REUTERS, Melbourne | Thursday 9.50am. MINING giant Rio Tinto has rejoined its battle with South African mining giant Anglo American for control of Australia’s North Ltd, hiking its offer substantially in its bid for North’s iron ore assets. Rio Tinto’s new bid of A$4.75 a share, which values the Australian mining and forestry group at […]
REUTERS, Johannesburg | Wednesday 10.05am. MINERALS explorer Randgold Resources is weighing the future of its troubled Syama gold mine in West Africa, including finding a joint venture partner or selling it. The move is part of a broader overhaul of the Randgold group’s strategy and structure aimed at boosting a flagging share price, group officials […]
REUTERS, Johannesburg | Wednesday 10.40am. LONDON-listed financial services firm Old Mutual announced a joint venture with India’s Kotak Mahindra Group to set up a nationwide life assurance business in the liberalising Indian market. Old Mutual said the venture would be capitalised at about 1.5 billion rupees or 22.25m with Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd initially owning […]
PRESIDENT Thabo Mbeki on Thursday backed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s plan to declare an independent Palestinian state on September 13, despite no conclusive settlement having been reached in Middle East peace talks. “I think it’s morally correct,” Mbeki said. Addressing a press conference after meeting Arafat, Mbeki said the OAU and the Non-aligned Movement had […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Thursday 8.45am. PEOPLE should debate the matter of whether or not the military should use journalists as informants, because the issue is complex, Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said on Thursday. He said claims that Defence Intelligence is trying to recruit journalists as spies are “still under investigation.” “The SANDF has never […]
DIMENSION Data (Didata) spent the first 200m portion of the funds it raised in its London listing last month when it bought the remaining stake in the British-based network integration services firm, Chernikeeff Networks. Didata bought the 50.01 percent it did not already own in Chernikeeff from founder Peter Harrison, who will stay on at […]
THE INTERNATIONAL Monetary Fund said it will lend Tanzania $26m under an existing lending programme and praised the east African country for curbing inflation and pursuing economic reforms. The international lending agency said its loan to Tanzania meant the country had now borrowed $53m under the three-year lending scheme. Implementation of its macroeconomic programme resulted […]
THE RAND is trading weaker as investors focus on the devaluation of the Zimbabwean dollar and a nationwide strike in that country today. The unit weakened to R7.02 to the US dollar overnight on news that the Zimbabwean government had devalued the local dollar by 24 percent and is hovering around that mark today. ”Official […]
ASHTON Mining Ltd shares are struggling to top the A$1.62 a share bid from De Beers as traders bet that a rival offer is unlikely to emerge. The shares touched A$1.64 briefly after the bid was announced at the beginning of the week, but have only peaked at A$1.62 in the two trading days since […]
THREE alleged Rastafarians are scheduled to appear in the Warmbaths Magistrate’s Court on Thursday in connection with keeping nine children in an old mineshaft. The five girls and four boys, aged between five and 13, were rescued on Friday after police responded to a complaint that there were trespassers at the old Zwartlkloof mine, 10km […]