🗞️ Mzansi Market Memo – Friday, 11 July 2025

Molweni early risers,
Today's market pulse is all about exits and new money: Renergen heads for the door, DBSA taps China for billions, and uranium plays keep heating up. The SENS board lit up with SATRIX and 10X distributions, shareholder moves, insider trades, and state-owned entities restructuring in the background.

Final post of the week, let’s get into it.

⚡ Before the Bell

• 🏢 Earnings Watch:
  Still no heavyweights reporting today, but look for trading statements from small- and mid-caps heading into results season.

• 💱 USD/ZAR: R17.74 

• 📊 Stats SA Today: Manufacturing and Residential reports analysed below
  → View official calendar

📢 SENS Roundup – Thursday, 10 July 2025

• 🔋 Renergen – Shareholders Approve Takeover Scheme

  Scheme of arrangement with ASPI overwhelmingly approved. Regulatory approvals now the final hurdle to delisting.

  TLDR: Local gas exits the JSE stage.

• 💸 DBSA – Signs R5.2bn Infrastructure Loan with China

  Secures a RMB2.1 billion loan from the China Development Bank to fund critical projects in energy, water, health, and ICT.
  TLDR: BRICS capital flows and state infrastructure momentum.

• 🏛️ African Bank – Closes Deal for Eskom Loan Book

  Signs final agreements to acquire Eskom Finance Company and Nqaba Finance 1 RF. Now entering regulatory approvals stage.

  TLDR: Reshaping of SA’s retail credit landscape.

• ⚕️ Life Healthcare – R24m in Employee Share Sales Disclosed

  Over 1.7 million shares sold under the employee share plan across 3 days.

  TLDR: Material insider-related movement.

• 🧪 Deep Yellow – Uranium & Rare Earth Recovery Pilot Success

  Improved metallurgical results at Mulga Rock, boosting feasibility of full-scale development.
  TLDR: Signals energy minerals traction.

• 🏗️ Southern Palladium – PFS Optimisation at Bengwenyama

  NPV now at $857m, capex trimmed, rollout to proceed in phases.
  TLDR: Credible new platinum development in the pipeline.

• ⚙️ Transnet – Forms Ops Performance Board Committee

  Additional oversight for turnaround strategy; also reshuffles audit and remuneration committees.
  TLDR: SOE trying to signal tighter governance.

📣 Other Highlights

• Goldrush – Director associates dispose of ~R79k in GRSP prefs

• Pan African Resources – Buys back 583,416 shares

• Truworths – Standard Bank trims stake to 4.86%

• WTOP20 ETF – Declares 19.63c/unit distribution

• Goldman Sachs – JD.com-linked structured note (GS073C)

• Insimbi, Amber House, Thekwini – Routine board/AGM updates

🤝 Deal Flow

• Renergen’s buyout approval clears one of the last hurdles for its JSE exit.

• DBSA's RMB loan signals a significant China-Africa project finance pipeline.

• Watch the African Bank–Eskom deal as a test case for state asset reallocation.

🧾 Glossary: Market Moves Explained

When the jargon hits harder than a load shedding schedule, we’ve got you. Here’s your quick decode of today’s financial buzzwords.

• Scheme of Arrangement
  A legal agreement between a company and its shareholders or creditors to restructure ownership, often used in takeovers. Renergen’s path to delisting used this structure.

• RMB Loan
  A loan denominated in Chinese Renminbi (Yuan), often signalling China’s role in BRICS infrastructure finance. DBSA tapped RMB2.1bn from the China Development Bank.

• Structured Note
  A debt instrument linked to an asset (e.g. JD.com shares). It combines bonds with derivatives for tailored payouts, like the Goldman Sachs GS073C note.

• PFS (Pre-Feasibility Study)
  An early-stage mining project assessment showing viability and cost. Southern Palladium’s PFS for Bengwenyama cut upfront capex and boosted project appeal.

• Insider Trade
  When directors or key execs buy/sell company shares. Life Healthcare flagged large employee-related sales across 3 days — not necessarily suspicious, but always worth noting.

• Employee Share Plan
  A company initiative allowing staff to earn or purchase shares — aligns staff incentives with shareholder value. Life Healthcare’s large share sale came from such a plan.

🔥 Hot Takes from the Boma

• “If you’re a JSE energy stock and not delisting, are you even trying?”

• “DBSA securing Chinese funding? We might get new substations and better Wi-Fi.”

• “Southern Palladium's rollout plan looks tighter than Eskom's diesel budget.”

🧠 Exec Picks

🛢️ Diesel Pain Ahead, but Petrol Might Hold

August is shaping up to be a bitter pill for diesel users in Mzansi. Rising global diesel prices and a weaker rand could push pump prices up sharply next month — even as petrol gets a slight reprieve.
📖 Read: IOL - bad news for diesel prices

🏭 Manufacturing Output Rises Slightly — But Risks Linger

Stats SA’s May figures show a modest increase in manufacturing output (+0.5% y/y), led by motor vehicles and food products. However, economists are warning of stagnation signs, with the broader industry still under pressure.
📖 Read: Stats SA May 2025 Manufacturing Report Breakdown

🏘️ Residential Property Prices Continue Climb

Property values in major metros remain buoyant, with annual price growth of 4.8% in May. Affordable housing segments are seeing the most traction, while high-end markets are flattening.
📖 Read: Stats SA’s Residential Price Index

🪙 Southern Palladium Cuts Capex for Bengwenyama Project

In a strategic pivot, Southern Palladium will now develop its Limpopo-based PGM project in two phases, cutting upfront capital by R3.1bn. Stage 1 is designed to be cash-generative and may enable debt-led expansion later.
📖 Read: Business Report – New development path for Bengwenyama

😂 Meme of the Day

🧾 Final Word

Today’s Memo is a study in contrasts — capital exits, capital inflows, cautious optimism. As the JSE thins out and SOEs shuffle chairs, the investor playbook is: watch the flows, follow the regulators, and don’t sleep on the miners. That wraps up the week. Hope you’ve enjoyed the Memo and we’ll see you Monday. As always feel free to drop some feedback to improve the journey!

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Mzansi Market Memo is compiled daily by Rayhaan @ the Memo for investors and operators who trade before the sun rises. *This memo is for informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Still, we’d buy low and read high.

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