Company news in brief

Group Five to cut more jobs as losses swellSouth African engineering and construction firm Group Five will cut more jobs as it seeks to reduce the size of loss-making divisions, the company said yesterday.The company posted a full-year loss of R1.3 billion, 62% higher than a year previously, due to higher costs from the delayed Kpone power project in Ghana.South African construction companies have been hit hard in recent years as stagnant growth has hobbled public infrastructure spending, prompting companies to seek opportunities elsewhere.Group Five cut jobs last year when it began the restructuring process of its troubled Engineer, Procure and Construct (EPC) division.Group Five reported a diluted headline loss of 1 380 cents per share, compared with a loss of 853 cents per share for the year ended June 2017. – Nampa/ReutersVedanta shareholders back London delistingShareholders in Vedanta Resources, the UK arm of Indian miner Vedanta, on Monday backed the delisting of the company from London, where the miner has faced protests and legal action.In London, Vedanta is involved in ongoing appeal proceedings after the London Court of Appeal last year awarded nearly 2 000 Zambian villagers the right to sue Vedanta Resources in the English courts over alleged pollution in Zambia.Foil Vedanta handed a report to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in London itemising the alleged pollution and human rights abuses it says Vedanta has committed.Vedanta has denied it is responsible for pollution or human rights abuses. It declined to comment on the Foil Vedanta report.Vedanta has said buying out the London listing, which is dwarfed by Vedanta's Indian operations, would simplify the company's structure and that the Indian market was now deep enough to raise capital. – Nampa/ReutersStanChart braces for possible new Iran fineBritish bank Standard Chartered Plc is bracing for a possible new fine of about US$1.5 billion as a result of previous Iranian sanctions violations, Bloomberg reported on Monday.US authorities are investigating whether the bank violated Iranian sanctions after 2007, when it said it would no longer do business with Iran. The bank has already paid US$667 million for sanctions violations before that year."We continue to cooperate fully with the investigation into our historical sanctions compliance, and are engaged in ongoing discussions with US authorities," a StanChart spokeswoman said in a statement.The Bloomberg report said the size of the fine was a preliminary assessment based on some of the communications between the bank and regulators, and that final discussions had not yet begun.The bank itself warned in its most recent annual report that resolving the US probe could mean "substantial monetary penalties." This could be another setback for StanChart, which is trying to boost profitability after years of restructuring. – Nampa/ReutersMarriott to increase its Africa hotelsMarriott International plans to increase its hotels in Africa by 50% in the next five years, opening new facilities in markets where it already operates and venturing into new ones like Mozambique, the company said on Monday.Global hotel chains have been increasing their investments in Africa in recent years to take advantage of fast expanding economies and improving transport links.Marriott said it had signed deals with partners which will see it increase its hotels in Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, and mark its entry into Mozambique."The signings put Marriott International on track to increase its portfolio by 50% with over 200 hotels and 38 000 rooms by 2023 estimated to generate 12 000 new job opportunities," the company said in a statement.Other chains which have recently announced African expansion plans include AccorHotels, which has more than 100 hotels in Africa and has earmarked US$1 billion for expansion on the continent. – Nampa/ReutersRio Tinto, Japanese partners to invest in ironRio Tinto and its joint venture partners, Mitsui & Co and Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal, will spend about US$1.55 billion to maintain production capacity at two iron ore projects in Western Australia.Rio will invest a total of US$820 million to develop the projects at the Robe River Joint Venture in Australia's mineral rich Pilbara region, the Anglo-Australian miner said in a statement on Monday.Rio said the investments would enable it to sustain production of its Pilbara Blend brand of iron ore and its Robe Valley lump and fines products.The move follows similar announcements by rivals BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals.In June, BHP gave the go-ahead for a US$2.9 billion spend on its huge South Flank iron ore expansion, while Fortescue said in May it would spend US$1.28 billion to build up its higher grade Eliwana project also in the Pilbara. – Nampa/Reuters

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