Star 2022-09-26

The matter involves concerns about SAA not servicing allocated routes THE TAKATSO Consortium deal hangs as a millstone around South African Airways’ (SAA) neck as the International Air Services Licensing Council revoked 20 of the airline’s international routes and has asked hard questions about the nature of Takatso. Sources close to the issue said the Counsel revoked 20 of SAA’s 52 international licences because they could not prove capacity to service the aircraft. Given the nature of sensitivity around the matter, none of the sources contacted were willing to put their names on the line. The matter at hand involves the council’s concern about SAA not servicing allocated routes, which by nature lapse after three months, which SAA has not been able to do for the last two years after…

JSE-LISTED Kap, which owns the retail brands Unitrans, Restonic, Safripol, Feltex, PG Bison and DriveRisk, has launched a campaign called “Being the change”, which details its “commitment (to) innovation, regenerative business practices and going beyond sustainability.” Among the many things that the Covid-19 pandemic has fuelled, conscious consumerism is one of the biggest, and a large number of companies have responded by announcing various initiatives around environment sustainability, focus on the needs of society and adequate governance across the public and private sectors (also known as ESG). And Kap is no different. In such a scenario, chief executive Gary Chaplin explains: “We are going to ensure our philosophy is imbued into every division of our company in a way that allows each company to grow and innovate independently. “We are…

SOVEREIGN Africa Ratings (SAR) has given a clean bill of health to South Africa’s sovereign credit ratings status, but warned of a number of risk factors that could hamper the country’s ability to fulfil its debt obligations. The new kid on the block on Friday published its inaugural credit rating, starting with South Africa and rating the country’s sovereign bonds at investment grade. In an unsolicited rating, SAR affirmed South Africa’s long-term sovereign status at BBB and at B+ in the short term, with a stable outlook. The rating goes against the grain as the three major ratings agencies – S&P Global, Fitch ratings, and Moody’s International – have all placed South Africa’s bonds deep into the sub-investment territory. However, SAR chief ratings officer David Mosaka said their rating had…

FOR THE FOSCHINI Group Limited (TFG) to acquire Tapestry Home Brands it has to establish new retail stores across the group, create new job positions and introduce a historically disadvantaged person’s shareholder. These were the main conditions the Competition Tribunal imposed on the merging parties in a statement on Friday. Following the proposed implementation, TFG will exercise sole control over Tapestry in a R2.43 billion deal. The approval means that TFG will expand its business, which will include producing furniture and mattresses. The tribunal’s conditions include a three-year moratorium on any merger-related retrenchments. In addition, the conditions stipulate that there would be no downward variation of wages and conditions of work in relation to employees of the merged entity, as a result of the proposed transaction. Furthermore, provided it…

THE CORPORATE jousting between Caxton and CTP Publishers and Printers (Caxton) and Mpact took a new turn on Friday when the Competition Tribunal set aside a Competition Commission decision to deny permission to file a separate notification of a merger with Mpact. The Tribunal said Caxton’s separate application for approval for a merger, made in July 2021, was usually done in the context of a hostile merger. Caxton has for some time been trying to acquire Mpact and has accumulated a majority 34% stake in the paper and plastic recycler over the past two years. Last month, hostility bubbled over when Mpact claimed Caxton had “ulterior motives” when it voted against executive pay resolutions at Mpact’s AGM, while Caxton, in turn, accused, Mpact of “inexplicable hostility.” Caxton, a printer and…

META-OWNED WhatsApp is one of the most popular social media apps in South Africa with more than 23 million people using the app on a regular basis. It is a fast, simple, and convenient way for family, friends and business colleagues to chat, create group texts, share photos and videos, send and receive documents, and engage in private, secure conversations at any time, day or night. And since it data-based, the cost of local and international calls are negligible. Due to the ease of creating new groups, many people have created several groups of which they are the person with administrative control that can add or remove people – the so-called group admin. Unfortunately most of these group admins are unaware of the important changes and growing responsibilities that the…