S. African Labor Group Calls on Steinhoff CEO to Quit Over Loan
(Bloomberg) -- Steinhoff International Holdings NV Acting Chief Executive Officer Danie van der Merwe should resign after it emerged he borrowed 26.4 million rand ($2.1 million) backed by company shares a week before the stock collapsed, according to the Federation of Unions of South Africa.
“The timing of the loan application is highly suspicious and smacks of insider trading,” Fedusa said in a statement Friday. “There is absolutely no way that Steinhoff top executives, including Van der Merwe, could not have full knowledge of what was going on, on the eve of the share collapse.”
Steinhoff said earlier that the Nov. 29 loan taken out by Van der Merwe's personal investment company from Investec Plc had been repaid. It's standard practice for lenders to accept personal assets as security for loans and the transactions have no implications for the company, a Steinhoff spokeswoman said.
Steinhoff reported accounting irregularities on Dec. 5, causing the shares to crash more than 80 percent in three days. Van der Merwe was promoted from chief operating officer to acting CEO on Dec. 19. Bloomberg News reported the loan earlier on Friday.
Read More: Steinhoff CEO Pays Share-Backed Loan Taken Days Before Fall
To contact the reporter on this story: John Bowker in Johannesburg at jbowker2@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net, Hilton Shone
©2018 Bloomberg L.P.
-
The Economic Imperative: Analysing The Material Driving Force Behind India-Canada Strategic Reset
This economic complementarity is further reinforced by deep institutional investment ties and talent mobility, which form the bedrock of the bilateral framework.
-
Medicine Pricing: Where Must Profit Stop?
India must confront excessive margins, hidden incentives and regulatory gaps that threaten the integrity of medicine.
-
Why Amazon And Flipkart Are Struggling To Beat Meesho In India's Smaller Cities
With 274 million users and lowest-cost logistics, Meesho is defending its value commerce crown against giants like Amazon and Flipkart.
-
High US Salaries, No Green Card Certainty: The Financial Calculation Facing Indian H-1B Families
The suspension of PERM processing at eight technology employers does not cancel existing H-1B visas. What it does is force a question many Indian families have been avoiding: is the US salary worth tying your career and family plans to one employer?
-
Swiggy vs Eternal: Food Delivery's Two Rivals Are No Longer In The Same Race
Eternal is building a private AI assistant, dark.ai. Swiggy is still working out how to make Instamart pay, with an operating loss of Rs 895 crore in the July-September quarter while Blinkit stayed profitable.
-
Where You Live Shapes How You Get To Work | The Reason Why
Two-wheelers are the most popular way to get to work in India, accounting for nearly 43% of workplace commutes.
-
Unhedged Position: Can India See An Indonesia-Style Time Correction?
The Nifty is trading below levels it first clocked in 2024. Is there, then, as I have suggested in the headline, potential that the current time correction drags on painfully for the next three-five, even ten years?
-
Navigating Friction And Energy Realities: An Analysis Of Marco Rubio's October Visit To India
Occurring at a critical juncture marked by stalled trade negotiations and escalating geopolitical pressures over global energy supplies, the visit offers a profound window into modern US-India relations.
-
India Exports Capital. Why Not Export Trusteeship?
The big question, then, is whether India can build an institution that global borrowers, investors, banks, and lawyers can trust, even without an Indian connection.
-
France's Economy & Politics Are In Crisis | The Reason Why
Let's look at how the French economy and politics evolved under Nicolas Sarkozy, Franois Hollande and Emmanuel Macron.
