American Express (AXP) has announced that its joint-venture in mainland China has received approval from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) for a network clearing license.This makes American Express the first foreign payments network to be licensed to clear RMB transactions in mainland China. The company expects to begin processing transactions later this year.“We look forward to welcoming millions of new consumers, businesses and merchants in China to American Express, as well as continuing to enhance our support for our global customers when they travel to the region” AXP commented.Express (Hangzhou) Technology Services Company Ltd is American Express’ joint venture with Lianlian DigiTech Co., Ltd, a Chinese fintech services company. The new joint venture has already built a network to clear domestic transactions charged on American Express cards, and is also compatible with the key mobile wallet players in China.“We are pleased to be the first foreign company to receive this...
AstraZeneca (AZN) has agreed to supply up to 400 million doses of the University of Oxford’s COVID-19 vaccine, AZD1222, to Europe’s Inclusive Vaccines Alliance (IVA), with deliveries starting by the end of 2020.Total manufacturing capacity for AZD1222 now stands at two billion doses, says AZN.Spearheaded by Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands, the IVA says it aims to accelerate the supply of the vaccine and to make it available to other European countries that wish to participate in the initiative.At the same time, UK-based AstraZeneca continues to build several global supply chains, including for Europe. “The company is seeking to expand manufacturing capacity further and is open to collaborating with other companies in order to meet its commitment to support access to the vaccine at no profit during the pandemic” AZN states.Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca, commented: “With our European supply chain due to begin production soon, we hope to make...
Shares in Sorrento Therapeutics (SRNE) edged 5% higher in Friday’s after-hours trading, after the company announced that it has now prepaid in full its outstanding term loans on June 12, 2020.The debt, comprised of an initial $100 million term loan and an additional $20 million term loan from funds affiliated with Oaktree Capital Management, L.P, was entered into in November 2018.The news follows the biopharma’s filing of a prospectus supplement dated April 27 for a public offering of up to $250 million of its common stock. Shares are being sold via Alliance Global Partners, alongside a 36-month purchase agreement with Arnaki Ltd, a British Virgin Islands corporation for up to $250 million.At the same time, Sorrento exited an equity distribution agreement, dated October 1, 2019 with JMP Securities LLC relating to shares worth up to $75 million. During the term of the agreement, the company ultimately raised $7.4 million.Shares in Sorrento...
(Bloomberg) -- Once the global oil market emerges from the coronavirus crisis, it may be greeted by a surprising change: greater dependence on crude from OPEC.For the time being, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies are relinquishing their share of the market in a bid to prop up crude prices, slashing millions of barrels of output as the pandemic crushes fuel demand.They’d already spent the past three years forsaking sales volumes to offset the oil glut unleashed by burgeoning U.S. shale production. Before the pandemic, forecasters were projecting that the group would need to cut production further in coming years.Yet the current upheaval could give OPEC another chance. As the oil-price collapse chokes off investment in new supplies around the world, from the mega-projects of Big Oil to drilling by U.S. shale wildcatters, some analysts see the cartel reviving its battered standing.“From the point of view of oil-market...
