South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to its inflation targeting framework for monetary policy, saying price stability was "fundamentally important" in the country’s quest for economic development and freedom.
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/ 26 September 2003
High inflation expectations among producers and consumers are one of the key threats to the South African Reserve Bank’s inflation target, according to SARB Governor Tito Mboweni. He also said the bank will continue to buy US dollars in the market to build up the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
Domestic demand in the South African economy is generally slowing, with companies seeing lower growth in demand for their products, although some pockets of resilience do exist, according to international investment bank Merrill Lynch.
Revenues collected by the South African government in the first two months of the new 2003-04 fiscal year are so far lagging those received in 2002, according to the latest monthly data on revenue, expenditure and borrowing released by the National Treasury.
South Africa’s property market is poised for further acceleration as the combined influence of five factors, all individually capable of boosting property sales, hit the market almost simultaneously, according to market participants on Wednesday.
Consumer confidence in South Africa rose slightly in the second quarter of 2003 compared to the first quarter of the year, with the FNB/BER consumer confidence index rising to -2 index points from -3 index points earlier.
The African Union (AU) is looking to the governments of the G-8 group of most developed countries (G-7 plus Russia) to provide funding for its crucial new institutions to be created under the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad), according to South African Finance Minister Alec Erwin.
StanLib Asset Management’s pension funds face losses of approximately R20-million resulting from the reduced valuation of the South African government’s inflation-linked bonds.
The South African government will not act irresponsibly or irrationally by giving taxpayers’ funds to previously disadvantaged individuals or companies that are ill-prepared or ill-equipped to meet the challenges ahead as part of the broader black economic empowerment agenda.
South Africa can weather the global storm posed by growing international economic integration by implementing sound economic policies and working together to use the country’s more open economy to the best advantage.
New Clicks Holdings (NCL), the health, beauty and soon-to-be pharmacy retailer, says it hopes to begin adding modern new dispensaries to its stores across South Africa during its 2004 financial year, which begins in August.
Many small South African wine exporters could be forced to shut down their operations entirely if the exchange rate of the rand does not weaken within the next six months.
South Africa’s "big four" commercial banks are expected to post earnings rises of between 15% and 16% in both 2003 and 2004, a forecast performance that is beginning to be discounted in their share prices, according to Old Mutual Asset Managers.
Swiss-based luxury goods group Richemont (RCH), is coming under pressure from the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) in Hong Kong and Singapore.
The South African government is working on several fronts to reduce the cost of medicines, including antiretroviral drugs to combat HIV/Aids, Deputy President Jacob Zuma said on Wednesday.
Extensive flooding in South Africa’s Western Cape, sparked by very heavy weekend rains, has caused extensive damage to about R12-million worth of wine at Van Loveren Wines, the family-owned wine producer located outside of Robertson.
South African Finance minister Trevor Manuel has become the first finance minister to address the International Labour Organisation in its 85-year history.
South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has unveiled the government’s new royalties regime for minerals, oil and gas, which sees royalties ranging from 1% to 8% of gross sales value charged on a quarterly basis.
South African Port Operations (SAPO), the government’s new ports operational division created from the restructuring of Portnet, has budgeted in excess of R1 billion for capital spending on upgrades across all of the country’s ports in 2003, according to SAPO General Manager Nad Govender.
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/ 26 February 2003
As part of its fight against the proliferation of plastic bags across the South African landscape, the government has decided to introduce a levy on plastic bags, with some of the revenues earmarked for the recycling of the bags.
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/ 21 February 2003
The South African economy is buffered to some extent from the current downturn in economic growth experienced globally thanks to its improved export competitiveness and rising share of export markets, according to Minister of Trade and Industry Alec Erwin.
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/ 20 February 2003
Canadian-listed diamond exploration group Afri-Can Marine Minerals Corporation has announced a major diamond discovery offshore Namibia which has the potential to be the largest-ever diamond field in that country in terms of area.
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/ 10 February 2003
South Africa has moved up from sixth to fourth position in the UK retail wine sector and increased its share of the market in 2002 to 9,5% from 7,9% in 2001, according to Wines of South Africa.
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/ 31 January 2003
One of the US’s most highly regarded wine magazines, Wine Spectator, has recently awarded top ratings to three South African red wines, an encouraging sign for the local industry in its export endeavors, as well as the ongoing drive to give its wines a reputation for higher quality.
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/ 28 January 2003
Trading in shares of retailer Edgars Consolidated Stores has proved particularly frenzied in Tuesday’s morning session, with 2,23-million shares worth R131,56-million changing hands in 53 trades by 1300 local time.
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/ 27 January 2003
The South African wine industry is gearing up for this year’s 29th Nederburg Auction, its most prestigious event of the year.
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/ 15 January 2003
SABMiller’s John Bowlin, incoming President and CEO of the Miller Brewing Company, is resigning, to be replaced by Norman Adami, currently chairman and managing director of South African Breweries ltd, effective from February. 1, 2003.
Foreign tourists have spent about R4-billion over the December holiday period, providing a significant boost to Western Cape province’s economy, according to Mike Fabricius, CEO of Western Cape Tourism.
South Africa’s Competition Tribunal is set to hear the transaction involving Clicks Pharmaceutical Wholesale’s R281-million acquisition of New United Pharmaceutical Distributors (NUPD), on December 4.
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/ 12 January 2001
Shaun Pollock’s doing a really, really good job for South Africa.