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South Africa could be removed from US trade agreement
Ebrahim Patel who is the Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition recently warned Parliament that there is a possibility that South Africa could be “graduated” out of a preferential trade agreement with the United States as the country has gained enough from the agreement. Patel revealed that in terms of creating the Africa Growth and
Kenya set to Become the ‘Singapore of Africa’
Kenya is the most promising rising country in sub-Saharan Africa currently, with the economic and political forces converging to put the continent’s seventh-largest nation in a relatively favourable position. At this moment, Africa is the fastest-growing continent and it is expected to account for one-quarter of the world’s population by year 2050. What that means
South Africa launches green hydrogen in partnership with Netherlands and Denmark
The government of South Africa Netherlands and Denmark, have come together to launch a US$1-billion green hydrogen fund to help kick-start an industry seen as critical to the country’s decarbonisation efforts. The energy transition plan for South Africa involves setting up an ecosystem and export hub for green hydrogen, which comes by using renewable energy
VEI SA Winner Vuleka: A Platform That Connects Large Wholesalers with Informal Businesses
Visa Everywhere Initiative, a global open innovation competition that sees startups pitch their innovative solutions to solve tomorrow’s payment and commerce challenges announced their South African winner. The event will took place in Cape Town, on the 22nd of June where VEI in South Africa saw an in-person competition, where 5 fintech finalists pitched their startup
Johann Rupert’s worth hits more than R200 billion
Overtaking the Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote to become the richest person in Africa, Johann Rupert has now climbed up to first place of the richest people in Africa as he now has a net worth of R216 billion ($11.9 billion). Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires List has ranked Rupert as the 145th richest person in the world,
ANC WESTERN CAPE CONFERENCE: DELEGATES SET TO DISCUSS 'THE INFLUENCE OF MONEY IN OUR POLITICS'
The African National Congress (ANC) in the Western Cape is gearing up for its long-awaited elective conference over the weekend, with a focus on addressing internal discord within the party. The conference, set to take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, is anticipated to be attended by more than 700 delegates. This gathering
Agriculture on a bumpy road to Recovery
South Africa’s poor agricultural performance in the first quarter of 2023 nearly pushed the country into a recession, but the prospects for the rest of the year are better. Agriculture has in recent years been a star performer. However, it contracted by 2.4% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2022, and then by 12.3% year-on-year in the
SA fights to keep Agoa benefits
South Africa’s trade minister, Ebrahim Patel, will be concerned with wider trade issues than poultry when he goes to the United States next month. According to Business Day reports the minister will be leading a delegation to present arguments to the US government on why South Africa should not be excluded from the benefits of America’s
Manufacturers must embrace predictive analytics to make the most of their ERP solutions
Industry 4.0 is driving manufacturers to increasingly harness and use Big Data to enable responsive, optimised outputs. However, investment in technologies is irrelevant without data analytics to understand the internal and external factors impacting on a business. Big Data gets bigger every year, and manufacturing companies are increasingly able to collect data from a vast and
CPI inflation eased more than expected
The May print came in slightly lower than our forecast of 6.4% and the Thomson Reuters consensus of 6.5%. The slowdown was largely because of a sharper-than-expected decline in food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation to 11.8% y/y in May from 13.9% in April, effectively shaving 0.4pp off headline inflation. Core CPI inflation edged lower by
PETROL PRICES TO DROP MINORLY
It is anticipated that petrol prices will undergo a minor reduction at the beginning of July, while diesel prices may face an increase. Based on the latest data from the Central Energy Fund, considering current oil and rand prices, diesel prices are expected to rise by approximately 10c to 15c per litre, depending on the
GLOBAL MARKETS DROP AS CHINA STIMULUS HOPES FADE, RAND SLIGHTLY STRONGER
Global stocks experienced a decline on Monday as investors awaited upcoming interest rate decisions and expressed concerns over the absence of a stimulus plan to revive the Chinese economy. Equities had enjoyed a strong rally the previous week, fuelled in part by expectations of economic measures from Beijing following two interest rate cuts. However, the
South Africa's Agricultural Sector at Risk: The Need to Prioritize Trade Relations
South Africa's hesitancy in dealing with Russia is jeopardising agricultural exports, threatening the sector. Approximately half of the country's R230 billion agricultural output is destined for international markets, with Russia receiving less than 2%. Wandile Sihlobo, the chief economist of the South African Agricultural Business Chamber, emphasises the importance of cultivating trade relations with the
ALREADY-DOWNSIZED SA COMPANIES MAY NOT BE ABLE TO CUT MORE JOBS AMID ECONOMIC STORM
The current challenges faced by businesses, including load shedding, soaring input costs, and aggressive interest rate hikes, are compounded by weakening demand in a fragile economy. In normal circumstances, this would typically lead to a wave of layoffs and job cuts. However, economist Azar Jammine, who serves as the director of Econometrix, believes that many
CAPE TOWN SECURES R2BN FOR WATER, PUBLIC TRANSPORT AND ELECTRICITY PROJECTS
The City of Cape Town has successfully secured €100 million (equivalent to R2 billion) in development finance to support infrastructure projects. The funding will be provided by Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD), the development bank of France. The majority of the funding, 49%, will be allocated to water and sanitation projects, emphasizing the City's commitment
EU and Kenya Sign Groundbreaking Trade Pact: A Blueprint for East African Integration
The European Union and Kenya have signed a historic trade agreement granting Kenya duty- and quota-free access to the EU market. The agreement, which has been in the works for over a decade, is also open to other East African countries joining, making it a potential model for regional trade partnerships. Kenya agreed to the
Zambian President Hints at Imminent Debt Revamp Deal with Global Creditors
Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema is hopeful that a long-awaited debt restructuring agreement with official creditors will be finalised this week in Paris alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese Premier Li Qiang. President Hichilema stated during a press conference in Kigali, Rwanda's capital, that "it was agreed that the three of us must stand side
DP World Expands East African Presence: Negotiations for Dar es Salaam Port Berths
The container terminal behemoth DP World Ltd., based in Dubai, is currently negotiating with Tanzania to manage seven berths at Dar es Salaam's main port. This move seeks to strengthen DP World's presence along the East African coast, where it already has investments in Somalia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Mozambique. In order to become a regional
Dutch and Namibian Companies Collaborate to Establish Green-Hydrogen Sovereign
Namibia's Finance Ministry announced a collaboration between state-backed firms from the Netherlands and Namibia to establish a green hydrogen-focused sovereign wealth fund. The SDG Namibia One fund is a €1 billion ($1.1 billion) blended financing vehicle designed to drive investment in green hydrogen projects in the southern African country. Namibia's Environment Investment Fund, as well
Average take-home pay slipped marginally in May, but pensions held its own
The average nominal take-home pay, tracked in the BankservAfrica Take-home Pay Index (BTPI), slipped marginally during May 2023 to R14 457, remaining 2.7% below the level of a year ago (R14 862). While the economic narrative remains dismal, evidence of resilience has recently been coming to the fore, with better-than-expected economic data releases. Specifically in the