Anglo-American corporation and corporate restructuring in post-apartheid South Africa

The Anglo American Corporation was the largest, most powerful South African corporation during the Twentieth Century. This article focuses on the offshore listing and restructuring of Anglo in the post-apartheid period. The restructuring and offshore listings of the largest South African corporations were allowed as part of a neoliberal approach to economic policy adopted by the post-apartheid government. The resulting financialisation of the economy and pressure on the restructured and offshore listed corporations to maximise shareholder value combined with neoliberal economic policies further weakened South Africa’s already inadequate industrial structure, caused macroeconomic harm and is associated with poor growth and higher inequality.