Hits&Misses
Sanlam strengthens India business; new-vehicle sales down
SANLAM has bought a controlling stake in the two Indian businesses it first invested in during the mid-2000s, a move it says will deliver strong dividends in the medium to long term. It increased its stake in Shriram General Insurance Company from 40.25% to 50.99%, and in Shriram Life Insurance Company from 42.38% to 54.40%. Sanlam said the R2bn transaction increased the group’s exposure to the “underpenetrated and fast-growing” Indian insurance market.
HARMONY Gold has signed a five-year wage deal with a coalition of trade unions, which will see the majority of workers receiving wage increases of 6.2% in the first three years from July 2024, rising to 6.35% in the fourth year, and 6.5% in the fifth year. The increases will be linked to the inflation rate if it rises above the agreed percentage increases. Annual consumer price inflation was 5.6% in February, up from 5.3% the previous month.
ASPEN has finalised the acquisition of Sandoz
China, gaining a bigger foothold into the world’s second-largest pharmaceutical market. Africa’s biggest pharmaceutical manufacturer said that it had received all the necessary regulatory approvals to conclude its acquisition of Swiss drug maker Sandoz’s Chinese subsidiary for up to €92.6m (R1.9bn).
Aspen has also been given the go-ahead to sell the European commercial rights to a portfolio of four anaesthetic drugs to Sandoz in a linked deal worth up to €55.5m (R1.1bn).
NEW VEHICLE sales for March were down 11% to 44,237 from 50,114 vehicles sold in March last year, according to Naamsa. It said the constrained business environment, amplified by weak consumer demand and the Easter holidays, had affected the performance of the new-vehicle market. Year-on-year export sales dropped 27.1% to 24,161 units. Firstquarter results show a 4.9% decrease vs the corresponding quarter
last year.
MANUFACTURING activity slipped into negative territory in March, signalling the effect of cost pressures on manufacturers driven mainly by increases in the fuel price. Even as the electricity supply crunch abated in March, with the month experiencing the lowest level of loadshedding intensity so far this year, Absa’s purchasing managers’ index fell to 49.2 points in March from 51.7 points previously. With the drop back into contractionary territory, the PMI suggests tepid demand may also be responsible for the malaise in the sector.
SOUTH Africa’s policy uncertainty index edged further into negative territory in the first quarter as doubts surrounding the country’s upcoming election dynamics and outcomes next month started to weigh on investor confidence and financial markets, North West University’s policy uncertainty index showed. The index was also affected by geopolitical risks in the first quarter, which saw policy uncertainty rise slightly from 65.5 in the fourth quarter to 65.8 in the first quarter of this year.