UNION THREATENS DENEL OVER IRREGULARITIES

TRADE union Solidarity said on Friday that it had served state arms manufacturer Denel with a demand under section 165 of the Companies Act to take immediate legal action against those responsible for the financial muddle it finds itself in. The demand was served after Denel earlier this week indicated it could only pay its employees 85 percent of their salaries this month. Hours later, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said staff would be paid their full salaries after a money lender came forward to extend the necessary funds. Solidarity said it had provided Denel with a file containing various irregularities in April, 2018, which led to some dismissals. The trade union said it was now using section 165 to demand that the state-owned company take legal action against those responsible for any wrongdoing. “If the alleged irregularities are not investigated, and/or if no legal action is taken… we may take legal action against the responsible persons in Denel’s stead,” said Anton van der Bijl, the union’s head of legal services. | Bloomberg BHARTI Airtel’s Africa unit plunged in London trading after raising about $750 million (R10.5 billion) in an initial public offering (IPO), making it among the worst debuts on European exchanges this year. Airtel Africa dropped as much as 16 percent to 67 pence per share, matching the first-day decline for OssDsign last month. Airtel Africa said it had priced the offering at 80 pence a share at the low end of its range, giving the company a market capitalisation of about £3.1 billion (R55.4bn). It traded at 69.88 pence as of 11.17am. The weak market showing for the African carrier, the continent’s second-largest by subscribers, comes as parent Bharti Airtel struggles back home with a years-long price war and mounting debt. Proceeds from the IPO will help the India-based wireless operator pare debt, while it prepares to upgrade its mobile network to fifth-generation technology. Airtel Africa may be suffering from broader investor unease about telecom carriers in emerging markets, said Ally McKinnon, a fund manager at Scottish Investment Trust, which didn’t participate in the IPO. Phone companies can be at risk of state intervention, he said, citing MTN’s costly battle in Nigeria. | Bloomberg