The sheer size of a nearly R11bn quarterly gain in Reinet (https://www.sharenet.co.za/v3/quickshare.php?scode=RNI)’s net asset value (NAV) might raise a few eyebrows in the market. On Wednesday, the Rupert family-controlled investment company  reported an NAV of €5.5bn (R88bn) for the quarter ending December – a sprightly gain of €684m over the quarter to end-September.

With Reinet not releasing a detailed breakdown of the NAV, it seems safe to assume that the 14% gain was largely driven by Reinet’s shareholding in British American Tobacco (BAT). The BAT share price (https://www.sharenet.co.za/v3/quickshare.php?scode=BTI) increased about 11% between end-September and end-December last year on the London Stock Exchange … and there would have been a generous quarterly dividend to boot.

Shareholders will hope the gain in BAT was at least matched by further growth in Pension Insurance Corporation, the UK-based financial services business that ranks as Reinet’s second-largest investment. Only in recent years has BAT’s portfolio dominance dissipated, and at last count had represented less than 50% of total NAV...