COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Tiger Brands might close canning facilityTiger Brands may be able to stop the closure of its Langeberg & Ashton Foods (L&AF) canning facility after finding an interested buyer, says the Western Cape government.On Tuesday, the provincial government said Tiger Brands revealed in a meeting that it has begun the process of selling the business."We welcome the news that there are now interested parties engaging with the company. Tiger Brands also made an appeal to other interested parties to come forward," read the government’s statement. Both Tiger Brands and the government, as well as other parties, have been meeting to find solutions to the impending closure.The food producer, whose brands include Koo canned produce, announced the possible closure of the plant last week, citing a need to exit the business as it continued strategic review. Tiger Brands also cited industry-wide trade barriers and exchange rate fluctuations as some issues affecting its deciduous business.But closing the facility means 4 000 jobs would be lost. -Fin24Tencent leads Chinese tech lossesChinese technology stocks fell as a plan by Tencent's major backer to further cut its stake in the company fuelled concerns more investors may look to take profits following a strong rally. The Hang Seng Tech Index slid as much as 2.9% Tuesday, the most since June 22, before paring some losses. Tencent slumped as much as 5.8%, the most in nearly six weeks, after Prosus on Monday said it intends to sell more of the mobile gaming giant’s stake. JD.com Inc. - another firm in which Prosus sold stock - and Bilibili Inc., were among the other big decliners on Tuesday."Tencent’s big shareholder sale is definitely hurting the whole market sentiment," said Banny Lam, head of research at CEB International Investment Corp. "The tech stocks have had a good rally, so it’s not surprising for us to see people taking profit or rotating among sectors."Prosus, an arm of South African internet giant Naspers Ltd., sold almost US$4 billion worth of stock in JD.com that it got as dividends from investee Tencent, saying on Monday that the e-commerce firm didn’t fit with its broader strategy.The Chinese tech gauge has rebounded more than 40% from a record low in mid-March, as investors rotate back into the sector on bets that the worst of Beijing’s crackdowns -- which triggered more than a year of heavy selling is over. -Fin24Eskom offers workers 7% increaseEskom is offering workers a 7% wage increase, after the utility lost units during illegal protests that plunged South Africa into the worst blackouts since 2019, according to people familiar with the matter.The offer is for one year, said the people who asked not to be identified because the information is not public. Eskom said many workers have reported for duty at power stations after the company met with labour unions over the situation. The 7% raise is on a sliding scale with higher earners receiving slightly less, one of the people said. Eskom is unprofitable with R396 billion of debt that it relies on government bailouts to service. It made an offer of as much as 5.3% before protests broke out and workers blocked roads to power stations. South African inflation rose to 6.5% in May, up from 5.9% in the previous month.The utility’s constrained financial situation means Eskom would "have to find savings somewhere else" in order to make a higher offer, CEO Andre de Ruyter said in a briefing on Tuesday.Labour groups are expected to present the revised offer to members before negotiations resume on Friday. The details of Eskom’s offer will be "made known" then, the company’s spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said in a text message. -Fin24Implats workers on path to economic mobilityThe recent five-year wage agreement with mineworkers at Impala Platinum operations will set the workers on the path to economic mobility, according to Joseph Mathunjwa, the leader of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) which negotiated the deal.The deal was reached between the union and Impala Platinum subsidiaries, Impala Rustenburg and Marula, where AMCU is a majority labour organisation. It will see the wages of mineworkers increase by around 6.5% over five-year period.The agreement between is the latest to be inked by the union without embarking on a strike. Similar five-year agreements have been inked at Anglo American Platinum and Siyanda Bakgatla Platinum Mine in Limpopo, with Mathunjwa hailing maturing relationships between the union and some mining firms.Inked within five negotiation meetings held between April and May, the Implats agreement is effective from 1 July 2022 and includes increases in basic salaries, living out and home-ownership allowances, medical aid, and pension fund contributions.Mathunjwa, whose union rose to prominence during the 2012 Marikana strike, where mineworkers employed at Lonmin were demanding a minimum wage of R12 500, said the era of offering mineworkers CPI-linked wages was over, as it prejudiced the low-paid groups who are coming off very low scales.-Fin24

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Allgemeine Zeitung 2025-03-14

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Allgemeine Zeitung 2025-03-14

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