Belinda Mapongwana appointed as chair at MTN Zakhele Futhi (MTNZF)

MTN Zakhele Futhi (MTNZF), established by Africa’s biggest mobile giant, MTN Group, has appointed attorney and businesswoman Belinda Mapongwana as its new chairperson.

MTNZF said on Friday that Mapongwana had taken the reigns on Wednesday (September 16) as Sindi Mabaso-Koyana’s successor who was appointed on the MTN board as an independent non-executive director and chairperson of the audit committee as from next month.

Mapongwana is expected to step down as a member of the MTN Group’s Audit and Risk Committee due to her appointment as chairperson of the board.

Last month MTNZF flagged the possibility of a liquidity crunch after MTN withheld the distribution of an interim dividend amid the potential effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the financial position of the business over the mid-term.

“MTNZF shareholders are advised to continue exercising caution when dealing in MTNZF ordinary shares until the company’s interim results for the six months ended June 30, 2020, are released, as there may be other liquidity issues which may have a material effect on the price of MTNZF’s ordinary shares,” MTNZF said in a statement on Friday.

MTNZF holds 77million MTN shares, amounting to approximately 4percent of MTN’s issued share capital and debuted on the JSE last November, when the open trade value was 95percent lower than expected. It was disappointing given that MTN Zakhele, the company’s last empowerment vehicle, had delivered returns to investors of more than 20percent per year.

The poor performance of the shares has left investors in the shares disillusioned and disappointed. On the first day of trade, MTNZF’s share price hit a low of 82c and ended at R4.80 and angered investors who had originally forked out R20.00 per share back in 2016.

MTNZF will be listed for a minimum period of five years, until November 25, 2024.

Main Image: Mapongwana Attorneys Inc.