INVESTMENT MANAGER
MAGDA WIERZYCKA: PIC has an obligation to SA’s taxpayers to act responsibly
I loved a recent article that referred to the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) as SA’s piggy bank. It has been exactly that for some people. It is the largest investor on the JSE and therefore most firms tremble when faced with the financial might of R2-trillion in deployable assets. So do asset managers dependent on mandates allocated by the PIC. However, rumours of unsound deals have circulated for years. First, there were the billion-rand loans made to then politically connected individuals to purchase stakes in companies. Then came loans granted to private companies to prop them up, even when they were insolvent. The PIC was one of the largest shareholders in Steinhoff. Apart from direct investments, they lent Lancaster 101 more than R8bn to invest in the company. There is also the PIC’s questionable investment in the Bophelo Insurance Group — its associated Bophelo Benefit Services and Beneficiary Fund were placed under curatorship over R255m in missing assets — and in the V...
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