The City of Cape Town has concluded a major black economic empowerment (BEE) transaction for the sale of the Epping Fresh Produce Market, the largest by a South African municipality to date. The transaction also includes an important and historic agreement with the South African Municipal Workers Union’s Cape Metro branch.
South African Minister of Minerals and Energy Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka on Monday urged the country’s major coal miners to speed up their efforts to improve black economic empowerment in the industry, particularly by identifying smaller coal operations that could be turned over to new entrants.
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/ 26 February 2004
The PSG Group announced on Wednesday that it has entered into a partnership with a new black empowerment company, Arch Equity, which will acquire for cash 10-million shares in the PSG Group as its first transaction. Desmond Lockey is the controlling shareholder of Arch Equity and will serve as CEO of the new company.
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/ 23 February 2004
United Kingdom- and South African-listed financial services group Old Mutual plc CEO Jim Sutcliffe has reiterated the group’s commitment to retain its 52% stake in South African banking subsidiary Nedcor, saying that the stake is not for sale and that Old Mutual is even happy to further increase its shareholding in the group.
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/ 17 February 2004
South African Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel is likely to unveil some reductions in personal income taxes as part of the government’s 2004/05 Budget when it is released on Wednesday, but these reductions will be smaller than those in previous years, according to Old Mutual Asset Managers.
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/ 17 February 2004
Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel is expected to announce a rise of about 10,8% in excise duties on tobacco products — or 42 cents per pack of 20 cigarettes — when he unveils the Budget for 2004/05 in Parliament on Wednesday. He is also expected to announce substantially higher increases in excise duties on alcoholic beverages.
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/ 16 February 2004
South Africa’s 2004/05 government Budget, set for release on Wednesday, should reveal a "go for growth" strategy, tolerating an increase in the Budget deficit in the coming years, according to investment bank Lehman Brothers. This expansionary fiscal policy could prove to be crucial to sustain economic growth in 2004 and beyond.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=31237">Budget could bring positive surprise</a>
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/ 10 February 2004
Continuing rand strength is likely to discourage foreign investment in South African mining as investors look for cheaper alternative destinations, putting the future development of local mining at risk, industry participants were warned on Tuesday.
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/ 9 February 2004
Sixteen African ministers responsible for mining in their respective countries have launched the African Mining Partnership, with the aim of championing and coordinating mining and mineral-related initiatives under the auspices of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=30904">African mining risks loss of funding</a>
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/ 9 February 2004
Ministers responsible for mining in Africa have raised concerns that all funding now being provided to the industry across the African continent by multilateral organisations such as the UN, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank could be cut off due to complaints by the global environmental lobby.
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/ 9 February 2004
South Africa’s exports of wine and alcoholic fruit beverages (including flavoured grape liquor and that for vinegar and industrial purposes) grew 11,2% y/y in volume terms in 2003, according to preliminary statistics from South Africa Wine Information Systems (Sawis), the industry’s official data collection group.
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/ 9 February 2004
McCarthy Call-a-Car, the largest independent online used-vehicle retailer in South Africa and a subsidiary of listed motor retailer McCarthy, sold 6 662 units in 2003 — representing more than R660-million-worth in sales. A total of 61% of transactions were done through the internet, an achievement on par with international trends.
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/ 6 February 2004
The South African government will "soon" be inviting proposals for private-sector participation in certain port operations, starting with the Durban Container Terminal, according to Minister of Public Enterprises Jeff Radebe, who was speaking at the opening of the second African Intermodal conference in Cape Town.
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/ 3 February 2004
One of the United Kingdom’s fastest-growing insurance companies, the Budget Group, has announced its decision to set up a call centre in Cape Town, in an investment valued at R100-million. The call-centre industry in Cape Town already comprises more than 70 companies.
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/ 2 February 2004
South Africa’s Coega industrial development zone and neighbouring deepwater port of Ngqura outside Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape have firm funding commitments totalling about R7,4-billion from the public sector for their ongoing development.
