Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Vodacom fibre play pushes Maziv valuation above Telkom’s

      20 July 2025

      Crypto industry shoots for mainstream adoption

      20 July 2025

      Vodacom’s Maziv deal gets makeover ahead of crucial hearing

      18 July 2025

      Cut electricity prices for data centres: Andile Ngcaba

      18 July 2025

      Takealot taps Mr D to deliver toys, pet food and future growth

      18 July 2025
    • World

      Grok 4 arrives with bold claims and fresh controversy

      10 July 2025

      Samsung’s bet on folding phones faces major test

      10 July 2025

      Bitcoin pushes higher into record territory

      10 July 2025

      OpenAI to launch web browser in direct challenge to Google Chrome

      10 July 2025

      Cupertino vs Brussels: Apple challenges Big Tech crackdown

      7 July 2025
    • In-depth

      The 1940s visionary who imagined the Information Age

      14 July 2025

      MultiChoice is working on a wholesale overhaul of DStv

      10 July 2025

      Siemens is battling Big Tech for AI supremacy in factories

      24 June 2025

      The algorithm will sing now: why musicians should be worried about AI

      20 June 2025

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025
    • TCS

      TCS+ | Samsung unveils significant new safety feature for Galaxy A-series phones

      16 July 2025

      TCS+ | MVNX on the opportunities in South Africa’s booming MVNO market

      11 July 2025

      TCS | Connecting Saffas – Renier Lombard on The Lekker Network

      7 July 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E4: Takealot’s big Post Office jobs plan

      4 July 2025

      TCS | Tech, townships and tenacity: Spar’s plan to win with Spar2U

      3 July 2025
    • Opinion

      A smarter approach to digital transformation in ICT distribution

      15 July 2025

      In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

      30 June 2025

      E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

      30 June 2025

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CambriLearn
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » In-depth » Naspers goes on a charm offensive

    Naspers goes on a charm offensive

    By Marcia Klein27 August 2018
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp

    A charm offensive by Naspers directors quelled shareholder discontent at this year’s AGM, but corporate governance and remuneration remained high on shareholders’ agendas.

    Naspers has improved its reporting of remuneration and was more willing to engage with shareholders on their concerns, but shareholders aren’t yet satisfied with the extent of its advancements.

    Among their concerns is the independence of directors such as Rachel Jafta and Fred Phaswana, who have been on the board since 2003.

    We support King IV fully, and our commitment to King is not conditional

    With Jafta earning US$512 000 (R7.3-million) as a director, a shareholder pointed out that this was essentially, if not her primary source of income, certainly her largest, making it difficult for her to be independent. Company secretary Gillian Kisbey-Green said in terms of King IV, duration of tenure is not the only thing to consider when judging independence, and that Naspers valued continuity, history and knowledge.

    PwC also came under the spotlight, given that it has been Naspers’s auditor for 25 years.

    Naspers chairman Koos Bekker was widely criticised for his combative responses last year and rephrased his words, blaming his “inability to articulate” for last year’s comments.

    “If you have a good company you can go wrong in two ways — screw up against good governance or lose by being out-competed by competition. We want to emphasise both,” he said, but indicated Naspers found it hard to do both simultaneously.

    “We support King IV fully, and our commitment to King is not conditional,” he said, but added that to win a soccer game, you have to do two things — play within the rules and beat the opposition, and it is “a tricky thing to do both at the same time”.

    More disclosure

    Answering shareholders’ concerns, Naspers has recomposed its remuneration committee and disclosed a lot more, he said.

    Asked why Naspers had not published its investigation into MultiChoice’s payments to the Gupta’s ANN7, legal counsel David Tudor said the investigation revealed no irregular payments, but “the report is privileged and confidential and we intend to maintain that privilege”.

    Despite improving disclosure on remuneration, 56.96% of ordinary N shareholders voted against endorsing the company’s remuneration policy, 47.76% against approving the implementation of the remuneration policy, 84.91% against the authority placing unissued shares under the control of the directors, and over 20% against reappointing PwC as auditor and the reappointment of directors Ben van der Ross and Jafta.

    At the AGM, directors justified exorbitant salaries. “We have to invest in our entrepreneurs,” Bekker said, adding that they were sometimes socially dysfunctional but they were “the lunatics that really make it happen” and want to share in the wealth they create.

    Naspers chairman Koos Bekker

    Addressing the issue of the “sum of the parts” discount that Naspers trades at, Bekker said this was largely out of the group’s control as investment funds limit their exposure to a single company in their portfolios. When Naspers goes over that percentage, they sell down shares and that drives down the price. When Naspers grows faster than the market, their exposure goes up and they sell again.

    Secondly, he said, there is the political discount. An investor buying in Hong Kong assesses risk and tax in Hong Kong and in South Africa and wants a discount if there is more tax or more political risk in South Africa. “Those two factors — that we are too big for the exchange and the political discount — we can do little about.”

    We have to invest in our entrepreneurs. They’re the lunatics that really make it happen

    Addressing the suggestion that Naspers break up into separate companies, he said the big tech companies in the US and in China have grown while smaller companies have declined because bigger companies’ size gives them the platforms and the market power, and he questioned whether “being 10 little units is the best policy long-term” rather than a powerful group.

    CEO Bob van Dijk said Naspers has adapted and changed itself, from deriving 90% of revenue from media and video entertainment a decade ago to 80% from online — which will move to 100%.

    The group has reorganised into segments in 2014, clustering assets that worked well together, and has weeded out a number of assets which were not so promising. It has prioritised assets that had potential, focused on execution and done a number of fairly significant transactions.

    Today, Naspers is seeing value coming in from these moves. E-commerce is growing fast and its “loss margin” has reduced drastically, while this year the classified business is profitable for the first time.

    Proceeds of the sale of a portion of its holding in Tencent will be directed towards accelerated growth and to take advantage of opportunities in classifieds, online payments and food delivery.

    • This article was originally published on Moneyweb and is used here with permission


    ANN7 Bob van Dijk Koos Bekker MultiChoice Naspers top
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleHow Musk’s plan to take Tesla private withered
    Next Article Telkom CEO warns of ‘calamity’ over Icasa regulations

    Related Posts

    MultiChoice: We can’t afford to compete without help

    17 July 2025

    South Africa loosens media ownership rules – but keeps one hand on the remote

    16 July 2025

    South Africa begins complex job of overhauling media laws

    13 July 2025
    Company News

    Vertiv to acquire custom rack solutions manufacturer

    18 July 2025

    SA businesses embrace gen AI – but strategy and skills are lagging

    17 July 2025

    Ransomware in South Africa: the human factor behind the growing crisis

    16 July 2025
    Opinion

    A smarter approach to digital transformation in ICT distribution

    15 July 2025

    In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

    30 June 2025

    E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

    30 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.