UAE Earmarks $820 Million to Build Satellites, Fund Space Plan – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
– “The project will contribute to the UAE’s efforts to develop solutions to climate change, environmental sustainability and improved disaster management,” the country’s media office said
– Applications will include detection of oil spills, monitoring ships, as well as search and rescue.
– The country established a Space Agency in 2014, sent its first astronaut to the International Space Station five years later
Read more.
Abu Dhabi Fund Mubadala Deploys Billions Defying Tech Rout – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
– Mubadala led the latest funding round for German insurance-technology firm Wefox, which raised $400 million at a valuation of $4.5 billion this month. The fund also came in as a new investor in the $800 million raise by Klarna, the buy-now-pay-later giant, that saw its valuation plunge to $6.7 billion from the $45.6 billion achieved last year.
– More recently, Mubadala led an $768 million funding round for Turkish grocery delivery app Getir in March at a valuation of $11.8 billion. The fund also participated in a $300 million raise for payments business SpotOn, which valued the company at about $3.6 billion. It also led a $100 million round for Swedish fintech firm Juni last month.
– Buyout firm EQT AB and Mubadala agreed to buy Swedish medical freight company Envirotainer AB for an enterprise value of about 2.8 billion euros last month. Mubadala teamed up with another investment firm, Warburg Pincus, on a more than $2 billion deal for Informa Plc’s pharma analytics unit reached in February.
Read more.
French Lawmakers Reject Windfall Tax Profit in Close Vote – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
– France’s National Assembly rejected a tax on windfall profits on Saturday in a close vote, as pressure mounts to tax energy and transport companies that have benefited from rising prices.
– members of the lower house rejected amendments that would have set up an exceptional tax on so-called “superprofits” from companies such as TotalEnergies SE, Engie SA and shipper CMA CGM SA.
– The tax was proposed by the left, and backed by 96 MPs, including one who belongs to Emmanuel Macron’s coalition.
Read more.
Why India’s World-Beating Growth Isn’t Creating Jobs: QuickTake – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
– Output is increasing as a result of pandemic-related government spending while the private sector sits on the fence, deterred by dim conditions for new investment.
– The labor force participation rate — meaning people who are working or looking for work — has dropped to just 40% of the 900 million Indians of legal age, from 46% six years ago, according to the CMIE. By comparison, the participation rate in the US was 62.2% in June.
– CMIE estimated that female labor force participation plummeted to 9% by 2022 — putting it in the same league as war-torn Yemen.
Read more.
Zara’s Owner Sees Real Estate Fortune Rise to $16 Billion – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
– Most of Ortega’s income comes from his 59% stake in Zara owner Inditex SA.
– In 2021, Pontegadea had revenue of 2 billion euros, with Inditex dividends accounting for 1.3 billion euros. Net profit was 1.6 billion euros, up from 666 million euros in 2020.
– Late last year, Ortega, who is notoriously press-shy, shocked the investment community with the decision to name his 38-year-old daughter Marta as chairwoman of Inditex
– Ortega has a fortune of about 51 billion euros, making him Spain’s richest person.
Read more.
Chips Act Delay in Congress Harms US Semiconductor Position – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
– In June 2021 the US Senate passed a bill dedicating more than $50 billion to increase the manufacture of semiconductors.
– Over a year later that money—the centerpiece of a bill called the Chips Act—still hasn’t been deployed.
– Silicon Valley is literally named after the stuff that semiconductors are made of, but the real action in the chip industry now mostly happens elsewhere. About 12% of chips are manufactured domestically, down from 37% in the 1990s.
– The European Union is also working on a new package of incentives for chipmakers.
Read more.
How the Grammarly Online Tool Made Its Ukrainian Founders Billionaires – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
– Started by three Ukrainians in 2009, Grammarly has more than 600 employees and works with more than half a million applications to analyze 14 trillion words a year for its 30 million daily active users across the globe.
– Grammarly is already one of the world’s biggest unicorns after raising $200 million in November from investors including BlackRock Inc. and Baillie Gifford, valuing the company at $13 billion.
– Grammarly has made billionaires of at least two of its founders, Max Lytvyn and Alex Shevchenko, who are worth at least $2.4 billion each.
Read more.