SOUTH AFRICA · COMPANIES
Key Facts
- —The country South Africa is Africa’s most industrialised economy, and its sugar belt runs along the east coast of KwaZulu-Natal province around the port city of Durban.
- —What happened On Friday 23 October 2026, the KwaZulu-Natal police chief met Tongaat Hulett, its state lender and growers over pay fears, IOL reported.
- —The company Tongaat Hulett, listed on the JSE for 74 years, has been in court-supervised business rescue since 27 October 2022 and its shares have not traded since 20 July 2022.
- —The deadline The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) removes the shares from its main board on Tuesday 3 November 2026, per the company’s 12 October notice, eleven days later.
- —The money IOL puts state lender IDC’s rescue finance at R2.75 billion (about US$166 million); the practitioners’ 5 October notice says R2.5 billion (about US$151 million), extended to 30 November.
- —The stakes Police cite about 250,000 livelihoods at risk, IOL reported, while Tongaat employs about 3,000 people directly and the wider sugar industry supports about 270,000 indirect jobs.
- —Still open Whether the October and November payrolls will be funded, and whether the buyer Vision Group completes the takeover of the sugar businesses.
Tongaat Hulett pay fears reached the police on Friday 23 October 2026, when KwaZulu-Natal’s top officer met the sugar group, its lender and growers. The IOL news site reported that officers feared October’s pay could be the last staff receive from the company, a South African sugar giant.
For US readers, the story shows how little a shareholder keeps once a listed company enters rescue, with its exchange exit due on 3 November. It also tests a rescue plan in which a state lender and a private buyer must keep thousands of farmers and mill workers paid.
A Police Meeting Over Tongaat Hulett Pay Fears
Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, the KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner, called the private meeting on Friday 23 October, IOL reported. Tongaat Hulett’s business rescue management, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), sugarcane growers and representatives of the Zulu Royal Household attended.
Police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the meeting followed fears that October’s salaries could be the last paid to staff. IOL also reported that a police investigation into alleged organised crime linked to the company’s collapse is continuing.
Who Is Tongaat Hulett
IOL said the JSE listing began in 1952, and the company merged with Tongaat Group in 1982. At its peak it owned more than 500,000 hectares of cane across southern Africa.
A 2019 accounting scandal, Covid-19 and the 2022 floods hit it hard. Bank debt above R6.6 billion (about US$398 million) led to business rescue, a court-supervised restructuring, in October 2022.
The State Lender and the Funding Gap
The IDC, South Africa’s state-owned development bank, has provided post-commencement finance of R2.75 billion (about US$166 million) since 2023, IOL said. IOL described it as due to expire on 30 September, but the practitioners’ 5 October notice said it runs to 30 November.
IOL reported that without this money the rescue practitioners cannot meet payroll or pay growers for cane delivered to the mills. The practitioners’ notice put the facility at R2.5 billion (about US$151 million), so the amount drawn is not clear.
The Buyer and the Royal Household
Vision Group, led by the businessman Robert Gumede, is the approved buyer of the sugar businesses under the rescue plan. IOL reported on 23 October that Vision was not invited to the meeting.
Amid the Tongaat Hulett pay fears, IOL reported that the IDC is converting its funding into a 25% stake in Vision’s southern African sugar operations. A letter from the king’s private office to Trade Minister Parks Tau questions Vision’s promises and asks for transparency on that deal.
Growers, Workers and the Wider Industry
Tongaat employs about 3,000 people directly, and police say about 250,000 livelihoods depend on the outcome. IOL said that figure covers the whole sugar chain, because when mills stop, growers cannot deliver cane and rural towns suffer.
The industry supports about 65,000 small-scale growers and about 270,000 indirect jobs, mostly in KwaZulu-Natal, IOL said. Vision’s plan, shown to King Misuzulu kaZwelithini on 30 August, promises ethanol and power, more growers and double the jobs.
The 3 November Delisting
The JSE announced on Monday 12 October that it would remove the shares on Tuesday 3 November, and its own notice confirms the date. The directors and practitioners did not oppose it because the rescue plan contemplates delisting, as the Rio Times reported.
Shareholders receive no payment because no value is expected for them, and Computershare will hold their shares as unlisted certificates. After the exit, the company’s website will be the only channel for rescue updates, whatever happens to the Tongaat Hulett pay fears.
What It Means for US Readers
The shares have not traded since July 2022, so the Tongaat Hulett pay fears matter more to lenders, growers and workers than to share prices. The case shows what shareholders keep once a listed company enters rescue: unlisted shares and no payment.
Funds that follow the JSE also watch delistings outpacing new listings, which Daily Maverick called a worrying trend. Sugar and ethanol buyers will watch whether the Vision plan survives the funding gap, as the earlier Rio Times report on the lifeline described.
What Is Not Known
It is not known whether the IDC will extend its credit beyond 30 November, or whether the October and November payrolls are funded. No payment date for October salaries has been published.
The date Vision completes the transfer of the sugar assets, which could ease the Tongaat Hulett pay fears, is also open. Neither Vision nor Gumede has answered the exclusion publicly, and the Rio Times found no police statement or second outlet confirming the meeting.
More: South Africa news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the Tongaat Hulett pay fears?
Police in KwaZulu-Natal fear October’s salaries could be the last paid to Tongaat Hulett staff, IOL reported. IOL said the immediate trigger is the company’s reliance on a state credit line for payroll and grower payments.
When is Tongaat Hulett leaving the JSE?
The JSE removes the shares from its main board on Tuesday 3 November 2026, ending the listing that began in 1952. Shareholders receive no payment.
Who is the Industrial Development Corporation?
The IDC is a South African state-owned development bank. IOL says it has provided R2.75 billion (about US$166 million) since 2023, while the practitioners’ 5 October notice says R2.5 billion (about US$151 million).
How many jobs hang on the Tongaat Hulett pay fears?
Tongaat employs about 3,000 people directly, according to IOL. Police say about 250,000 livelihoods are at risk from the Tongaat Hulett pay fears, counting growers and indirect jobs.
Who is buying the Tongaat Hulett sugar businesses?
Vision Group, led by businessman Robert Gumede, is the approved buyer under the rescue plan. The sale has not been completed, and no completion date has been published.
Sources: Tongaat Hulett Limited, Removal of the listing from the JSE Main Board (company notice, JSE SENS 12 October 2026), 12 October 2026; Daily Maverick, Tongaat delisted as 2026 becomes an annus horribilis for JSE, 12 October 2026; IOL The Post, Tongaat Hulett faces salary crisis ahead of November JSE delisting, 24 October 2026; IOL, Tongaat Hulett rescue crisis: Vision Group’s Robert Gumede not invited to SAPS meeting, 23 October 2026.
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error
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