After putting investment in South Africa on hold at the beginning of the year as continued alcohol restrictions hit beer sales, Heineken may be about to make a massive investment in the country. The world's second biggest brewer, which also makes Amstel, is in talks that could result in it buying most of Distell's business. It's early days, but Distell's share price jumped as much as 10% on the news.

Results from Vodacom and a trading statement from Spar were met with less enthusiasm, with both companies' shares edging lower yesterday. Telkom, on the other hand, rallied on the back of its trading statement ahead of results next week. Like Vodacom, it has benefitted from a surge in data usage during the Covid-19 lockdown. Also, retrenchment and retirement costs and a restructuring programme don't appear to have been as high last year as they were the year before.

A smaller company that often slips past unnoticed also rallied. Santova, which specialises in trade solutions and logistics, reported a decent rise in full-year earnings after higher shipping rates made up for a reduction in volumes as Covid-19 disrupted global supply chains.

More on all of those stories to follow.

I hope you have a good day.

Stephen Gunnion

Managing Editor, InceConnect