TUESDAY 7.40PM:
WEDNESDAY’S Parliamentary debate on the rand would be for politicians and the public, not financial managers, finance ministry spokesman Logan Wort said on Tuesday.
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel is considering addressing the media afterwards. However, Manuel has been “absolutely tight-lipped” about what to expect, and Wort said he could not elaborate.
The debate is to be screened on SABCTV at 2pm, and Manuel’s opening remarks will be broadcast live to trading rooms around the world on the Reuters financial network.
Manuel is to speak for 15 minutes at the beginning and the end of the debate, while other speakers have been allocated a total of 60 minutes.
BUSINESS BRIEFS
REDDY NOT SACKED…AGAIN
FORMER SABC deputy chief executive Govin Reddy denied on Tuesday that he was sacked as president of the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association and said that he decided to step down until his dispute with the SABC was resolved. The SABC said earlier on Tuesday that Reddy was booted from his CBA post after he was dismissed by the SABC in July. Reddy however said that he “…was not removed. When my contract was terminated by the SABC I felt it fair to excuse myself until this legal thing is over.”
PETROL SALES SLOW DOWN
MAJOR petroleum product sales in South Africa grew by 1,4% in the second quarter of 1998 compared with the corresponding period last year, the South African Petroleum Industry Association announced on Tuesday. This, however, represents a slowdown in the rate of growth from the first quarter of 1998, where sales rose 4,5% compared with the first quarter of 1997. Penetration of unleaded petrol as a percentage of total petrol sales was 9,2% in June, which was well below the 15% to 25% target. The petroleum industry and the government are considering various measures to correct this, including an increase in the inland octane number of unleaded petrol. Petrol sales grew by only 0,3% in the second quarter, and diesel by 3,9%.
BRAIN DRAIN CONTINUES
SOME 10079 South Africans emigrated in 1997, while 4532 foreigners moved permanently to South Africa over the same period. The 1997 results buck the trend of 1994 and 1996 of a narrowing gap between the two movements, displaying a widening incidence of emigration over immigration. Of those leaving South Africa, at least 5574 were economically active, with 2177 of these professionals, semi-professionals and technicians. A further 4505 emigrants declared themselves not economically active. For documented immigrants who arrived during the same period, 1766 were economically active — 607 professional, semi-professional and technicians — as opposed to 2766 who were not economically active.
HAMILTON AIRSHIP LISTING
THE Hamilton Airship Company, ambitious builder of the world’s largest commercial airship, on Tuesday announced that it is preparing to list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in the venture capital sector. THAC MD Jonathan Hamilton said shares could open at a price-earnings ratio of 25 or higher provided the testing of the HA44 or Mansfield airship prototype — named after overweight showbiz personality Jeremy Mansfield — scheduled for the end of July, goes according to plan. “Once the test flights have been successfully completed, we expect it to dispel some of the scepticism surrounding this venture and remove the technical risk perception,” Hamilton said.
VOLATILITY GOOD FOR VOLUME
FINANCIAL market turbulence has shot volumes traded in both the bond and currency markets soaring to record highs, with bond exchange figures showing volume for the year to date hit R5-trillion. This figure is more than double the R2,2-trillion volume over the same period last year. Reserve Bank figures show that transactions in the currency market shot to $8,8-billion in May, when the currency volatility started, from $4-billion in January.
GOLD FIELDS, ANGLOGOLD TO SHARE MINE
SOUTH Africa’s two largest gold mining companies, Gold Fields and Anglogold, on Monday finalised a binding agreement to share Driefonteien Consolidated, thought to be the richest gold mine in South Africa. The two agreed in principle in May to operate the mine as an independent company. If minority shareholders accept the offer, Gold Fields will own 60% of Driefontein, and Anglogold 40%.
SWAZI CABLE THEFT CUTS PHONES
AT LEAST 20% of Swaziland’s telephones do not work due to ongoing theft of telephone wires, which has cost the Swaziland Posts and Telecommunications Corporation R1,6-million since mid-1997. The copper wire inside the cables is most frequently melted down and used to produce small tourist curios. Police suspect that, while Swazis are responsible for cutting the wire, most of it ends up in factories in South Africa and Mozambique. Businesses and rural homes are most severely affected by the loss of service, while urban areas are protected as the phone lines are buried underground.
ESKOM TALKS RESUME
ESKOM is to resume wage talks with its trade unions — the National Union of Mineworkers, the South African Workers’ Union, the Eskom Employee Association and the Mineworkers’ Union on Wednesday, an Eskom spokesman announced on Monday. Wage talks were suspended last week when close on a thousand NUM workers went on a rampage on Wednesday night, smashing windows and burning cars and Eskom’s headquarters at Megawatt Park in Sandton.
DUBAI GOLD IMPORTS HALVE
DUBAI’S gold imports dropped by almost half to 24,14 tons in June compared with the same month last year, when imports exceeded 46 tons. South Africa remained among its top suppliers of gold, along with Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Singapore and Australia.
BLACK INSURER GETS A-RATING
SOUTH Africa’s first black-controlled short-term insurance company, First Central Insurance, was given a favourable A-rating by credit rating company Duff & Phelps on Monday. The rating report from Duff & Phelps commented favourably on the strength of FCI management, its solid initial capitalisation of R75-million, and a conservative policy on solvency levels.
BUREAUCRATS LET THINGS SLIDE
THE East Cape Environment Affairs Department admitted on Monday in an Economic Affairs Standing Committee meeting that the relevant environmental impact assessments needed for a proposed high-density housing proposal on the banks of the Gonubie River had not all been done, East Cape News reported. Committee chairman Andre De Wet said a developer had proposed a housing scheme in the upper areas of Gonubie close to the Gonubie River. Members of the public had complained the proposal would damage the estuary. De Wet said although the assessment was the developer’s responsibility, it was the department’s responsibility to ensure it was done.
MPUMA WATER PROJECTS LAUNCHED
A R50-million project to boost the delivery of water and sanitation services in South Africa was launched in KwaNdebele, Mpumalanga on Monday. Funded by the British Department for International Development, the project aims to shift responsibility for service delivery from national government to local authorities. The capital will be used to train water services authorities, water service providers and communities, mainly in Northern Province and Mpumalanga.
ANGLOGOLD OUTPUT FALLS
ANGLO American subsidiary Anglogold on Monday reported gold production for the three months to June down 5,8% to 45125 tons, from 47926 tons in the first quarter. Production, however, rose 4% over the quarter to 104744 tons, compared to 100641 tons during the corresponding period in 1997. East Mines in Western Deep Levels remained the most productive mine in the Anglogold stable, with production of 254g of gold per employee costed.