South Africa’s Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) on Friday said it wanted any black empowerment holding in diversified miner Kumba Resources to be an active one.
“The IDC’s objective is to secure for black empowerment a stake in the ownership and control of Kumba. This does not mean that black empowerment has to hold a controlling or even majority stake. It does mean however that the stake must be significant and that control must be regulated by a suitable arrangement between the major shareholders,” the IDC said.
IDC is currently confronting commodity and mining giant Anglo American (Anglo, AGL) over its move to increase its stake in Kumba from just over 20% to just about 30%.
Anglo wants to hold at least a controlling 49% stake in Kumba or else it will divest its interest in the company.
“Black empowerment that is not involved in strategic decision making is not in the interest of economic development and transformation, which is our mandate as the IDC,” the IDC said. – I-Net Bridge