Star 2024-06-20

GEMFIELDS, the emeralds and rubies miner, has reported $68.7 million (R1.26 billion) in revenue from an auction of gems it conducted during the period June 3 to June 18. Under the company’s mixed quality ruby auctions for the month of June, Gemfields managed to sell rubies worth 217 044 carats, earning $68.7m. The average realised price of rubies sold by the company under its latest auctions amounted to $316.95 per carat. The June 2024 auctions have brought the total auctions undertaken by the company since June 2014 to 22 auctions. This has also pushed up the total revenue from gemstone sales since June 2014 to $1.1bn. “This (June 2024) auction marks the 10th anniversary of Gemfields’ first auction in June 2014 of rubies from the Montepuez Ruby…

ECONOMISTS remain hopeful that the Government of National Unity (GNU) will ease the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB’s) concerns over delivering the first interest rates cut in three years before the end of the year, in spite of consumer inflation remaining unchanged in May. What gave economists confidence was that the markets have responded positively to the formation of the GNU as the JSE All Share Index surged by more than 2% yesterday to around 81 100 points, hitting an all-time high buoyed by resource-linked sectors, financials, and industrial stocks, while the rand also dipped below the R18 mark to the dollar, hitting R17.96 for the first time in more than 10 months. Data from Statistics SA yesterday showed that the annual headline consumer price inflation stood at a…

ASCENDIS Health directors have been accused by the Takeover Regulation Panel (TRP) of acting in concert and illegally with a consortium, headed by the firm’s CEO, Carl Neethling, that is trying to buy out the shareholders and delist the group. Shareholder activist Albie Cilliers, one of four who had complained to the TRP about the takeover offer to shareholders, said on X yesterday that the TRP investigation had found Ascendis’s non-executive director Theunis de Bruyn, through his association with the firm Calibre Holdings, to have acted in concert with Neethling’s consortium. Shareholder activist and former Ascendis chairperson Harry Smit told Business Report the ruling had vindicated his assertions that the takeover offer and delisting was unlawful due to insider trading. Smit said that it was the first time that…

THE FRESH produce sector has called for visible commitment to the implementation of the various recommendations by the Competition Commission’s inquiry into the fresh produce market value chain, but noted shortfalls in its haste towards publishing the explosive report that indicted players in the space. In its provisional report launched on Tuesday, the commission cited major retailers Spar, Woolworths, Food Lover’s Market, Shoprite; seed company Starke Ayres and JSE-listed entities African Rainbow Capital and agrochemicals giant Bayer South Africa. The commission found these companies as all being separately and collectively implicit or responsible for price distortions, cartel behaviour, enforcing barriers to new entrants, and manipulation of the product gene pool among other indictments in South Africa’s more than R53 billion fresh produce industry. Some industry insiders yesterday observed that…

THE catastrophic collapse of a near- completed building under construction in George in May 2024, which resulted in at least 34 fatalities and many more injured, has shone a spotlight on the need for compliance. This includes health and safety compliance as well as industrial relations (IR) and human resources (HR). The tragedy has highlighted critical issues surrounding employment dynamics across various sectors, prompting a deeper examination of labour practices within different industries. Compliance should never be about ticking boxes For many businesses, compliance has become an exercise in simply ticking boxes, but the reality is that every piece of compliance legislation is there for a reason – often the well-being of the workforce. When the building in George collapsed, more than 80 people were trapped, but at the…

AS SOUTH Africa grapples with the complexities of coalition politics post-elections, the funding of the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill emerges as a pivotal issue. The contrasting perspectives within the ANC-DA (dubbed Codesa 2.0) and ANC-EFF-IFP coalitions illuminate divergent ideologies on healthcare financing. This article delves into the financial intricacies of sustaining the NHI amid differing political stances, incorporating insights on equitable wealth distribution and capitalistic concerns from the online discourse surrounding these coalitions. Financial conundrum: ideological clash in healthcare funding The ANC-DA coalition reflects a pragmatic approach to governance with a capitalistic outlook on economic policies. In contrast, the ANC-EFF-IFP coalition embodies a more radi- cal stance, emphasising equitable redistribution of wealth to address historical disparities. These divergent ideologies shape the discourse on funding the NHI, raising questions about…