Star 2023-08-07

THE COMPETITION Commission said on Friday that it has recommended to the Competition Tribunal that the proposed acquisition by Petrefuel of Royale Energy be approved, with conditions. Petrefuel Holdings (formerly known as Petre Moya Holdings) is controlled by Petredec South Africa Holdings. In South Africa, Petredec Group is a non-refining wholesaler and distributor of refined fuel products, namely petrol, diesel, lubricants, illuminating paraffin, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). It also has petrol and diesel storage facilities. Royale Energy is controlled by Royale Energy Group, a non-refining wholesaler and marketer of refined fuel products (petrol, diesel, illuminating paraffin, lubricants, and LPG) in South Africa. Royal Energy also operates small petrol and diesel storage facilities. To address employment concerns, the companies agreed not to retrench any South African employees as a…

STANDARD Bank Group, which took the shocking step last week to bar this news- paper from its banking accounts later this month, because of fears of “reputational damage”, saw its share price rise more than 5% on Friday morning after releasing a trading statement for the six months to June 30. The share price was last seen trading 5.66% higher at R192.77 on Friday, continuing a sharp upward trend in the share price from May 30, when it closed at R149.10, which means the share price has gained more than 29% in a little over two months. The banking group said it con- tinued “to benefit from our growing client franchise, tailwinds from higher interest rates, and elevated market volatility into June 2023”. The bank forecast headline earnings per share…

ANGLOGOLD Ashanti on Friday reaffirmed its annual guidance as it reported an improved second-quarter performance compared to the first three months of the year, underpinned by a 12% increase in production. In its interim results for the six months that ended June 30, 2023, the group said gold production rose to 652 000 ounces in the second quarter of 2023 versus 584 000 ounces in the previous three-month period. “The stronger second quarter was supported by production and cost improvements across most assets primarily driven by both higher tonnes processed and recovered grades,” it said. Total cash costs improved 2% quarter-on-quarter, and all-in-sustaining costs improved 4% quarter-on-quarter. Basic earnings were $40 million (R737.5m), or 10 US cents per share, in the first half of 2023, compared to…

At the same time rating agency Fitch downgrades the US’s rating, citing fiscal deterioration FINANCIAL markets in South Africa came under serious pressure as the rand fell over the last week after a risk-off sentiment engulfed developed markets on the back of weakening demand in China, while the US economy added fewer jobs than expected in July. The rand moderated at R18.47 against the US dollar on Friday as China’s continued disappointing economic data was reverberating against emerging markets’ currencies. The markets have also been concerned about recession, particularly in the US, but expectations are increasingly changing, including those of the Federal Reserve, as fears are being cast aside, with a soft landing being seen as more likely. In addition, rating agency Fitch downgraded the US’s rating from AAA to…

ELECTRICITY Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa will be intervening to resuscitate “Eskom’s worst-performing power station”, which has contributed to the Energy Action Plan only achieving 56% of its targets a year after it was implemented. Ramokgopa said yesterday that he would be going to the Tutuka power station in Mpumalanga later this month to get an update on how soon it could return to service the generating units that were contributing to the current electricity capacity constraints. Tutuka has an installed capacity of 3 654MW comprising six units capable of producing 609MW each, but it is one of Eskom’s worst-performing power stations with an average output of 1 170MW. At the end of last year, Eskom announced its plans to decommission and repurpose three of its coal-fired power plants,…

Botswana’s State diamond company is planning to diversify how it sells precious stones to the market as it gears up to receive far more supply under a multi-year deal the country struck with producer De Beers in July. The Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) currently sells 25% of the gems produced by the Botswana government’s Debswana joint venture with Anglo American unit De Beers via an auction process. ODC’s share of rough stones from Debswana will rise to 50% over the next decade due to Botswana’s new deal with De Beers, but selling large volumes will be hard due to an uncertain economic outlook, and in the face of competition from laboratory-grown gems. Botswana, the world’s number one diamond producer by value, generates about 30% of its revenue and 70% of…