COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Lesotho airline wants to start scheduled flightsA Lesotho company plans to launch scheduled commercial flights between Maseru and Johannesburg by September next year.Mohahlaula Airlines eventually wants to expand its scheduled routes to other destinations in SA and the rest of the region, says CEO Phafane Nkotsi."Our plan is to be low-cost, but our services will be driven by quality, reliability and safety. We will likely start with a daily flight between Maseru and SA&#039;s economic hub of Johannesburg, but we could increase it to two flights daily if the demand is there," he told Fin24.Nkotsi is an entrepreneur whose Bohlokoa Enterprises is based in Lesotho. Apart from being involved in setting up one of the largest commercial chicken broiler farms in Lesotho, as well as Mohahlaula Airlines, the company has subsidiaries in construction, consulting, and IT. Nkotsi was also the executive secretary of a business initiative in Lesotho which raised funds to obtain Covid-19 vaccines for Basotho worth just over US$2 million.Mohahlaula obtained an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) in February 2020. The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and related travel bans, however, forced it to put plans for scheduled commercial flights on hold. It has since then been carrying out charter flights for passengers and cargo within Lesotho as well as the southern African region."We got the AOC just before the lockdowns. The plan was always to ultimately move to scheduled commercial flights too. We have been building our the know-how from a startup to a growing company. We believe now is the perfect time in terms of demand for travel, which is going back to pre- pandemic levels. We have people with solid aviation experience in place," says Nkotsi. -Fin24Rain forced to withdraw merger statementData-only network provider Rain has been forced to withdraw its media announcement of a plan to merge with Telkom after the move was condemned by the Takeover Regulation Panel (TRP) as unlawful.On Thursday last week, Rain released a press release, announcing a proposal to merge with Telkom. But the TRP said the media announcement was issued without its approval, as required by law. It demanded that Rain withdraw the announcement. In response, Rain said it would get a legal opinion.On Tuesday morning, Rain withdrew its press release, but said it would submit a formal proposal to Telkom in due course."As Rain we are pleased with Telkom’s SENS [Stock Exchange News Service] announcement stating that if an offer or formal proposal is received from Rain, the board of Telkom will consider it," the company said in a statement.Last week, Rain said the merger would create a "5G powerhouse", a strong third player to compete against a "telecommunication duopoly" in South Africa.But it is competing with MTN, which wants to buy Telkom, as well as black-owned investment firm Toto Consortium, which wants to acquire government&#039;s 40.5% stake in Telkom for around R7 billion.-Fin24MTN appoints outgoing Icasa CEOMTN has appointed outgoing Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) CEO Willington Ngwepe, as it chief of staff, it was announced on Tuesday.Ngwepe, whose term at Icasa comes to an end next month, will assume the new role in the office of MTN&#039;s CEO Ralph Mupita.Mupita said Ngwepe would provide advisory, strategic and operational support on specific matters driven directly from his office.Mupita highlighted that Ngwepe comes with an "extensive leadership, technology and regulatory experience that will be invaluable as we execute on our strategic intent of leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress".Ngwepe was CEO of the regulatory body for five years. His term in office saw Icasa fight numerous legal battles with mobile operators, including MTN, over the terms of the auction of spectrum.The auction, the country&#039;s first in over a decade, was finally concluded in March. Last week, Icasa lauded Ngwepe for his time at the regulator, which he joined as chief operating officer in 2014.-Fin24Uber appoints new regional general managerElectronic ride-hailing platform Uber announced on Tuesday that Kagiso Khaole would be taking over as its general manager in the sub-Saharan African region.Khaole takes over from Frans Heimstra, who will now serve as Uber&#039;s general manager in the Middle East and Africa region. This move puts Khaole at the helm of Uber in a region where the business operates in 50 cities on a continent where Uber has facilitated a billion trips.Khaole&#039;s arrival in the position comes as the platform is holding critical talks with partner drivers in Gauteng over matters such as the platform&#039;s payment system.Partner drivers want Uber to reconsider the 25% commission it charges drivers or raise ride fees to the point where drivers can take home more income.A statement from Uber said Khaole joined Uber in 2021, leading the platform&#039;s operations across sub-Saharan Africa."This makes Kagiso well positioned to further grow the business in the region, which is operational in over 50 cities across South Africa, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Uganda," the statement said.The statement said Khaole has worked in industries including e-commerce, software, consumer electronics, management consulting, insurance, and banking. -Fin24HomeChoice becomes more digitally savvyHomeChoice International has come a long way from its mail order days, and yet its traditional textiles division remains a popular choice with customers.The company, which was established as a homeware business in 1985, became known for its popular bedding sets that customers could buy and pay off.Today, the Mauritius-registered group is a diversified digital consumer services group, which also offers credit. The company&#039;s digital strategy has resulted in 73% of its transactions taking place on digital platforms in the first six months of this year. HomeChoice now sells products across different categories in addition to homeware, such as baby products, appliances, and electronics.Its financial services business is made up of FinChoice MobiMoney, which provides personalised loans, as well as PayJustNow, which offers consumers three equal interest-free instalments on products. Both fall under the Weaver Fintech brand.In the results presentation for the half-year ended 30 June, retail CEO Chris de Wit said the retail division&#039;s gross profit margin has been on a steady increase, following its decline to 40% in the second half of 2020. But in the first half of 2021 there was an improvement, with the gross profit margin rising to 43% then to its current 48%.-Fin24

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