Johannesburg — South Africa's tourism is set to benefit from the first mosque built in South Africa to cater for the Turkish Islamic community, President Jacob Zuma said on Thursday. Speaking at the official opening of the mosque - a first on the continent of Africa and the largest religious complex in the southern hemisphere - Zuma said the facility will help create greater understanding and tolerance between diverse religions.

The US Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) has guaranteed $66.3 million to facilitate the export of American power plant to Bis Enerji Elektrik Uretim AS (Bis) of Turkey. Ex-Im Bank's financing will support more than 160 American jobs in Houston, Texas; Wellsville, N.Y.; Orlando, Fla.; and Lewiston, Maine. "Ex-Im Bank's loan guarantee affords the U.S. companies involved an opportunity to export their American-made products to a Turkish market hungry for electricity," said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. "Equally important is the loan guarantee's impact on American jobs, which will benefit from the increased business."

 

NEW YORK (AP) - Citigroup's net income fell 12 percent in the second quarter partly due to a loss on the sale of its stake in a Turkish lender. The income of $2.9 billion was still better than analysts were expecting. Citi is one of the largest international banks in the world and its results are often seen as a gauge of how the global economy is doing. Investors are particularly concerned about recent signs of a slowdown in China and India, two large markets for Citi. Citi's consumer banking business in Asia and Latin American barely declined by less than one percent.

Odea Bank, the Turkish unit of the Lebanese Bank Audi, will increase its capital from $300 million to at least $600 million, said the bank’s General Manager Hüseyin Özkaya, according to Hürriyet. Noting that the establishment preparation continues at full steam, Özkaya said, “We are going through a very serious test phase. We test everything – the system, preparations, everything once again. All these [works] necessitate investment. There are indications from the investor that the investment will be constant. We have shared all our works particularly with the group chief executive officer Samir Hanna. The investor has promised us that the amount of capital or funds that we want will be provided. We may at least double the current $300 million. We are talking about $1 billion investment here,” he said.