Sunday Times (Johannesburg) - November 7, 2004

*IN JANUARY, food company Parmalat SA's chief executive Fernando di Gaetano declared his company financially sound and a stand-alone operation, after the turbulence at its Italian-based parent company which plunged into bankruptcy following a $4-billion hole in its accounts and the arrest of its founding boss Calisto Tanzi.

*President Thabo Mbeki signed the Broad-based Economic Empowerment Act, setting up the Black Economic Empowerment Advisory Council aimed at increasing the number of black women managing and owning businesses.

*Newly appointed National Treasury Deputy Director-General Phakamani Hadebe announced the launch of retail bonds to encourage savings. The government-issue bonds allowed for investments of up to R1000 compared with R1-million needed to invest in the government debt market.

*One of SA's discount retail pioneers, Pepkor, was delisted from the JSE Securities Exchange South Africa and financial services group CorpCapital said it would close shop, with directors blaming its woes on a bitter dispute and litigation instituted by former director Nic Frangos.

*MacMed company secretary Alan Hiscock was served with a writ of execution for company debt of R647-million, after liquidators depicted him as the "architecture of the fraud" which led to the healthcare group's collapse in 1999.

*AngloGold announced plans to issue up to $1-billion in convertible bonds to help pay for its $1.55-billion takeover of Ghanaian producer Ashanti Goldfields.

*Sasol and Malaysian oil group Petronas mulled over plans to set up a venture of their liquid fuels businesses to create a group with a reach of 14 sub-Saharan countries.

*In February Finance Minister Trevor Manuel allocated R2.1-billion over a three-year period for the "comprehensive" response to HIV/Aids, including provision for antiretroviral treatment.

*Mining giant BHP Billiton struck a $9-billion deal to supply 12million tons of iron ore annually to four Chinese steel mills for the next 25 years.

*Technology group Dimension Data made executive changes, with Brett Dawson assuming the post of CEO after the roles of chairman and CEO were split. Both posts were previously held by Jeremy Ord. Ord became executive chairman while David Sherriffs replaced financial director Malcolm Rutherford.

*Imperial Holdings' BEE transaction with Ukhamba Holdings was unanimously approved.

*March saw SAA fail to clinch a deal establishing a new national carrier for Nigeria to replace the liquidated Nigeria Airways.

*With the surging rand beginning to eat into the profitability of export-oriented businesses, SA's third-biggest gold mining company, Harmony Gold, announced plans to toss 5000 employees out of work.

*There was trauma for some MBA graduates and students in May, after a two-year review of the MBA market in SA revealed that a number of the programmes offered by 10 institutions, including a university, did not meet Council on Higher Education criteria.

*Steve Booysen pipped front runner and deputy CEO Rupert Pardoe to replace Nallie Bosman as CEO of Absa. Pardoe resigned two months later.

*There were money-spinning opportunities for cellphone operator MTN in Nigeria, following the pullout of rival Vodacom.

*On the media front, competition authorities approved Johnnic Communications' acquisition of the Sowetan and the 50% of Sunday World it did not already own from New Africa Investments Limited.

*In July, former North West premier Popo Molefe continued his blitz on the private sector with his appointment as chairman of IT company Xantium Technology Holdings.

*Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni was reappointed for a further five years. He cut the bank's repo rate by 50 basis points to 7.5%, leading to a corresponding move by commercial banks, which left the prime lending rate at 11%, its lowest level in 23 years.

*August saw senior black executive Sello Moloko resigning as CEO of Old Mutual Asset Managers.

*In September , Khaya Ngqula was appointed CEO of troubled SAA, which lost R8.7-billion and was at one time technically insolvent to the tune of R2.57-billion. Ngqula replaced Andre Viljoen.

*Transnet announced a net loss of R6.332-billion - up from a R421- million loss in the previous period - largely related to inefficiency and the "SAA hedging disaster". The airline recorded a hedge-book loss of R5.9-billion.

*Transnet reported turnover of R43.637-billion compared with R41.278-billion before, while cash flow from operations declined to R3.113-billion from R3.409-billion.

*Former Environment Minister Valli Moosa, former National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka, AngloGold Ashanti president Sam Jonah and economist Iraj Abedian were appointed to revamp Transnet and SAA boards chaired by Fred Phaswana.

*The National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry was rocked by infighting over the decision to disburse shares in the organisation's investment arm, Nafhold, worth over R650-million, to members at a discount.

*Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri announced policy directives to end Telkom's monopoly-oriented infrastructure and see the introduction of a second national operator.

*Arms manufacturer Denel turned in a R377.5-million loss and sought help from government.

*The SABC was back in the black with advertising sales pushing revenues up 11% to R2.7-billion compared with R2.4-billion in 2003.

*Land Affairs and Agriculture Minister Thoko Didiza threatened to expropriate land from white farmers if an agreement on the price of farms is not reached. This came amid reports that the productivity on farms was declining while farmers awaited the outcome of cases.

*The Tax Act was amended to include a tax on 100% of a travel allowance (as opposed to the present 50%) and a tax on previous claims made against vehicles when they are sold.

*Johnnic Holdings' chief operating officer, Jacob Modise, quit his post, citing frustration at the lack of a final agreement on collapsing Johnnic's pyramid structure.

*Barclays Bank showed intent to pay well over R20-billion for a majority stake in Absa, the largest ever single foreign direct investment in SA. The British bank beat rival Standard Chartered in the two-horse race to win the favour of the Absa board and is now poised to buy a majority stake.

*The year 2004 will be remembered as a period when inflation remained in check and interest rates stayed low. The FTSE-JSE all share index broke 12000 as the rand's performance grabbed the spotlight, steadily soaring to top R6 to the US dollar.

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