Share

Zim severs more ties with Guptas

Johannesburg - Veteran businessman Lazarus Zim is not letting up on his quest to shed ties with the controversial Gupta family.

Last week, he withdrew Atul Gupta as his alternate director on the board of platinum producer Northam Platinum [JSE:NHM].

He chairs Northam’s board and his company, Afripalm Resources, controls the platinum miner through its stake in Mvelaphanda Resources.

An alternate director is a person who is appointed to attend a board meeting on behalf of the director of a company when the principal director is unable to attend.

Last December, Zim told City Press that he was cutting business ties with the wealthy Gupta family, which comprises Ajay and younger brothers Atul and Rajesh.

At the time, Zim said he was pulling out of the Guptas’ ventures to focus on Afripalm’s key projects.

“I am out of The New Age and other (Gupta) businesses. I have limited time and it’s a question of reprioritising my efforts to focus on key projects. I will announce these in due course. The separation happened last year (2010),” Zim told City Press.

City Press was not able to get a comment from Zim regarding his decision to withdraw Atul Gupta as his alternate director in Northam, but a Northam spokesperson said it was Zim’s “discretion” to appoint or withdraw an alternate director.

However, Atul Gupta is still a director in Afripalm, in which his family owns a 15% stake through an investment vehicle, Oakbay Trust. Before pulling out of the daily newspaper, The New Age, Zim was instrumental in its launch in 2010.

He is the largest shareholder of Afripalm, holding about 30% of the company. Another key investor in Afripalm is an entity known as Unipalm, which owns 15% of the group.

Unipalm is chaired by communications specialist Thandi Ramathesele, who is a former general manager of television channel SABC 2.

 - City Press

 
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
19.00
-0.3%
Rand - Pound
24.11
-0.0%
Rand - Euro
20.62
-0.1%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.38
+0.4%
Rand - Yen
0.13
+0.5%
Platinum
902.37
-2.3%
Palladium
1,004.75
-0.1%
Gold
2,152.94
-0.4%
Silver
24.93
-0.5%
Brent-ruolie
86.89
+1.8%
Top 40
65,985
-0.4%
All Share
72,193
-0.3%
Resource 10
53,312
-0.0%
Industrial 25
99,623
-0.9%
Financial 15
16,647
+0.2%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders