Star 2021-12-15

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za SOUTH Africa’s tourism and hospitality industry will breathe a sigh of relief as international holidaymakers can now book their stays after the UK lifted travel restrictions. UK health secretary Sajid Javid yesterday announced that they will remove all 11 countries, including South Africa, from the controversial “red list” from 4am today. Javid said the UK would not keep restrictive measures in place for a moment longer than it needed to as Omicron had already spread far and wide. “Now that there is community transmission of Omicron in the UK, and Omicron has spread so widely across the world, the travel red list is less effective in slowing the incursion of Omicron from abroad,” Javid said. Following the announcement, UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said all current testing…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za MTN NIGERIA, a unit of the MTN Group, cemented its position as a leading mobile operator in that country, after securing the 100MHZ spectrum licences in the 3.5GHz spectrum band that will be used for the fifth generation (5G) network during an auction by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the company said yesterday. The licence was awarded a month after MTN Nigeria received an in-principle approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria to operate mobile money services, with the aim of driving financial inclusion. Commenting on the award, MTN Nigeria chief executive Karl Toriola said 5G was the future of technology and offered the possibility of new and advanced services for customers. “Our successful bid represents an opportunity to be at the forefront of these technological advancements…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za Consumer confidence in South Africa remained fairly deep in negative terrain and could deteriorate early in the new year on the back of prevailing Omicron Covid variant. According to the FNB, consumer sentiment has remained depressed due to soaring fuel prices, the resumption of rolling blackouts, further job losses and the threat of a fourth wave of Covid-19 infections. The FNB/BER Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) released yesterday showed that confidence edged up slightly, from -10 to -9 index points, during the fourth quarter of 2021. However, at -9 index points, the CCI remained well below the average CCI reading of +2 points and therefore still pointed to low levels of consumer confidence. FNB senior economist Siphamandla Mkhwanazi said consumers were faced with a “welter of conflicting signals”…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za The construction industry is more positive about the year ahead, with more government-led infrastructure spend on the cards and greater private sector investment likely. These were some of the insights from a 2022 Construction Industry Outlook survey conducted by RIB CCS in Africa and the Middle East in the final quarter of 2021. This is good news for an industry that has been under severe pressure over the past few years due to a dearth of government infrastructure investment, weak economic growth that has pared private sector spending, low business confidence and the impact of the pandemic on the sector. RIB CCS chief executive Andrew Skudder said in South Africa alone, the total value of plans passed for building construction fell by 37 percent year-on-year in the…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za Most of the 31 largest asset managers in South Africa perform poorly in their climate integration initiatives when assessed against international best practice standards, a survey by the shareholder activism group, Just Share, shows. Asset managers’ portfolios and their engagement with asset owners and investee companies have a crucial role to play in greenhouse gas emission reduction and climate-resilient development required by the Paris Agreement, and the Just Share survey is the first time stakeholders such as retail investors, pension fund trustees, foundations, university endowments, and civil society organisations can assess the extent that the local asset management community is meeting international best practice in integrating climate risk into investment decision-making. Just Share’s director of Climate Change Engagement, Robyn Hugo, said the findings showed that there were…

South Africa has rejected Eskom’s request to remain exempt from pollution standards at some coal-fired power stations, which the utility said yesterday would force it to immediately shut down 16 000MW of capacity. That equals about a third of the generating capacity of Africa’s most industrialised country. South Africa relies on Eskom for more than 90 percent of its electricity, which derives chiefly from 15 ageing coal-fired power stations, for which it has enjoyed waivers on emissions limits for soot, nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide. The heavily-indebted provider says it cannot afford the technology required to meet them. “If implemented, the decision will result in an immediate shutting down of 16 000MW of installed coal fired capacity,” Eskom said, adding that it would cost more than R300 billion to adhere…