JSE to delist Tongaat Hulett on 3 November 2026

Tongaat Hulett, once South Africa’s largest refined sugar producer and a foundational agricultural enterprise supporting nearly half a million livelihoods across Southern Africa, will be removed from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on 3 November 2026.

Tongaat Hulett Shares Remain Suspended After Financial Distress

The exchange’s decision follows years of financial distress, business rescue proceedings, and an extended trading suspension. The shares have not traded on the exchange since then. All non-executive directors resigned shortly afterwards.

Tongaat Hulett struggled to meet several of its obligations as a listed company since entering business rescue. The company stated that these difficulties stemmed from the departure of its non-executive directors, the transfer of management authority to the business rescue practitioners, and the absence of reliable financial information that could be independently audited. The JSE noted that the shares had been suspended for four years and that there was no reliable basis for valuing them.

Creditor Plans and Rejection of Equity Subscription

The path to delisting was shaped by a business rescue plan adopted by creditors in January 2024. The adopted plan explicitly provides for the company’s eventual delisting and the sale of its businesses.

They stated that the delisting was consistent with the adopted business rescue plan and reflected the company’s current circumstances.

Impact on Shareholders and Regional Operations

In less than a decade, Tongaat Hulett moved from a position of national pride to a collapsed entity. It operated as the country’s only white sugar refinery, the largest producer of refined sugar, and maintained operations in maize wet-milling and land development. Before its accounting scandal and liquidation proceedings, the company supported close to half a million livelihoods across Southern Africa.