Star 2023-03-16

THE EXEMPTION from the lengthy process required to amend its Atmo- spheric Emission Licence (AEL) for the Kusile power station granted by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment to Eskom yesterday has been met with mixed reaction, but for now the measure will help it to reduce load shedding. This as South Africa’s growth projection has been downgraded due to intense load shedding that is placing the fiscus, businesses and households under immense strain. South Africa’s gross domestic product growth fell below pre-pandemic levels in the final quarter of 2022 to 1.3%. On the one hand, the decision allows Eskom to bring in 2 100 megawatts (MW) from the Kusile power station by December while environmentalists are concerned that it will lead to an increase in deaths…

SOUTH African households had to cut their spending on essential food and beverages in January as the cost of living stifled consumption, but increased spending on clothing and footwear due to the reopening of schools. Data from Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) yesterday showed that retail sales volumes kicked off 2023 on a sour note, driven by less consumption of food and beverages. StatsSA said retail trade shrank by 0.8% in January compared to the same month a year ago, following a downwardly revised 0.5% decrease in December 2022. This was the second consecutive month of declines in retail activity which was broad-based, with five out of the seven categories recording a slide in volume sales. Food and beverages recorded the deepest decline at 7.3% year-on-year, followed by hardware material and…

THE NATIONAL Treasury may soon be required to get approval from Parliament before it signs any loan agreements with multilateral finance institutions in the near future. This was revealed by the chairperson of the Select Committee on Finance Yunus Carrim yesterday during the Parliament’s consultation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). These consultations are part of the IMF’s Article IV Meeting with the South African government to look at political and economic developments, reform agenda and economic priorities in the country. The IMF was represented by the head of research in the African Department, Papa N’Diaye, and IMF resident representative in South Africa, Max Alier. Carrim yesterday welcomed their first engagement with the IMF, especially after learning that it also consulted with the labour movements and the NGOs to develop…

TRANSACTION Capital (TC) yesterday strongly refuted market speculation and allegations of possible insider trading by its CEO, David Hurwitz, for the sales of shares in December, saying the sale was done with permission of other executives in relation to debt covenants. This occurred after the company’s shares dived 40% on Tuesday following it issuing a pre-close update and trading statement in respect of the half year ending March 31, 2023, detailing reduced earnings expectations and how it would aggressively have to restructure its SA Taxi business amid a tough macroeconomy. The timing of the deal looked suspect to the market in the wake of the recent announcement. The share ended yesterday 17.37% lower at R14.60 with its market value declining to R13.4 billion after billions of rands were lost…

STADIO Holdings, the private tertiary education company, for the period ended December 2022 produced robust results off the back of an 8% rise in student enrolment due to the continued high demand for quality higher education in South Africa. The group services the higher education market in South Africa through three private institutions – Stadio Higher Education, Milpark, and AFDA. It offers undergraduate and postgradu- ate programmes through contact, distance, and blended learning. The group said in the period under review, student enrolments increased to 41 296, while in December 2021, they were 38 262. In the first semester of 2022, student enrolments rose by 11% to 38 348 as of June 30, 2022. The distance learning student numbers grew by 14% to 32 686 in…

THE MANGEMENT at Growthpoint Properties presenting South Africa’s largest primary listed real estate investment trust’s (Reit’s) interims yesterday adopted a tone of caution and defensive stance for the year ahead with muted growth on the horizon. Looking ahead, Growthpoint said, its diversified portfolio, strong balance sheet and stable hard currency dividend income streams position the company defensively for the rest of financial year 2023. “However, with elevated uncertainty in the local and global macroeconomic environment and rising interest rates and inflation, Growthpoint still expects to deliver muted full-year distributable income per share (Dips) growth,” it said. CEO Norbert Sasse, talking about the firm’s interim results for the period ended December 31, 2022, said that it would take about a three- to five-year period for property values to recover. This…