Cape Times 2021-08-04

Naspers shares dive after Chinese state media says gaming is ‘spiritual opium’ EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za NASPERS and subsidiary Prosus slid more than 5 percent yesterday in tandem with a 10 percent slide in Naspers’s biggest investment, the Hong Kong-listed internet group Tencent Holdings. Tencent’s share price had slumped after a China official news agency publication decried the “spiritual opium” and “electronic drugs” of online games, which generated fear in the market that Beijing would again tighten controls over online entertainment, following last week’s curbs on other online business. Naspers’s share price fell 5.8 percent to R2 601.92 yesterday in afternoon trading, while Prosus’s price was down 7.7 percent to R1 214.73. Tencent, according to Reuters, said it would further curb minors’ access to…

RBPlat declares R1.5bn interim dividend, rewards shareholders Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za ROYAL Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) yesterday became the latest platinum group metals (PGM) producer to reward shareholders handsomely after posting record profits and a robust operational performance. RBPlat, which listed on the JSE a decade ago, declared a 535 cents a share interim dividend for the half year ended June 2021 equating to R1.5 billion on the back of a strong metal price environment and a strong operational performance. RBPlat, which operates the Styldrift and the Bafokeng Rasimone Platinum Mine (BRPM) in North West, is on a positive trajectory after paying a maiden R1.5bn dividend for the year ended December 2020. RBPlat declared a 108 percent growth in revenue for the six months to R9.584bn, supported by strong PGM…

Concern that female entrepreneurs are left at margins of the economy Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za Female entrepreneurs in South Africa continue to be at the margins of the mainstream economy, with only 20 percent of women-owned businesses receiving the requisite support to succeed. The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) yesterday expressed concern over the lack of financial support for female entrepreneurs and women-owned businesses. A recent study by the CGE found that women empowerment programmes were characterised by varying degrees of poor administration and mismanagement. CGE deputy commissioner Dr Nthabiseng Moleko said yesterday that this left scores of female entrepreneurs out of opportunities. “Women are put at the bottom of the spectrum when we look at huge business mergers and multimillionrand acquisition deals and that is where we need to…

IF SOUTH Africa is to maintain a competitive agri-food sector, there is an ever-present need for augmented knowledge-driven production. A strong public sector research and development capability must focus on translating public research and innovation investment into growth and development in areas such as health, sustainable and resource-efficient production as well as maintaining focus on leveraging the food sector throughout the value chain. South Africa should continue to position itself as an international hub where large international companies place their research and development (R&D) investments. However, this requires ongoing joint investments within the existing R&D communities. Furthermore, South Africa’s food research and innovation must be based on a strong international collaboration and focus on talent attraction and retention. To succeed, South Africa needs to prioritise its limited research and innovation…

Business interruption claims are due by August 31 – Santam Philippa Larkin philippa.larkin@inl.co.za SHORT-TERM insurer Santam yesterday issued another appeal to its clients with contingent business interruption (CBI) policies to submit their claims and supporting documentation before August 31. A total of 3 252 policyholders have notified Santam of their intention to formulate and submit CBI claims. However, slightly more than 60 percent of these clients had submitted claims information, it said. The policy wording required that the statement of particulars of a claim be formulated and submitted within 30 days of the end of the relevant period stipulating the length of cover, and most CBI policies had cover limits of between three and 12 months, Santam said. Santam Group chief executive Lizé Lambrechts said: “We are very concerned that…

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za Curro Holdings said in a trading statement yesterday that recurring headline earnings per share were expected to decrease by between 54.7 percent and 47.1 percent for the six months to the end of June. Recurring headline earnings per share were expected to be between 18 cents and 21c, the education company said. One of the reasons was a R1.5 billion rights offer in September last year, which resulted in 42 percent more shares in issue during the first half of this year compared with the first half of last year, which reduced earnings per share meaningfully. The average number of learners in the six-month period increased 7 percent, and revenue increased 12 percent from the previous comparable period. Curro said they were…