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Sandile Mchunu sandile.mchunu@inl.co.za QUILTER plc has set its sights on the UK market as its core business going forward following a strategic review of its operations and selling Quilter International business for about £483 million (R9.78 billion) was a clear demonstration of the path the wealth manager is embarking upon. The sale of the former Old Mutual International business to Utmost last week comes after the Isle of Man business was put under a strategic review by the group in December last year in a move that shocked the industry and investors. Quilter expects net cash proceeds of about £450m from the sale after allowing for transaction costs. The transaction is expected to close at the end of the year and is conditional on Quilter shareholder approval,…
Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za South Africa’s fiscal metrics have deteriorated further as the Covid-19 pandemic has severely contracted tax revenue for the year ending March 31, 2021. However, the SA Revenue Service (Sars) last week announced a tax shortfall of R175.2 billion, compared to its original estimate of a R312.8bn under-recovery made a year ago. Sars said that it collected R1.250 trillion in tax revenue in the year ended March 2021, which was around 12 percent less compared with the government’s original February 2020 target of about R1.425trln. The initial 2020/21 target of R1.425trln was set by the National Treasury before the Covid-19 pandemic led to a nationwide lockdown in March last year. After the economic decline, business closures and job losses through the pandemic, the Treasury…
DESPITE recovering from the heavy lockdown due to the outbreak of Covid-19 last year, consumer and business confidence, the main pillars of economic prosperity, remain in the doldrums. Things are about to get better soon, though. The next commodity super cycle is already solidly under way and is set to gain further impetus as major economies are about to throw off the shackles of the coronavirus. It must have a major positive impact on South Africa’s economy. The current global economic upturn will not only be a return to normality, but instead of a boom/bust scenario, the duration of the upturn could exceed expectations. The two super cycles in commodities since the turn of the century lasted about 17 quarters on average. The cycle in 2003 to 2007 lasted 16…
DESPITE numerous promises and assurances by President Cyril Ramaphosa and Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize, it now appears that the government will not be meeting its “herd immunity” vaccination target of 40 million South Africans (67 percent of the population) by the end of 2021. The acting minister in the presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, announced on March 25 that Phase 3 vaccination of 22.5 million citizens will now only happen between November 2021 and February 2022. It also became apparent that the government’s vaccination of 1.5 million people against Covid-19 by the end of March 2021 was merely some daydreaming while the clouds of a possible third wave are gathering on the horizon. Sufficient shots are just not available, according to Deputy Health Minister Joe Phaahla, and…
DESPITE significant medical progress over the last centuries, infectious diseases such as influenza and malaria still represent significant threats to modern societies. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic is a case in point. The spread of a virus can also have important economic implications. These economic implications manifest themselves through aspects such as loss of income, for example, reductions in the size of the labour force and productivity, increase in absenteeism and because of curtailment measures imposed on individuals and societies aimed at interruption, the transmission and spread of the pandemic, which, invariably disrupt economic activity. The successful development of vaccines against the coronavirus and subsequent endorsement of vaccine roll-outs the world over has highlighted the importance of each country developing its own vaccine production capacity to reduce reliance on external sources…
Sandile Mchunu sandile.mchunu@inl.co.za TYMEBANK anticipates hitting the 4 million customers mark in the next 12 months if the digital retail bank maintains its growth momentum of onboarding between 100 000 and 120 000 clients a month. TymeBank, launched in February 2019, reached the 3 million mark in customers at the end of last month despite a challenging environment due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, chief executive Tauriq Keeran said in an interview that they did not have a specified time frame for reaching the 4 million target. “Our focus is on ensuring that our customers are experiencing excellent service from us as well as on meeting their broader financial services needs by carefully curating and distributing a selected set of new products. “But should…
