Tiger Brands Milling around
Up in Zim, Tiger Brands, like other South African businesses before it, appears to be voting with the old wallet against, or rather for, the day that His Excellency is no more, increasing their stake in National Foods from 26% to 37%, for which privilege they forked over $11.7million. The challenge for National Foods, which mills maize and flour, processes animal feeds and packages rice, pastas, and beans, is imported processed foods, against which it is struggling to compete on price. And with a poor agricultural season now winding down, it is going to have to rely on expensive imports for some of its core products, putting pressure on prices. The silver lining angle here is that the Tiger windfall has helped it unlock some of its underutilised capacity, as well as invest in much needed industrial equipment.
Comment: No one is going to get loaded overnight in Zim. Except maybe at the Explorers Club at the Meikles. But big up to Tiger and Co for jumping in anyway.