The low-income national banking account Mzansi exceeded one million accounts by May 15, Colin Donian, the Banking Council director responsible for the Mzansi initiative, said on Wednesday. Launched less than seven months ago, the Mzansi account provides account-holders with entry-level banking services.
The African National Congress said at a media briefing to discuss the release of discussion documents on Tuesday that the rand needs to balance the interests of exporters and importers, and would not be drawn on what it considered to be an appropriate competitive level.
Motor claims continue to dominate complaints about service from short-term insurers, according to the 2004 annual report of the ombudsman for short-term insurance, released on Monday. Motor claims accounted for 64% of complaints, followed by complaints relating to household contents and house structures.
South Africa’s March 2005 producer price index (PPI) is expected to rise to a 1,7% year-on-year (y/y) increase, from only 1,2% y/y in February. Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) will release the March producer price data at 11.30am on Thursday April 28. According to a survey of economists, the range is from 1,4% y/y to 2,5% y/y.
Growth in the South African economy is "as good as it gets", says investment company Citadel’s chief economist Dave Mohr. "Whilst we believe that 4% growth for 2005 is achievable, we are concerned that our new-found prosperity does not appear to be so solidly based as is commonly believed," he says.
South Africa’s Finance Minister Trevor Manuel should cut the fuel levy, which is not a specific targeted tax used for road maintenance, but is a general revenue raising levy, by 50 cents per litre (c/l) on 6 April. In the February 2005 Budget, Manuel raised the fuel levy by 5c/l to 116c/l for petrol and 100c/l for diesel.
South African bonds stayed a touch softer in dull midday trade on Monday with the market looking for direction. At noon, the key South African six-year R153 bond was yielding 8,260% – 7 basis points softer than its previous close of 8,190%. The five-year R194 bond was untraded from its previous close of 7,870%.
Fujitsu South Africa, part of Japanese-based Fujitsu, the world’s third-largest IT company with annual revenues of R300-billion and more than 156Â 000 employees, on Wednesday sold a 30% stake to Yard Capital, a black economic empowerment (BEE) investment company headed by Leslie Maasdorp and Irene Charnley.
Red tape is the biggest constraint to the expansion of business in South Africa, according to Grant Thornton’s 2005 international business owners survey. Forty one percent of business owners in South Africa cite regulation and red tape as the biggest constraint to the growth of their business, up from 34% last year.
South Africa’s real retail sales rose to a 12,3% year-on-year (y/y) increase in December after increasing by a revised 11,1% y/y in November following October’s record revised 12,9% y/y in October, Statistics South Africa said on Wednesday. This brought real retail sales growth for 2004 to 10,3% compared with 4,9% in 2003 and 2,3% in 2002.