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Macro and Micro News

Digital initiatives could unlock trillions in value for SA, research shows

By: Schalk Burger 19th April 2019 South Africa can unlock financial value and create meaningful outcomes for citizens in their daily lives by implementing key digital initiatives across government services and key industry sectors, professional services multinational Accenture says. Research indicated that the value that can be... →

Fuel prices a sore thumb for businesses, consumers

By: News24Wire 18th April 2019 Higher fuel prices have contributed largely to the increase in March inflation, and industry has warned of the effects it is having on business profitability. Stats SA on Wednesday released March inflation figures, which increased to 4.5% compared to 4.1% reported in February. Transport costs... →

Reserve Bank: Damage wreaked by State capture even worse than we thought

By: News24Wire 18th April 2019 The damage done by State capture is worse than previously understood, and its effects, coupled with load-shedding, are bound to hit economic growth hard, according to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Review. In a document outlining growth prospects for the country, the Pretoria-based institution... →

Agri SA applauds Santam donation to drought relief fund

By: African News Agency 18th April 2019 Agricultural industry association Agri SA on Thursday applauded a donation from financial services group Santam to help drought-stricken farmers in the Northern Cape province. It said the drought in Sutherland had caused a devastating decline in the sheep breeding population and placed the town’s... →

Ncondezi receives shareholder loan conversion notice

By: Simone Liedtke 18th April 2019 Aim-listed Ncondezi Energy has received a shareholder loan conversion notice for 764 165 shares from lenders to be converted at a conversion price of 10p a share. Admission of these shares on Aim is expected to take place on April 26. →

Load-shedding may cut growth close to zero, SARB says

By: Bloomberg 18th April 2019 South Africa’s power cuts could bring economic growth for the year close to zero if they continue at the same severity seen in March, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) said. The wave of rolling blackouts that started in November and are among the worst the country has yet experienced could... →

SARB deputy governor Kuben Naidoo

SARB says too early to claim inflation win

By: Bloomberg 18th April 2019 The South African Reserve Bank says it’s premature to claim victory in the war against inflation and sees price growth stabilising at 4.5% only by the end of 2021. While inflation has been inside the central bank’s target band of 3% to 6% for two years and was at the midpoint of this range in... →

Mashaba says service delivery in Jhb is improving, but irregular expenditure remains a problem

By: Marleny Arnoldi 17th April 2019 Since the Democratic Alliance entered into a coalition government in the Johannesburg metropolitan two and a half years ago, the City of Johannesburg has achieved and maintained economic growth of around 1.95% a year, mayor Herman Mashaba said at the city’s annual general meeting on Wednesday.... →

Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba

South Africa's decline worst of nations not at war, model shows

By: Bloomberg 17th April 2019 South Africa’s performance on a range of social, economic and governance measures deteriorated more in the past 12 years than any other nation not at war, according to Eunomix Business & Economics. The decline is likely to continue as the country wrestles with the consequences of nine years of... →

SA consumer inflation edges up to 4.5% year-on-year in March

By: African News Agency 17th April 2019 South Africa's consumer price inflation edged higher to 4.5 percent year-on-year in March from 4.1 percent in February, the national statistics agency said on Wednesday. On a month-on-month basis, consumer prices were up 0.8 percent in March compared with February. →

Brand SA appoints Thulisile Manzini acting CEO

By: Marleny Arnoldi 16th April 2019 Brand South Africa has appointed Thulisile Manzini acting CEO. This follows the suspension of CEO Dr Kingsley Makhubela, owing to a number of charges being pursued in a disciplinary process. →

Steel demand growth rates to moderate in line with slowing global economic growth

By: Nadine James 16th April 2019 Global steel demand is expected to increase by 1.3% year-on-year to 1.74-billion tonnes this year, the World Steel Association’s (worldsteel’s) ‘April 2019 Short Range Outlook’ shows. Demand is projected to grow by a further 1% in 2020 to 1.75-billion tonnes, the association added. →

EOH shares surge as restructuring takes form

By: Schalk Burger 16th April 2019 JSE-listed information and communication technology (ICT) service provider EOH’s share price rose by 55.76% on Tuesday as the company reported its financial results for the six months ended January 31. The company reported a loss for the six months of R3.3-billion mainly owing to one-off costs... →

