Star 2021-06-03

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za SASOL’S share price continued rising strongly yesterday after a bullish global oil price had already sent the price up by 6.4 percent the previous day, TreasuryOne currency strategist Andrew Cilliers said yesterday. The price of oil remained stable yesterday morning with Brent Crude and WTI both trading at similar levels from yesterday. Both are still in posi- tive territory for the day quoted at $70.35 (R966.50) and $69.50, respectively. Sasol shareholders have seen significant gains in recent months as the group’s share price has risen 247.4 percent from a 52-week low reached at the end of last October. A year ago, the share price was trading at R124.75. For longer-term shareholders, the share price is still well off the R479.45 it was trading three years…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za TOURISM Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane yesterday urged all social partners to play their part in resuscitating the industry from the devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic in a bid to save jobs. Recent data showed that South Africa’s unemployment rate rose to a 13-year high in the first quarter of 2021 amid a second wave of infections and lockdown at the start of the year. Unemployment ticked up slightly by 0.1 of a percentage point in the first quarter of 2021, from 32.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020. Kubayi-Ngubane said there was a lot of work needed to be done to get the economy back on track, especially that the most affected societal categories with joblessness were black African women and young people. She said the slow…

If not resolved with three unions at CCMA, resulting actions would threaten SA’s economic recovery Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za THE SPECTRE of a strike at power utility Eskom loomed large after it declared a dispute with its three labour unions which, if not reconciled by the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) would give rise to industrial action and threaten South Africa’s economic recovery. Eskom confirmed yesterday that it had declared a dispute in the central bargaining forum after failing to reach a wage agreement with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) and Solidarity. The parties have been polarised for weeks on the negotiating table with the major unions NUM and Numsa asking for a 15 percent wage increase and Solidarity…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE BLACK Business Council (BBC) has lamented the lack of transformation in the commanding heights of the economy. Transformation and diversity came into the spotlight at the annual BBC summit, which discussed the role of black businesses in the economic reconstruction and recovery plan. BBC President Sandile Zungu yesterday lambasted the lack of progress since the adoption of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Act. Zungu, who was very forthright with his statement, said the act was not ambitious enough to push for transformation of the industries in benefit of black executives since its passing in 2003. A study by PwC released in January found that the country’s top echelons are yet to mirror diversity according to race, age and gender. PwC reported that 81 percent…

RETAILER Shoprite Holdings said yesterday that it had sold its Nigerian operations, Retail Supermarkets Nigeria Limited (RSNL), to local firm Ketron Investment, a subsidiary of property firm Persianas Investment. The amount of the deal was not disclosed. It includes both a franchise agreement, which secures RSNL the right to continue to use the Shoprite brand and an administration and services agreement, which provides RSNL with administration and technical support from the Shoprite Group for an initial period of five years. The sale forms part of Shoprite’s strategic review process of its capital allocation to its non-South African operations. “Accordingly, a decision was taken to dispose of its total interest in RSNL,” said Shoprite. Shoprite said 70 percent of the transaction proceeds had been received with the balance due in…

Andre Botha IN THE RECENT past, we have seen the rand strengthen quite dramatically against most currencies. While we accept the explanations of terms of trade and yield-seeking behaviour, the rand has been classified as a commodity currency in the past. We have seen the rand being buffeted about in the past decade by local and international events, yet we still want to know whether commodities still play a significant role in the rand. Making a simple comparison with the four main commodities – platinum, palladium, gold and brent crude – and the rand over the past 10 years draws up an interesting graph. The question of whether commodities influence the rand is a resounding yes, with the correlation between the changes in the commodity prices and the change in…