Forbes

2022-06-05 14:05:01 Sheryl Sandberg Will Leave Meta After 14 Years — But She Has ‘Full Faith And Confidence’ In Tech Giant

Meta Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg will step down in the fall, she announced, telling Forbes she has “full faith and confidence” in the tech firm but chose to end her 14-year tenure as one of its leaders.

Sandberg announced her departure in a Facebook post: She said she plans to spend more time with her family in addition to focusing on philanthropic endeavors like Lean In, a foundation co-founded by Sandberg to support women in the workplace.

In an interview, Sandberg said she has enjoyed her time at Meta but “this is not a job that leaves a lot of room for much else,” and “I want some more control over what I do with my own time on a daily basis.”

Sandberg plans to start transitioning her direct reports at Meta over the summer and will depart the company at some point in the fall. Open / Comment

2022-06-04 21:05:01 White House press secretary answers questions about inflation. Watch the video. Open / Comment

2022-06-04 17:05:01 Wealth Of Pan Pacific International’s Founder Falls Despite Retailer Posting Record Earnings

Pan Pacific International Holdings, operator of discount retailer Don Quijote and the Don Don Donki Japanese-specialty supermarket, is setting new revenue and profit records as business rebounds from a pandemic-induced slowdown.

Revenue for the nine months ended March climbed 8% to ¥1.37 trillion ($10.7 billion) and net profit rose nearly 2% to almost ¥46 billion on the back of a stronger January-March quarter. These figures prompted the company to forecast its 33rd consecutive year of record sales and operating profit in the fiscal period ending June, and the 13th straight record for net profit.

Despite impressive earnings, Pan Pacific shares are down 24% in the past year, underperforming the broader Nikkei 225 stock index, amid a global equities meltdown. Takao Yasuda, who founded the company in 1980 as Don Quijote (renamed Pan Pacific in 2019), saw his net worth slump 35% to $2.6 billion in the same period. Open / Comment

2022-06-04 14:05:01 SK Group Is The Latest Korean Conglomerate To Expand Into Nuclear Power Amid Low-Carbon Boom

SK Group is planning to partner with a nuclear power company backed by Bill Gates, becoming the latest South Korean conglomerate to expand its presence in the low-carbon energy space.

SK Inc, the holding company for billionaire Chey Tae-won’s SK Group, and its affiliate SK Innovation signed a memorandum of understanding earlier this month with Washington-based TerraPower to “foster the development of next-generation nuclear energy solutions.

Founded in 2006 by the Microsoft cofounder, TerraPower designs small-scale modular nuclear reactors, known as SMRs, which are quicker to construct and cheaper compared to conventional nuclear reactors.

The global nuclear power plant and equipment industry was worth $41 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach $58 billion by 2030.

Last year, Chey pledged to cut 200 million metric tons of carbon emissions in 2030. Open / Comment

2022-06-03 21:05:01 Highest German Inflation In 70 Years To Prompt Higher Than Expected Hike In Euro Borrowing Costs

Germany, the heart of the European economy, just registered consumer price inflation at 7.9%, the highest level since 1952.

The inflationary jump of 0.5% from the previously reading, was primarily down to surging energy and food cost increase. But that will likely lead the way to far higher borrowing costs for euro borrowers also.

The worst part of the inflation news is that things likely won’t right themselves anytime soon.

Given Germany’s history of hyperinflation a century ago, it would seem likely that the European Central Bank — Europe’s equivalent of the Federal Reserve — will want to act decisively to crush inflation and bring it back within the annual 2% target zone.

And Germany isn’t the only major European economy suffering from surging inflation. Spain’s inflation rate stands at 8.5%. Open / Comment

2022-06-03 20:52:17 Silicon Valley investor has created his own Telegram channel!

He shares secret startup insights and useful analytics for free!

— How to create a startup and move to Silicon Valley?
— How to raise funds for your business?
— 5 mistakes that 4 of 5 young startup founders make.

Warning: reading this channel 5 minutes a day increases your chance of becoming rich 94% Open / Comment

2022-06-03 17:05:02 The Disruptive Idea Behind Prada’s New Timecapsule NFT Collection

Prada has unveiled the next move in its developing Web 3.0 strategy.

The Prada Timecapsule NFT Collection launching June 2 marks an evolution of the brand’s preexisting Timecapsule initiative established in December 2019. The monthly, online event, which takes place on the first Thursday of every month, features an exclusive and ultra limited edition item drop on Prada’s website, available for 24 hours only.

However, the June 2 drop is different. Its 100 gender-neutral shirts, designed in collaboration with artist Cassius Hirst, son of Damien Hirst, come with a gifted NFT. The price won’t be announced til the day of the drop but, for the record, it will be in Fiat currency as opposed to crypto.

But here’s where the idea gets even more disruptive. In a second phase, all the people who have bought into the physical Prada Timecapsule from its launch in 2019 will also all be gifted corresponding NFTs. Open / Comment

2022-06-03 14:05:01 Google, Temasek Back India's ShareChat With $300 Million At $5 Billion Valuation

Mohalla Tech, the Bangalore-based parent of ShareChat, has raised nearly $300 million from Google, Indian media conglomerate Times Group and the Singapore government’s Temasek Holdings.

The newest funding round values the social media unicorn at nearly $5 billion.

ShareChat’s app, which is available in 15 languages, has 180 million monthly active users, and more than 32 million creators, according to their website.

Alongside ShareChat, Mohalla Tech also develops a video platform called Moj. Bearing resemblance to Tik Tok, which has been banned in India for almost two years, Moj allows users to create videos from 15 seconds to one minute long.

Founded in 2015 by three Indian Institute of Technology graduates — Ankush Sachdeva, Bhanu Pratap Singh and Farid Ahsan — the company is also backed by Snapchat, Tiger Global and Twitter. Open / Comment

2022-06-02 21:05:01 China Express Delivery Billionaire Leaves Alibaba-Backed ZTO

China billionaire Lai Jianfa has left the board and his other positions at ZTO, one of China’s largest express delivery businesses.

Lai’s resignation was approved by the board of directors on Friday, and came after ZTO announced an increase in first-quarter profit.

Lai “tendered resignation to the board of directors of the company seeking to resign, for personal reasons, from his positions with the company,” ZTO said.

ZTO Chairman and CEO Lai Meisong will assume Jianfa Lai’s responsibilities as vice president of operations, said ZTO, which is approximately 9% controlled by China e-commerce heavyweight Alibaba.

The Shanghai-headquartered company said revenue in the three months to March rose by 22.1% from a year earlier to 7,9 billion yuan, $1,25 billion.

Lai Jianfa, 53, is worth $1.6 billion on the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List today; Lai Meisong, 51, is worth $5.2 billion. Open / Comment

2022-06-02 18:05:02 ‘Hyundai Does Not Want To Be Left Behind’: Korea’s Car Giant Makes $16.5 Billion EV Push

Amid growing competition among car makers to position themselves for a low-carbon future, Hyundai Motor Group said it plans to invest a total of $16.5 billion over the next eight years to expand its production of electric vehicles in its home market of South Korea.

The South Korean conglomerate, which includes the Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands, aims to make 1.44 million EVs a year in South Korea by 2030. The plan is part of the auto group’s target to capture 12% of the global EV market by then, selling 3.23 million EVs a year worldwide.

“As the global auto market is transitioning towards electric powertrains, major auto [makers] have started announcing their ambitious EV plans, and Hyundai does not want to be left behind,” says Soumen Mandal, a senior research analyst at research firm Counterpoint. Open / Comment