Dixon-Warren takes on Norilsk
Business
BCL Liquidator Nigel Dixon-Warren has absolved government of any wrong doing, saying the company should rather take him on. This is after last month mining giant Norilsk Nickel released a statement attacking the Botswana Government for what it concluded as a mischievous attempt by Botswana of failing to pay for a mine it contractually purchased before subsequently putting it under liquidation with chicanery.
Norilsk painted Botswana with a dark brush of “disdain for investors’ rights.” Botswana is yet to respond to the statement as even media requests regarding Norilsk’s words remains pending. Dixon-Warren told Business Post this week that it is not fair to blame Botswana Government for bad investor relations because in the first place the BCL-Norilsk contract for purchase of the Nkomati and Tati mines were never put in force or effected but was just hanging on the air.
The statements by Norilsk against Botswana could harm Botswana’s reputation as an investment hub and mar President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s efforts to enhance Foreign Direct Investment according to many observers. The gripe of Norilsk against Botswana or BCL is a matter of a legal matter betters the courts in different jurisdictions, London, South Africa and Botswana. Norilsk is suing government of Botswana for breach of purchase contract, alleging that Botswana Government failed to pay about P2.8 billion for purchase of Nkomati and Tati mines.
Norilsk said it sought to apply to Botswana courts to have its case heard by impartial and international arbitration in 2016 and the Botswana courts took 16 months to deny them the application. Norilsk is currently attempting to appeal the Botswana court decision. The Botswana High Court however ruled that Norilsk had not complied with the legal requirements of applying for leave to pursue the case abroad, therefore dismissed the Russian company’s case.
Meanwhile Dixon-Warren has also launched a concurrent case against Norilsk at the Gauteng High Court challenging the legality of purported transfer of shares from Norilsk to BCL. As it has also been alleged that the transfer was approved by then mineral resources minister Mosebenzi Zwane, Dixon-Warren is challenging those allegation too.
While Norilsk also blames the Botswana courts of also refusing to have the company take its case to London Court of International Arbitration, Dixon-Warren argued that Norilsk wanted to omit Botswana courts legal proceedings and drag Government to the London Court of International Arbitration. He said any legal action against an insolvent company can only be pursued after obtaining leave of the High Court of Botswana to do so and such legal provisions are common around the world.
The BCL liquidator also believes Botswana courts were being robust and firm not to be taken from pillar to post by the Russian company. “Norilsk is free to withdraw its action at the LCIA, and approach the High Court to obtain the necessary leave prior to re-commencing action at the LCIA. There has been no attempt by the Botswana Government to preclude Norilsk from taking any legal actions it deems fit. The matters mentioned above are between Norilsk and the Liquidator of BCL,” said Dixon-Warren.
Dixon-Warren told this publication that when going back to this deal, it is clear that BCL was not in a position to conclude the acquisition of Nkomati. He said Norilsk is entitled to pursue a sale of its interests to a third party, and in the event it has suffered damages as a result of BCL not performing under the agreement, would be entitled to make a claim against BCL under the insolvency laws.
“BCL was placed into liquidation as it was fatally insolvent, and without further significant injections of funding, was unable to continue operating. I understand that Government considered requests by Management for additional funding immediately prior to liquidation, and concluded that it could no longer provide financial support to the detriment of other pressing budgetary requirements.
The date of liquidation (October 2016), the agreement (Norilsk-BCL) was not in force and had not been concluded. No guarantees were issued by Government of Botswana in respect of these transactions, and both BCL and Norilsk were fully aware at the time of signing the agreement that BCL was to raise its own funding for the acquisitions. Government has no legal obligation to settle the debts of any party in relation to the BCL liquidation," said the BCL liquidator.
Meanwhile, Dixon-Warren has revealed in an interview that at least two experienced and big companies are talking to him with keen interest on BCL. He said in there were about 140 companies and individuals who came with interest but never came back when he asked them on their capacity to buy or experience on mining projects. Dixon-Warren said some come to him interested in the mine’s waste dump to process it and some are interested in mining machinery.
