Telkom has escaped with a slap on the wrist from the JSE after the telecommunications group in January released market-sensitive information to journalists about the resignation of acting group CEO Jeffrey Hedberg.
The morning after TechCentral broke the news that Hedberg would leave the group, a Telkom spokesman confirmed to wire service Bloomberg that Hedberg would not renew his contract at the end of March. The spokesman confirmed the veracity of TechCentral’s article to the wire service before the group had formally notified the market.
The JSE has now cautioned Telkom to tighten up its procedures to ensure it complies with the bourse’s listing requirements. Under JSE rules, listed companies must issue a statement via the Sens news service before providing market-sensitive information to third parties.
Doug Doel, GM of issuer services at the JSE, explains that the bourse has no specific issue with the fact that TechCentral broke the news about Hedberg’s plans ahead of a formal announcement from the group. “The offending point was that the employee spoke prematurely [to the media],” he says.
“We have cautioned Telkom to tighten up its procedures and to stress to its employees the implications of our listing requirements.” — Duncan McLeod, TechCentral
- Image: MauritzV
- Subscribe to our free daily newsletter
- Follow us on Twitter or on Facebook