Star 2023-01-11

Manufacturing output in South Africa is expected to continue struggling as the impact of the Transnet strike and intense power cuts of up to Stage 6 continued to weigh on the sector, after activity fell to a five-month low in November. Data from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) yesterday showed that manufacturing production fell by 1.1% from a year earlier in November, less than expected compared with market forecasts of a 3.5% decline. This downwards print in November followed a 1% increase in the preceding month of October, and was the first monthly decline in the country’s factory activity after four consecutive months of increases since July. This was a turn for the worse for the manufacturing industry which was a significant positive contributor to the 1.6% growth in gross…

Financial services authority mulls R15m penalty imposed on the former chief executive The Financial Services Tribunal (FST) yesterday dismissed an application from former Steinhoff International Holdings CEO Markus Jooste to suspend public censures imposed on him by the JSE, and the JSE’s prohibition of him becoming a director of a listed company for 20 years. However, the JSE said in an update yesterday that Jooste’s application to suspend the R15 million in fines imposed on him by the JSE was still being considered by the FST. Jooste is alleged to have master- minded the accounting frauds that led to South Africa’s biggest corporate collapse of some R200 billion in market capitalisation alone in 2017. He has contested the censures and fines imposed on him by the JSE. “The…

The tourism and hospitality industry in South Africa has heaved a sigh of relief after the government decided to not impose any crippling restrictions on travel and gatherings, at least not yet, in spite of a highly-transmissible Covid-19 Omicron sub-variant detected in the country. Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla yesterday said the government will not impose any internal restrictions as a result of the emergence of a newly found Covid-19 sub-variant. The XBB.1.5 sub-variant of the globally dominant Omicron variant was first detected in South Africa on December 27 by Stellenbosch University researchers and reported earlier this month. Phaahla said scientists were producing more genomes to determine if the new coronavirus variant was spreading. In the meantime, there would be no restrictions on travellers from affected countries, such as China…

Over the next year, we expect slower global economic growth to dominate the agenda. A recessionary-like environment can be expected across developed markets (DMs), with more divergence in economic activity for emerging markets (EMs). Our base case is for softer and more volatile commodity prices. A global shift in monetary policy, to either pause or slow down the pace of interest rate hikes in 2023, will largely remain a function of inflation, which is broadly expected to ease – especially later in the year. We caution that the effects of a global slowdown, combined with a higher interest rate environment, will continue to weigh on financial markets. As such, investors are probably eyeing 2023 with trepidation after a rather painful 2022 for bonds and stocks alike. A bumpy ride appears…

The South African sugar industry is optimistic of good sugar production this year and that sales of the soft commodity will increase in the local market, according to Trix Trikam, executive director at the South African Sugar Association (Sasa). He said the current season (2022/2023) marked the third year of the implementation of the all-important Sugarcane Value Chain Master Plan to 2030. “One of the targets of the master plan is additional sugar sales to the tune of 300 000 tons in the local (Southern African Customs Union) market in year three. This is in line with one of the apex priorities of the master plan, which is the optimisation of the local market. Sasa is hopeful that, with continued commitment of all stakeholders, the target is within reach,” Trikam…

The Competition Commission will “in earnest set in motion” an inquiry into the fresh produce market, after its latest Essential Food Pricing Monitoring (EFPM) report raised concern about sunflower seed oil prices and why some food prices have not declined in line with the changing economy. In its latest EFPM report, the commission warns that South Africa consumers face opportunistic price increases of sunflower oil and the organisation red-flagged high and growing concentration along the sunflower oil value chain. “The reasons for the price escalation are still being investigated by the commission. The report further found that the price of some products, including bread, increased, but the prices have not come down as the economic situation changed,” the com mission said in its Competition News publication released yesterday. Rising…