He said most are skeptical of the value of BCL as a big old mine which might be difficult to run and close if there is a need. Dixon-Warren said currently he is working on cleaning up and pumping water from the mine. He said they are working on a hydro-geological process of taking out 6 litres of contaminated water from the mine. About 180 people have been employed to drain the water and work on maintaining the waste dump. He said BCL is a big old mine and people should know it is going to take a long time to be sold or closed.
Business
CA SALES revenues rose to R9.5 billion
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Business
Grit divests from Letlole La Rona
Grit Services Limited, a member of the pan African real estate group, London Stock Exchange listed Grit Real Estate Income Group is divesting from Letlole La Rona Limited (LLR), a local real estate company established by government investment arm Botswana Development Corporation over a decade ago.
The Board of Directors of Letlole La Rona Limited this week announced in a statement to Unitholders that Grit Services Limited (‘Grit’) has informed them of its intention to exit its investment in the company.
Grit has been a material shareholder in LLR since 2019. On 07 March 2023, Grit sold 6 421 000 linked units, representing 2.29% of the Company’s total securities in issue, at a market value of BWP 22 537 710.
This trade follows previous sales of 6.79% in December 2022, as communicated to Unitholders on 10 January 2023, as well as a further sale of 4.78% (representing 13 347 068 linked units) on 24 February 2023 to various shareholders.
In aggregate, Grit has sold 13.9% shareholding in the Letlole La Rona between December 2022 and March 2023, resulting in current shareholding of 11.25% in the Company.
Letlole La Rona said in the statement that the exit process will take place in an orderly manner so as to maintain stability of the Company’s share price.
The statement explained that Grit’s sale of its entire shareholding in LLR is in line with its decision to exit investments where it does not have majority control, or where it has significant exposure to currencies other than US dollar, Euro or hard-currency-pegged revenue streams.
“Grit has announced similar decisions pertaining to certain of its hospitality assets in Mauritius recently. The Company would like to advise Unitholders that it remains focused on long-term value delivery to all stakeholders” LLR said
In July last year as part of their Go-to-Africa strategy Letlole La Rona acquired an initial 30% equity stake in Orbit Africa Logistics, with an option to increase this investment to 50%. OAL is a special purpose vehicle incorporated in Mauritius, owning an industrial asset in a prime industrial node in Nairobi, Kenya.
The co-investment was done alongside a wholly owned subsidiary of London listed Grit. The Orbit facility is situated on a prime industrial site on Mombasa Road, the principal route south of Nairobi center, serving the main industrial node, the port of Mombasa and the industrial town of Athi River and is strategically located 11 kilometers south of the international airport and 9.6 kilometers from the Inland Container Depot.
Grit shareholding in Letlole La Rona was seen as strategic for LLR, for the company to leverage on Grit’s already existing continental presence and expand its wings beyond Botswana borders as already delivered by Kenya transaction.
Media reports have however suggested that LLR and Grit have since late last year had fundamental disagreements on how to go about the Go-to-Africa strategy amongst other things, fuelled by alleged Botswana government interference on the affairs of LLR.
Government through LLR founding shareholder – Botswana Development Corporation has a controlling stake of around 40 percent in the company. Government is the sole shareholder of Botswana Development Corporation.
Letlole La Rona recently released their financial results for the six months ended December 2022, revenue increased by 4% to P50.2 million from P48.4 million in the prior comparative six months, whilst operating profit was up 8% to P36.5 million. Profit before tax of P49.7 million was reported, an increase of 8% on the prior comparative six months.
“We are encouraged by the strong results, notwithstanding a challenging economic environment. Our performance was mainly underpinned by annual lease escalations, our quality tenant base and below average market vacancy levels, especially in our warehouse portfolio,” Kamogelo Mowaneng, Letlole La Rona Chief Executive Officer commented.
