Flash Briefing: Steinhoff fined; Cell C; Petra; Zondo wants corrupt Transnet bosses to repay R17m

By Jackie Cameron

• The Johannesburg Stock Exchange is to fine scandal-hit Steinhoff International R13.5m ($818,098) for breaching listing requirements, including by publishing false and misleading information, reports Reuters. Steinhoff has been hit by a massive fraud scandal estimated at around $7bn, with its share price collapsing in 2017 as its former CEO Markus Jooste stepped away from the wreckage.
• SA’s third biggest mobile operator Cell C reported a R7.6bn ($460.67m) loss for the six months to June, weighed down by once-off impairment and restructuring costs as well as a weaker rand, says Reuters.
• Petra Diamonds has abandoned plans to sell the business in favour of a debt-for-equity restructuring, it is reported as saying on Tuesday. The London-listed company, which mines diamonds in South Africa and Tanzania, has plunged by more than 80% this year as the pandemic has stifled consumer demand for diamonds.
• Deputy Chief Justice Ray Zondo, who is heading an inquiry into industrial scale corruption in South Africa, couldn’t contain how appalled he was that the former chairperson of state-owned ports and railroad company Transnet Mafika Mkwanazi could not explain why he approved several hefty payments to ex-Transnet CEO Siyabonga Gama. Mkwanazi agreed that his board is liable for R17m and should pay it back. For more on that story, do visit BizNews.com.