(Updates with background, share price)
JOHANNESBURG, March 8 (Reuters) – A war of words
between South Africa’s Impala Platinum and Zimbabwe
intensified on Thursday, when the world’s second-biggest
platinum producer denied offering to hand over a stake in its
local unit to the government.
A senior Zimbabwean minister told Reuters on Wednesday
Implats had agreed to cede the 29.5 percent stake in Zimplats
under a new law to transfer majority ownership of
foreign companies to local blacks.
Implats said this was not the case.
“Implats has not made an irrevocable offer to the Zimbabwe
government today,” the company said in a two-sentence statement.
Implats has argued that the stake, worth more than $300
million, need not be handed over because it was promised
’empowerment credits’ for mining rights it returned to the
Zimbabwean government in 2006.
Senior Implats executive Johan Theron said that as far he
was aware no letter had been sent to Harare, but the Implats
board would meet on Friday to discuss the issue.
“A range of options will be put to the board,” he said,
adding that Implats remained committed to finding a solution to
the problem.
Implats shares have fallen 3.3 percent since Feb. 22 when
Zimbabwe issued the company with an ultimatum over the Zimplats
stake. Rival Anglo American Platinum has dropped 1.9
percent over the same period.
(Reporting by David Dolan and Sherilee Lakmidas; Editing by Ed
Cropley)
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