Pretoria News 2022-10-10

FINANCIAL-services group INN8 expects merger and acquisition activity in the investment platform industry to accelerate as companies seek to bulk up in size and improve earnings. “South Africa has space for two, maybe three, dominant platforms, given the size of assets in the country,’’ INN8 executive Mickey Gambale said. About 400 investment platforms operate in SA. They vary from those targeting boutique asset managers and large asset managers to those seeking to accelerate the development of women. “Not only are there too many platform providers, but a potential global recession, a moribund local economy, and uncertain financial markets deepen the need to consolidate,” Gambale said on Friday. “Platforms cost a significant amount of money to build. It helps if you have a significant scale to make real profits. The South…

A DISPUTE between Mpact and major shareholder Caxton took a new turn on Friday when Mpact urged its shareholders not to place “any reliance” on an announcement by Caxton about alleged customers threatening to desert the paper, plastics and recycling group. Mpact said on Friday that claims that the Competition Tribunal had concluded that the commission was “wrong” to refuse to permit Caxton to make a separate merger filing, and that Caxton’s actions are “proof enough that is serious about an offer” was “incorrect.” In June 2021 Caxton had applied to the commission for permission to make a separate filing for a merger, to acquire majority control over Mpact – it had already gained a 34% stake in Caxton. Mpact did not support the merger, and refused to agree to…

A THIRD union, the Revolutionary Transport Union of South Africa (Retusa) has served Transnet notice to embark on strike, widening the cracks in the country’s logistics and ports as the State utility lost a court interdict and stands accused of refusing to sign picketing rules with the unions. The South African Transport Workers Union (Satawu) has joined the fray as the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) today will make a last ditch effort to bridge the gap of labour’s 12% wage demand against Transnet’s 4% tops counter offer. Retusa, which represents 1.5% of workers served Transnet with a regulatory notice to join the strike as reports emerge of total shutdowns at Transnet’s ports, including the waterside and the landside at Durban, Durban Container Terminal Pier 1…

IN RESPONSE to the killing of George Floyd by a white policeman in the US, technology’s biggest companies and their leaders made public statements expressing solidarity with black communities. Some promised to address challenges faced by black communities and people in the African continent. Some went further by committing to support black communities with tangible interventions. In 2020 Sundar Pichai, the chief executive of Google’s parent company Alphabet, announced that Google would invest $1 billion (R18.08bn) in Africa over the next five years to support a range of initiatives, from improved connectivity to investment in startups, to help boost Africa’s digital transformation. Last week, Google delivered on some of these promises by announcing their intent to establish a Google Cloud region in South Africa – their first on the…

DUE TO THE Covid-19 pandemic and the difficult economic times, the quest to remain afloat and competitive in a digitalised world has made digital transformation a hot topic of discussion. However, research indicates that the construction industry has been relatively slow in embracing the opportunities presented by emerging technologies to improve operational excellence, productivity, cost efficiency and customer engagement, and therefore ranks very low in terms of digital maturity. This has led to dissatisfaction among clients, partly due to the fragmented nature of project delivery, labour intensive processes and the apparent difficulty in adopting new technologies. This problem is further exacerbated by the complexity of the construction industry due to competition, availability of resources, logistical problems after the Covid-19 pandemic, and the disruptive nature of technological innovation. Digital transformation is…

TRANSNET plans to open up capacity allocation for emerging miners through the Ports of Gqeberha and Saldanha from April, 2023, when its current long-term contracts come to an end. In a statement, Transnet said it had issued a formal communique to all 10 manganese exporters recording the expiry of current contracts, which are set to wrap up on March 31, 2023. “New contracts will be entered into with new and existing miners, effective from April 1, 2023,” it said. According to Transnet, new contracting and capacity allocation processes have commenced, with the intent to enable the emerging miner to ramp up. “Transnet hopes to increase the current number of emerging miners that have access to rail and port capacity from the current four to 11, through introducing seven new entrants…