MTN has $450m held in Iran by sanctions
Better US-Iranian relations would be very welcome for MTN Group because it had not been able to repatriate about $450 million (R4.4 billion) from a unit in Iran, Nik Kershaw, a spokesman for the cellphone operator, said yesterday.
MTN�s funds had been blocked since early last year because of Washington�s sanctions against Tehran. �Our primary focus remains to ensure that we are sanction compliant with everything we do there,� said Kershaw. �But obviously it would be a great outcome if things did improve.� MTN owns 49 percent of MTN Irancell, which contributed 24 percent of its 2012 revenue. Iran�s Ghanoon newspaper yesterday quoted MTN Irancell executive Alireza Ghalambar Dezfouli as saying MTN had been unable to repatriate about $450m from Iran. Kershaw confirmed that amount, although he could not give an exact figure because of exchange rates. About $120m of that was in dividends owed to MTN, with the remainder made up of loans due to be repaid to the South African company, he said. � Reuters

 

JSE indices keep on setting records

Indices steamed to record highs on the JSE for the fourth consecutive session yesterday, lifted by gold producers and a big jump for retailer Pick n Pay. The Top40 index, which scaled the 40 000 mark last week for the first time in its 18-year history, ended the day at a record close of 40 544.23, after rising 1.12 percent. The all share index also finished at a life high, climbing 0.96 percent to 45 357.81. � Reuters page 24

 

Gold miners can read tree leaves

Researchers had found a surprising marker for deep-buried gold: minuscule traces in the leaves of Eucalyptus trees growing over veins of the yellow metal, they said yesterday. The unusual finding might prove a boon for prospectors in a time of dwindling gold reserves, with new discoveries down 45 percent in the past decade, according to journal Nature Communications. �This link between� vegetation growth and buried gold deposits could prove instrumental in developing new technologies for mineral exploration,� said a press summary. Eucalyptus trees can send their roots deep into the ground in search of water in dry areas, even breaking into gold-rich zones where they absorb microscopic metal particles.

By Business Report�

 

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