Loanzen recently raised funding from Zephyr Peacock India Growth Fund. Loanzen is a startup that offers financial services for the logistics industry. The news came out on Sunday, but the firm did not disclose the exact funding amount.

Kae Capital, the existing investor, also took part in the round. He said in the statement,

Loanzen will invest the funds raised in the development of technology, build data analytics teams, scale operations in existing locations across Karnataka and expand to new markets.

Zephyr Peacock India Growth Fund is a private fund of equity that invests in SMEs of India. It employs proprietary underwriting methods of different data sources to fulfill the necessities of its consumer base. It is headquartered in Bengaluru and serves customers from Karnataka majorly.

Loanzen refused to respond to the amount of valuation, but some links from the industry said that the amount could be around 4 million- 5 million dollars in the round.

The co-founder Madhu Sudhan said,

Given the rapid growth in the logistics segment with increasing penetration of technology, we are looking to scale up over the coming year… We are planning to target a Rs 75 crore-Rs 80 crore loan book addressing a base of over 2,000 customers in the coming year.

Managing Director at Zephyr Peacock, Abhijeet Kudva, said that Loanzen loan services had become an aid for more than 500 vehicle operators by now.

We expect Loanzen to become a leader in LOGISTICS FINANCING, supporting more than 15000 customers in the upcoming three to five years,

he said.

In a bid to widen its scope in the field of education, the Lock Haven University Council of Trustees held a meeting on Friday. The Trustees arrived at the conclusion of approving the inclusion of a new bachelor’s degree in finance and risk management within the business and computer science department in the prestigious Stephen Poorman College of Business, Information Systems, and Human Services.

The crucial decision will open the door for scores of students aspiring to pursue a career in finance and risk management.

Meanwhile, the trustees also assessed some latest measures for monetary assistance and affordability for students that also included the utilization of Student Retention Fund. The sole purpose behind the creation of the Student Retention Fund was to offer emergency funding for students who faced monetary obstacles.

LHU is a leading public university based in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. It is an integral part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. It provides approximately 69 undergraduate programs and 4 graduate programs.

Meanwhile, the recently approved bachelor’s degree in finance and risk management will include two concentrations: One will be in finance and insurance/risk management or FIRM and another one will be in finance, investment, and planning or FIP.

LHU President Dr. Robert Pignatello asserted,

The addition of the new finance and risk management bachelor’s degree is just one more way of demonstrating our focus on keeping up with, and ahead of, the growing workforce needs in our community.

The LHU strives to offer students a top-quality education that will pave the way for many lucrative employment opportunities, added President Pignatello.

Earlier this year in February, LHU had announced plans to build a school of nursing and seek to expend the nursing program to the main campus amid the rising demand for highly educated nurses in the continuously evolving healthcare environment.

Meanwhile, the addition of new finance and risk management bachelor’s degree will address the basic finance, risk management, and investments. In the coming years, these fields will offer greater employment opportunities to job aspirants.

Apart from this, a new monetary aid strategy was also announced during the meeting that will be based on merit and requirement. LHU’s Enrollment Management Division created the new monetary aid strategy for the first time freshmen. It will combine merit-based assistance, requirement based assistance, and federal and state aid to offer the most effective financial aid package for freshmen, emphasized Stephen Lee, vice president for enrollment management and student affair.

Students who are eligible will get the scholarship during admission time on the basis of their high school grade point average and SAT scores. For in-state students, the scholarship will vary from $500 to $2,500. Meanwhile, the out of state scholarship will vary from $2000 to $4000.

The Zimbabwe government has issued an order under which all importers operating in the country would have to provide details of the sources of their foreign currency holdings. Failure to show that their holdings are sourced from the banking system will lead to their confiscation by the government.

Announcing the step Deputy Finance Minister Clemence Chiduwa, said,

“In the event that you are not able to declare the official source of foreign currency, you forfeit whatever you have to the state. So this will deal with black market operations.”

Zimbabwe had followed a policy of dollarization for over a decade where the government allowed transactions in the US dollars along with the national currency. It was done to escape the effects of hyperinflation that the country experienced due to an economic crisis. Thus, US dollars began to be widely used by traders and businesses in the country.

It led to shortages in foreign currency holdings as Zimbabwe has also failed to attract foreign investments. It currently owes more than $9 billion to foreign lenders and does not meet the criteria for more funding.

In June this year, the government ended the policy of dollarization and mandated that only the national currency would be allowed in the country. Traders who had for long been trading in dollars had to arrive at a value for converting their dollar holdings into the Zimbabwe dollar. The large conversion ratio of the US dollar to Zimbabwe dollar has raised inflation, which rose to 440% in October.

The large discrepancy between the value of the US dollar and Zimbabwe dollar has led to the emergence of a black market where Zimbabwe dollars are exchanged for US dollars. Thus, no matter how the government prints many Zimbabwe dollars, the proportion of US dollars will not change as the newly printed Zimbabwe dollars will be exchanged in the black market for US dollars.

The only way to stop this cycle is for the Zimbabwe government to launch a crackdown on unaccounted foreign currency holdings.

Munich Re Reserve Risk Financing, Inc, a subsidiary of Munich Re, has announced that it has managed to raise securitized financing worth $200 million. The money was raised with the American company Diversified Gas & Oil PLC.

Diversified are an owner and operator of oil wells, natural gas, and other associated assets. Munich Re has entirely funded the deal, and additionally, it also provided the required commodity price hedges that were vital to the deal.

The Munich Re Reserve Bank Financing President George Carrick spoke about the financing deal. He said,

“A financing of this type requires a combination of operator capability and quality long-lived reserves. DGOC, an efficient consolidator and operator of long-lived producing natural gas reserves, was uniquely positioned to avail itself of this structure.”

