PIC reveals how it invested over R1bn in Independent Media
Government investment corporation supplies details of R44.6bn in investments in unlisted entities to Parliament
The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) has finally provided Parliament’s standing committee on finance with a comprehensive list of the unlisted investments of its Isibaya Fund, which totalled R44.6bn as at end-March 2016. This came as the DA put pressure on the PIC to disclose details of its unlisted investments, especially in Iqbal Survé’s Independent Media, and its investment in a company called Opiconsivia. DA finance spokesperson David Maynier has been pushing for the release of the information for several months in the interest of transparency. The list of the Isibaya Fund’s investments include a R166m direct equity stake of 25% in Independent Media and R763m in shareholder loans to the company, and R346m of converted debt. All these investments were made in August 2013. PIC executives appeared before the committee Tuesday for a briefing on the corporation’s 2015-16 financial report. The Isibaya Fund was established in 1999 to invest in projects that would have a positive soc...
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