Following shareholder approval last week, Nail's interests in microlender African Bank Investments and merchant banking group AMB Holdings were unbundled to shareholders on Monday. The move slashed Nail's market capitalisation, which was above R6-billion on Friday, in half. Nail now consists of its holding in core insurance unit Metropolitan Life, cash, which it plans to hand back to shareholders and a range of media interests that it aims to spin off into a separate entity. Nail implemented the radical overhaul in an attempt to move from a passive investment vehicle to a hands-on operating firm centred on Metlife. It plans to complete the revamp by August.
Dealers say that the market was largely held hostage to the rand and bond market.
The weaker currency boosted rand hedge shares. Market turnover at R2,14-billion. But fact that both the rand and bonds attracted demand at weaker levels ias an encouraging sign that once volatility fades, there will be a bid for a market that on fundamental measures looks attractive. THE United Kingdom Treasury said it will sell 150 tons of gold in six auctions this year and next, pressing on with its partly completed plan to cut the country's gold holdings by more than half to 300 tons. This second set of 25-ton auctions will start in May and continues Britain's programme to restructure and modernise its reserve holdings with purchases of foreign currency.