He added that Munich Re is pleased to have partnered with an innovative company like Diversified. On the other hand, this collaboration marks Diversified Gas & Oil’s first foray into securitized financing. In this regard, it should be noted that the company’s notes have been assigned BBB rating by well-known rating agencies Morningstar and Fitch.

Recently, Amazon announced Day One Fund to prevent and minimize homelessness in which Albuquerque, a local non-profit, was listed and got a significant fund of $2.5 million as an award.

Amazon’s Founder & CEO, Jeff Bezos, announced the Day One Fund of $98.5 million to give to the 32 recipients across 23 states, including Albuquerque. According to the non-profit, this huge amount can help in providing shelter to 100 families who are facing homelessness in Albuquerque every year. Last year, the total funds of amount $97.5 million were awarded to 24 organizations.

Jeff Bezos also twitted that he is happy to announce the Bezos Day One Grants of the 2019 year. He thanked 32 organizations for preventing homelessness in 23 states.

Mary’s Place, based in Seattle, is one of the non-profit recipients who got $5 million of funds. It helps homeless women and children. Amazon is providing a big space in its new office towers as a homeless shelter.

The funds are not only provided to the organizations for shelters but also for creating a network of high-quality and full-scholarship pre-schools in underserved communities.

The total fund of $98.5 million has been distributed among 32 organizations appropriately.

In a major achievement for Kakao, South Korean Internet Company is on the path of becoming the largest shareholder of its internet-only bank on Friday. With this achievement, it will emerge as the first non-financial services company to gain majority stake in South Korean lender.

Earlier on Wednesday, Financial Services Commission gave a green signal to Korean Investment Holdings’ plea to transfer nearly 15% and 29% of its present 50% stake in Kakao Bank to Kakao and Korean Investment Value Asset Management.

Kakao has gained a reputation as a renowned South Korean Internet company. It came into existence in the year 2010. It was established soon after a merger between Daum Communication and Kakao. Its name was changed to Daum Kakao in 2015 only to be reverted back to the original name Kakao.

Meanwhile, the deals are estimated at a joined 489.5 billion Won or $149.3 million.

Now beginning Friday, Kakao will gain a 34% share in the internet-only bank while the Korea Investment Value Asset Management is set to gain 29% stake thus making it Kakao Bank’s second-largest shareholder. This change will bring down Korea Investment Holding’s share in the internet-only bank to 5% minus one share.

Things were not as rosy for Kakao as it came across several obstacles in its struggle to become the largest shareholder since April. Earlier this year in April, it had first applied to the FSC for significant reviews. FSC had started the procedure of giving reviews only to put them on hold later on as a result of some charged leveled against Kakao Chairman, Kim Beom-Su’s violations of unbiased trade regulations.

The coalition government of Japan will be injecting the economy with a fresh boost of $92 billion budget to support the sluggish economic growth. The decision was taken in a meeting attended by all the senior officials of the government on Wednesday. This underscores the growing concern among policymakers about the weak economic outlook due to a hike in sales tax and declining global demand.

Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, on Wednesday, stated at a press conference that

Prime Minister (Shinzo) Abe told us to compile a sizable package to take all possible steps on the economy. We want to craft a strong economic package, taking into account the economic situation, global economy, and damage caused by typhoons, which were larger than last year, so as to get the economy on a solid growth path.

The ruling party appealed to focus the spending on disaster relief that was caused due to a string of hurricanes that hit Japan this year and provide funds to aid farmers to cope with the fallout of the US-Japan trade deal, which opens up a few market segments for US goods. Abe also ordered to disburse stimulus to support the economy after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Analysts are doubtful about the Abe government’s ability to push that big amount into the economy when government debt is twice that of its $5 trillion economy. Also, with an aging population and the strictest labor laws, the infrastructure spending programs will face serious problems in terms of implementation.

During the current fiscal year, which ends in March 2020, the government will be giving out a supplementary budget and it will also be planning out for the next fiscal year’s budget plan in December. This will allow the government a period of 15-months to disburse the funds. Supplementary budgets to the magnitude of above 10 trillion yen have been compiled only four times in the past. Both the budget drafts will take effect only after the approval of the parliament.

South Korea Ministry of trade, in a statement, announced today that it is planning to hit free-trade pacts in 12 more nations by 2022. This will enable it to broaden its existence over 90% of the global gross domestic product along with its FTAs.

The Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee attended a meeting with representatives from trade-related organizations. During the meeting, he said,

Amid growing protectionism around the globe, and growing tension between the United States and China, South Korea will focus efforts on penetrating into new markets.

Earlier this month, South Korea inked the RCEP, paving the way for stable trade with an economic bloc that accounts for a third of the global economy,

Yoo said.

RCEP stands for the  Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership involving Southeast Asian Nations bloc’s 10-member Association along with the dialogue partners. It is expected of South Korea to broaden its ties to Southeast countries of Asia via its impending summit with ASEAN scheduled for the month, according to a statement by the minister.

South Korea is Asia’s 4th largest country by the economy, and as reported this November, it has enforced 18 batches of FTA’s already with 58 nations. It thereafter announced its plans to widen the network, making it cover 70 countries in total by 2022 end.

Following the completion of these pacts, South Korea will celebrate an unrestricted trade network covering approximately 90% of the combined global GDP.

The trade minister, Yoo, underlined that these actions are required to withstand the growing skepticism in the business settings worldwide due to the long-standing Chinese-American trade war. The two countries are responsible for around 40% of the exports of South Korea.