NRF appoints Dr Thandi Mgwebi as business advancement group executive

The National Research Foundation (NRF) has appointed Dr Thandi Mgwebi as its business advancement group executive, with effect from February 1, 2024. She re-joins the NRF to assume the role. Over... 

Boeing appoints Henok Teferra Shawl as MD for Africa

Aerospace company Boeing has appointed Henok Teferra Shawl as MD for Boeing Africa to strengthen the company's operations and relationships across the African continent. In his new role, Teferra... 

Civil Confidence Index declines to 41 points, despite increase in construction activity

The FNB/Bureau of Economic Research Civil Confidence Index declined to 41 in the fourth quarter, despite activity, profitability and tender competition data being more positive, and confidence is... 

RCL Foods, SASA launch court bid to defer Tongaat business rescue plan vote

JSE-listed food manufacturer RCL Foods and sugar industry organisation the South African Sugar Association (SASA) on December 5 launched urgent applications at the Durban High Court to prevent the... 

Environmental leaders call for withdrawal of National Petroleum Company Bill

Five leaders of environmental organisations have, in an open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa, called on government to immediately withdraw the National Petroleum Company Bill in addition to... 

Nashua Kopano launches non-line-of-sight fixed wireless solution

Workspace solutions company Nashua Kopano has launched its fixed wireless technology solution called Hypersync that is designed for organisations located on sites without a clear line of sight to... 

Court rules Tongaat, Gledhow must pay R1.5bn in sugar industry agreement fees

Durban High Court judge Rashid Vahed on December 4 ruled that the Sugar Industry Agreement creates statutory, not contractual, obligations that are not overridden by the business rescue process... 

Nampak making progress on R2.7bn disposals; records billions in forex, impairment losses

JSE-listed packaging company Nampak recorded a 2% year-on-year decrease in revenue to R16.6-billion for the financial year ended September 30, while trading profit increased by 2% to R1.6-billion.... 

Global economic growth for 2024 to be muted

The global economy is expected to remain weak in 2024, but inflation is likely to gradually decrease, and rate cuts may be on the cards in the second half of the year economic forecasting and... 

Tiger Brands increases revenue, exports volume growth offset by domestic volume decline

JSE-listed food and packaged goods company Tiger Brands increased revenue by 10% to R37.4-billion, driven by price inflation of 11%, favourable foreign exchange gains of 1% and marginal overall... 

Momentum sponsors machine learning in finance research chair with Stellenbosch University

Investment management company Momentum Investments has established the Momentum Investments Research Chair for research into machine learning (ML) in finance in conjunction with Stellenbosch... 

Collapsing State capacity behind SA’s woes

Two broad challenges – collapsing State capacity and spatial exclusion – have led to South Africa's economy being defined by stagnation and exclusion and the country needs a strategy to recover... 

Hudaco to acquire Plasti-Weld for its engineering consumables segment

JSE-listed Hudaco will acquire the trading assets and liabilities of specialist plastic equipment importer Plasti-Weld Business from December 1 for a maximum of R56-million, which will be funded... 

Despite no consensus on global plastics instrument, South Africa is making progress – Creecy

While the third meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee, held in November, could not reach a consensus on the zero-draft text for a legally binding instrument to coordinate global... 

DP World urges change to cold chain temperature to -15 °C to reduce emissions

Logistics company DP World has set up an industry-wide coalition to explore the feasibility of changing the temperature that frozen food is transported and stored at from -18 °C to -15 °C, named... 

ENS seminar shares insights with legal community, health and safety practitioners

Law firm ENS held a two-day mine and occupational health and safety seminar and webinar on November 21 and 22, during which it shared expert insight and legal knowledge of mine and general... 

Affirma exits pure play beverage can GZI investment after ten years

Private equity firm Affirma Capital has exited its investment in the GZI Group (GZI) to global investment business Oppenheimer Partners, following its ten-year investment in Africa’s largest... 

NUM Highveld region to march against Transnet over debilitating logistics failures

Trade union the National Union of Mineworkers' (NUM's) Highveld Region is planning to march to the offices of the Presidency and the Department of Public Enterprises on December 9 to demand an... 

IEA to seek 'achievable' 4% a year global energy efficiency improvement goal at COP28

Global body the International Energy Agency (IEA) will seek to secure commitments from all governments to improve the global average rate of energy efficiency from 2% a year to 4% a year at the... 

UK's BII to invest R125m on Northern, Eastern Cape wind farms

UK development finance institution British International Investment (BII) will invest R125-million in two 140 MW wind farms in the Northern Cape and Eastern Cape to help tackle South Africa’s... 

