Star 2024-10-07

MANZI says ‘Oasis Water does not possess any trade secrets, or confidential information’ As a legal battle between Oasis Water Holdings and a former franchisee continues over alleged breach of contract by Oasis, with court papers running into the hundreds of pages, the prepared water company’s CEO and founder has announced his departure on his LinkedIn account. About three weeks ago, Naas du Preez, Oasis Water Holdings director and founder said on his LinkedIn page, “after a journey of almost 19 years as the founder and director of Oasis Water Holdings, I’ve decided that this exciting chapter of my life has come to an end”. Du Preez added that he had achieved his goals, will remain a shareholder, and had already handed over his responsibilities in “an orderly manner before…

Automotive component and energy storage group Metair, which announced the sale of its battery business in Türkiye only two weeks ago, said on Friday it plans to acquire the motor part retail company AutoZone, which is in business rescue, for up to R290 million cash. Metair said in a notice it had entered into a share and facility agreement with AutoZone’s business practitioners and the seller, TP Hentiq 6128. The market viewed the deal favourably, with Metair’s share price ending 3.11% higher to R12.61 on Friday. AutoZone was being restructured and Metair would acquire AutoZone’s shares from the seller, Main Street 1257 Proprietary and Absa Bank. Metair would also advance AutoZone a facility to settle creditor claims and fund working capital. The seller is beneficially owned by The James and…

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) on Friday fined two banks, HSBC and Bidvest Bank, for non-compliance with the provisions of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (Fica) following inspections conducted by the banking sector regulator. The SARB said in a statement that it had imposed administrative sanctions on HSBC Bank, Johannesburg branch, because of its non-compliance with Fica, following an inspection by the central bank conducted in 2021. The Prudential Authority (PA), which operates within the administration of the SARB, supervises and enforces compliance with Fica-accountable institutions. “The administrative sanctions imposed on HSBC are due to its failure to comply with certain provisions of the FIC Act and consist of three cautions and a financial penalty totalling R9.5 million, of which R4m is conditionally suspended for a period of 36…

Food security in South Africa remains a serious risk for consumers as price levels remain high relative to consumer income, although both overall inflation and food inflation have eased. These are the conclusions of the September Essential Food Price Monitoring Report, which tracks essential food prices throughout the value chains of selected essential food items, and which was published by the Competition Commission on Friday. The Commission’s continued essential food price monitoring efforts support transparency regarding the margins earned by producers and retailers of products that include sunflower oil, brown bread, canned pilchards, and individually quick frozen (IQF) chicken. The report pointed to several positive signs of easing food cost pressures throughout the economy, including the relaxation of load shedding, the strengthening of the rand against the US dollar, and…

South Africa and the broader Southern Africa region are out of an El Niño cycle, which typically brings drought that has had a devastating impact on agriculture in the recent summer season. On Friday, Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at Agricultural Business Chamber of SA (Agbiz), said this meant there was reason to be optimistic about the La Niña possibilities and favourable rains in the upcoming season. However, Sihlobo said that the region must be mindful of the regions the South African Weather Service (SAWS) suggested may be slightly dry for some time) and that even while out of a La Niña cycle soon and in the “neutral” state, the agricultural conditions could still be favourable as the “neutral” state implies normal conditions. “In essence, we are inclined to believe that…

The Public Investment Corporation (pic), the largest investor in the South African economy and one of the largest on the continent and globally, exudes confidence in South Africa's promising future in the years ahead. With unwavering optimism, PIC sees a bright path for the nation's growth and development. This comes as the PIC delivers its integrated annual report for the year to March 2024 during which it grew Assets under Management (AuM) by R95 billion to R2.7 trillion, approved unlisted investments of R8.5bn, and declared a cumulative dividend of R381 million over the past three years. The period under review has been characterised by elevated interest rates, inflation, and the cost of logistics globally. These are legacies of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the cost-of-living crisis, and supply chain disruption caused…