5 important things happening in South Africa today
·29 Aug 2017
Here’s what is happening in and affecting South Africa today:
- Billionaire Patrice Motsepe’s African Rainbow Capital Investments (ARC) is targeting a R4 billion IPO in early September, which would value the company at R8.4 billion. The company wants to list a 47% stake of the company at R8.50 a share. Another R1.9 billion rand worth of shares, or a 22.4% stake, would be offered to pre-selected institutional investors.
- New claims have emerged that the investigation into the so-called “rogue SARS unit” in 2014 and 2015 was launched specifically to derail an investigation into the tax affairs of the Gupta family. Tax officials have said that in the light of the recent revelations from the ‘Gupta leaks’, the family should have been audited by SARS – and were going to be, until the scandal broke in late 2014.
- President Jacob Zuma’s son who is deep in business with the Guptas, Duduzane, has lashed out at former finance minister Pravin Gordhan and other critics of the state capture, blaming them for all his current woes. Duduzane Zuma claims that all his bank accounts have been closed in South Africa, and accuses Gordhan of trying to destroy him and black business.
- Power utlity Eskom has admitted that it lied when it defended billions of rands in payments made to Trillian and McKinsey, back-pedaling on claims that R1.6 billion paid to the groups were above board and necessary. Eskom now says that a report by global management consultancy, Oliver Wyman flagged the payments on a number of technical and procedural grounds.
- South Africa’s rand weakened on Monday and was largely range-bound in the absence of market-moving data expected later in the week and subdued trade as UK banks were closed for a holiday. On Tuesday the rand was trading at R13.09 to the dollar, R16.95 to the pound and R15.68 to the euro.
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