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Nersa reiterates that it has not approved Sasol’s 96% gas hike

By: Terence Creamer 11th August 2022 The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) says it has not approved an increase in the maximum price of pipeline gas to R133/GJ and insists that it “would not approve any increase which doubles its previously approved maximum gas price” of R68.39/GJ. It also insists that only Sasol... →

Denel announces fresh turnaround strategy

By: Marleny Arnoldi 11th August 2022 State-owned defence company Denel has announced it will institutionalise and implement a new turnaround plan to effect a self-sustaining business. The plan is particularly focused on streamlining the company, growing its order pipeline and accessing new revenue streams. →

Denel's Badger infantry combat vehicle

Cape Town to add two new MyCiTi depots in R340m project

By: Irma Venter 11th August 2022 The City of Cape Town will this month start construction of two new MyCiTi bus depots. The R340-million project forms part of the roll-out of the MyCiTi service to Mitchells Plain, Khayelitsha, Claremont and Wynberg. →

Artist's impression of one of the proposed new depots

Utilities that can provide services will thrive in a disrupted energy sector

By: Schalk Burger 11th August 2022 Municipal utilities and distributors will have to "provide more than one product" and will have to develop new services and business models to effectively serve the market, such as by reselling and wheeling power between producers and consumers. These are some of the views presented during the... →

Enpower granted licence to trade electricity

By: Donna Slater 11th August 2022 The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has granted Enpower Trading a licence to trade energy. This is the first issuing of such a licence in over a decade and brings to a total three licensed energy traders in the country. Enpower will now be able to help accelerate private... →

Manufacturing output down 3.5% y/y in June

By: Donna Slater 11th August 2022 Manufacturing production in South Africa decreased by 3.5% year-on-year in June, primarily brought down by the motor vehicles, parts and accessories, and other transport equipment sector, which declined by 17% and subtracted 1.8 percentage points from the overall tally. The food and beverages... →

MTN Group posts double-digit first-half growth

By: Natasha Odendaal 11th August 2022 JSE-listed telecommunications giant MTN has delivered double-digit growth during the first six months of 2022. In the six months ended June 30, the group’s earnings before tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) before one-off items expanded 13.7%, while the Ebitda margin increased 0.5... →

A photo of Bloomberg's head office entrance

Metal recyclers say proposed metal export ban will negatively impact price of scrap metal

By: Schalk Burger 11th August 2022 Industry organisation the Metal Recyclers' Association of South Africa (MRA) says the six-month ban on the export of metal proposed by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), would detrimentally affect the price of all South African scrap metal, and, in turn, negatively impact... →

Home Affairs to advertise first 2 000 jobs for young graduates

By: Schalk Burger 11th August 2022 The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) will advertise 2 000 positions for unemployed young graduates, as part of a larger plan to hire 10 000 young graduates over three years, to help with the digitisation of civic paper records. The first cohort will start work on November 1, Home Affairs Minister... →

Sappi announces first sustainability-linked financing facility

By: Schalk Burger 11th August 2022 JSE-listed woodfibre products and solutions multinational Sappi says its €515-million international revolving credit facility is its first financing facility with sustainability-linked key performance indicators (KPIs) and benefits from the group’s newly developed Sustainable Financing Framework.... →

Italtile to post higher earnings despite tough market conditions

By: Schalk Burger 11th August 2022 JSE-listed ceramic tile and bathroom accessories retailer Italtile expects to report a marginal decline in turnover for the financial year ended June 30. In a trading update to shareholders on August 11, it said revenue was still satisfactory, given the very high comparable base of the preceding... →

Construction of Africa’s first biophilic building under way in Cape Town

By: Marleny Arnoldi 11th August 2022 Estate agent Dogon Group has confirmed that demolition is under way ahead of the start of construction of Africa’s first-ever biophilic development, in Cape Town. The Fynbos building, as it will be called, will comprise 24 storeys of mixed-use space, including Cape Town’s first-ever urban... →

The Fynbos' illustrated exterior, in Cape Town

Solidarity insists Eskom needs more skilled experts

By: Marleny Arnoldi 11th August 2022 Trade union Solidarity insists that power utility Eskom needs more personnel with critical skills, including for project management, maintenance and returning generation units to service at power stations. Solidarity says this comes as a senior executive with Eskom has denied that there is a... →

