Company news in brief

SAA gets lifeline as it enters business rescueSouth African Airways (SAA) was set to enter a business rescue process yesterday, with a R4 billion lifeline from government and banks announced by a minister.State-owned SAA, which has not made a profit since 2011 and has depended on government bailouts to stay solvent, said it would try to operate a new provisional flight schedule.In a business rescue, a specialist practitioner takes control of a company with the aim of rehabilitating it to improve its chance of survival, or securing a better return for creditors than they would receive from liquidation.Pravin Gordhan, minister of public enterprises, said in a statement yesterday that business rescue was the best way to restructure SAA into a stronger entity. He said the plan was still to attract an equity partner.Existing lenders would provide SAA R2 billion of loans guaranteed by government and repayable out of future budget appropriations. Government would provide R2 billion in a "fiscally neutral manner", Gordhan said.SAA's government-guaranteed debt would not be affected by the business rescue process, Gordhan said, but analysts expect other creditors to suffer losses. – Nampa/ReutersMTN to oppose regulator on data costsSouth African telecoms group MTN said on Wednesday it would "vigorously" oppose recommendations of the Competition Commission after the regulator instructed MTN and rival Vodacom to lower data prices."We respectfully disagree with the analysis and recommendations contained in the summary report and, as we study the full report, [we] will continue to engage constructively and vigorously defend against over-broad and intrusive recommendations," it said in a statement.On Monday, Competition commissioner Tembinkosi Bonakele said Vodacom and MTN could face prosecution if they do not agree tocut data prices in the next two months. This followed the findings of a data services inquiry launched in August 2017 which showed prices charged by the operators were higher in South Africa than in other African markets in which they were operating.On Wednesday, MTN said its local unit has substantially reduced the effective price of data and the group has also invested over R50 billion in the South African network over the last five years to accommodate growing data demand with limited spectrum availability.It added that it has also pledged a further R50 billion of investment over the next five years. – Nampa/ReutersBolt expands SA operations to small townsEstonia based ride-hailing app Bolt plans to double its service in South Africa to include at least 30 more cities and suburbs, the firm said on Wednesday, as it steps up its challenge to Uber's dominance.The tech and transport company formerly known as Taxify has raised more than US$200 million from investors since its launch in 2013.Analysts expect Bolt to use its war-chest to expand operations in untapped markets, particularly in the developing world, as well as to eat into those controlled by its bigger rivals.Bolt said in a statement South Africa would be "a big recipient of this investment" as it intensified its focus on the continent and Europe.In South Africa Bolt and Uber have an estimated 25%/75% split of the ride hailing market. Uber this year said it had reached 1 million app users.Bolt said it had 2 million rider sign-ups in South Africa in the past 12 months, and that it achieved a 75% growth in revenue and a 60% increase in drivers over the same period. – Nampa/ReutersJulius Baer books charge in E. German assets caseSwiss private bank Julius Baer is setting aside 153 million Swiss francs (US$153 million) to cover demands made by a German government agency seeking to recover East German assets that went missing after the fall of the Berlin Wall.The Zurich Court of Appeal this week ruled in favour of a claim by the German agency tasked with overseeing the remains of East German enterprises, for 97 million francs plus interest since 2009.Baer said in a statement published late on Wednesday it would appeal to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court, but was protectively booking the charges in case it winds up being forced to pay.The Zurich court originally sided with Julius Baer in 2018, but was forced to reconsider its verdict this year when the Swiss Federal Supreme Court sent it back to be reheard after concluding there were "obvious shortcomings" in the bank's handling of the funds.The German lawsuit relates to withdrawals nearly 30 years ago from an account established by former German Democratic Republic officials at Zurich-based Bank Cantrade, which Julius Baer bought from UBS in 2005.Julius Baer said it would claim any final amount it would have to pay from UBS under the terms of a related transaction agreement of 2005.UBS declined to comment. – Nampa/Reuters

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