S.Africa Anglo chair list includes Ramaphosa: source

By James Macharia

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa has put together a list of proposed black candidates for a new chairman of Anglo American Plc, including business magnate and former union leader Cyril Ramaphosa, a government source said on Thursday.

The country wants to have a stronger influence in Anglo, South Africa's biggest mining player, especially now that it is a target of a "merger of equals" proposal from rival Xstrata, said the high level source, who declined to be named.

Anglo has the bulk of its global workforce in South Africa, and the government wants to avoid any potential job losses. The country has also been trying to redress the exclusion of blacks from the economy under decades of white apartheid rule.

South African Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu confirmed the government wants a black to replace retiring Anglo Chairman Mark Moody-Stuart, but did not name any candidates.

"Anglo American is rooted in South Africa and it is one of the single biggest players in the South African economy," Shabangu told Reuters via email.

"Therefore, in line with government policy, we would prefer to have a black South African as the chairperson of Anglo. We believe this would be a positive signal that, going forward, Anglo is committed to South Africa, to the transformation of our economy and the development our country."

The government source said the list of potential black candidates to replace Moody-Stuart, includes Ramaphosa, a former trade unionist who also served as the secretary-general of the ruling African National Congress party.

Ramaphosa's Shanduka Holdings is one of South Africa's biggest black-owned groups, with stakes in Africa's biggest bank by assets, Standard Bank and insurer Liberty.