The phantom faces behind the Viceroy Research reports remain hidden
But one analyst says the attention given to Viceroy is disproportionate and is driven by fear and panic after the company’s Steinhoff exposé
The name is enough to spread mayhem among South African traders. And all Viceroy Research is willing to disclose is that it is three people working out of New York to protect investors. Stocks including Africa’s largest generics drugmaker and biggest real-estate investment trusts were sent reeling this week on speculation that they were in Viceroy’s sights. More than $3bn was wiped off the value of property stocks alone in just four days, prompting South African regulators to scrutinise trades to determine whether a formal probe is warranted. Viceroy became known overnight in SA after releasing a damning report detailing oddities in Steinhoff International’s financials a day after the retailer unexpectedly admitted to accounting irregularities. The group only started publishing reports in December 2016, covering five other companies in Australia, Israel and the US, and hasn’t released anything related to the South African market since the Steinhoff analysis. "There are no faces behi...
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