COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

GNU sparked &#039;watershed shift&#039; in investor sentiment towards SA, says JSE&#039;s FourieThe peaceful formation of the government of national unity (GNU) in the wake of SA&#039;s general elections earlier this year has created a "watershed shift" in investor sentiment towards the country, says JSE CEO Leila Fourie.Speaking to News24 on Wednesday after the bourse reported flat net profit after tax of almost R493 million for the six months to end-June, Fourie said that based on her discussions with offshore investors, they were no longer "underweight" on SA assets virtually by default."The GNU has created a watershed shift in investor sentiment, which is largely off the back of a more centrist and more business-friendly government," Fourie said in an interview, adding: There is a resurgence in interest to invest in SA. Offshore investors have shifted from an underweight to a more balanced position – they&#039;re reviewing or contemplating a more overweight stance. [But] what they are looking for is execution delivery by the GNU.Fourie said the rapid improvement in investor sentiment towards SA was underscored by the JSE all-share index&#039;s relatively resilient performance to the global equity market sell-off that occurred on 5 August, which saw the Nikkei 225 stock index in Japan slump 12.4% in the biggest intraday drop since 1987. By contrast, the JSE all-share index lost only 1.19% on the same day, despite the MSCI emerging markets index losing more than 4% as other emerging markets came under pressure.-FIN24-Saudi Arabian group in talks to buy Barloworld, sources saySaudi Arabia’s Zahid Group is in talks to acquire an African distributer of Caterpillar’s equipment, according to people with knowledge of the matter.South Africa-based Barloworld, which is valued at about R16.4 billion, in April said it was in discussions that could effect its share price. It didn’t give details.While talks are ongoing, there is no guarantee that a deal will be concluded, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. Zahid and Barloworld declined to comment.Middle Eastern firms have increasingly been seeking investments in Africa, jockeying for influence with established players like China and France. ACWA Power, a Riyadh-based company, has signed a memorandum of understanding to invest $10 billion in South Africa’s renewables industry over the next ten years, while DP World, the Dubai-based logistics company operates nine ports on the continent.The Saudi group, a distributer of heavy equipment machinery in the Middle Eastern nation, started buying shares of Barloworld four years ago. One of its units, Zahid Tractor and Heavy Machinery, owns 18.9% of the South African company.Barloworld’s shares reversed losses to close 4.7% higher in Johannesburg on Tuesday even as the benchmark stock index dropped 0.2%.-FIN24-

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