Browsing by Author "Mkhize, Henry."

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Do mergers and acquisitions (M&A) lead to higher share prices of the acquired and acquiring firms listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange and thus higher shareholders' returns? : a case study.
(2003) Mkhize, Henry.; Viegi, Nicola.; Lord, Jeremy William.
No abstract available.
An investigation into the role of listed property stocks in an investment portfolio in South Africa.
(2006) Bekwa, Vuyani Mpumelelo.; Mkhize, Henry.
The primary purpose of the study is to carry out an investigation into the role of listed real estate stocks in a mixed asset class investment portfolio in South Africa and what weighting should be allocated to this asset class. The study involved collecting data from the last ten years from January 1995 to December 2004 and then comparing the data against data collected from the investment management industry, especially those entities with exposure to direct property and listed property stock holdings over long periods. The study investigates the benefits of listed property stocks in an investment portfolio in South Africa, and empirically tests the data collected using the mean-variance theory to determine the impact of listed property stocks on the performance (maximising returns) and risk (minimising risk) of investment portfolios. The Elton and Gruber computer programme is used to test the data to give an optimal weighting to the sector and produce an efficient frontier. The weightings are then used to work out the efficiency of a portfolio as a result of the inclusion of listed property stocks, and comparing it to a portfolio of just two asset classes, namely equities and bonds, at 75% and 25% weightings respectively. The results demonstrated the benefits offered by listed real estate and revealed that the sector should be treated as a separate asset class from equities due to lower correlation of returns between these two asset classes. It also demonstrated that an increased allocation to the listed property sector would have resulted in better investment performance over the past ten years. The conclusions consistently pointed to the increased asset allocation of listed real estate in investment portfolios as the best long-term solution to diversification and volatility, as long as the liquidity and size of the sector improves. It is concluded in this study, that investment managers have underscored the relevance and allocation of listed real estate in investment portfolios in the past ten years, thus not optimising the performance and risk of their portfolios, as expected in retirement fund portfolios to the benefits of the members.
Reasons for failure in mergers and acquisitions
(2006) Mafihlo, Napo.; Mkhize, Henry.
Embraced in this study, is the content and structural approach on how corporate mergers and acquisitions should be planned and executed to facilitate post-acquisition synergies and improvement in customer service levels. The project covers Saambou bank post-acquisition business failure after take-over by First Rand Group, in a horizontal integration process that did not diversify or restructure product or service offerings between the two banks. There being no positive impact on post-acquisition market share and competition sustainability by the two banks, it implied that, the post-acquisition strategy did not adequately address the business risk factors that ultimately impaired the expected synergies of a take-over bid. Lack of proper post-acquisition business plan resulted in corporate failures pertaining to ineffective competitive strategies, non optimization of market and service levels, compounded by poor corporate governance resulting in the bank's internal control procedures and processes failing. Furthermore, poor customer service levels and transgression of the Bank's Usury Act regulations, rendered the organization more uncompetitive. The over-reliance on few large corporate customer deposits added a huge element of financial risk that marginalized Saambou bank's going concern prospects. Hence, upon experiencing few large corporate deposit withdrawals, for instance by Investec, resulting in the bank undergoing liquidity problems that resulted in it being placed under curatorship.
A study of the challenges being faced in funding the Zambezi River authority pension fund.
(2006) Shoko, Zororai.; Mkhize, Henry.
Companies and indeed governments all over the world have tried to secure the future of their employees by setting up pension schemes (Wallace 2002). However, pension contributions might become a huge unbearable expenditure for some organizations, as this presentation will show. While initially most companies willing to set up a pension scheme would almost always regard the Defined Benefit (DB) Pension Scheme as the scheme of first choice, the trend has since changed (Ross and Wills 2002) over the years. Possible causes responsible for this shift in focus are many (Twinney 1995). The shift could have contributed to some companies sponsoring Defined Benefit schemes to have a rethink on which type of pension scheme to operate. Zambezi River Authority is a quasi-government entity operating in both Zambia and Zimbabwe. It set up a DB pension scheme for its employees in 1987 and has not been spared from this pressure to re-examine its pension fund. In recent years the Zambezi River Authority Pension Scheme has recorded huge shortfalls (Zambezi River Authority Pension Scheme Accounts 1999 to 2004). This has resulted in the employer struggling to pay up his pension obligations. Sooner or later, if nothing is done, the pension scheme will probably not be able to meet the objectives for which it was set up. The purpose of this study is to investigate and discuss the problems being faced by the Zambezi River Authority Pension Scheme. The paper outlines the different types of pension funds and compares them with the type of fund the Zambezi River Authority operates. The results of this study show that while the benefit structure of the Zambezi River Authority Pension Fund could have been relevant at the time the fund was set up, circumstances have substantially changed from what they were then. It is argued in the study that if no action is taken, the Zambezi River Authority Pension Scheme is likely to collapse. It is recommended in the study that the Zambezi River Authority Pension Scheme should be changed from a Defined Benefit Scheme to a Defined Contribution Scheme. It is also recommended that the management of the scheme should be changed and that the scheme should invest in portfolios that bring positive returns. Above all, it is recommended that members should take a more active role in the affairs of their pension scheme.