Foreign news: China's BoCom buys into Brazil, cash declines in UK

China's Bank of Communications is set to acquire an 80 per cent stake in the Brazilian bank BBM, reports WSJ. The agreement will see BoCom pay 525 million reals (A$220 million) for its majority share. Select shareholders in BBM will have the option to hold on to their shares or sell to Bank of Communications. This is the first international acquisition for Bank of Communications.
For the first time, more payments in the UK were made electronically than with cash last year, according to figures from the Payments Council. Of all payments made by British consumers and businesses in 2014, just 48 per cent were in cash, down from 52 per cent in 2013, with cash volumes forecast to fall another 30 per cent over the next ten years as contactless cards and mobile payments become more widespread, Finextra reports.