The withdrawal of Tongaat Hulett's liquidation application has been welcomed by stakeholders in South Africa's sugar industry.
Henico Schalekamp
Enterprise value is measured not only by what a business earns, but by what it enables. The Tongaat Hulett rescue is a timely reminder of that. The biggest lesson from Tongaat Hulett isn't that a company was saved. It's that somebody recognised its value before it disappeared.
The immediate headlines have understandably focused on the rescue agreement, the preservation of approximately 250,000 jobs and the role played by the IDC and its investment partners. But perhaps the more important question for South African business leaders is this: What economic value would South Africa have lost if nothing had been done?
That question shifts the conversation beyond one company and towards something much bigger. Businesses create value far beyond their balance sheets. They sustain suppliers, farmers, transport operators, lenders, employees, local communities and entire regional economies.
