Johannesburg — ROYAL Bafokeng Holdings (RBH), the investment arm of the Royal Bafokeng Nation, would continue reducing its high exposure to platinum, CEO Niall Carroll said in the annual review for last year.

He said RBH wanted to deepen its exposure to resources, financial services and infrastructure development and to build pan-African businesses in these three sectors. This would offer both profit synergies and investment diversity.

In the year to December, the value of RBH's assets dropped 33% to R27,5bn. Because of the high platinum price in the first half, dividend income grew 88% to R1,6bn, but due to low commodity prices, dividends this year were likely to be "significantly lower".

RBH's mining interests -- represented mainly by its stakes in Impala Platinum and Merafe Resources -- comprised 66% of its portfolio last year, while cash was 23%. It made its first investment in telecommunications last year by taking a 2% share in Vodacom . It also holds shares in Fraser Alexander, Astrapak , Metair and Zurich Insurance Company.

The aim of RBH's investments is to fund sustainable developments to uplift the Bafokeng community.