Reserve Bank might want to scrutinise Steinhoff plans to repay R10bn
Reserve Bank ‘unlikely to back’ Steinhoff rescue plan
Early morning enthusiasm for Steinhoff’s plan to secure €2bn of liquidity to shore up part of a €6bn hole in its accounts quickly faded on Thursday as analysts queried the likelihood of the South African Reserve Bank allowing Steinhoff Africa Retail (Star) to send about R10bn out of the country without a lengthy investigation. On Thursday morning, Steinhoff informed shareholders that its supervisory board was uncertain of the "validity and recoverability of certain non-South African assets of the company, which amount to circa €6bn". It is planning to collect €1bn from the sale of noncore assets and is expecting a loan repayment of about R10bn from Star. Signs of decisive action from Steinhoff initially encouraged investors, who believe the longer the crisis remains unresolved the more uncertainty will spread and with it contagion, that could affect other shares related to Steinhoff chairman Christo Wiese. However, analysts quickly began to identify problems with the partial rescue ...
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