LLR reported a weighted average lease expiry period of 3.3 years and escalation rates averaging 6.8% per annum for the period ended 31 December 2022.Its investment portfolio value increased by 14% year-on-year to close the period at P1.4 billion, mainly driven by the acquisition of a 30% stake in OAL in July 2022.
The Company also recorded a significant increase in other income, predominantly due to foreign exchange gains on the OAL shareholder loan. “We continue to explore pipeline opportunities locally, and regionally in line with our Go-to-Africa strategy and our interest remains on value-accretive investments,” Mowaneng said.
An interim distribution of 9.11 thebe per linked unit was declared on the 6th of February 2023 for the half-year period to 31 December 2022, comprising of a dividend of 0.05 thebe and debenture interest of 9.06 thebe per linked unit which will be paid to linked unit holders registered in the books of the Company at the close of business on 24 February 2023.
Business
Stargems Group establishes Training Center in BW
Internationally-acclaimed diamond manufacturing company StarGems Group has established the Stargems Diamond Training Center which will be providing specialized training in diamond manufacturing and evaluation.
The Stargems Diamond Training Institute is located at the Stargems Group Botswana Unit in Gaborone.
“In accordance with the National Human Resource Development Strategy (NHRDS) which holds the principle that through education and skills development as well as the strategic alignment between national ambitions and individual capabilities, Botswana will become a prosperous, productive and innovative nation due to the quality and efficacy of its citizenry. The Training Centre will provide a range of modules in theory and in practice; from rough diamond evaluation to diamond grading and polishing for Batswana, at no cost for eight weeks. The internationally- recognized certificate offered in partnership with Harry Oppenheimer Diamond Training School presents invaluable opportunities for Batswana to access in the diamond industry locally and internationally. The initiative is an extension of our Corporate Social Investment to the community in which we operate,” said Vishal Shah, Stargems Group Managing Director, during the launch of the Stargems Diamond Training Center.
In order to participate in this rare opportunity, interested candidates are invited to submit a police clearance certificate and a BGCSE certificate only to the Stargems offices. Students who excel in these programs will have the chance to be onboarded by the Stargems Group. This serves as motivation for them to go through this training with a high level of seriousness.
“Community empowerment is one of our CSR principles. We believe that businesses can only thrive when their communities are well taken of. We are hoping that our presence will be impactful to various communities and economies. In the six countries that we are operating in, we have contributed through dedicating 10% of our revenues during COVID-19 to facilitate education, donating to hospitals and also to NGOs committed to supporting women and children living with HIV. One key issue that we are targeting in Botswana is the rate of unemployment amongst the youth. We are looking forward to working closely with the government and other relevant authorities to curb unemployment,” said Shah.
Currently, Stargems Group has employed 117 Batswana and they are looking forward to growing the numbers to 500 as the company grows. Majority of the employees will be graduates from the Stargems Diamond Training Center. This initiation has been received with open arms by the general public and stakeholders. During the launch, the Minister of Minerals and Energy, Honorable Lefoko Moagi, stated that the ministry fully endorses Stargems Diamond Training and will work closely with the Group to support and grow the initiative.
“As a ministry, we see this as an game changer that is aligned with one of the United Nations’ Six Priority Sustainable Development Goals, which is to Advance Opportunity and Impact for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). What Stargems Group is launching today will have a huge impact on the creation of employment in Botswana. An economy’s productivity rises as the number of educated workers increases as its skilled workmanship increases. It is not a secret that low skills perpetuate poverty and widen the inequality gap, therefore the development of skills has the potential to contribute significantly to structural transformation and economic growth by enhancing employability and helping the country become more competitive. We are grateful to see the emergence of industry players such as Stargems Group who have strived to create such opportunities that mitigate the negative effects of COVID-19 on the economy,” said the Minister of Minerals and Energy.