2008 has started out like a bolting horse. We've had a cricket crisis in Australia, all sorts of arrests and a little bit of other news. This is all before the Business Day returns to a two insert broadsheet.
Section 38
I blogged about the relaxation of Section 38 of the Companies Act before. Rienzo sent me a link that tells us that the act has been modified.
Companies will now be allowed to provide financial assistance for the purchase of their own shares, or for shares in their holding companies, provided certain requirements under the Corporate Laws Amendment Act are met. The act was passed into law last month.
There are some rules though.
The Corporate Laws Amendment Act does not prohibit a company from giving financial assistance for the purchase of its own shares, provided certain requirements are satisfied.
- the assets of the company, fairly valued, must be more than its liabilities.
- the company must be able to pay its debts.
- the members of the company would also have to pass a special resolution to sanction the sale of the shares.
Joint Ventures
There is a technical report in today's Business Day about how the accounting of these ventures will undergo a change. It has no direct BEE bearing per se, but if you are a joint venturer then you might want to read up a little more on this.