|
|
Sasol considers 10bn investment at Secunda
Sasol is considering a R10bn investment at its Secunda complex. GM John Marriott said that Sasol was determined to remain a major player in SA, despite its acquisitions of overseas chemicals businesses and investments in other countries including Mozambique, Malaysia, Nigeria and Qatar. Sasol was investing between R10bn and R11bn in the pipeline project to bring natural gas from Mozambique into SA and there is another project of similar size under investigation. The new project would be at Secunda, where the pipeline from Mozambique will first reach Sasol's chemicals operations, and would be based on the platform that the gas creates. An analyst suggested that Sasol might be planning a major expansion of Secunda, and that the investment could be used to remove bottlenecks and thereby increase output.
|
| |
Sasol moves to STRATE
The company will start dematerialisation from 19 Nov 01 and will begin trading electronically from 10 Dec 01. The first electronic settlement will take place on 18 Dec 01.
|
| |
Sasol seeks natural gas partner in Mozambique
CE Pieter Cox confirmed that Sasol is seeking an international partner for further natural gas exploration in Mozambique. Sasol believes there was massive potential in natural gas, which was expected to become as important to Sasol in the next decade as its Secunda fuels and chemicals plant was now, with a $1bn operating profit by 2010. Cox suggested that Sasol was the acknowledged leader in gas-to-liquid technology, with a global joint-venture with US giant Chevron. Sasol would be interested in a partnership in gas exploration in Mozambique as a way of sharing costs and risk.
Cox echoed concerns expressed by Sasol's chairman Paul Kruger about SA's foreign-exchange controls and competition policies. Sasol was planning a co-listing in a year from now, probably in New York or London, although the intention was to retain Sasol's primary listing in SA.
|
| |
Sasol wants to sell stake in Sasol Fibres
Sasol CE Pieter Cox confirmed that Sasol is seeking a buyer for its 50% stake in Sasol Fibres, a Durban producer of acrylic fibres. He confirmed that the group is currently negotiating the sale with prospective buyers and expects to finalise the sale within the year. Sasol allocated R911m to cover write-offs, depreciation and rationalisation of underperforming noncore chemicals plants and other assets R111m attributable to the impairment of plant and related assets of the Sasol Fibres factory at Durban. Continuing adverse market conditions in the international and domestic acrylic fibre markets have been impacting severely on Sasol Fibres' margins and have necessitated the write-off.
Sasol had written off its investment in a mothballed acrylonitrile plant at Secunda and related maintenance inventory at a book value of R354m. It had also written off R57m following a decision to close the former Polyfin chlorine factory at Umbogintwini, where there had been serious pollution incidents. Cox stressed that despite the write-offs, Sasol remained one of the main investors in the SA economy, and he said the company remained SA's "biggest single industrial investor in new production capacity". Sasol Technology is currently managing 165 major growth projects for which R27bn has been budgeted. Sasol's approved capital expenditure for the 2002 financial year will total about R6bn.
Sasol is exploring the possibility of a gas-to-liquid plant in Australia, in partnership with giant US oil group Chevron, with which it is also active in developing a gas to liquid plant at Escravos in Nigeria. Sasol is also looking at developing gas-to-liquid operations in the Latin America, Asia Pacific and Middle East regions.
|
| |
Sasol - SA forex policies should be reviewed
Sasol chairman Paul Kruger said that the company may have to move its domicile overseas to escape SA's exchange controls and the country's rigid competition policy. He said that the SA economy needs globally competitive businesses, but it is extremely arduous for businesses to expand and achieve global positions from a domicile with restrictive foreign exchange policies. Kruger said Sasol had no intention of relocating its corporate domicile, provided it is not disadvantaged by local forex regulations and restricted access to global capital markets.
Kruger also criticised SA's competition laws, which had prevented Sasol's planned takeover of chemicals business AECI in the late 1990s. He added that while the laws effectively manage the abuse of dominant positions by companies, they often do so at the expense of businesses being able to merge and achieve world class status and afford new investments. He said that competition laws, which hamper reinvestment and the subsequent creation of jobs, will in the long term adversely impact on South Africa's ability to perform to its full economic potential. Kruger also confirmed that Sasol had to postpone investments in Zimbabwe because of conditions there which 'remain a cause for grave concern, with potentially serious socio-economic implications for the whole of southern Africa".
|
| |
Sasol board changes
Dr Z Z R Rustomjee has been appointed as non-executive director of Sasol with effect from 8 Oct 01.
|
|
Click here for original article
|
| |
Sasol - second-strongest performer on DJ index
Sasol has been recognised as the second-strongest performing stock in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the year to Sep 01. Sasol share price increased by more than 50% over the period. The index, of which Sasol has been part for the past two years, now constitutes 312 companies from 62 industries across 26 countries.
|
| |
Sasol under attack as fuel crisis hits retailers
Fuel retailers were warning that they were battling to stay open with the petrol distribution crisis in Gauteng. The retailers were also claiming "prejudicial supply practices" by fuel and chemicals firm Sasol and claimed that certain petrol stations were given preferential treatment by Sasol. Sasol denied claims that it favoured any supplier. A spokesperson for Sasol said that the company was bound by a commercial agreement that ensured that all dealers were supplied. The spokesperson said that the Natref refinery would begin its start-up on 8 Oct 01 but was only expected to be back in full production by mid-October.
|
| |
Sasol petrochemical venture delayed
Sasol has encountered a delay in the start-up of a new $500m facility in Malaysia, in which Sasol has a 12% stake. The cracker, which will turn natural gas into ethylene, was due to have been commissioned last month. It was not expected to come on stream before Dec 01. A knock-on effect of the delay is that the gas cracker will initially be unable to supply feedstock for another, neighbouring, Sasol investment in Malaysia which would have to import ethylene feedstock until the gas cracker could be started up. Sasol is expected to bring its Natref refinery at Sasolburg, which is a joint venture together with Total, back on stream by the weekend (6-7 Oct 01).
|
| |
| |
|
| Closing price data source: JSE Ltd. All other statistics calculated by ProfileData. |
| |
|
|
