Star 2024-03-25

Masts and towers business Swiftnet is sold to equity investors TELKOM SA has sold its masts and towers business Swiftnet to a consortium that includes global private equity investor Actis and Royal Bafokeng Holdings for R6.75 billion. “Swiftnet is a strategic acquisition for Actis that will see it acquire more than 4 000 sites across the country. The platform is underpinned by a strong relationship with Telkom and other existing anchor tenants, and long-term contractual revenue,” Actis directors said on Friday. Actis is in the process of being acquired by US global growth equity investor General Atlantic. Swiftnet’s taxed profit for the 12 months to March 31, 2023, was R584 million, while for the six months to September 30 it was R321m. ICT, media and telecoms analyst…

INTEREST rates are likely to remain unchanged, at best, with the repo rate steady at 8.25% at this week’s meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the SA Reserve Bank (SARB), because inflation risks had escalated, economists said over the weekend. “We expect the MPC to leave interest rates unchanged … as inflation’s descent towards the 4.5% target stalled over the past two months,” the Nedbank Group’s Economic Unit said in a note on Friday. FNB’s economists concurred: “While we expect interest rates to remain unchanged, the messaging at that meeting remains key as many spectators of monetary policy around the globe seek indications of when interest rate cuts may be implemented. The middle of the year appears to be the expected turning point … However, with inflation…

The ADAGE high risk, high rewards aptly describe the African market. And pace setting South African companies that bet their risk on markets to the north of our boarders are reaping their rewards. While the majority have been successful, there is a caution to this experience – which is that not all South African companies that ventured into the continent have had a rosy experience. Some have had to abandon their respective markets with bloodied noses. Business extortion, civil strife and low intensity conflict are characteristic of some of these markets. Africa is not for the faint-hearted so goes a popular refrain. Just how an entity mitigates these challenges ultimately determines its success as can be seen by some of the more successful companies trading in this market. After all,…

Reflecting on the Black Industrialists and Exporters Conference hosted by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (Dtic) last week, one is left with the mixed feeling that while the aspirations of the Black Industrialist Programme are noble, not enough is being done to push the boundaries and realise its full potential. One of the fundamental flaws limiting this programme’s success is the lack of a clear and well-articulated description, coupled with a broader vision of what the notion of a black industrialist actually entails. Lewis Carroll’s old adage, that if you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there, rings true here. There is a growing sense that the term “black industrialist” is beginning to take on a “catch-all” phrase to blanket everyone – from…

The KREMLIN on Friday warned of “cata- strophic consequences” should the EU proceed with plans to confiscate Russian assets held in Western banks. Some Western banks are lobbying against EU proposals to redistribute billions of euros in interest earned on frozen Russian assets, senior industry sources said, fearing it could lead to costly litigation. European Union leaders on Thursday agreed to move ahead with work on a plan to use up to €3 billion (R61.35bn) a year to supply arms to Ukraine as they try to bolster Kyiv’s fight against Russia, which would still own the underlying frozen assets. EU leaders said the proceeds could be used within a few months. “We have heard statements from Brussels that the proceeds of our assets don’t belong to anyone,” Kremlin spokesman…

Last week again I commented that when the world economy (US) sneezes, the South African economy and financial markets catch a cold. The news the previous week that US inflation rate data were higher than expected was followed up last week by the US Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee (FOMC) decision to keep interest rates unchanged. Fed chairperson Jerome Powell also announced at the press conference last Wednesday: “We continue to make good progress in bringing inflation down, but it has become evident there are some persistent price pressures in housing and the services sector.” He also stressed that: “We’ve got nine months of 2.5% inflation, now we’ve had two months of kind of bumpy inflation and the question is, are they more than bumps? And we can’t know, that’s…