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Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za THE Competition Commission has announced an agreement with two of the three major pathology laboratory companies, Ampath and Lancet, to reduce with, immediate effect, the price of Covid-19 PCR tests to R500 from R850 following a three-month probe that revealed excessive profiteering. Competition Commissioner Tembinkosi Bonakele said at a briefing the investigation started in October – following a complaint from the Council for Medical Schemes that the price of PCR tests – widely used by doctors and other institutions, and which are also becoming a requirement for international travel, was “unfairly inflated, exorbitant and unjustifiable”. He said the commission had not yet reached agreement with the third of the large pathology laboratory companies Pathcare. Bonakele described their negations with Pathcare as full of “legalese”, but hoped a…
Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za RMB Holdings (RMH) has rejected offers to buy its last remaining major assets in RMB Properties, the group said Friday. It said it would continued to try to monetise its last major investments in RMH Properties, but weak property fundamentals in South Africa might affect the timing, the company said in its interim results for the six months to September 30. RMH unbundled its investment in FirstRand in June 2020. Its subsidiary Rand Merchant Investment Holdings also recently announced the unbundling of interests in Discovery and Momentum Metropolitan, in line with a strategy to liberate investments at the appropriate stage, and to achieve the best value reflection. In October, RMH was approached to sell various property assets but its board said on Friday that these approaches had…
Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za ANGLO Platinum (Amplats) had received the thumbs up from its board to pump R3.9 billion into the life extension of its Mototolo mine, the group said on Friday amid strong platinum group metals (PGM) fundamentals. The project, which involves sinking a new shaft, will expand Mototolo’s life beyond 30 years, with production forecast to be 250 000 PGM ounces per year. Amplats, one of the world’s top platinum suppliers, said the capital investment would be deployed over six years, with the majority of capital invested between 2022 and 2024. “The financial returns of the project are expected to be robust, with an internal rate of return of over 25 percent and payback of around six years from first production expected in late 2023, based on consensus pricing,”…
Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za AN UPBEAT Anglo American’s chief executive Mark Cutifani said on Friday that Anglo was a resilient and agile business set to deliver 35 percent growth over the next decade at an attractive 50 percent margin. “We are also increasing our near-term performance improvement target, to $3.5 billion (R55.4bn) to $4.5bn by 2023, as we accelerate the delivery of our P101 and technology programmes, while also bringing growth projects on stream,” said Cutifani. This as the firm reported a 7 percent increase in 2021 production on strong platinum group metals (PGMs) performance and higher rough diamond demand. So far, 2021 has been a year of mega returns for Anglo shareholders, thanks to the rally in metal prices. Stephen Pearce, financial director of Anglo American, said Anglo had…
Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za CHIEF operating officer for Sibanye-Stillwater’s gold operations, Richard Stewart, said on Friday that the group was preparing for a strike in the new year as wage talks deadlocked. Stewart said there was no an appetite for a strike prior to Christmas. “We are heading towards the last few weeks of the year in the industry. If there is no resolution now, we will continue to engage to avert any strike. If there was one, it would be in the new year,” Stewart said. Sibanye endured a five-month long wage strike, led by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), at its gold operations in November 2018. While three other unions struck an agreement with the group, Amcu rejected the offer and led 14 000 members out…
Philippa Larkin philippa.larkin@inl.co.za AVI, the South African food producer and fashion retailer, took a beating on the JSE on Friday, which saw its shares tumble nearly 6 percent to R73.85 as the market booed the announcement that discussions with US snacks and confectionery giant Mondelez International had been terminated and it had withdrawn its trading cautionary. Last month AVI said discussions with US snacks and confectionery giant Mondelez International had progressed regarding the potential acquisition of its Snackworks division. AVI’s Snackworks division consists of popular brands such as Bakers, Baumann’s, Pyotts and Provita, which are an iconic part of South Africa’s biscuit history. The Mondelez portfolio of brands includes Cadbury Dairy Milk and Oreo cookies, among others. However, to add to the injury earlier in the day, AVI announced…
