Star 2023-04-12

SA INC NEEDS to up its game if it wants to attract much needed investment at the South Africa Investment Conference on Thursday. It needs investment to boost its moribund economy. Last month the SA Reserve Bank’s forecast for gross domestic product growth was lowered slightly to 0.2% from the 0.3% expected in January, as a result of extensive load shedding and logistical constraints. The economy was forecast to rebound and expand by 1% in 2024, up from 0.7%, and by 1.1% in 2025, up from 1% previously forecast. This as the country faces an energy crisis, logistic problems and high crime. Business Unity South Africa (Busa) CEO Cas Coovadia said yesterday that the country competed for investment with countries in Africa and elsewhere, and it needed to work under…

Economists and analysts fear the worst for the millions of South Africans buckling under cost-of-living crisis MAY THE FORCE be with motorists come next month as early data is pointing to yet another petrol price increase. This comes as the Central Energy Fund released its snapshot of fuel prices on April 10, that showed diesel users could possibly be in store for another price cut while petrol users will be forced to fork out more cash. The data revealed that petrol prices could rise between 63 c and 70c per litre, while diesel could see a decrease of between 38c and 50c per litre. Fuel prices in South Africa are largely defined by the rand/dollar exchange rate and the price of oil. April saw a minuscule drop in petrol prices,…

MANUFACTURING production contracted 5.2% year-on-year (y/y) in February, weaker than expected, as power outages weighed. This was from a revised 4.1% in January. Statistics SA said yesterday that the largest contributions to the decline were made by food and beverages (-6.1%); basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery (-5.3%); as well as petroleum, chemical products, rubber and plastic products (-4.7%). Only two of the sub-sectors in- cluded in the manufacturing index increased on an annual basis in February, which were the motor vehicles, parts and accessories sector and the radio, television and communication apparatus and professional equipment sectors. Lara Hodes, an economist at Investec, said the result was weaker than consensus expectations by Bloomberg of a -3.7% y/y decline. “The dire electricity supply situation remains a…

SIBANYE-Stillwater’s board has resolved to provide emergency funding of up to A$30 million (R367m) to Australian zinc and tailings mining company New Century Resources, which the local group is in the process of acquiring. In an update on the locally-based international mining and metals processing group’s debt refinancing yesterday, Sibanye said the funding had followed a request from New Century “for emergency financial support.” New Century’s share price is currently suspended on the Australian stock exchange while Sibanye’s offer to acquire all of New Century’s shares in an off the market takeover, remains open until May 15, 2023. New Century has the biggest tailings, and remaining and processing operation in Australia, and is also developing underground and open pit mining operations. In the year to June it reported an earnings…

DIGITAL technologies are transforming markets and creating novel economic opportunities pervasively across all sectors. According to the World Bank, strengthening digital inclusion is of paramount importance for any nation’s competitiveness and social stability. Yet profound obstacles to inclusion remain, and demographic divides continue to entrench in- equalities across the global digital landscape. As discussed in my first article (iol br online, Lessons from the AI Government Readiness Index leaders), research by Accenture has found that Artificial Intelligence (AI) could double annual economic growth rates by 2035 by changing the nature of work, defining new synergies between man and machine, and boosting labour productivity by up to 40%. Furthermore, many governments are looking to use AI to improve efficiencies in their delivery of social services – particularly in promoting citizens’ access…

DIASPORA Zimbabweans are the target of a new wave of construction and property development investment vehicles, as confidence in the country's banking sector wanes. Banks too have been foraying into mortgage-based property developments targeted at Zimbabwean expats settled in countries such as South Africa and the UK. The Financial Sector Reform Initiative says that “Zimbabwe is at heightened risk of bank runs because of low liquidity and lack of confidence” in the banking sector. “Despite Zimbabwe’s dollarised system and the presence of a few well-capitalised banks (particularly foreign owned and large), liquidity risk is still high. “Because of these risks, it is necessary for the Zimbabwean government to explore and implement a comprehensive plan for addressing bank vulnerabilities,” it notes in a report. As Zimbabwe battles currency weakness and a…