Tech News
Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft hit all-time highs, with combined market value of about $5 trillion
Apple, Amazon, and Facebook, all gained more than 3% yesterday, while Microsoft finished slightly higher at about 0.8%, despite COVID-19 induced lockdowns.
Stock traders, pension funds, global investors, and asset managers had a lot to laugh about as Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft closed at all-time highs yesterday, a day when the Nasdaq Composite Index also broke its trading record numbers.
Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft have performed better than most businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, as individuals and businesses have moved to the cloud and remote services; thanks to their massive market capitalization, which helped them to withstand the huge sell-offs recorded months ago.
The big tech firms staged a record-breaking comeback, despite huge unemployment numbers recorded around the world, which were sparked by COVID-19 induced lockdowns.
Apple, Amazon, and Facebook, all gained more than 3% yesterday, while Microsoft finished slightly higher at about 0.8%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also gained about 0.3%, touching the 10,000 points for the first time ever.
READ MORE:Facebook launches new messaging app called ‘Tuned’, just for couples
Consequently, the combined market worth for Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft is now close to $5 trillion, with Apple claiming the first position at nearly $1.5 trillion. Facebook is the only one in the big four with a market value below $1 trillion.
However, popular tech juggernaut Google’s parent-company, Alphabet, is the only one among the largest technology stocks not finishing at an all-time high. It’s still about 5% short to hit its all-time high of $1,524.87.
The macro fundamentals coming out from last week’s impressive U.S job numbers helped to trigger the rally.
“Recent data points like the jobs report and not-as-bad-as-feared company updates have fueled the view that the worst of the declines could be behind us,” a team of RBC Capital Markets analysts told clients Monday. “The risk-on trade really is gaining traction. Valuations have spiked to historical highs in many industrial sub-sectors, signaling a strong recovery is potentially taking hold.”
Market Views
Biggest IPO: World’s biggest Fintech plans to raise $34 billion
Ant Group has begun the process of a concurrent initial public offering in what could mark one of the biggest IPOs of 2020.
The world’s payment juggernaut, Ant Group, is hoping to raise $34.5 billion in its dual initial public offering (IPO) after setting the price for its shares today, making it the biggest listing of all in modern history, in a report credited to CNBC news.
The Chinese financial powerhouse had earlier disclosed previously that it would divide its stock issuance equally across Chinese major stock exchanges, which include Shanghai and Hong Kong, issuing 1.67 billion new shares at each of those exchanges.
READ: Square buys $50 million worth of Bitcoins
READ: Airtel announces share price today as pre-IPO interest hits $200 million
READ: This report explains why Nigerians are bent on leaving the country
Ant Group’s Shanghai-listed shares will be quoted at 68.8 yuan each. The issuing of 1.67 billion shares would raise 114.94 billion yuan or $17.23 billion.
- The Hong Kong-listed shares have been priced at 80 Hong Kong dollars each, raising 133.65 billion Hong Kong dollars or $17.24 billion.
- The listing would produce a return of at least $34.5 billion, as the figure could go higher if the so-called over-allotment option is exercised, depending on demand.
- It would make it the largest initial public offer of recent memory, putting it ahead of previous record-holder Saudi Aramco, which raised about $29 billion.
READ: MTN may rake in $600 million from Jumia’s planned listing
READ: Jack Ma’s fintech firm is set for IPO, signalling prospects for Nigerian fintechs
READ: Gold futures drops to $1727.80 as America, China tension deepens
What you should know
Ant Group, formerly known as Ant Financial and Alipay, is an affiliate company of the popularly known e-commerce company Alibaba.
- Ant Group remains the world’s most valuable FinTech company, and most valuable unicorn company, with a target valuation of over US$280 billion.
- The group owns China’s largest digital payment platform, Alipay, which serves over one billion users and 80 million merchants, with total payment volume (TPV) transaction reaching RMB118 trillion in June 2020.
Explore Data on the Nairametrics Research Website
Business
5 Nigerian startups selected to join 7 others at the Africa Tech Summit Connects (ATS)
5 Nigerian startups to join 7 other African firms on the Africa Tech Summit Connects (ATS).
Five Nigerian firms have been shortlisted among the 12 African startups to pitch live at this month’s digital Africa Tech Summit Connects in Kigali, Rwanda.
This is to showcase their solutions to the global audience of 500 investors, corporates, and other stakeholders.
