Threat of Split Looms as South Africa’s ANC Picks New Leader

Threat of Split Looms as South Africa’s ANC Picks New Leader

JOHANNESBBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – As delegates from South Africa’s ruling African National Congress gather this week to pick a new leader to succeed President Jacob Zuma, they face a challenge that’s threatening to overshadow the contest: to stop the party from splitting. The likelihood of a breakup is probably the biggest in the ANC’s 105-year-old history, especially if Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the president’s ex-wife and favored contestant, beats his deputy, Cyril Ramaphosa, in the vote for party leader,…

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EOH Says Directors’ Margin Calls Caused Stock-Price Plunge

EOH Says Directors’ Margin Calls Caused Stock-Price Plunge

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – EOH Holdings Ltd. said forced stock sales due to margin calls involving two directors caused a 35 percent plunge in the stock on Dec. 7. The decline was “triggered by the forced sale of shares by financial institutions against equity-financed transactions to various individual shareholders including two EOH directors,” the Johannesburg-based technology services company said in a statement on Monday. Jehan Mackay, the chief executive officer of the public…

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South African Regulator Probes Trades in Gupta-Linked Oakbay

South African Regulator Probes Trades in Gupta-Linked Oakbay

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – A South African financial regulator is investigating trades in Oakbay Resources and Energy Ltd., a company linked to the politically connected Gupta family, to determine whether share prices were manipulated over a five-month period. The Financial Services Board will probe share moves from when Oakbay listed in November 2014 through April 2015, the Pretoria-based institution said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. The stock rose almost 11 percent over that…

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Steinhoff Rocked as Accounting Probe Claims Retailer’s CEO

Steinhoff Rocked as Accounting Probe Claims Retailer’s CEO

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Steinhoff International Holdings NV plunged after its chief executive officer resigned amid accounting irregularities, rocking a company that rapidly expanded from its roots in South Africa into a retail empire spanning Australia, Europe and the U.S. The owner of the France-based Conforama furniture chain, Mattress Firm in the U.S. and Poundland in the U.K. said late Tuesday that CEO Markus Jooste quit as it appointed auditor PwC to probe the matter. The stock…

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Ramaphosa Wins Most Endorsements in S. Africa’s ANC Campaign

Ramaphosa Wins Most Endorsements in S. Africa’s ANC Campaign

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – President Cyril Ramaphosa won endorsement from most African National Congress branches to succeed President Jacob Zuma as ruling party leader, giving him an edge — but not a guarantee of victory — in this month’s election. Ramaphosa was nominated for the presidency of the ANC by 1,862 branches, while 1,309 backed his main rival Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, tallies released by the party’s nine provincial structures and collated by Bloomberg show. The branches will account for 90 percent of…

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Petronas Unit Said to Hold Talks With Shell Operator in Africa

Petronas Unit Said to Hold Talks With Shell Operator in Africa

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s South African unit, Engen, is in talks with Vivo Energy Holding BV to combine some of their African fuel-retail assets, according to two people familiar with the matter. The deal would be worth as much as 3.5 billion rand ($256 million), or about 20 percent of Engen’s equity value, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the negotiations are ongoing. Engen, which is 26…

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South Africa’s Economic Heartland Backs Ramaphosa in ANC Race

South Africa’s Economic Heartland Backs Ramaphosa in ANC Race

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa won the backing of African National Congress members in the nation’s economic heartland and extended his early lead in the nomination process to succeed President Jacob Zuma as head of the ruling party this month. Ramaphosa won the endorsement for the ANC presidency from 374 branches in Gauteng, tallies released Saturday at a party meeting in Pretoria, the capital, show. That’s the fourth province to back him. His…

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