Star 2021-07-14

Sandile Mchunu sandile.mchunu@inl.co.za TONGAAT Hulett’s share price leapt by 8 percent on the JSE yesterday morning after the agriculture and agri-processing group reduced its net debt by 42 percent for the year to the end of March, despite a huge fall in earnings. The group reported net debt of R6.57 billion at the end of the period, down from R11.35bn compared to last year. Chief financial officer Rob Aitken said Tongaat was pleased with the 42 percent reduction in its debt during the financial year. “We want to continue reducing the debt in the next coming months, and we are targeting a sustainable debt level of R3bn. We hope that we would be able to slash it by a further R3bn in the next nine months-to-three-year…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE WORLD Bank has warned of continued social unrest in South Africa if the government does not speed up the implementation of economic reforms to address inequality. The country has been engulfed by unprecedented unrest, accompanied by the destruction of industrial parks and shopping malls, since the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma. The 13th edition of the bank’s South Africa Economic Update released on Monday said the Covid-19 crisis was widening inequality by contribut- ing to severe and unequal job losses. The report has a special focus on South Africa’s employment performance, particularly as impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. It found that low-wage workers suffered almost four times more job losses than high-wage earners. At least 1.4 million people had lost their jobs by the end…

Mozambique central bank fines Standard Bank for Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za THE CENTRAL bank of Mozambique has fined Africa’s biggest lender, Standard Bank, $4.6 million (about R67m) for engaging in fraudulent activities, the Bank of Mozambique said this week. The central bank also fined two of Standard Bank’s employees about $223 000 and $101 000 each, and barred the bank from engaging in some exchange-related activities for a year, it said in a statement. Standard Bank, which is based in South Africa, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The central bank said that following on-site inspections, “infringement proceedings were brought against that bank (Standard Bank) and two of its managers … for serious breaches of a prudential and exchange rate nature”. It alleged the bank…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za FINANCIAL services, retail and telecommunications stocks yesterday bore the brunt of the mayhem and unrest that has swept through KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng for the fourth day. Nedbank declined by 5.45 percent to R164.21, First Rand was down 5.36 percent to R53.19 a share, Standard Bank fell by 4.79 percent to R124.55 a share, while Absa fell by 0.64 percent to R581 a share. Africa’s retail giant Shoprite was down 4.07 percent to R153.15 a share, Spar was 3.77 percent lower to R175.87 and Pick n Pay weakened by 1.94 percent to R51.58 a share. Beauty and fashion retailers were not spared. Truworths fell by 5.49 percent to R57.49 a share, The Foschini Group (TFG) fell by 3.07 percent to R154.51 a share, and Woolworths fell by 3.63…

A trust CAN hold and distribute trust funds at any time, but this must be done in accordance with both the terms of the trust instrument and the purpose for which the trust was created. This may involve distributing the income of the trust among family members in a tax-effective way over many years, or providing capital from the trust at a time when it will most benefit the beneficiaries in the future, for example when purchasing a home. In practice, often trustees disregard the purpose for which the trust was set up, as reflected in its objective in the trust instrument, and blindly allocate all income and capital gains to beneficiaries (without making any payment to them) in an attempt to avoid or save tax. Little do they realise…

Sandile Mchunu sandile.mchunu@inl.co.za MPACT said yesterday it has been informed by the Competition Commission that Caxton and CTP Publishers and Printers had not been granted a merger notification that would pave a way for it to acquire Mpact. This comes after Caxton informed the commission at the end of last month that it wanted to increase its stake from 32 percent to a majority controlling stake in Africa’s largest paper and plastics packaging business. Caxton also notified the commission that it sought to obtain merger approval in terms of the Competition Act in advance of triggering the mandatory offer in order to obtain regulatory certainty and to avoid any unnecessary delays in the implementation of the mandatory offer. However, Mpact informed its shareholders yesterday that the Competition Commission had…