South Africa's growing debt a concern – Moody's

By: Reuters 16th April 2019 Ratings agency Moody's warned South Africa again on Tuesday that growing government debt linked to bailouts of state firms would continue to pressure the country's investment grade status. Moody's was the last of the big three ratings agencies to give South Africa an investment-grade rating, so... →

New Kusile unit powers up, 8 months ahead of schedule

By: News24Wire 16th April 2019 For the first time on Sunday Kusile Unit 3 produced power, according to an internal memo to Eskom staff. According to the note from Eskom's chief operating officer Jan Oberholzer, sent out to staff on Monday, the synchronisation of the unit happened eight months ahead of the scheduled December... →

Corrugated packaging paper companies prosecuted for collusive conduct

By: Simone Liedtke 15th April 2019 The Competition Commission has referred a case of alleged cartel conduct against packaging and paper companies Mpact and New Era Packaging to the Competition Tribunal for prosecution. The two companies have been charged with fixing prices, dividing markets by allocating customers and tendering... →

Global finance chiefs prepared to 'act promptly' on growth

By: Bloomberg 15th April 2019 Global finance ministers and central bankers are prepared to “act promptly” to shore up growth in a world economy that faces downside risks including trade tensions, according to a statement issued Saturday. While growth is projected to firm up in 2020, “risks remain tilted to the downside,”... →

Photo by Bloomberg
South African Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago

Council, Minister discuss BBBEE achievements, shortfalls

By: Creamer Media Reporter 15th April 2019 The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Advisory Council last week conceded that the generic 25% black ownership target across industries should be inclusive of active participation of the beneficiaries and not passive involvement. The council met with Trade and Industry Minister Dr... →

Political parties agree on need for business, government collaboration

By: Marleny Arnoldi 12th April 2019 One cannot develop South Africa with a blanket approach, without consultation and discussion and these interactions should not be confined to the election season only, Inkatha Freedom Party MP Mhuleko Hlengwa asserted during a Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa... →

MPC remains steadfast on CPI target midpoint

By: Bloomberg 12th April 2019 The South African Reserve Bank is steadfast that it wants to see inflation expectations anchored at the 4.5% midpoint of its target range, Governor Lesetja Kganyago said. While the central bank unexpectedly raised its key rate to 6.75% in November, its current policy stance remains accommodative... →

Photo by Bloomberg
Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago

South Africa must do 'a lot more' work to improve credit ratings – S&P

By: News24Wire 12th April 2019 It has been two years since Standard & Poor's downgraded South Africa's foreign currency debt to junk status, and the sticking point is its weak economic performance, an official of S&P Global Ratings has said. Speaking during a panel discussion at the S&P Global Annual South Africa Conference... →

Africa cooperation pacts key to new-vehicle manufacturing

By: Cameron Mackay 12th April 2019 The key to manufacturing more new vehicles in South Africa and on the continent lies in restructuring the African market around a cooperation agreement in key assembly economies such as Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and Ethiopia, says advisory and investment holding company UBU Investment Holdings... →

NEW-VEHICLE AMBITIONS Despite the presence of small assembly operations, the sub-Saharan African market is dominated by second-hand vehicle imports, with few new vehicles being sold

SME sector ‘critical’ to growing South Africa’s economy – Pityana

By: Simone Liedtke 11th April 2019 Business Unity South Africa (Busa) president Sipho Pityana on Thursday said the organisation would convene a Small Business Working Group to obtain the view of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to further determine the challenges facing the SME sector and seek solutions to those... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Dylan Slater
Busa president Sipho Pityana

World Bank puts Mozambique's economic losses from Cyclone Idai at up to $773m

By: Reuters 11th April 2019 The World Bank estimates the direct economic losses from Cyclone Idai in Mozambique to range from $656-million to $773-million, covering damage to buildings, infrastructure and agriculture, a note sent out via the United Nations said on Thursday. In the note, dated April 4, the World Bank said... →

