Johannesburg - The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) was involved in
negotiations to buy the land on which the Coega project was to be developed
in the Eastern Cape, it said yesterday.
Khaya Ngqula, the chief executive of the IDC, said that to show its
commitment to Coega the IDC had decided to buy the land for the R1,5 billion
Coega harbour project and the R2,5 billion zinc refinery project.
"Purchasing this land will act as a catalyst for development and will enable
investors to start putting up their businesses there," he said. The land
would cost the IDC about R15 million.
The IDC released its results yesterday, showing net income after tax was up
by 48 percent to R776 million for the year to June 30. This was mainly
because of the strong earnings growth recorded by Foskor, its fertiliser
subsidiary.
"Foskor was probably the real torch-bearer for our group and managed to
increase its after-tax income by 89 percent to R255 million," said Ngqula.
The reduction of the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 30 percent
increased profitability for the year under review, with the IDC realising a
R199 million windfall as a result.
Turnover rose 13 percent to R4,02 billion against investment assistance
totalling R3,5 billion to 233 enterprises.
Gert Gouws, the IDC`s chief financial officer, said: "Our financing
approvals in economic empowerment initiatives increased by 93 percent during
this financial year while approvals in tourism and agro-industry increased
by 560 percent and 139 percent respectively."
Gouws said the group`s outstanding financing stood at R15,029 billion, with
R6,224 billion worth of guarantees provided by the group.
The IDC also planned to continue with its divestment process and was looking
for prospective buyers for some of its interests, including its stake in
Siemens and its stake in ADE.
He said a further R175 million worth of its shares would be sold before the
end of the year, totalling R1 billion worth of shares sold by the IDC from
June last year.