JOHANNESBURG, Nov 29 (Reuters) – South African media
and e-commerce firm Naspers reported a 7 percent gain
in first-half profit on Tuesday, capped by higher development
costs as its spends more to bulk up its widespread operations.

Cape Town-based Naspers has transformed itself from an
apartheid-era newspaper publisher to a global multimedia
business by buying or taking stakes in emerging-market Internet
companies.

JOHANNESBURG, NOV 9 (Reuters) – South African group Allied
Technologies said on Wednesday it was no longer in
talks to acquire unlisted Kenyan IT firm Symphony, a deal
Reuters previously reported could be worth up to $60 million.

Altech, a $742 million telecoms and IT firm, was at a late
stage in its due diligence when it walked away from the deal,
according to two people familiar with the matter.

JOHANNESBURG, Nov 8 (Reuters) – Johannesburg Stock Exchange
, Africa’s biggest bourse and ranked No.1 for regulation
in 2010 by the World Economic Forum, has sacked the head of its
equity derivatives business for irregular trading on his own
trading account.

Allan Thomson was dismissed on Friday following an
investigation into his trading activity and a disciplinary
process, exchange operator JSE said on Tuesday.

JOHANNESBURG, Nov 7 (Reuters) – Vodacom Group , the
South African unit of Britain’s Vodafone Plc , warned it
expected leaner growth in the second-half, hit by tougher
competition and weaker consumer spending.

Vodacom, which reported a 6 percent rise in first-half
profit, has been helped by increasing revenue from mobile data,
which is seen as a major growth driver in developing Africa.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s Allied Technologies Ltd is in talks to pay up to $60 million (37 million pound) for unlisted Kenyan IT firm Symphony, according to a person familiar with the matter, to help revive its struggling business in fast-growing east Africa.

Johannesburg-based Altech, a $742 million telecoms and IT firm, has been in talks to buy Symphony for several months and is nearing the end of its due diligence, said the source, who declined to be identified because the information is not yet public.

JOHANNESBURG, Nov 1 (Reuters) – South Africa’s Allied
Technologies Ltd is in talks to pay up to $60 million
for unlisted Kenyan IT firm Symphony, according to a person
familiar with the matter, to help revive its struggling business
in fast-growing east Africa.

Johannesburg-based Altech, a $742 million telecoms and IT
firm, has been in talks to buy Symphony for several months and
is nearing the end of its due diligence, said the source, who
declined to be identified because the information is not yet
public.

LONDON/JOHANNESBURG, Oct 31 (Reuters) – When Zambian farming
firm Zambeef Products began considering a dual listing
of its stock, it looked at both the Johannesburg exchange and
London’s AIM market.

Although Johannesburg was closer to home for Lusaka-based
Zambeef, the London Stock Exchange’s higher profile won
in the end, and in June the company became the first Zambian
firm to list on the AIM, a market for smaller
companies.

JOHANNESBURG, Oct 6 (Reuters) – Absa Group , the
South African bank majority owned by British lender Barclays
, said it would merge its business and retail banking
units and has also created a small team of Barclays and Absa
executives to lead its expansion across the continent.

The merger of the retail and business units follows a
similar move by Barclays this year, when it reshuffled its own
structure.

JOHANNESBURG, Oct 4 (Reuters) – The following company
announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency
market moves and political events may affect South African
markets on Wednesday.

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The company said it expects first-half diluted headline EPS
to fall by 35 to 45 percent.

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 29 (Reuters) – Shares of South Africa’s
Telkom tumbled to their lowest in 2-1/2 years on
Thursday after the struggling fixed-line operator warned of a
steep drop in profit, hit by a $57 million write-down of its
Africa IT business.

Telkom has been plagued by problems at its units beyond
South Africa. In June it agreed to sell its troubled Nigerian
unit for $10 million, a fraction of what it originally paid.