TUESDAY, 2.30PM:
THE International Monetary Fund on Monday approved a $175-million, 13-month stand-by credit to Zimbabwe, which is destined to assist the government in funding its 1998 economic reform programme.
Some $52-million of the loan will be made immediately available to the government, while the remainder will be paid at quarterly intervals, subject to the programme meeting performance targets and programme reviews, the IMF announced.
The programme aims to turn the recent currency depreciation around by boosting economic competitiveness through fiscal consolidation and monetary control.
BUSINESS BRIEFS
BoE TO SELL NORWICH, AFBANK
FINANCIAL services group Board of Executors (BoE) may be planning to restructure its R1-billion stake in Norwich Holdings, as well as its interests in African Bank, to boost its life assurance ambitions, according to industry speculation. A likely scenario will be that life assurer Fedsure Holdings will take a majority share in Norwich, while the second deal is expected to see BoE selling its 38% stake in Afbank — held through subsidiary NBS Boland — to recently listed financial services group, Theta Securities. Both transactions are likely to be funded by share swaps.
DRIEFONTEIN DUO
GOLD Fields’ Tom Dale and Anglogold’s Ian Cockerill have been appointed to head up gold mining giant Driefontien Consolidated, the world’s richest gold mine, the two companies announced on Monday. Former Beatrix mine manager Wayne Robinson was appointed managing director of the mine from Monday.
ANGLO STILL TOPS
MINING giant Anglo American remained the world’s top mining company in 1996, a position it has held since 1975, according to Swedish consultancy Raw Materials Group. The group warned, however, that recent restructuring in the industry could threaten Anglo’s top position. The ranking, which is based on the value of the Western world’s mines output controlled by the mining houses, retained all of its top six miners of 1996.
FOREIGNERS LEAVE JSE
FOREIGN buyers were net investors of R721,33-million on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange last week, marking a R60,79-million decline from the corresponding period last year. The latest figures bring to R22,9-billion the foreign investment in shares since the beginning of the year, a signficant increase on the corresponding period last year.
SAMCOR WINS FORD CONTRACT
MOTOR manufacturer Samcor has won a contract to produce a new engine for the Ford Motor Company worth in excess of R1,6-billion in foreign exchange earnings, Samcor MD Lewis Booth announced on Monday. The contract will see Samcor producing 55000 engines a year for export — generating some R200-million a year in export earnings. The engine will be introduced in a new car destined for new and emerging markets, due to be launched in late 1999.
TIGHTER CONTROL ON DISCLOSURE
AN amendment to the Safe Deposit of Securities Act, tabled in Parliament on Monday, may see nominees holding shares forced, by law, to disclose the identity of the persons on whose behalf they hold the shares. The amendment is aimed at taking into account the pending dematerialisation of scrip on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, and will only allow the clients of the nominee companies to refuse disclosure if authorised by law.
RECORD SUGAR CROP
AN unusually high cane-to-sugar ratio saw South Africa producing a record 2,4-million tons of sugar in the 1997-98 season, Sugar Milling Research Institute director Raoul Lionnet said on Monday. Lionnet told the South African Sugar Technologists’ Association that the 9:15 cane-to-sugar ratio is slightly above the long-term average, despite the fact that the tonnage of cane crushed was some 200810 tons below the record. The yield failed to beat the all-time high recorded in 1994-95, Lionnet added.
SMALL-SCALE FARMS PROFIT
SOME small-scale sugar farmers in Mpumalanga have achieved yields 14 times higher per hectare than those of commercial farmers, discounting the notion that small-scale farming is less profitable than commercial farming, research by the University of Pretoria’s agriculture faculty, released on Monday, reveals. Faculty head Johan Kirsten said that some small farmholders in Mpumalanga managed to get 116,8 tons per hectare on plots of only 7,1 hectares, while adjacent commercial farmers obtained 102,9 tons per hectare on farms of up to 70 hectares. Last year, a number of small-scale producers received 38,5% more for their product than South Africa’s export sugar prices.
SAMRAND BACKS KOPANO
CONGRESS of South African Trade Unions’ investment holding, Kopano Ke Matla, on Monday announced that its R93-million bid for the government’s privatisation of Aventura resort group will probably be completely funded by Malaysian group Samrand. According to an equity structure of the bid, released on Monday, Kopano will hold at least 51%, the National Empowerment Fund 15%, staff 10%, and the remainder will be shared between Samrand and Aventura management. Samrand will kick off the deal with R30-million up-front settlement to the government, and is thereafter likely to fund the balance of the package for Kopano. It is estimated that R53-million is needed to recapitalise the company and restructure Aventura’s R40-million debt.
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