Sanyati Holdings temporarily stops JSE trading

Civil engineering group Sanyati Holdings yesterday asked the JSE to temporarily suspend trading in its shares as it was in negotiations to secure short and long-term funding.

The company said it did this "to sustain shareholder value and provide management with the opportunity to finalise these negotiations". It said the primary objective of the negotiations was to secure the necessary short-term and long-term funding requirements to overcome significant difficulties.

The company said its operations had been materially affected by long outstanding and "significant" payments owed it by certain government clients.

The company did not disclose how much it was owed by government clients, and attempts to obtain details were unsuccessful.

In April CEO Malcolm Lobban argued that conditions in the construction sector were not as negative as reported.

"We are seeing a bit of a turn, particularly in the last few weeks. Tender activity is pretty robust," Mr Lobban said at the time.

But at the same time he also said important and final decisions on tenders were being held up.