and Egypt are the two most attractive “Mediterranean-facing” economies on the continent due to their substantial populations and sophisticated banking sectors, CEO Sim Tshabalala said in an interview

SHELL CEO RESIGNS

Shell CEO Ben van Beurden will step down at the end of this year after almost 40 years at the company, to be replaced by the firm’s head of gas and renewables, Wael Sawan. Van Beurden, 64, has steered the company through some of its most turbulent times. The first big move of his tenure as CEO, which began in 2014, was the takeover of rival BG Group, a deal valued at close to $50bn that tested the company’s finances during an oil price slump, but is now paying off as natural gas prices soar.

INVESTEC EARNINGS UP

Investec Group expects headline earnings a share to increase between 21 percent and 38 percent in the six months to September 30, after higher operating profit was supported by client acquisition, positive effects from rising interest rates and increased advances. The financial services group listed in South Africa and the UK, said it expected headline earnings per share to be between 30 pence (R5.91) and 34 pence for the year.