Golding suspended as Hosken chair

HOSKEN Consolidated Investments, a South African black empowerment investment company, suspended executive chairman Marcel Golding pending a disciplinary hearing into allegations of gross misconduct. The charges were “found to be of a very serious nature warranting disciplinary action”, it said yesterday. He had started legal proceedings to block his suspension and the hearing which Hosken would fight, it said. Hosken is the largest investor in casino operator Tsogo Sun Holdings and owns controlling stakes in a bus service, independent broadcaster e.tv and a bingo-centre operator. Its largest shareholder is the Sactwu Investment Group, a financial vehicle for the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union. Golding is a non-executive director of Tsogo, which owns more than 90 hotels and Montecasino. A phone message left after business hours at the Tsogo Sun corporate office was not immediately returned. Hosken shares have gained 9 percent this year, valuing the company at R18 billion. – Bloomberg