Star 2024-03-26

MESH.TRADE, a digital capital markets platform for the issuance, trade, and management of smart financial assets, has launched the first tokenised corporate bond in Africa, creating a new distribution channel for businesses to raise capital directly from the market. In a move that Mesh.trade ex- pected would reinvigorate private capi- tal markets on the continent, the first tokenised corporate bond on the Mesh.trade platform was issued by “Die MOS Initiatief” to raise R100 million to expand its network of private schools offering mother-tongue education. The10-year floating rate bond is to pay a quarterly coupon of Prime+2% and will be serviced by Mesh.trade over its full life-cycle. Well-known economist Dawie Roodt, a “Die MOS Inisiatief” board member, said in a statement he was pleased to be part of the initiative…

GEMFIELDS Group said 43 lots were offered for sale at an auction of commercial quality rough emeralds from March 5 to 22, of which 40 lots were sold. Auction revenues were $17.1 million (R324.5m). The average price was $4.45 per carat. Forty-seven auctions of Kagem gemstones since July, 2009, had generated $1.01 billion. The mix and quality of lots offered at each auction vary in characteristics such as size, colour and clarity on account of variations in mined production and market demand. Thus results of each auction were not always comparable. Gemfields’s managing director of product and sales, Adrian Banks, said in a statement: “We are pleased to conclude another successful Kagem auction, demonstrating that the commercial-quality emerald market remains in good shape and prices achieved are broadly…

CA SALES Holdings (CA&S) said yesterday its subsidiary CA Sales Investments had entered into an agreement with Mass Market Distribution Holdings to acquire 49% of the shares of Roots Sales, for an undisclosed sum, as part of CA&S’s channel-broadening strategy. Roots, which was founded in 2014, had built an integrated market offering that combined all commercial requirements including sales, merchandising, auditing and delivery solutions into a single interlocking service enterprise specialising in the main market. “Roots services more than 8 000 outlets across South Africa and this acquisition is set to enhance the solutions offering for CA&S Group clients who include some of the world’s most loved consumer brands,” CA&S directors said in a statement yesterday. CA&S also had an option to increase its shareholding in Roots in the…

MTN EXPECTS South African headwinds to persist after recording a 12.1% dip in voice revenues for its home market which, after battling inflation, and currency issues in Nigeria, brought down the telecom’s profitability for 2023 by as much as 72.3%. In South Africa, the operating environment for telecom companies such as MTN has been fraught with low consumer disposable incomes, the impact of load shedding and higher inflation. MTN said yesterday that “the operating environment is expected to remain challenging” in South Africa, “with the economic growth outlook muted and persistent pressure on consumer disposal” incomes. “Across our markets, inflation rates and interest rates may stay elevated. Tariff increases for voice and data will be required in the period ahead to mitigate network-related expenses, and these will require regulatory approval…

CAPITAL Appreciation had performed well in a market and financial year characterised by continued weak business confidence and low economic growth, it said in an update for the year ending March 31. Even though these conditions caused some clients to delay decisions for major projects and capital spend, there continued to be strong demand for the group’s technology solutions, products and services, Capital Appreciation’s directors said in the update. Increased business activity in the Payments division, improved expense management and strong cash flows resulted in a “robust improvement” in the group’s financial performance in the second half of the year. “Both the Payments and Software divisions continued to attract new clients, diversify their revenue sources, and grow market shares. The results benefited from higher finance income, a much reduced expected…

There are signs of excellent health at all power stations ahead of the winter season South Africa’s load shedding woes are a fading certainty as most power plants, with the exception of Tubatse, have attained close to perfect performance scores, with the next two months set as a turning point for stations including Kusile, Tutuka, Kriel and Matla, which are on the priority list for efficiency tests. Eskom’s head of Generation, Bheki Nxumalo, credited by Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa as the pillar of new generation capacity in direct liaison with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), said yesterday there were signs of excellent health at all power stations ahead of the looming winter season. “You will see that in the next two months there will be a major review and we expect…