Star 2024-05-09

EQUITES Property Fund, the logistics focused real estate investment trust (Reit) on the JSE, has this month started wheeling renewable solar energy on to Cape Town’s grid from a newly established distribution centre in Parow, as the metropole advances on its targets of protecting itself from four levels of load shedding by 2026. The initiative falls under the City’s wheeling pilot project, which kicked off in September last year. Equites was among the first to begin wheeling energy onto the municipal grid, with its current off-taker being a commercial office block on the Foreshore, where Equites was headquartered, Equites CEO Andrea Taverna-Turisan said yesterday. The group’s sizeable roof space facilitates enterprise-scale solar and battery back-up solutions and, according to Equites’ annual report, it was capable of generating 18.2MW from solar,…

AGRI-PROCESSING giant Tongaat Hulett, currently under business rescue, has to pay R526 million it owes to South African sugar cane growers and other related stakeholders, This is according to a judgment handed down by the Durban High Court this week, bringing the troubled firm in compliance with sugar industry regulations. In January, Tongaat creditors voted in favour of a business rescue plan put forward by an investment consortium called Vision Investments in South Africa that would see unsecured creditors receive between 5 cents and 7c to the rand on their claims. The plan by Vision also mandated Tongaat to pay its obligations under the South Africa Sugar Association (Sasa), including payments to various industry players that included cane growers and farmers. In court, Tongaat acknowledged that it owed…

SHELL South Africa yesterday said the global company had undertaken a comprehensive review of the downstream and renewables businesses across all regions and markets in line with its focus on performance, discipline, and simplification. In response to a Business Report enquiry yesterday, Shell SA spokesperson Pam Ntaka said the multinational oil producer had decided to reshape its downstream portfolio and intended to divest shareholding in Shell Downstream South Africa (SDSA) as a result of this review. “Considering SDSA’s illustrious history, this decision was not taken lightly,” Ntaka said. “We have made a significant contribution to nation building by powering lives through our products and services, our people, promoting equity and inclusion, and making a positive impact on society through our social investment programmes. We have also built one of South…

SOUTH African fintech company Lesaka Technologies is acquiring southern Africa-focused payments processing firm, Adumo, for R1.6 billion in cash and shares. Lesaka said yesterday it had reached an agreement to snap up Adumo, although it has yet to secure shareholder and regulatory approvals for the transaction. “Lesaka has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Adumo for R1.59bn,” it said. “The purchase consideration will be settled through the combination of an issuance of 17 279 803 shares of Lesaka common stock to Adumo’s current ultimate shareholders plus R232 million in cash.” The cash payment component for the shares will be funded by internal cash resources and external financing, it added. After consummation of the Adumo acquisition, Lesaka will have an ecosystem serving some 1.7 million…

Viren Sookhun LITHIUM, nickel, and cobalt are three of the key minerals used in the manu- facture of electric vehicle (EV) batteries, and all of these minerals are mined in southern Africa. However, the raw materials are exported, and batteries are then manufactured in other countries, with the finished product being shipped back. This is a significant opportunity missed, to not only move countries like South Africa and Namibia up the value chain, but also to create greater economic stability while improving the cost effectiveness and carbon footprint of EVs in the region. Mineral wealth As the global focus is shifting toward creating more sustainable solutions and away from the widespread use of fossil fuels, EVs are an increasingly popular transportation option. EVs run off batteries, and the manufacture of…

Nick van Rensburg I LEARNT from Warren Buffett that we should ignore geopolitics, and this advice worked well until early 2016. Since Brexit and Trump, the advice has become riskier, and even Buffett is struggling with the adjustment. He recently sold $4 billion (R74bn) worth of Taiwan Semiconductor Manu- facturing Company (TSMC) stock due to “political risk” but left his Apple stake intact. Apple, his largest holding by far, has about 25 times the Taiwan invasion risk as his TSMC holding, as Apple “manufactures” more than 70% of its sales in China, with chips sourced from Taiwan. Even the best investors struggle with geopolitical risks in a more populist, multipolar world. Markets have been blind-sided time and again by political and geopolitical events such as Brexit, Trump, Covid and…