COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

SARB spent years probing former Steinhoff CEOThe South African Reserve Bank spent years investigating Markus Jooste, the former chief executive officer of scandal-hit retailer Steinhoff International Holdings, before moving to seize his assets last week for violating foreign exchange control rules."We have been at the Steinhoff investigation since 2017," Lesetja Kganyago, the governor of the South African Reserve Bank, said in an October 22 interview at a conference in the Drakensberg mountains. “We have spent a lot of money doing the investigation.” Numerous legal authorities, regulatory probes and lawsuits pointed to Jooste, 61, as the main architect of the accounting scandal that engulfed Steinhoff in late 2017, although he has yet to face criminal charges. The assets seized include a wine farm in Stellenbosch, near Cape Town, and a property in the coastal town of Hermanus, court papers show. Other Steinhoff executives have also had their assets frozen, according to Kganyago, who expects the moves to be legally contested. The action taken by the central bank had nothing to do with South Africa’s attempts to avoid being placed on a global illicit-finance watchlist, he said.The Financial Action Task Force, which polices compliance with anti-money laundering and terror-financing measures, has warned that it could include the country on its so-called gray list in February unless it tightens up its controls. A study conducted by research and consulting company Intellidex on behalf of lobby group Business Leadership South Africa found there is an 85% probability of that happening.-Fin24Dis-Chem faces legal actionUnion Solidarity plans to take legal action against Dis-Chem in the Labour Court, because it believes the company overstepped by imposing an "absolute barrier" when it came to staff hires.In an interview with News24, Solidarity CEO Dirk Hermann vowed to take the matter "all the way to the Constitutional Court if needs be", but said the union was confident its case would succeed in the Labour Court.But Dis-Chem insists it has not placed a moratorium on hiring and promoting white people.In a statement on Monday evening, the company said it was aware of Solidarity's intended legal action, and then "any action instituted will be strenuously defended"."Dis-Chem will continue to strive to comply with the spirit of the Constitution and other applicable legislation and accordingly, continue to give preferential employment to suitably qualified persons from designated groups to ensure their equitable representation in all occupational levels. There is simply no ban on employing and promoting white individuals."Solidarity said it was taking the JSE-listed pharmaceutical retailer to court after it "missed the October 21 deadline to indicate whether it had withdrawn its ban on employing and promoting white people". The first legal papers will be served on Dis-Chem this week.An internal message to staff signed by CEO Ivan Saltzman was leaked on social media almost two weeks ago. The memo banned hiring white people, but following criticism from some quarters, the retailer later withdrew the wording of the memo, standing by its "intention"."We reiterate that while the wording of the internal memo was withdrawn, its intention remains," it said. –Fin24Naspers loses R130 billionOn Monday, shares in JSE-listed Naspers plunged more than 17% - erasing R130 billion from its market capitalisation, the equivalent of Shoprite's total market value, in a single day. This followed a 11% decline in the share price of tech behemoth Tencent amid a meltdown on the Chinese markets. Investors were spooked by Chinese President Xi Jinping's decision to hand key economic posts to loyalists who back his zero-Covid strategy.Naspers has a majority stake in Prosus, which holds 28.9% of Tencent. Prosus lost 15% to R741.48 on Monday, while Naspers dropped 17.4% to R1 711.35.Hong Kong stocks plunged by more than 6% to a 13-year low on Monday. The Hang Seng Index ended down 6.36% to 15 180.69, its weakest level since 2009 during the global financial crisis. Other tech giants like Alibaba and JD.com were all down around double digits.Xi's decision to pack his leadership with supporters as he tightens his grip on power suggests the government will not likely shift from its strategy of fighting Covid-19 outbreaks with lockdowns and other strict measures.The policy has been blamed for the sharp drop in growth in the world's number-two economy and, while data showed Monday that it expanded more than forecast in the third quarter, traders remain on edge.-Fin24Johnson & Johnson hit with SA class actionLaw firms RH Lawyers and attorney Richard Spoor have initiated a class action lawsuit in the South High Court in Johannesburg against Johnson & Johnson, Ethicon, Coloplast, and Nuangle over pelvic mesh devices that they contend were defective and caused injuries.The pelvic mesh devices in question are surgically implanted into the vaginal or pelvic region for the treatment of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and stress urinary incontinence (SUI).The matter between the firms and the companies has been on the table since at least 2021, but RH Lawyers and Spoor said in a statement on Wednesday that they were ready to pursue the class action suit.Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson have already been ordered to pay R31 million to three women in Australia after a court in that country determined that the companies misled patients and surgeons about the risks of using the devices. Supporting affidavits from nine women were also provided to the court. A full bench of the Australian High Court dismissed the companies' appeal.In a statement, RH Lawyers and Spoor announced that the class action intends to seek compensation for South African women that had "defective" pelvic mesh devices implanted and suffered harm as a result."The pelvic mesh devices that are surgically implanted to treat the abovementioned conditions, are made in whole or in part from polypropylene and are intended to be implanted permanently. The mesh is porous and is designed in a way so that the patient's tissue grows through the pores and effectively fuses the mesh to the patient's body," the statement said.-Fin24Land Bank resumes lendingJust over two years after defaulting on its debt obligations the Land Bank is once again lending, with the state-owned bank relaunching a blended finance scheme on Monday which is putting R1.95 billion towards turning emerging farmers into commercial ones over the next three years.The bank launched the blended finance scheme in 2018 but later went into financial distress, going into debt default in April 2020 and closing the taps on lending for some time.The launch of the scheme was therefore a significant milestone for the Land Bank, board chair Thabi Nkosi said on Monday. While the focus remained on supporting historically disadvantaged farmers, the scheme is also serving as a "flagship" project that will also reduce the risk of default by targeting farmers already receiving grants."The scheme, which serves as a credit enhancement tool, also provides the bank with an improved lending profile on these transactions by reducing the risk of repayment failures," said Nkosi.The scheme, run in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, will start with an initial minimum annual grant allocation of R325 million from the department. The Land Bank will match these grants with loans on a rand-for-rand basis for three financial years.The funds from the scheme can be used for the development of existing farms, acquisitions and production expansion for farmers who qualify.-Fin24Karpowership reboots bid for powershipsKarpowership SA is making a second attempt at a public consultation process in order to obtain environmental authorisation for its proposed emergency power projects at three of South Africa's ports.The company was, in March 2021, named among the preferred bidders of the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP), which sought to get as much as 2 000MW on the South African grid on an emergency basis. Karpowership SA was to provide the majority, or 1 220MW, of the power through its floating gas-fired power plants, which would have been located at the Coega, Saldanha and Richards Bay ports.The proposed deal came under fire after it was reported it would cost the country over R200 billion over a period of 20 years, according to an estimation by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.Furthermore, the company was unsuccessful in obtaining environmental authorisation. The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) flagged gaps in the public consultation process and noted a failure to undertake an underwater noise modelling study, News24 previously reported.Karpowership SA was also unsuccessful in its bid to appeal the DFFE's decision. It has since engaged with the DFFE on the appeal ruling by Minister Barbara Creecy, and plans to address the "perceived gaps" in its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), a spokesperson said.-Fin24

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