City of Cape Town develops a standard procedure for temporary wastewater packaged plants

By: Creamer Media Reporter 11th August 2022 The City of Cape Town is implementing a standard operating procedure (SOP) for temporary wastewater packaged plants for areas draining into the Potsdam, Zandvliet and Macassar wastewater treatment works (WWTWs). The aim of the standard procedure is to facilitate sustainable development in areas... →

Gqerberha Boardwalk Mall set to open final phase on September 22

By: Marleny Arnoldi 11th August 2022 The final construction phase of the new Gqeberha Boardwalk Mall is nearing completion and is poised to open on September 22. This follows the opening of the mall’s first phase in March, which involved the upgrading and reconfiguration of the existing stores and cinema of the prior Boardwalk... →

ICD Property gets approval for 183 m high-rise tower in New Zealand

By: Schalk Burger 11th August 2022 Commercial and residential property developer ICD Property has received approval to build a 183-m-tall, 55 level residential high-rise tower in central Auckland, New Zealand, which will reshape the city’s skyline and play a key part in the redevelopment and revival of the Federal St precinct. The... →

Virgin Orbit signs agreement with South Korean group for space launch services in that land

By: Rebecca Campbell 11th August 2022 US small satellite launch services company Virgin Orbit has signed an agreement with Republic of (South) Korea investment company J-Space. Under the agreement, the two companies will assess candidate sites for spaceports in the East Asian country. The aim is to be able to provide small satellite... →

Giant US corporation to use small modular nuclear reactors to power one of its plants

By: Rebecca Campbell 11th August 2022 US-based global multinational materials science company Dow, most famous for its chemical production (concentrated in subsidiary Dow Chemicals), has announced that it had signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with US small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) company X-energy. Under that LoI, Dow and X-energy... →

Magazine round up | 12 August 2022

Updated 5 hours ago A video round up of this week’s magazine, highlighting our cover story, features and Business Leader. →

Magazine round up | 12 August 2022

Environmental, social and governance elevating to safety-equalling status, mining webinar hears

By: Martin Creamer 11th August 2022 The shift from linear to circular value chains has the potential to impact all aspects of mining and requires a rethink, Anglo American Platinum sustainable impact head Stephen Bullock has told a Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM) webinar. In a presentation on the... →

Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy webinar covered by Mining Weekly’s Martin Creamer. Video: Darlene Creamer.

Home deliveries driving higher demand for paper bags

By: Darren Parker 10th August 2022 An increase in consumers ordering products for delivery to their homes instead of shopping at retail stores in the first half of this year has led to a “rapid” increase in demand for bag paper – one of the new products manufactured by JSE-listed paper and plastics packaging manufacturer and... →

Mpact CEO Bruce Strong

Libstar performs well despite supply chain disruption, cost inflation

By: Marleny Arnoldi 10th August 2022 Packaged goods manufacturer Libstar says it has experienced another period of supply chain disruptions, significant cost inflation and consumer pressures in the six months ended June 30, but still managed to grow its sales volumes by 6.9%. The company explains that its sales and revenue were... →

WindAc Africa to showcase research that focuses on latest developments in wind energy sector

By: Donna Slater 10th August 2022 The South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) is inviting renewable energy researchers to showcase the latest developments in wind power at its yearly wind energy academic conference WindAc Africa. To be hosted from October 11 to 13 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, the fifth... →

Aspen to halt Covid vaccine output as J&J orders dry up

By: Reuters 10th August 2022 South Africa's Aspen Pharmacare will stop making Covid-19 vaccines from the end of this month due to a lack of orders, a senior executive said, further undermining Africa's already meager capacity to produce doses. Aspen currently produces vaccines for Johnson & Johnson. In March, it struck a... →

Gas users call on regulator to intervene over ‘untenable’ 96% hike

By: Terence Creamer 10th August 2022 The Industrial Gas Users Association of Southern Africa (IGUA-SA) has described as “untenable” a 96% hike in the gas price by Sasol and has called on the energy regulator to intervene urgently to address what it describes as Sasol’s monopolistic behaviour, as well as to prevent manufacturing... →

