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Musings From Abroad

Step Aside Elon: Vanguard Group unseats Musk as Twitter’s largest shareholder, ups stake to 10.3%

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Barely two weeks after acquiring 9.2 percent of Twitter stock to make him the single largest shareholder of the social media company, billionaire Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, has been usurped by an investment group, the Vanguard Investment Group, to become the highest shareholders of the firm.

In a filing made public on Thursday by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC), Vanguard Investment now owns 82.4 million shares of Twitter, or 10.3% of the firm.

Musk had practically become Twitter’s owner when he bought the 9.2% stake on April 4, pushing founder Jack Dorsey into second place as the single largest individual stakeholder, and was even invited to come on the Twitter board, an offer he declined after public outcry.

But that is no longer the case as new funds injections by the Vanguard group have taken its shareholding in Twitter to 10.3%, making it the largest shareholder in the San Francisco-headquarter social media firm.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Vanguard’s holdings are now worth $3.78 billion, based on Twitter stock’s closing price on Wednesday.

“Vanguard isn’t making a directional bet on Twitter…Instead, the majority of its assets are in index and other so-called passive funds. The firm often sides with management on voting issues and doesn’t advocate for changes like a hedge fund or activist investor might,” the Journal wrote.

Musk had, on Wednesday, offered to buy 100% of Twitter, offering $54.20 per share in cash to buy the micro blogging site for $41.39 billion but the offer was rejected.

The Twitter board was against the purchase with the board of directors considering whether to use a “poison pill,” a defensive corporate technique that raises the price of the target’s stock in order to deter an undesirable takeover offer.

Musk had previously criticized the social media giant publicly, and before making a pitch for a take over, had posted:

“Taking Twitter private at $54.20 should be up to shareholders, not the board,” before running a “yes or no” poll asking users if they would welcome an edit button on the platform.

“Do you want an edit button?” Musk had tweeted.

Musings From Abroad

Uganda turns to China for $150 million loan after World Bank halts funding

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East African country, Uganda will now seek to borrow $150 million from China’s Export-Import Bank (Exim), following lending restrictions by the World Bank for its anti-homosexuality law.

The action highlights the country’s growing dependence on Chinese lenders after the World Bank’s decision earlier this year stopping all new loans to the country.

Uganda is negotiating a loan to finance the construction of a pipeline to help export its crude oil to foreign markets with the Chinese export credit organisations SINOSURE and Exim Bank.

The money, the finance ministry says, is “to finance the supply, installation, commissioning, and support of the national data transmission backbone infrastructure.”

A law prohibiting LGBTQ was passed by the Ugandan legislature in May. Several stringent regulations were incorporated into the legislation, which drew strong criticism from the international community, including the United States, the European Union, the United Nations, and major corporations like the World Bank.

Before lending to Uganda was suspended by the World Bank, it was the country’s largest development partner.

The Anti-Homosexuality Act imposes severe penalties, including death, for a variety of homosexual offences.

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Musings From Abroad

Russia’s free grain to hit 6 African countries this week

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Following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s promise to send free grain to six African countries in July, Russian shipments of donated grain are due to begin landing in Africa within days.

The supply will give fresh impetus to Russia’s bid to bolster its influence on the continent after criticism over its invasion of Ukraine and withdrawal from a deal that facilitated the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea linked to pushing up global food and fertilizer prices.

The Russian Agriculture Ministry stated earlier this month that the shipments would amount to 200,000 metric tonnes by the end of the year, with Somalia and Burkina Faso scheduled to be the initial recipients. According to Putin’s July statement, Zimbabwe, Mali, Eritrea, and the Central African Republic are also expected to receive between 25,000 and 50,000 metric tonnes of grain each.

Two of the top exporters of grain and vegetable oil worldwide are Russia and Ukraine. Russia’s bombardment of Ukrainian ports and stores has affected the world’s supply of both commodities during the war. Russia in July also quit a year-old agreement that had allowed Ukraine to ship grain from its Black Sea ports, which, according to a study by a South African agency, helped feed about 95 million people but fell short in ensuring that fertilizer-originating from Russia could flow freely to global markets. Had that happened, food could have been produced to feed about 199 million people.

However, Putin, in order to fulfil what he claimed was Moscow’s crucial role in ensuring global food security, stated that Russia was prepared to replace Ukrainian grain exports to Africa on both a commercial and assistance basis.

While most African countries have adopted a non-aligned posture in the war, Russia’s influence in the continent has been on the rise lately, particularly with regard to defence relations.

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