Former Exxaro CEO named Sasol's chairperson designate

Sasol announced on Thursday that its chairperson Dr Mandla Gantsho will step down after the company's annual general meeting in November. 

Gantsho is set to be replaced by Sipho Nkosi, the former CEO of Exxaro Resources.

The energy and chemicals company said Nkosi will join the group's board on May 1 as independent non-executive chairman designate, to succeed Gantsho at the conclusion of the AGM. 

"I am pleased to hand over the reins to a person of Sipho’s calibre and I am confident that he will provide the necessary direction and leadership in an exciting chapter of Sasol’s history. He will continue to be supported by a strong Board comprised of a diversity of skills and experience," Gantsho said in a statement. 

Brexit delayed

Brexit is on course to be delayed until the end of October under a plan to avoid a chaotic no-deal split, risking six more months of political uncertainty over Britain’s ties to the European Union.

The blueprint hashed out during six hours of talks in Brussels allows the UK to stay in the bloc until October 31, with a review of progress to be held in June. British Prime Minister Theresa May accepted the offer and must now sell it to skeptical members of Parliament in London.

May will need to return to London on Thursday and explain the delay she had previously said would be unacceptable to a Parliament and a Conservative Party that are losing patience with her leadership. 

Asian stocks retreat on Fed minutes

Adam Haigh, Bloomberg 

Asian stocks drifted after the Federal Reserve did little to alter investor expectations that interest rates in the US are likely on hold for the remainder of this year.

Treasuries yields were little changed.Chinese and Hong Kong shares led losses, while declines were more modest in Australia and Japan.

S&P 500 Index futures were flat after the benchmark climbed Wednesday following unexpectedly soft inflation data that boosted the Fed’s wait-and-see approach to rate hikes.

Australian bonds rose, tracking overnight moves higher in sovereign debt as central bankers detailed weakness in the economic outlook.

The pound was steady as European Union leaders agreed to extend the date of Britain’s departure from the bloc to October 31.

Global equities are showing signs of fatigue after a strong start to the year. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi reiterated warnings that global risks continue to batter the region’s economy as the ECB signaled no rate hikes for the rest of 2019.

Despite a US economy that is forecast to grow above trend with low unemployment, Fed minutes showed concern about external drags such as slowing European growth, the potential of a disruptive Brexit and the ongoing trade war.

“The concern that the Fed has is, on the inflation front they might want to pause for longer, on the financial stability front, they might want to leave on the table the potential for another rate hike because that would cool some of the froth in financial markets,” Catherine Mann, global chief economist at Citigroup, told Bloomberg TV in New York. Elsewhere, oil retreated from a five-month high after U.S. government data showed the biggest drop in gasoline stockpiles since 2017.

AYO denies claims of altering financial results

AYO Technology Solutions has denied its unaudited financials were amended, saying it is "extremely perturbed" by allegations made by two former executives. 

"AYO strongly refutes such claims and wishes to assure all stakeholders that this was not the case," a company spokesperson said on Wednesday evening.   

The IT group released the statement shortly after the JSE announced it had asked AYO to engage with its external auditors "on an urgent basis" in light of testimony presented at the ongoing judicial commission of inquiry into state-run asset manager the Public Investment Corporation.