That said, Naspers [JSE:NPN] is committed to retaining a primary listing on the JSE, the CEO said in Johannesburg, where he was
attending a summit of Brics nations.
“The logical next step would be to list parts of the business to see
of we can reduce the overall size,” he said. “We are discussing with our
board.”
Naspers has for years ridden the back of an early-stage investment in
Tencent that’s paid off many times over. The company has since scoured
the globe for opportunities to replicate that success, and has put cash
into ventures ranging from online travel agents in India, food delivery
in Brazil and education software in the US. There’s still plenty of
investment opportunities available, meaning Naspers isn’t considering a
buyback, Van Dijk said.
The shares closed trading in Johannesburg at R3 315.28 on Thursday, valuing the company at almost R1.5 trillion ($114bn).
Mobile-payment technology has been identified as a cornerstone of
Naspers’s investment strategy, Van Dijk said. The Cape Town-based
company will spend “several billions” of dollars in the industry, with
the most recent purchase being ZOOZ in Israel. Online education -
particularly in skills such as writing code - is another high-potential
area, while future markets include technology to help the elderly.
“We believe the world needs tens of millions more software
engineers,” Van Dijk said. “Online education is an area we’re really
excited about.”
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