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Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za SANLAM paid out a staggering R22 billion in mortality claims in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic waves in South Africa, across Africa and India, yet still netted record new business volumes. The mortality claims payout was 76 percent higher than in 2020. The group also paid out R3.2bn in contingent business interruption claims through short-term insurance subsidiary Santam. The group, which released its annual results yesterday for the 12 months to December 31, has increased its discretionary capital by R2.9bn. Chief executive Paul Hanratty said in a presentation that they would hold high levels of discretionary capital until risks associated with the Covid-19 pandemic subsided, and given the short-term risks of the crisis in Ukraine, The R4.2bn net excess claims recorded for 2021 were…
Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za MANUFACTURING output in South Africa rebounded sharply in January following three consecutive months of declines as the industry battled to recover from the July unrest. However, the ongoing war in eastern Europe could severely affect material prices and South Africa’s energy crisis could dampen this recovery in the coming months. Statistics South Africa (StatSA) yesterday said manufacturing production rose 2.9 percent year-on-year in January, and was almost in line with market forecasts of a 2.85 percent increase. This was the strongest increase in factory activity since last June, helped by an 11.5 percent rise in the production of food and beverages. Wood and wood products, paper, publishing, and printing categories grew 11.5 percent and 6.8 percent, respectively. The basic iron and steel,…
Dieketseng Maleke dieketseng.maleke@inl.co.za IHS HOLDING acquiring 5 713 towers from MTN Group in South Africa will give the operator a powerful additional footprint in terms of tower patent as there is going to be high demand for towers, according to Arthur Goldstuck, the managing director of World Wide Worx. Goldstuck said with the new spectrum being rolled out, which should be allocated by the end of this week, the demand for towers was going to grow because 5G required a higher density of towers. “The acquisition gives IHS Towers a head start over the rest of the operators in terms of patents of cell towers,” he said. The deal makes IHS Towers, which is 29 percent owned by the MTN Group, South Africa’s biggest independent tower operator. This…
Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za MINING production in South Africa inched up marginally in January by 0.1 percent year-on-year, following a downwardly revised 1 percent contraction in December. However, this means that mining activity largely missed market estimates of a 3.45 percent growth in January. Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) yesterday said mining output was lifted by manganese ore, diamonds and gold. Manganese ore was the most significant contributor, up by a hefty 19.6 percent, while diamonds and gold production also rose 16.3 percent and 7 percent, respectively. Yet iron ore was the biggest drag to the headline print, falling by 13.4 percent. Stats SA principal survey statistician Juan-Pierre Terblanche said copper, nickel, platinum group metals (PGMs) and coal also performed poorly. PGMs turned to…
Shingai Darangwa Over the past few weeks, fans have been outspoken in expressing their disapproval of the direction The Wife has taken in this its second season. Many have voiced concerns about what was originally a gripping and enchanting love story between Zandile, played by Khanyi Mbau, and Nkosana Zulu, played by Mondli Makhoba. In a thread of tweets that have landed Mbau on the South African Twitter trends list, the actress and media personality acknowledged fans’ fears. “We have let you down, we have not given you what you had anticipated: a love story between Zandile and Nkosana. That’s what we all hoped to experience. Season 1 had all the romance a wife should experience with her better half and we watched them develop into a married couple and…
Alyssia Birjalal alyssia.birjalal@inl.co.za Cotton Fest-goers will still be able to sing along and dance to their favourite songs at the festival despite the death of Riky Rick, the organiser. The late rapper was responsible for the lifestyle festival which sees dozens of artists perform on various stages over two days. Earlier this year, Riky announced the festival’s return, but things hung in the balance when he died recently. On Wednesday the Cotton Fest team said with the ongoing flood of love and support from the public, as well as the South African entertainment industry at large, the two-day sold out festival planned for later this month, would still go ahead, but was postponed to next month. “Following the endless endearing tributes and messages from across the globe over the past…
