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Daily Maverick
05-08-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
After the Bell: SA's economy — it's the politicians, stupid
The main reason the US tariffs are having such a big impact on us is because we're so weak, yet our leaders seem impotent in the face of it. In the past couple of weeks, friends of mine who have come to Joburg for business or a meeting (or, in one brave case, to actually find a house to buy because they're moving back) have all used the same phrase to describe the city. They say, with some feeling, it's like 'a war zone'. What they're really pointing to is the visible damage to the city, the potholes that have been there for so long they have plants, trees and, in at least one case, a birthday party. And, of course, treated, drinkable water just flows down the street because Joburg Water is such a mess. At the same time, every minister and official and political person is now talking about the US tariffs. And watch, in about five minutes after you read this, they're going to start blaming the tariffs for our economic situation. Actually, it's really them. On Monday night, the Mpact CEO Bruce Strong told me on The Money Show that in the six months to the end of June, their facility in Ekurhuleni had been without power for 18 days. This is a 24-hour factory. It produces packaging and paper. Can you imagine workers sitting around with nothing to do for 54 whole shifts? It's the same in the Eastern Cape. For all of the tears being spilt around our car industry and the factories there, so many of their problems are really about local government. But no, we will be told it's the impact of the US tariffs. And, of course, as we all know, almost every council outside the Western Cape just can't manage their money. It's now at the point that National Treasury has in effect told the Joburg mayor, the ANC's Dada Morero, that it will refuse to pay some of their national grant, simply because Morero has done nothing to sort out how the money is treated. The coalition in Joburg is so fragile that Morero has not even appointed a new mayoral committee member for finance. Now, some of the smaller parties are demanding that their candidate, Kabelo Gwamanda from Al Jama-ah, must get the job. Just imagine this for a minute. You have a group of parties, some of them with just one councillor, insisting that their person take over the finance role in the country's biggest city. Knowing all along that they are largely responsible for the situation we find ourselves in. Last night, the ANC finally finished its long-postponed NEC meeting. One of its proclamations was that we are now in an 'economic state of emergency'. My first thought was that they had stolen the idea from Lesotho. Obviously, you have to ask yourself: How did it happen? Does the ANC really understand the role that its economic policy, and our broken politics generally, has played in this? Of course, you cannot blame one party. If you look at all of our neighbours, they have almost exactly the same unemployment rate as ours. Even Botswana, which so many kept saying was run so well for so long. Over the past couple of days, plenty of good well-meaning people have made the same point: we need a national effort, we need to work together to fix our economy. And, obviously, they're right. The main reason the tariffs, and everything else that is happening in the world (and it's a long list at the moment), are having such a big impact on us is because we're so weak. And yet, strangely, our leaders seem, well, impotent in the face of it. We need action, not a 'National Dialogue'. I can't believe I have to say this out aloud. But the one thing we absolutely do NOT need to do is talk. Now, I hate to have to say this, but do you believe there is any reason this is going to improve? Me too. Instead, what I think is going to happen is that our politicians, each chasing a smaller sliver of support, are going to shout and scream, and try to make it all about them. My greatest fear is that, in fact, we will end up with a national government in the future that is a lot like Joburg's now. Of course, nothing is predestined. There can be a lot of change. And, considering the nature of our society, there probably will be. But when our politicians start to blame the US, or Trump, or whoever, for our economic situation, we must remind them who is really responsible. It's the politicians. Not us. DM
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Public companies own 34% of Mpact Limited (JSE:MPT) shares but individual investors control 38% of the company
Significant control over Mpact by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions The top 3 shareholders own 52% of the company Insiders have sold recently Every investor in Mpact Limited (JSE:MPT) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. With 38% stake, individual investors possess the maximum shares in the company. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn). Meanwhile, public companies make up 34% of the company's shareholders. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Mpact. View our latest analysis for Mpact Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing. Mpact already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Mpact's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Mpact. Our data shows that Caxton and CTP Publishers and Printers Limited is the largest shareholder with 34% of shares outstanding. With 10% and 7.2% of the shares outstanding respectively, Gayatri Paper Mills Gauteng (Pty) Limited and Old Mutual Investment Group South Africa (Pty) Limited are the second and third largest shareholders. In addition, we found that Bruce Strong, the CEO has 0.9% of the shares allocated to their name. To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 3 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company. While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage. The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO. I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions. We can see that insiders own shares in Mpact Limited. In their own names, insiders own R104m worth of stock in the R4.1b company. This shows at least some alignment. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling. The general public-- including retail investors -- own 38% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders. We can see that Private Companies own 10%, of the shares on issue. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company. We can see that public companies hold 34% of the Mpact shares on issue. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together. While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Mpact that you should be aware of before investing here. If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Public companies own 34% of Mpact Limited (JSE:MPT) shares but individual investors control 38% of the company
Significant control over Mpact by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions The top 3 shareholders own 52% of the company Insiders have sold recently Every investor in Mpact Limited (JSE:MPT) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. With 38% stake, individual investors possess the maximum shares in the company. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn). Meanwhile, public companies make up 34% of the company's shareholders. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Mpact. View our latest analysis for Mpact Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing. Mpact already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Mpact's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Mpact. Our data shows that Caxton and CTP Publishers and Printers Limited is the largest shareholder with 34% of shares outstanding. With 10% and 7.2% of the shares outstanding respectively, Gayatri Paper Mills Gauteng (Pty) Limited and Old Mutual Investment Group South Africa (Pty) Limited are the second and third largest shareholders. In addition, we found that Bruce Strong, the CEO has 0.9% of the shares allocated to their name. To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 3 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company. While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage. The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO. I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions. We can see that insiders own shares in Mpact Limited. In their own names, insiders own R104m worth of stock in the R4.1b company. This shows at least some alignment. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling. The general public-- including retail investors -- own 38% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders. We can see that Private Companies own 10%, of the shares on issue. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company. We can see that public companies hold 34% of the Mpact shares on issue. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together. While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Mpact that you should be aware of before investing here. If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
