Star 2021-06-15

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za THE FNB/BER Building Confidence Index increased in the second quarter to its highest level since the first quarter of 2018, but contractors remained dissatisfied with business conditions and some even resorted to “suicide pricing”. FNB said the index rose after slipping to 27 points in the first quarter. FNB senior economist Siphamandla Mkhwanazi said yesterday that more than 60 percent of respondents, however, were still dissatisfied with current business conditions. Mkhwanazi said the overall profitability in the second quarter remained weak, even relative to the second quarter of 2020. “Internationally we’ve seen building input prices rise dramatically over the past few months as global demand far outstrips supply,” he said. “Domestic building demand remains too weak for contractors to fully pass these prices on to…

THE DEPARTMENT of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) said yesterday it was aware of stories in the media, including images and videos that are circulating on social media, about the purported discovery of diamonds in KwaHlathi outside Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal. The DMRE said it would dispatch a task team comprising geological and mining experts to the area to determine the veracity of the stories and to conduct a proper inspection of the site and of what had been discovered in the area. The teams would form today and would include the department’s enforcement and compliance unit, to conduct an inspection of the site, experts from Mintek (the Council for Mineral Technology) and the Council for Geoscience, who could provide an opinion on the mineral composition of rocks and analyse an area’s…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za SAVE SA Smelters has warned that 80 000 direct jobs would be on the line if the government continued to delay the implementation of the tax on raw chrome ore exports. Save SA Smelters said as a result of the delay in the imposition of the export tax on raw chrome, South Africa was losing R15 billion of annual income. Save SA Smelters convenor Powers Motsileng said that last year the Lydenburg and Meyerton smelters shut their doors, resulting in thousands of job losses. Motsileng said even more smelters and even more retrenchments were likely should the government fail to act on the crisis in the sector. “These two smelters closed in a short space of time last year, because people are just taking the…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE PROPOSED sale of a majority SA Airways stake to Takatso plunged into further crisis yesterday after the Public Investment Commission (PIC)distanced itself from the consortium while the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) yesterday remained mum about further details surrounding the funding structure. The DPE failed to respond to questions put to it while the National Treasury referred questions back to the DPE. Corporate advisory firm Deal Leaders chief executive Andrew Bahlmann said the privatisation of an airline required a track record of profitability and no government interference, something missing with SAA. Bahlmann said this made the acquisition of 51 percent in SAA by a private consortium somewhat adventurous. “SAA’s long track record of unprofitability poses a grave question as to whether the deal can succeed…

Aspen said it was “extremely disappointed” to learn over the past weekend that specific batches of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Covid-19 vaccine made at its Gqeberha production site, and destined for the South African market, had to be destroyed. This was because of the risk of isolated material in the drug substance supplied to Aspen by J&J from their contract manufacturing partner in the US, Emergent, Aspen said in a statement yesterday. The batches had been retained in storage awaiting the outcome of the US Food and Drug Administration’s assessment of Emergent. “This is not only a setback to both the Aspen and J&J teams who have worked tirelessly to ensure the manufacture of these batches, but, more importantly, has the potential to negatively impact the vaccine roll-out across…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za ALEXANDER Forbes said yesterday it was selling its risk and retail life business, Alexander Forbes Life (AF Life), to Sanlam for R100 million as it reported a jump in assets under management during the year to the end of March. The group said the sale was subject to certain conditions, including regulatory conditions. Chief executive Dawie de Villiers said the AF Life disposal was in line with the group’s strategy to focus on its core advice-led business and be capital light. “The agreement with Sanlam Life follows a rigorous, impartial and transparent process, and we are pleased with the outcome,” said De Villiers. De Villiers said the transaction balanced appropriate solutions for AF Life clients, ensuring both a seamless transition for its employees to Sanlam Life…