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Sunday Times Top 100 Companies 2017 winners announced

Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, Lesetja Kganyago has been celebrated as the Business Leader of the Year at the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies Awards, which took place at The Empire venue in Parktown. The Finbond Group was announced as the Top Company of the Year, while Dr Patrice Motsepe was honoured with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.
Carel van Heerden (Finbond); Sbu Shabalala (AdaptIT); Mark Stevens (Fortress Income Fund); Lesetja Kganyago (Business Leader of the Year); Patrice Motsepe (Lifetime Achievement Award) - image credit: Sunday Times.
Carel van Heerden (Finbond); Sbu Shabalala (AdaptIT); Mark Stevens (Fortress Income Fund); Lesetja Kganyago (Business Leader of the Year); Patrice Motsepe (Lifetime Achievement Award) - image credit: Sunday Times.

The Sunday Times Top 100 Companies is one of the most anticipated events on South Africa’s business calendar, where industry leaders gather to celebrate the JSE-listed companies that have performed consistently well in delivering the highest shareholder returns over the past five years.

The Sunday Times Business Leader of the Year Award is considered the ultimate accolade as recipients are decided by CEO’s of the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies from the previous year. Mr Kganyago joins an elite list of prominent business leaders including Pravin Gordhan, Johan van Zyl, Michael Jordaan, Phuthuma Nhleko, Johann Rupert, Brian Joffe, Graham Mackay, Maria Ramos, Adrian Gore, Whitey Basson and Dr Christo Wiese.

Lifetime Achiever Award

South African mining magnate and philanthropist, Dr Patrice Motsepe, received the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies Lifetime Achiever Award, as decided by the Sunday Times and two independent panellists. Dr Motsepe is the founder and executive chairman of African Rainbow Minerals, non-executive chairman of Harmony Gold, and deputy chairman of Sanlam.

Ron Derby, editor of the Sunday Times Business Times says: “It seems the name for Motsepe has been in the business community for an eternity, but its name that only came to the fore in dying years of the previous century with his purchase of an unwanted gold mining asset from Anglo. In the years that have followed, he has managed to grow a significant mining business through African Rainbow Minerals and like titans before is amidst a diversification drive that has seen him moving into banking. Looking at previous winners of this award, the panel could only come to one conclusion that his name belongs amongst them, as one of still a few, black businessmen that have managed to emerge from more than 20 years of the new South Africa."

Previous winners of the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies Lifetime Achievement Award include Dr Johann Rupert, Dr Christo Wiese, Bobby Godsell, Brian Joffe, Nelson Mandela, Allan Gray, Stephen Koseff, Richard Maponya, Bill Venter, Nthato Motlana, Donald Gordon, Sam Motsuenyane, Koos Bekker, Raymond Ackerman and Anton Rupert.

Top Company Award

Finbond Group (JSE: FGL) received the 2017 Sunday Times Top Company Award for the performance it delivered to shareholders over the past 5 years. Finbond shares opened at 8 cents in 2012, and closed at 215 cents at the end of August 2017, with an annual compound growth of 110.34%. This means that R10,000 invested in 2012, would have delivered R411,699 in 2017. Adaptit Holdings (JSE: ADI) and Fortress Income Fund (JSE: FFB) placed second and third respectively.

The Sunday Times Royal Companies are those which have placed in the top twenty positions of the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies for three consecutive years. In 2017, the companies that have maintained consistency include Fortress Income Fund Limited; Naspers Limited; Mondi PLC; Afrimat Limited; Trustco Group Holdings Limited; PSG Group.

The Sunday Times Top 100 Companies event was mc’d by Nik Rabinowitz.

Full results of the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies will appear in the 12 November 2017 edition of the Sunday Times newspaper.

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