Pretoria News 2022-07-06

Edward West MARA Phones South Africa has come out of business rescue following the signing of a management buyout (MBO) purchase agreement at the end of last month, the company said in a statement. The acquisition for an undisclosed sum and terms was made possible through a strategic partnership be- tween the MBO team and Lebashe Investment Group, a 100 percent black-owned unlisted investment holding company with assets in financial services, technology media and telecommunications. Mara Corporation, an international multi-sector business with interests across 24 countries including 22 in Africa, launched the new smartphone factory in Durban in 2019 with a planned investment of some R1.5 billion. But after failing to be recognised as a preferred supplier to the government of smartphones, and other commercial challenges, it emerged…

MASSMART subsidiary Game said yesterday that its 115 stores across the country had been “refreshed” to provide consumers with a better store experience, as part of the company’s turnaround strategy. In 2020, Massmart reported lower revenues and foot traffic at Game brought about by the pandemic and lockdowns in South Africa. In the year to December 31, 2021, Game’s trading loss widened substantially to R1.03 billion from a R532 million loss the year before. The blow meant Massmart had to close its DionWired outlets. “The new Game Store strategy to revise sales is okay, but it is higher risk and the competition is getting rougher,” said Mergence Investment Managers head of equities Peter Taka- endesa. “From a competition and consumer point of view it is a challenging environment…

SOUTH Africa’s economic salvation may yet come from the travel and tourism sector, which was projected to grow at an average rate of 7.6 percent annually over the next decade, a report by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) released yesterday found. This significantly outstrips the 1.8 percent growth rate of the country’s overall economy. The forecast from WTTC’s Economic Impact Report shows the South African Travel & Tourism sector’s contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) by 2032 could reach more than R554.6 billion, or 7.4 percent, of the total economy, injecting nearly R287bn into the national economy. The sector is also expected to create more than 800 000 jobs over the next decade, to reach more than 1.9 million by 2032.…

One-year agreement has been signed with three recognised labour unions DEBT-LADEN power utility Eskom has been slapped with escalating costs and will now have to find an additional R1 billion within its budget to fund the new wage deal it signed with workers unions to end the crippling strike. This comes as Eskom, which has a debt burden of more than R400bn, has burnt R5.3bn worth of diesel in the first half of the year – R1.54bn in June alone – at its open-cycle gas turbines to keep the lights on. The struggling power utility has implemented more than 60 days of varying stages of rotational load shedding from January to date, leading to overspending on diesel as it consumes more of the fuel than expected as its generation…

DR IQBAL Survé, the chairperson of Sekunjalo Investments, on behalf of the African diaspora, thank you. This is in response to Survé’s call for a Social Democratic Movement led by youth. We must follow your lead, in asking young people to put their country first and put themselves second. That is the same message that a young JFK (John F Kennedy) used some 60 year ago as a way to change the world. Your commitment to provide the resources surely will encourage the present and future generations to embrace your challenge, recognising that the greatest economic generator is the building of homes and the infrastructure associated with creating communities. Ten million homes, not just houses. There is a difference with great distinction. This is doable. You are the conscience of…

NATIONAL Treasury yesterday published final amendments to Regulation 28 under the Pension Funds Act, which apply to investments in infrastructure, hedge funds and private equity. The amendments are in line with changes announced by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in his Budget speech in February. The Pension Funds Act governs the allocation of assets in retirement funds. Regulation 28 protects fund members’ savings by limiting the extent to which a fund may invest in a particular asset or asset class, thereby reducing concentration risk – excessive exposure to a single investment or type of investment. On February 25, the South African Reserve Bank published the Exchange Control Circular No 10/2022, which detailed changes to the prudential foreign investment limits for South African institutional investors. Pension funds and Regulation-28-compliant unit trust funds…