It was a week of contrasts. First, there was good news for shareholders as Remgro and RMH announced plans to unbundle a 40% stake in FirstRand. Then, more bad news for taxpayers as S&P revised its outlook for South Africa to negative, suggesting an additional downgrade is in the pipes. In this episode, Alec Hogg and I discuss the reasoning behind the unbundling and the implications of SA’s worsening debt position. – Felicity Duncan
Corporate South Africa is awash in strange, legacy corporate structures and obscure holding companies. Many are the result of decisions taken years ago in smoky boardrooms and never really revisited.
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But the winds of change are slowly blowing through South African boardrooms. Naspers’ decision to unbundle MultiChoice is a good example of a new, more globally aware approach to shareholder value. The decision to unbundle around 40% of FirstRand from Remgro and RMH is another.
As Alec Hogg explains, the decision is part of a long-term process of professionalisation at FirstRand as the founder generation gives way to a new crop of professional managers.
The winds of change are also blowing through South Africa’s credit rating. Moody’s has put the country on watch, threatening our last remaining investment grade rating and last week, S&P also revised its outlook on SA debt to negative – meaning a further downgrade from our already-junk status is possible. It’s bad news all round, as Alec Hogg explains.