Commission welcomes Allens Meshco Group settlement confirmation

The Competition Commission has welcomed the Competition Tribunal’s order confirming a settlement agreement between the commission and the Allens Meshco Group (AMG) in connection with alleged... 

Cape Town container terminal clears most of vessel backlog

The Cape Town Container Terminal (CTCT) has cleared most of its backlog, berthing vessels on arrival with only one vessel at anchor, State-owned Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) reports. The terminal... 

Manufacturing sentiment at its highest level for this year, but conditions remain tough

Confidence in the manufacturing sector improved slightly to 26 points – the highest level this year – in the fourth quarter, financial services firm Absa's latest quarterly manufacturing survey... 

Virgin Atlantic, with Rolls-Royce engines, makes first 100% SAF flight from London to New York

Airliner Virgin Atlantic's Flight100 – a Boeing 787 using aircraft engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce's Trent 1000 engines – on November 28 departed London for New York across the Atlantic ocean using... 

$13.5tr needed by 2050 for decarbonisation, especially in hard-to-abate industry sectors

The world will require $13.5-trillion in investments by 2050 to transition to a more sustainable and carbon-neutral future, particularly in the production, energy and transport sectors, the World... 

AMIE warns of higher poultry prices

Industry organisation the Association of Meat Importers and Exporters of Southern Africa (AMIE) has warned that poultry prices may increase over the festive season and into the new year owing to... 

Higher impairments, forex losses, finance costs contribute to losses for Nampak

JSE-listed packaging company Nampak expects to report a headline loss a share of between R461 and R476 for the financial year ended September 30, compared with headline earnings a share of R75.89... 

Zeda reports higher revenue, Ebitda

JSE-listed vehicle rental and leasing company Zeda, in its maiden results as a listed company, reported a 12.4% year-on-year increase in revenue to R9.14-billion for the financial year ended... 

Mastercard completes significant new payments technology infrastructure in South Africa

Payments services multinational Mastercard has completed the construction of significant new technological infrastructure in South Africa that will enable the company to process transactions... 

Report highlights return to offices trend, warns cost of living may drive workplace activism

Law firm Herbert Smith Freehills' 'Future of Work' report shows that 70% of employers expect more work to be done from the office than from the home in the next two years and 47% expect the right... 

Up to 6 000 Post Office jobs on the line

The business rescue plan for the South African Post Office, published by the joint business rescue practitioners (BRPs) Anoosh Rooplal and Juanito Damons, is aimed at stabilising the company,... 

PRASA dismisses employee following fraud investigation

State-owned passenger rail company the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) has dismissed an employee for the alleged theft of R34.5-million. PRASA detected irregular payments during... 

PG Bison’s new R1.8bn MDF investment in Mkhondo to open in July

Wood-based panel products manufacturer PG Bison will complete a R1.87-billion investment in a new medium-density fibreboard (MDF) Contiroll line in Mkhondo, Mpumalanga, in July. This will increase... 

Africa must do more to advance its own development – Manuel

Africa's business sector and governments must push harder in addressing the challenges facing the continent, as the biggest threat to its development is complacency, said insurance and investment... 

Clean technology leads as African foreign direct investment rebounds

Advisory and professional services firm EY's eleventh Africa Attractiveness Report found that clean technology led the foreign direct investment (FDI) drive into Africa against a backdrop of a... 

PPC reports higher interim revenue, earnings

JSE-listed cement and construction materials company PPC has reported a 20.9% year-on-year increase in revenue to R6-billion for the six months ended September 30.  Its earnings before interest,... 

PPC to sell its stake in Rwanda business

JSE-listed construction materials supplier PPC has concluded an agreement to sell its 51% shareholding of Rwandan integrated cement manufacturer Cimerwa for $42.5-million to Kenya-based National... 

Hydrogen electrolyser capacity expected to increase by 143% over two years

Global hydrogen electrolyser supply capacity is expected to increase by 143% over the next two years, after having increased by 103% from 2022 to 2023, the ‘Hydrogen Electrolyser Supplier’ report,... 

Spear breaks ground on George Airport Business Park light industrial, logistics hub

JSE-listed real estate investment trust Spear has broken ground on its R400-million investment into the Airport Business Park, in George, in the Western Cape. The 19.5 ha development will provide a... 

Open Access to launch Phase 2 of Isando ICT hub in early 2024

Data centre services company Open Access Data Centres (OADC) is preparing to launch the larger Phase 2 of its Isando information and communications technology (ICT) hub, in Gauteng, in the first...