Star 2023-10-09

“Aimed at making sure that investors are making an informed decision when investing in the stock’ says Albie Cilliers SHAREHOLDER activist Albie Cilliers said recent questions he had raised and information he released on social media about onshore gas producer Renergen were aimed at making sure that investors make an informed decision when investing in the stock. He said in a telephone interview that an aggressive stance by CEO Stefano Marani to a comment that Cilliers had posted on “X” the previous Friday had persuaded him to dig deeper into Renergen, even though he held no position in the company’s stock. He said Renergen had some 40 000 retail shareholders, and was one of the most widely held stocks on the JSE. He said retail investors had been attracted…

SOUTH African Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor Lesetja Kganyago has left public opinion divided over his remarks about the impact of rising interest rates on unemployed people. The SARB’s Monetary Policy Committee has implemented 10 consecutive interest rate hikes since the hiking cycle started in November 2021, bringing the repurchase rate to a 14-year high of 8.25% in order to tame consumer inflation. Inflation targeting is a framework in which the SARB uses monetary policy tools, especially the control of short-term interest rates, to keep inflation in line with a given target range of 3% to 6% per annum. Speaking at the PSG Think Big Series last week, Kganyago said that high interest rates, which the SARB has been raising to curb inflation, did not affect unemployed people, because they did…

Importing chicken will not save the day price-wise for South Africa due to rand weakness, according to Paul Matthew, the CEO of Meat Importers & Exporters (AMIE). He said this week that the ultimate reality was that imported chicken was no longer affordable because of the depreciating rand and increased duties. On Friday, the rand was trading at R19.5168 against the bullish US dollar as emerging market currencies took strain this week. “It is also extremely unrealistic to think that the world is waiting to assist South Africa with cheap poultry. Our local food service businesses have specific requirements and approval processes that take time to be negotiated, and these cannot be substituted with imports overnight. Worldwide, producers are cutting back on production. Additionally, our authorities are slow to…

RENOWNED actor Idris Elba in a documentary about the gold industry, which was released by the World Gold Council last week, showcased the robust transition to renewable energy, and rapid transformation to include more women in mining jobs in the gold sector in South Africa, but the stark reality is that the industry is struggling to stay afloat. The documentary is now available on YouTube. This as the industry battles job losses, the migration of companies from the JSE and the dire effects of inflation on bottom lines. South Africa is among the top gold producers on the continent, while the JSE hosts the biggest bullion stocks. However, of late, companies have been migrating corporate offices and listings from the JSE, with AngloGold Ashanti moving its primary listing to New…

AVI on Friday released its annual report for 2023, which highlighted how concerned the South African food producer and fashion retailer is to retain its top talent after its interaction in 2021 with US snacks and confectionery giant Mondeléz. This despite the company only showing a 4.4% rise in annual headline earnings in the year ended June after battling cost pressures, as it was knocked by the effects of load shedding and was forced to hike prices to consumers amid a moribund economy. AVI’s shares are down 1.01% in the year to date, having fallen 28.07% over the past five years. AVI owns a portfolio of consumer goods brands ranging from Five Roses, to I&J, Green Cross shoes, to its Snackworks division consisting of popular brands such as Bakers, Baumann’s,…

AFRICAN Rainbow Capital Investments (ARC), majority owned by Ubuntu-Botho Investments with investments such as TymeBank and Rain in its portfolio, flagged in its 2023 annual report that it is not sure that remaining listed on the JSE remains in its best interests, despite it being on a robust growth trajectory. This is due to the sizeable discount to net asset value. A discount to net asset value refers to when the market price of a listed entity is trading below its net asset value. ARC chairperson Mark Olivier said: “The sizeable discount to net asset value and the low free float will receive more focus in 2024. These structural issues need resolving as they affect the fund’s ability to raise capital. “The present focus is on organic growth and smaller…