Cape Times 2023-06-13

AN EXPERT says SA Inc might see MTN enter the fray for Telkom’s hand after the mobile operator yesterday confirmed that it had received an unsolicited non-binding indicative letter from a consortium for the acquisition of a controlling stake in it. The consortium is led by its former CEO Sipho Maseko, Afrifund Investments Proprietary Limited, comprising Axian Telecom and the Government Employees Pension Fund, managed by the Public Investment Corporation. Telkom’s share price yesterday surged 3.19% to close at R30.76 on the JSE. But the share price in the past year had decreased by 29.6%. “Telkom continues to pursue its strategic value unlock initiatives, and should such initiatives result in any developments that may have a material effect on the value of Telkom’s shares, information on such arrangements will be…

Banks under pressure from pressure groups and civil society organisations THE BANKS were a focus of environmental activist pressure yesterday with a protest at Standard Bank’s offices on the day of its annual meeting, and the release of a report that questioned Absa’s targets to reduce its exposure to the coal, gas and oil sectors. Standard Bank, in response to a query from Business Report, confirmed that a small group of people had protested at its Rosebank offices, and the bank welcomed the peaceful exchange of interests and ideas, and would continue to engage with stakeholders on the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (Eacop) project. Activists and civil society organisations said on Twitter the protest was to highlight the need for Standard Bank to withdraw its support for Eacop due…

SOUTH Africa has secured an immediate 100MW of electricity from Mozambique, to be added into the national grid from as early as next week in a bid to alleviate the intensity of rolling blackouts. This was confirmed by Minister in the Presidency responsible for Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, after meeting Mozambique’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Carlos Zacarias at the Union Buildings in Pretoria yesterday. The meeting finalised talks to secure electricity for South Africa to ease the frequency and severity of load shedding, following a previous engagement held in the Mozambique capital Maputo a fortnight ago. Ramokgopa said Mozambique had confirmed the 100MW was immediately available to South Africa, and could be ramped up to 600MW in the next six months and 1 000MW in the long term.…

GLENCORE has offered to buy Teck Resources’ steelmaking coal business as a standalone unit, after the Canadian miner twice rebuffed its $22.5 billion (R420.4bn) offer to combine the two companies. Teck Resources said on June 6 that it had received several proposals for its coal business, as it reworks a plan to split it from its copper and zinc unit that failed to secure enough shareholder support in late April. Yesterday, Teck confirmed it was engaging with Glencore on its coal proposal. Glencore, which mines and trades thermal coal, the fossil fuel used to produce electricity, as well as smaller amounts of coking coal to make steel, said it would demerge the coal units of both companies. “If Teck is unwilling to consider a sale of Teck Metals…

VUKILE Property Fund produced its best results in two decades since listing in its year to March 31, and the specialist retail real estate investment trust (Reit), with some 60% of its assets in Spain is expected to continue to perform well, CEO Lawrence Rapp said. Vukile reported a 6.2% increase in cash dividend to 112.4 cents per share for the year and 6% growth in its funds from operations (FFO) to 144.5c per share, both within guidance. The group, which owns R34.6 billion in direct properties with 56% of it in Spain, is making it one of the most rand-hedged Reits on the JSE, also anticipated delivering FFO per share growth of between 3% to 5%, and growth in dividend of between 7% to 9% in the…

GOLDMAN Sachs has slashed its forecast for oil prices by nearly 10%, citing weak demand in China and a glut of supply from the sanctioned countries, including Russia, according to a media report. The Wall Street bank now thinks Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, will cost $86 (R1 607) a barrel in December, compared to its previous estimate of $95, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude will fetch $81 a barrel, down from $89, CNN reported.That’s despite Saudi Arabia’s recent decision to slash its own output, and a pledge by other members of the Opec+ alliance of leading oil producers to extend a policy of supply restraint into next year, the report said. Extra supply of around 800 000 barrels a day, mostly from sanctioned countries such…