BBC, Busa will work together to help the economy

By: African News Agency 11th April 2019 The Black Business Council and Business Unity South Africa on Wednesday said they were equally concerned about the precarious state of the economy. The organisations said they would seek to work in a more aligned manner when engaging the government on the best way to navigate South Africa out of... →

Western Cape aims to sharpen up procurement to grow the economy

By: Kim Cloete 10th April 2019 Procurement is set to play a more strategic role in growing the economy of the Western Cape, the Smart Procurement World conference has heard. “Procurement needs to be recognised and redefined as a strategic activity. Our policy initiatives focus on maximising the economic impact of public... →

Business climate to remain in suspense until after elections – Sacci

By: Marleny Arnoldi 10th April 2019 The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Business Confidence Index declined by 1.6 points month-on-month to 91.8 in March. The index is also 5.8 points below the March 2018 figure of 97.6. →

Rand firms, breaks below key R14/$ mark

By: News24Wire 10th April 2019 The rand broke below the key R14/$ mark on Wednesday. By 10:40, the rand was trading at R13.98 to the greenback. →

South Africa needs to encourage more local patents – Davies

By: African News Agency 10th April 2019 South Africa's government is striving to strike a balance between granting monopoly rights to support innovation, the dissemination of knowledge and addressing the country's socio economic challenges, trade and industry minister Rob Davies says. Davies told a forum on intellectual property and... →

Trade & Industry Minister Rob Davies

Cost of decarbonising global energy system falls sharply, new report shows

By: Terence Creamer 9th April 2019 Rapidly falling renewable-energy costs, together with emerging opportunities to electrify other energy end-uses such as transportation and heating, are continuing to reduce the investment premium associated with placing the world on a more climate-friendly path, a new international report... →

Govts must create policy for businesses to invest to improve living standards, says Jarana

By: African News Agency 9th April 2019 Governments must create a policy and legal framework for businesses to invest to improve the living standards of society, create jobs and grow economies, said Vuyani Jarana, South African Airways chief executive. “There has to be a constant realignment between government policy, business... →

IMF trims South Africa's economic growth forecast to 1.2%

By: Reuters 9th April 2019 The International Monetary Fund lowered its forecast for South Africa's economic growth to 1.2% in 2019 and to 1.5% in 2020, saying political and policy uncertainty remained a constraint on activity. South Africa has seen growth stagnate in the decade since the world's financial crisis, with... →

Rio Tinto approves $463m Zulti South project to extend RBM's life

By: Creamer Media Reporter 8th April 2019 Diversified miner Rio Tinto on Monday approved the construction of the $463-million Zulti South project − the next stage in the development of mineral sands producer Richards Bay Minerals (RBM), in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province. The project will sustain RBM's current capacity, as well as... →

Photo by Bloomberg
Rio Tinto CEO Jean-Sebastian Jacques

Winter plan to minimise load-shedding requires South Africans to use electricity efficiently, says Eskom

By: African News Agency 8th April 2019 The State-owned power utility Eskom on Monday urged South Africans to use electricity efficiently to minimise load-shedding during cold weather conditions. Eskom said the demand for electricity was projected to increase and the power system was forecast to be tight for this week. The winter plan... →

Economic growth in Africa below population growth for the fourth year in row

By: Terence Creamer 8th April 2019 Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest economies, including South Africa, continued to act as a drag on the economic performance of the region in 2018, new analysis by the World Bank shows. The nineteenth edition of the bank’s bi-annual ‘Africa’s Pulse’ publication indicates that growth across the... →

Report says digital transformation has potential to accelerate development in Africa

South Africa not giving ratings agencies what they want - BLSA's Mohale

By: News24Wire 8th April 2019 Ratings agencies are looking for institutional, economic and financial stability as well as resilience, Bonang Mohale, the CEO of Business Leadership South Africa, has said. "While they are looking for stability and continuity, South Africa seems to be giving it the opposite." →

BLSA CEO Bonang Mohale

Namibia commits to rand peg as economy limps out of recession

By: Bloomberg 8th April 2019 Namibia is ruling out dropping its currency peg with the South African rand “unless something very drastic happens", given the close trade links to its larger neighbour and the drive by the world’s biggest producer of marine diamonds to recover from a two-year recession. “We have to consider all... →

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