Star 2022-11-01

SASFIN, the banking and financial services group, said yesterday in its annual report it had commissioned an ongoing independent investigation of the controversial cigarette manufacturer, Gold Leaf Tobacco. This follows an investigation into suspected financial misconduct at the cigarette producer. On August 26 this year, SA Revenue Services (Sars) issued a statement on its actions against Gold Leaf Tobacco and its associates, who were former clients of its foreign exchange unit in 2016 and 2017. In its integrated annual report, released yesterday, Sasfin said: “In accordance with our anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism policies and our risk appetite, management closed the accounts of these clients in 2017, and has co-operated fully with the relevant authorities in their investigation.“ Sasfin said it would take any necessary action flowing from these…

Third quarter GDP likely to be hit hard by persistent power outages – Absa THE IMPACT of load shedding has forced Absa Bank to revise its third quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast that it made only in July to a negative 0.4%, which will put South Africa into a technical recession after the second quarter’s negative 0.7% print. This was according to Peter Worthington, head of the bank’s South Africa macroeconomic research division, who spoke in an online “roundtable” presen- tation yesterday. Fortunately, he expected fourth quarter GDP to grow by 0.7%, recouping only half the lost output of the previous two quarters, but which should leave their GDP growth forecast for 2022 at 1.1%, improving slightly to an 1.8% average in 2024 to 2025. The bank’s 2022…

FINANCE Minister Enoch Godongwana yesterday told business that a decision on giving incentives to help business was imminent and likely to be made before the end of the current fiscal year. Speaking to business at the South Africa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) luncheon to unpack the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement at the Hilton Hotel in Sandton, Godongwana said there were intense discussions at Cabinet level on the best form of incentives to offer the corporate sector and small and medium enterprises. “We are looking at if it should be allowances and so on. We will make the decision on that before the end of this fiscal year, we are discussing that”, he said. On the current impasse with labour after the State offered a 3% hike that was…

DESPITE MTN Nigeria’s operating environment remaining challenging in the third quarter as the ongoing global macro-economic and geopolitical volatility drove up energy, food and general inflation, the telecoms group still reported a rise in profit. In its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2022, the group said the inflation rate in Nigeria had risen to a 17-year high of 20.8% in September 2022. MTN Nigeria chief executive Karl Toriola said: “Supply chain uncertainties were exacerbated by the availability of foreign currency needed for capital expenditure. These headwinds continue to put severe financial pressure on consumers and businesses.” Toriola said MTN Nigeria added 5.7 million mobile subscribers in the nine months, a 9.7% hike, bringing its base to 74.1 million, notwithstanding an increase in churn in…

LOGISTICS property development, which had already grown well over a decade due to the growing global economy and impact this has had on imports, exports, and retailers in South Africa, gained momentum during the pandemic, and there is a shortage of bigger developments. A research report released by JLL, a professional services firm that specialises in real estate and investment management, found that global supply chain disruption during the pandemic forced retailers and courier services to reconsider procurement, storage and distribution systems. The report found there was a marked shortage of well located, quality properties greater than 20 000 square metres. “Strong demand is expected to continue over the medium term at least. South Africa remains a small market. However, and e-commerce does not yet comprise a large enough…

THE THREAT of deteriorating munici- pal service delivery, corruption in public offices and the failures in the network industries – such as roads, rail, water, electricity and port – in the Eastern Cape (EC) was leading to increasing costs of doing business in the province, Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz) chief economist Wandile Sihlobo said yesterday. This as Hume International yesterday called on the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (Dalrrd) to appoint more state veterinary inspectors in Gqeberha or grant businesses’ request for a special concession. Agbiz spent time with agribusiness and farmers in the EC last week. The province accounts for about 6% of the sector’s annual gross value added, roughly the same as Limpopo, North West and Gauteng. Sihlobo said there were also regulatory constraints,…