Star 2021-05-06

JOHANNESBURG-headquartered MTN Group recorded a 17.8 percent increase in group service revenue with South Africa delivering a solid performance during the three months ended March 2021, the company said yesterday. MTN, Africa’s largest mobile operator by subscribers, ended the quarter with 277.9 subscribers after shedding 1.7 million subscribers after Nigerian authorities banned the activation of new SIM registrations in December amid revised registration regulations. It said MTN South Africa had recorded an 11.8 percent year-on-year growth in ser- vice revenue through ongoing momentum in commercial execution, market share gains and cost optimisation. MTN South Africa’s total subscribers increased around 95 000 in the quarter to 32.1 million with postpaid subscribers up around 79 000 to record a base of 6.8 million. “This was driven mainly…

Sandile Mchunu sandile.mchunu@inl.co.za STEINHOFF International’s share price leapt by more than six percent on the JSE yesterday morning after its subsidiary Pepco Group published its prospectus, which paves the way for its separate listing on the Warsaw Stock Exchange later this month valued at up to R100 billion. Steinhoff said it had decided to launch the initial public offering of Pepco Group of up to 102.72 million ordinary shares, which represents approximately 17.9 percent of the company’s total issued share capital. Steinhoff holds 98.8 percent of the shares that are up for an offering that will be made available to retail and institutional investors in Poland, at an offer price of between 38 Polish zloty a share (R143.69) and 46 zloty, valuing it between €4.8 billion (R83bn)…

MEME-BASED virtual currency Dogecoin soared to an all-time high yesterday, extending its 2021 rally to become the fourth-biggest digital coin. Dogecoin, launched as a satirical critique of 2013’s cryptocurrency frenzy, climbed 41 percent in 24 hours to a record $0.68 (about R9.82), according to CoinMarketCap. This year alone, it has soared more than 14 000 percent, from $0.00468 on December 31, taking it past more widely used cryptocurrencies, such as the Tether stablecoin and XRP, to become the fourth-largest by market capitalisation. Dogecoin – whose logo features a Shiba Inu dog at the centre of the meme – remains little used in commerce or payments. Like other digital coins, it is highly volatile, and its price is heavily influenced by social media users. On Tuesday, the New York…

Sandile Mchunu sandile.mchunu@inl.co.za RMB HOLDINGS (RMH) share price declined by more than 38 percent on the JSE yesterday morning after the investment holding company’s shares went ex-dividend yesterday. This comes after the group was given approval by the exchange control to declare a special dividend of 80 cents a share, which equals to R1.13 billion out of income reserves, on April 21. The group also announced that the special dividend would be subject to a dividend withholding tax at a rate of 20 percent, which would result in a net special dividend of 64c a share. The shareholders are expected to receive a total of R903.49 million after tax. RMH announced on April 21 that the last day to trade in order to parti- cipate in…

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za THREE asset manager shareholders in Standard Bank and shareholder activist organisation Just Share have co-filed a non-binding advisory shareholder resolution ahead of the bank’s annual general meeting (AGM) on May 27, requesting it to set targets for the reduction of financing of fossil fuel projects. Aeon Investment Management, Abax Investments, Visio Fund Management and Just Share want Standard Bank to publish the targets in its results in December 2021, “in order to promote the … sustainability of the company, taking into account the significant risks and opportunities associated with climate change”, the shareholders said. Such targets would also be in line with the bank’s support of the Paris Agreement, they said. The shareholders filed the resolution 23 working days before the AGM. The JSE Listing Requirements require…

Feroza Petersen LATE LAST WEEK, employees of AYO Technology Solutions were shocked, disappointed, panicked and enraged after hearing that Judge GC Wright ruling against AYO’s and its employees’ urgent interdict application to avert the bank from summarily closing the company’s bank account. There was no regard for the employees of the AYO group, when the decision was taken at the high Court. By the judge’s curt decision, their rights to human dignity, employment and financial independence was promptly rebuffed. He didn’t consider how they would put food on the table or how they would afford living in their homes without salaries. He didn’t consider how they would pay their children’s school fees or what would happen to their medical cover. Such questions didn’t even cross the judge’s mind. This,…