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/ 25 October 2006
South Africa’s latest Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, outlined by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel on Wednesday, combines real increases in spending of 9,7% in the current 2006/07 financial year and 7% real average spending rises in each of the next three years, with almost perfectly balanced budgets in all four years.
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/ 25 October 2006
South African Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel has revised upward by R29,6-billion the government’s projected revenue collections for the 2006/07 financial year. The sharp increase — to R486,4-billion from R456,8-billion estimated in February’s national budget — was attributable largely to higher-than-expected collections in corporate and individual income tax.
Sanlam, South Africa’s second-largest life insurer, has confirmed it is examining a possible acquisition of the United Kingdom life insurance business of General Electric (GE) as one of several opportunities for enhancing its capital efficiency. In a statement on Monday, Sanlam said, however, that its evaluation of the GE business was at an "embryonic stage".
The average price of wines sold at the 32nd Nederburg Auction over the weekend fell 25% from those attained in 2005, with the market experiencing a correction after having soared 90% last year. The 2006 auction, which returned to a two-day format and offered more wine versus 2005, also saw the return to prominence of supermarkets amongst the buyers.
The South African wine industry marked a milestone on Wednesday with the launch of Women in Wine, the country’s first wine producing company that is owned, controlled and managed by women, during the second day of Cape Wine 2006, the industry’s bi-annual international trade exhibition.
Echoing the message of his last weekly newsletter, President Thabo Mbeki on Friday called on members of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) to serve the people of South Africa ”with no expectation of reward in terms of personal wealth, power, position or prestige”.
The South African government does not expect the recent power blackouts experienced in the Western Cape to either derail economic growth or impact adversely on investment in the country, according to President Thabo Mbeki. Mbeki said the power failures would not derail the gross domestic product growth target of an average of 6% between 2010 and 2014.
There could be "inflationary consequences" for South Africa if economic growth was higher than the annual 4,5% rate shown by research to be the country’s potential output rate, according to South African Reserve Bank (SARB) governor Tito Mboweni.
South Africa’s ruling African National Congress will convene a special meeting of its national executive committee (NEC) solely to address the conclusions contained in the Inspector General (IG) of Intelligence’s report on the ongoing fraudulent e-mail scandal, according to ANC spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama.
Listed short-term insurer Santam has launched South Africa’s first affordable household insurance product aimed at the lower-income sector, the company announced on Monday. The new product, called Santam MultiHome, is initially being launched to homeowners in Soweto.