Aria proposes interventions to arrest Transnet’s rail network decline

By: Donna Slater 10th August 2022 Rail industry body the African Rail Industry Association (Aria) suggests several interventions to help State-owned Transnet address its prevailing inefficiencies, including re-introducing systems it used in the past and the prioritisation of maintenance of currently disabled locomotives, besides... →

John Deere launches redesigned ADT in South Africa

10th August 2022 Equipment manufacturer John Deere recently added to its local portfolio its newly redesigned and improved 460E-II articulated dump truck. Building on the success of the previous generation 460E platform, the new dump truck offers numerous improvements to cater for increased usability and... →

John Deere launches redesigned ADT in South Africa

South Africa strikes deal with EU to release tons of oranges stuck at harbours

By: News24Wire 10th August 2022 The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development says it has struck a deal with the European Union, which means that South African citrus exports, stuck at EU harbours, are being processed again. They have been stuck at European ports after new EU import regulations were suddenly... →

Stage 2 load-shedding may be on the cards for later today

By: News24Wire 10th August 2022 Stage 2 load-shedding might be required at short notice from 16:00 to midnight on Wednesday. Breakdowns at the Majuba, Tutuka and Kriel power stations have put a severe strain on the power generation system, Eskom said. Stage 2 load-shedding may be required at short notice should any further... →

Swissport highlights appointment of women to senior positions

By: Rebecca Campbell 10th August 2022 Independent airport ground services and air cargo handling company Swissport South Africa highlighted on Wednesday that it had recently appointed two women to its Board of Directors, with a third woman also being recently appointed as its new chief financial officer (CFO). The announcement came... →

USTDA expects to support project preparation for South Africa’s just energy transition

By: Terence Creamer 10th August 2022 US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) believes it is well positioned to feed projects into the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), which was established between South Africa and several developed countries, including the US, in 2020, and which is expected to progress towards... →

USTDA director Enoh Ebon

Business confidence improves on 2020 benchmark, says Sacci

By: Donna Slater 10th August 2022 The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) reports that its Business Confidence Index (BCI) for July, at 110.3, was 1.8 index points higher than in June and 6.1 points higher than in May. Sacci had adjusted the reference point, or base year, of its BCI to 2020 and the benchmark... →

Former Transnet executives’ properties, pension benefits frozen with SIU order

By: Donna Slater 10th August 2022 The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and Transnet have obtained a preservation order from the Special Tribunal to freeze five luxury properties, and pension benefits valued at about R1.8-million, linked to former Transnet executives and their spouses, pending the final determination of civil... →

Wesgro’s Cape Town & Western Cape Convention Bureau secures 11 bids

By: Irma Venter 10th August 2022 Wesgro’s Cape Town & Western Cape Convention Bureau has secured 11 bids in quarter one of the 2022/23 financial year. It is estimated that the conferences and conventions to be hosted in the province will contribute almost R100-million to the business events value-chain over the next five years. →

Joint US-Norwegian jet-propelled artillery projectile successfully tested

By: Rebecca Campbell 10th August 2022 Giant US aerospace and defence group Boeing and Norwegian defence and aerospace company Nammo have successfully test fired an artillery projectile powered by a ramjet. Announced on Tuesday, the test took place on June 28, at Norway’s Andøya Test Centre. A ramjet is a structurally simple form of... →

Renergen, CEF one step further in advancing agreement for Virginia gas project

By: Simone Liedtke 10th August 2022 South Africa’s Central Energy Fund (CEF) has completed its due diligence on its R1-billion investment in emerging integrated energy producer Renergen’s Virginia gas project. Marking a major step towards finalising the agreement between Renergen and the CEF, both parties have now started engaging... →

Polls show German public support for operating nuclear reactors for longer than planned

By: Rebecca Campbell 10th August 2022 Two separate opinion polls undertaken in Germany have both shown that the greater number of those polled want the life of the country’s three remaining nuclear power reactors to be extended, “World Nuclear News” has pointed out. The three reactors are currently scheduled to be shut down at the... →

South Africa-connected Irish aviation group takes full control of Belgian MRO company

By: Rebecca Campbell 10th August 2022 Ireland-based aviation services company ASL Aviation Holdings (ASL) has announced that it had taken full ownership of Belgium-based aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) company X-Air Services (X-Air). Among its range of subsidiary companies based in Europe, Africa and Asia, ASL was the... →

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