Due to the "tremendous response" by taxpayers to meet Friday’s 2005 tax return deadline, offices of the South African Revenue Service will open countrywide on Saturday from 8am to 12.30pm in order to accept returns, Sars said in a statement on Thursday. About two million taxpayers had submitted their tax returns by Thursday.
According to South Africa’s Competition Tribunal, any public-interest concerns over the merger between listed retailer Edgars Consolidated Stores (Edcon) and Topics, regarding cheap clothing imports from China and the effect on local employment, cannot be cured by the imposition of a merger condition on a single firm.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has recognised the critical role to be played by the private sector in combating poverty in Africa, while pledging to push for the "best possible package" for the continent during the summit of the Group of Eight (G8) leading industrialised countries in Gleneagles, Scotland, set to begin on Wednesday.
International banking group Barclays bought up a total of 1,158-million shares in Absa in the open market on Wednesday at prices ranging from R81,65 to R81,81 per share, adding to the 554 400 shares it purchased on Tuesday, the company revealed on Thursday.
The United States business community sees great potential for growth in the relationship between the US and South Africa, with more and more US businesses interested in investing in, exporting to, and importing from this country, according to Thomas Donohue, president of the US Chamber of Commerce.
Quick-service restaurant group Famous Brands is confident of experiencing enough sustained demand to open 80 new restaurants per year on average across its franchises over the next three years, the company said in its 2005 annual report, published on Tuesday.
The World Economic Forum’s 15th annual Africa Economic Summit has opened in Cape Town with a strong call by business to support the proposals contained in the recent Commission for Africa report for promoting economic growth and development across the continent.
AltX-listed branded food producer All Joy Foods has reported a dip in its headline earnings per share for the year to the end of February 2005 to 6,3 cents, from seven cents a year earlier. No dividend was declared for the year. At the same time, All Joy said it has agreed to acquire 100% of the operations of Retailer Brands.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) begins its 15th annual Africa Economic Summit in Cape Town on Wednesday with leaders from some of Africa’s top companies and multinationals calling for the strong voice of business to be heard in the flow of targeted aid and investment on the continent.
Edgars Consolidated Stores, one of South Africa’s largest retailers, says it has no response to Thursday’s call by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) for investors to disinvest from Edcon shares. "We can’t comment on what drives fund managers’ investment decisions," said Edcon’s executive manager for investor relations Tessa Christelis on Friday.