Administrators at state-owned South African Airways (SAA) will not sell assets for an interim period without involving the government, a memorandum signed by one of the administrators and the public enterprises ministry showed, Reuters reported. The memorandum, which was seen by Reuters, also said the administrators and the ministry had agreed that the objective of SAA’s bankruptcy protection process was to have a restructured SAA or a new company with no reliance on public finances. A public enterprises ministry spokesman confirmed the memorandum was an authentic document.

South Africa’s fastest horses may not be racing, but a branch of the country’s richest family is pumping money into the industry so that when punters are allowed to return to the track, there will be horses to bet on, Bloomberg News reported. Phumelela Gaming & Leisure Ltd., the nation’s biggest horseracing company, will be receiving a 100 million-rand ($5.5 million) lifeline from Mary Oppenheimer Daughters Pty Ltd. after the racetrack owner filed for a local form of bankruptcy protection.

South Africa’s Phumelela Gaming and Leisure on Friday joined a slew of distressed firms to file for business rescue - a local form of bankruptcy protection - after a nationwide lockdown suspended activities in the horse racing industry, Reuters reported. Phumelela, of which former Steinhoff International CEO Markus Jooste was a director and among its largest shareholders, has not been able to stage race meetings since the end of March due to the lockdown. This has hurt its revenue from racing and betting, the company said in statement. “...

Standard Bank Group Ltd. and Absa Group Ltd. are among South African banks holding off on any further layoffs as they prepare to help the shrinking economy survive a potential jobs bloodbath, Bloomberg News reported. Local lenders join global institutions from New York, Paris, London and Frankfurt that have pledged to preserve jobs during the coronavirus pandemic.

South Africa’s Investec Property Fund (IPF) said on Wednesday it expects retailer Edcon’s decision to seek bankruptcy protection to have a limited impact on its business, Reuters reported. Last Wednesday South Africa’s biggest non-food retailer filed for a business rescue - the nation’s bankruptcy protection process - becoming the country’s first major corporate casualty of the coronavirus pandemic.

South Africa does not want a fire sale of the assets of troubled national airline SAA nor for the carrier to be liquidated, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. Gordhan told a parliamentary committee that the government was in talks with rescue specialists in charge of state-owned South African Airways (SAA) on how best to save the airline, which entered a form of bankruptcy protection in December.

Comair said on Tuesday that it had entered voluntary business rescue - South Africa’s bankruptcy protection process - after a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus forced airlines to suspend all commercial flights, Reuters reported. Comair joins state-owned South African Airways, which filed for business rescue in December, as well as state-owned SA Express which was placed under “provisional liquidation” last Tuesday.

Two South African trade unions are seeking court action to try to block layoffs at the embattled state-owned South African Airways (SAA), court papers seen by Reuters on Friday showed, Reuters reported. SAA entered a form of bankruptcy protection in December and rescue specialists Les Matuson and Siviwe Dongwana proposed severance packages for all of SAA’s roughly 5,000-strong workforce last month after the government said it would not provide any more funds. They gave trade unions until the end of business on Friday to reach an agreement on staff severances.

South African retailer Edcon will file for bankruptcy protection in the next few days, it said on Wednesday, becoming the country’s first major corporate casualty of the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported. Edcon said it had lost 2 billion rand ($108 million) of sales since the virus reached South Africa in early March and the government responded with a nationwide lockdown that forced non-essential shops to close.

A South African court placed state-owned SA Express under “provisional liquidation” on Tuesday after the airline’s administrators said rescue efforts weren’t likely to succeed, Reuters reported. SA Express, which flies to domestic and regional destinations, entered a form of bankruptcy protection earlier this year after losing a court battle with a contractor, logistics firm Ziegler. It later suspended all operations as the global COVID-19 pandemic caused demand for flights to plunge and governments to impose travel restrictions.