Company news in brief

B2Gold keen on any African assetsCanada's B2Gold Corp is “definitely interested” in any West African assets that Barrick Gold Corp may put up for sale after its acquisition of African miner Randgold Resources Ltd, B2Gold's chief executive Clive Johnson said.Under Barrick's US$6.1 billion all-stock deal to buy Randgold, the companies have said they will focus on their biggest and best assets globally and consider selling others.Ideally, the Vancouver-based miner wants projects it can develop to produce about 200 000 ounces of gold annually for at least 10 years, as opposed to already-built mines. It seeks investments with an approximate 20% rate of return at gold prices of US$1 200-US$1 250 an ounce, Johnson said.B2Gold itself is open to making acquisitions, after being on the sidelines since its US$570 million stock purchase of Australia's Papillon Resources in late 2014, he said. That deal landed Fekola, a large, low-cost mine in Mali that helped B2Gold forecast total output at the high end of a 920 000-960 000 ounce range.B2Gold also five operating mines, two development projects and exploration in Mali, Burkina Faso, Namibia (Otjikoto), Nicaragua, Colombia and the Philippines. – Nampa/ReutersSteinhoff asks creditors for restructuring extensionSouth African retailer Steinhoff, has asked creditors for a one-month extension relating to its debt restructuring as it negotiates documents required to implement the plan, it said yesterday.An accounting scandal wiped more than 90% off Steinhoff's market value and forced it to sell assets to generate working capital.Creditors agreed in July to hold off on their debt claims for three years, throwing the company a lifeline.As part of the deal, all parties sought to start restructuring within three months of the lock-up agreement date of July 20.The retailer now wants a one-month extension, it said in a statement, adding that "it remains the objective of the group to complete the restructuring as soon as possible". – Nampa/ReutersNedbank to buy back shares from minority shareholdersSouth Africa's Nedbank Group Ltd said yesterday it will buy back its stock from shareholders who hold less than 100 Nedbank shares as a result of a spin-off by its biggest shareholder Old Mutual.Old Mutual, which holds 52% of Nedbank, has been dismantling its conglomerate structure, created after a series of acquisitions, since it moved its headquarters and primary listing to London in 1999.As part of the plan, it spun-off a majority stake in Nedbank yesterday and now holds around 19.9%.Nedbank, whose businesses include retail banking and asset management, said in September it had estimated that after the spin-off, it will have a large number of shareholders, increasing from about 20 000 to 500 000.Nedbank's offer price will be at a 5% premium to the 10-day volume weighted average price of a Nedbank share at the close of business on Dec. 3, it said. The deal is subject to shareholder approval. – Nampa/ReutersExxaro looks to fill Eskom coal shortageSouth African miner Exxaro Resources said on Friday it was looking to supply coal to state-owned power utility Eskom, which has been hit by supply shortages, posing a threat to the power supply in Africa's most industrialised economy.Eskom, which has fewer than 20 days of coal supply at 10 of its power stations, supplies more than 90% of the nation's power and is one of its most indebted state firms.Eskom said last month it was trying to secure new contracts with companies to ensure it had enough coal, after a major supplier cut supplies and sought insolvency protection.Exxaro, which already supplies Eskom's Matimba, Matla and Medupi power stations, aims to enter into short-term contracts with Eskom.Eskom's spokesman Khulu Phasiwe said the power utility was "very close" to signing new deals. He declined to confirm that a deal with Exxaro was imminent. – Nampa/ReutersStanChart 'actively working' on Indonesian bank stakeStandard Chartered Plc is "actively working" on options for its stake in Indonesia's PT Bank Permata tbk, the British lender's chief executive Bill Winters said on Saturday.StanChart and Indonesian conglomerate PT Astra International jointly control the Indonesia bank, each owning 44.56%. There has been persistent speculation in the last few years that the ownership structure of Bank Permata could change.StanChart reported a US$215 million loss in 2016 from its stake in Permata, due to rising bad loans and restructuring costs. The lender's financial performance has improved since then, however.Winters also said that StanChart, which makes the bulk of its revenue in Asia, is adding more people and investing more in bolstering the infrastructure of its wealth management business, which, he said, was the bank's fastest growing business.StanChart counts the Asian wealth hubs of Hong Kong and Singapore as its biggest wealth management markets, and Winters said there were opportunities to increase its market share in China, India and the rest of Southeast Asia. – Nampa/Reuters

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