COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

BioNTech to construct factory in AfricaBioNTech on Tuesday signed an agreement with the Rwandan government and Institut Pasteur de Dakar in Senegal on the construction of the first mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility in Africa starting in mid-2022, to help the continent ease health inequalities compared with other world regions.BioNTech, which developed the western world's most widely used Covid-19 shots with partner Pfizer, will initially build a production line with an annual capacity of 50 million doses that could be used to make vaccines for such diseases as malaria and tuberculosis as well as for Covid-19, the company said in a statement and through a spokesperson.This will be branched out into a wider production network making several hundred million mRNA vaccine doses per year with the goal of transferring ownership and know-how to partners on the continent, the biotech firm added."Our goal is to develop vaccines in the African Union and to establish sustainable vaccine production capabilities to jointly improve medical care in Africa," BioNTech Chief Executive Ugur Sahin said.The partners may decide to make mRNA vaccines against other diseases such as malaria or tuberculosis depending on future development progress and medical needs, a company spokesperson said. -Nampa/ReutersBP makes US$500 mln in Q3BP's trading team made at least $500 million in the third quarter of 2021, two sources with knowledge of the company's trading results said, as the energy major benefitted from a gas crisis that has left consumers and industries smarting.Natural gas and power prices soared to an all-time high in Europe and parts of Asia in August as the global economy recovered from the pandemic and energy consumption increased faster than supplies.Low gas stocks after a cold winter and hot summer as well as poor renewables output contributed to the rally.The increase in power bills sparked protests in Spain and put European governments under pressure to find ways to protect consumers and industry and calm the markets. European Union countries failed to agree on a bloc-wide response on Tuesday. read moreIn China, the government has taken measures to increase coal output and reform power markets to ensure homes are heated this winter. -Nampa/ReutersVisa beats profit estimatesVisa Inc's quarterly profit topped Wall Street expectations on Tuesday, as a recovery in travel and an improving global economic picture drove volume growth at the world's largest payment processor.But cross-border travel was still well below pre-pandemic levels, Visa said, with regions such as the Asia Pacific remaining closed."Our business has been on a recovery track for the past three to four quarters. However, we are not back to normal yet globally," Chief Financial Officer Vasant Prabhu told analysts on a call."The timing of reopening in key countries across Asia, both domestically and for cross-border travel is a key variable."In a sign of resilience, however, debit and e-commerce activity outperformed in the quarter even as in-store shopping picked up and credit card volumes recovered. -Nampa/ReutersGM to boost EV profileGeneral Motors said on Tuesday it would install up to 40 000 electric-vehicle charging stations in the United States and Canada, as part of the automaker's US$750 million commitments to bolster its presence in the rapidly growing sector.The announcement comes just months after the No. 1 US automaker said it had signed agreements with some companies to offer its customers access to nearly 60 000 charging points across the same regions. The company said on Tuesday it would expand home, workplace and public charging infrastructure through its Ultium Charge 360 ecosystem, adding that it would focus on installing them in rural and urban areas with limited access to support widespread adoption of EVs.The charging stations will be available to all EV customers, and not just those who purchase vehicles from GM, the carmaker said.Earlier this month, GM said it plans to double its revenue by 2030, indicating that it can build profitable software-driven services and take on Elon Musk's Tesla Inc.-Nampa/ReutersAlphabet earns record profitGoogle owner Alphabet Inc on Tuesday reported higher than expected third-quarter ad sales, a sign that the business is overcoming new limits on tracking mobile users and that online shopping is as popular as ever heading into the holiday season.Through its search engine, YouTube video service and partnerships across the Web, Google sells more internet ads than any other company. Demand for its services surged in the past year as the pandemic forced people to spend more time online, and their new habits have persisted.Google advertising revenue rose 41% to US$53.1 billion during the third quarter. Alphabet's overall sales jumped to US$65.1 billion, above the average estimate of US$63.3 billion among analysts tracked by Refinitiv."The consumer shift to digital is real and will continue even as we start seeing people return to stores," said Philipp Schindler, Google's chief business officer.-Nampa/Reuters

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