South Africa's JSE censures Christo Wiese's Invicta

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's bourse operator, JSE Ltd, on Tuesday publicly censured billionaire Christo Wiese's venture Invicta Holdings for breaches of its listing rules related to last year's share buyback. The JSE Ltd, which runs Africa's biggest and most liquid stock exchange, said the rebuke was linked to the September, 2015 acquisition of 1.8 million shares in Invicta by one its subsidiaries, Humulani Marketing, from the company's two directors. "Despite such repurchases having been effected through the order book operated by the JSE trading system, a prior understanding or arrangement between Humulani and the directors existed," the JSE said. The censure amounts to a public rebuke of Invicta but does not carry a fine or penalty. Invicta, a retailer of agricultural machinery that is controlled by Wiese, said it informed the JSE immediately on become aware of the breach and its directors cooperated fully in resolving it. "The relevant transactions were cancelled and the company reimbursed each and every cost related to the matter, including all transaction costs, interest and legal fees," the company said. (Reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng; editing by Jason Neely)