Disrupt Africa and Africa Tech Summit (ATS) disclosed it had reviewed its partnership to integrate startup-focused sessions plenary and pitching chances in its virtual Africa Tech Summit Connects event scheduled to hold virtually on the 20th – 22nd of October 2020.
What you need to know
ATS is a fully-virtual event and not a webinar. The event would maximize their time with AI-powered smart matchmaking and give startups opportunities in the online business community.
Why this matters
The three days course will enable them to engage with parties through a variety of online mediums. It would encourage the exhibition of recent developments in the continent across the start-up world, and it would focus on fintech, logistics, ed-tech, agri-tech, e-commerce, investment, regulation and policy, blockchain, connectivity.
With over 50 African tech start-up applicants seeking to raise either pre-seed, seed, or Series A funding; 5 out of the 12 selected to participate and present their solutions to the audience, and also connect virtually with those interested are Nigerian start-ups. The selected start-up companies are;
- Medsaf (Nigeria),
- Seso Global (Nigeria),
- Wella Health (Nigeria),
- Vybe (Nigeria),
- Scrapays (Nigeria),
- Agro Innova (Ghana),
- PayDunya (Senegal),
- Snode (South Africa),
- Moja Ride (Ivory Coast),
- Eneza Telecom (Kenya),
- Kolute Systems (Senegal),
- Abiria (Kenya).
Spotlight Stories
#EndSARS: Popular hacking group, Anonymous allegedly hacks Nigerian Govt. websites
Anonymous disclosed via its Twitter handle, that it had breached some Nigerian government websites.
Popular hacking group, Anonymous has claimed via its Twitter handle, that it had breached some Nigerian government websites.
READ: PZ Cussons suffers a pre-tax loss of N7.984 billion in 2020
The act is said to be in support of the ongoing #EndSARS protest that has taken over many cities in Nigeria, following calls for the disbandment of notorious police unit, the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) which has been alleged to be involved in abduction, harassment, extortion and murder of innocent victims.
READ: #EndSARS: I support the youths in this peaceful protests – Pastor Adeboye
Anonymous tweet, “Nigeria: Anonymous hacks multiple government websites in solidarity with #EndSARS protestors and retribution for violence by police. #OpNigeria #EndSARS Protest.”
#Nigeria: Anonymous hacks multiple government websites in solidarity with #EndSARS protestors and retribution for violence by police. #OpNigeria #EndSARSProtest
src: https://t.co/cjDdEfPB8w pic.twitter.com/F2J7qvz35W
— Anonymous (@YourAnonCentral) October 14, 2020
That said Anonymous did not disclose the identity of websites breached.
READ: #EndSARS: IGP says checking phones of Nigerians by any officer not acceptable
Backstory
Nairametrics had earlier given vital insights on how for years, young Nigerians, mostly via social media, have called for the unit to be disbanded and rogue elements in the force brought to justice. Despite repeated promises by the government, they have failed to heed to their demands, triggering a new wave of protests that have now spread across the country.
READ: #EndSARS: Lagos sets up N200 million fund for victims of police brutality
What you should know
Anonymous is a popular decentralized global activist group that is popularly known for many cyberattacks against several governments, government agencies, corporations, and the Church of Scientology.
READ: #EndSARS: Despite scrapping SARS, why are Nigerians still protesting?
Why it matters
From demanding an end to SARS, prosecution of rogue police officers, and reforms; protesters are more emboldened, threatening to continue if all their demands are not met. The government is scrambling to contain a situation that is escalating and could dangerously metamorphose into violent clashes with authorities, leading to loss of lives and destruction of properties.
Nigerian stocks on steroids, investors on hat trick
Togo, Niger, Benin remit N2.04 billion to Nigeria for power supply
BREAKING: Currency traders seek refuge in U.S dollar, up 0.5%
#EndSARS: Protests may return if panels do not address all issues in 2 weeks – Former Nigerian Minister
Total Nigeria Plc records 344% rise in PAT for Q3 2020
COVID-19 Update in Nigeria
Daily Parallel Market Exchange Rate – ₦460/$1
Buhari approves free business name registration for 250,000 SMEs
Federal Government declares Thursday October 29 public holiday, to mark Eidl-Mawlid
FG disburses MSMEs Survival Fund in Lagos, Kano, FCT and 9 other states
