For industrial companies, the restructuring process has been mainly in the form of unbundling, selling off noncore businesses, and getting back to basics. Many major corporations are involved in this process while others soon will be. The impact of unbundlings and mergers on rankings in Top Companies will only be seen next year. There may be some interesting changes. There have been significant changes as black economic empowerment grows.
Transformation of society runs deeper, however, than economic empowerment.
Among the parallel processes involved are investment directed at the process and the social responsibility spend of companies. This year we have a look at funds that have been set up on a socially responsible basis and also survey social responsibility spending. This survey is still, however, mainly about size. Old Mutual held its top spot in SA Giants. We feature Sasol, near the top in several tables, mainly because it is transforming itself into a major international player.