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/ 23 January 2004
Healthcare-related shares on the JSE Securities Exchange South Africa have come under selling pressure in the past week, sparked by investor fears that company profits and margins will be harmed by draft regulations from the government that would see the listed manufacturer’s selling price of all medicines cut by 50%.
Shares in South African retailer Woolworths lost ground in morning trade on Thursday after the group released a trading update for the six months to July showing a disappointing performance from its Australian subsidiary and slightly softer-than-expected sales for the Christmas period.
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/ 30 December 2003
KWV International, the export subsidiary of KWV Ltd, one of South Africa’s largest producers of wine and spirits, has continued to see its export volumes grow in the first half of its financial year, but financially the strong rand is having a negative impact on the group, according to managing director Vernon Davis.
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/ 16 December 2003
The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), the government-owned development financing group, says it will continue to be actively involved in facilitating the co-production of films in South Africa, and opportunities for further black economic empowerment (BEE) in the industry were growing.
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/ 15 December 2003
The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), South Africa’s government-owned development financing institution focused on providing funding for a broad range of projects, has approved funding for new projects totalling R6,2-billion in its financial year to the end of June 2003, a 26% increase from the previous year.
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/ 15 December 2003
Boosted largely by ongoing expansion of the harbour and a number of major businesses in the area, the residential property market in Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal is experiencing strong demand, according to Pam Golding Properties. Growth has resulted in an influx of new employees and a constant stream of contractors.
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/ 11 December 2003
Sun International, one of South Africa’s largest listed hotel and gaming groups, is planning a significant expansion of its Fish River Sun resort in the Eastern Cape, including the sale of some of the property by Pam Golding Properties, in a project that will represent sizeable investment for the region.
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/ 10 December 2003
With consumer confidence rising and inflation and interest rates falling in the wider economy, South African retailers are anticipating strong sales for the key December period, making up for a first-half of 2003 characterised by sluggish performances.
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/ 4 December 2003
Anglo American Farms said on Thursday it has, "after a rigorous two-year process", sold the Boschendal wine farm, located outside Franschhoek in South Africa’s winelands, to a consortium of investors with a 30% empowerment stake for a total consideration of R323-million.
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/ 25 November 2003
Wind-generated energy "could and should" play an important role in South Africa’s energy economy and sustainable development, according to Minister of Minerals and Energy, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, with the first draft of the country’s Renewable Energy Strategy expected in February 2004.
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/ 12 November 2003
The South African government’s expansionary Budget policy for the next four years would not have an inflationary impact on the economy, according to South African Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni. He said that he was confident there would be no "fiscal dominance" arising out of the higher budget deficits projected through 2006-07.
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/ 12 November 2003
The South African Cabinet has approved a comprehensive business plan for the implementation of the Expanded Public Works Programme, which will target the employment of one-million unemployed people over five years, according to President Thabo Mbeki.
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/ 3 November 2003
Many foreign investors are currently adopting a "wait and see" attitude towards investing in South Africa, despite the country’s many positive factors and perceptions of it having a relatively moderate risk-reward payoff over five years, according to a newly released report on foreign investor perceptions of South Africa.
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/ 30 October 2003
Southern Sun Hotels, South Africa’s largest black empowerment hotel and gaming group, has signed a R100-million management contract with the Pezula Group for a multimillion rand luxury resort hotel to be located in Knysna at the Pezula private estate.
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/ 21 October 2003
Sanlam Life, the life assurance subsidiary of listed South African financial services group Sanlam Ltd, confirmed on Monday that about 350 people would lose their jobs as part of the group’s current restructuring process. The restructuring is part of a comprehensive effort to save R250-million in costs in Sanlam Life over the next year.
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/ 10 October 2003
The South African economy required further "aggressive" interest rate cuts of up to 400 basis points in order to align it with economic fundamentals in its major trading partners and to slow the rate of appreciation of the rand against the major currencies, according to Standard Bank group economist Iraj Abedian.
The emergence of the Group of 20+ developing countries at the World Trade Organisation meeting in Cancun was an "important moral and political victory" that strengthened the bargaining power of developing countries, according to South African Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel.