Star 2024-04-15

SOUTH African companies that have expanded into the rest of Africa have largely “not done well”, finding regional market dynamics challenging, despite the allure of robust economic growth compared to South Africa’s. This is according to Anthony Modisane, a senior equity sales trader at Absa Corporate and Investment Banking, in an interview with Business Report (BR) on Friday, “The bulk of the SA Inc companies that ventured into the African regions have battled to adapt to the dynamic landscape, and subsequently reduced their presence where possible,” Modisane said. Food retailers such as Pick n Pay and Shoprite, as well as financial services providers – including Standard Bank, Nedbank, FNB, Absa and Sanlam – are among South African companies with operations in some African markets. However, the majority…

POWERTRANS Sales & Services, a cre- ditor in the business rescue proceedings of embattled sugar company Tongaat Hulett (THL), has approached the High Court to have the business rescue plan for THL set aside. In a statement on Friday, Power- trans, which was owed about R2 million by Tongaat, said that it had supplied evidence to the court suggesting Tongaat’s Business Rescue Partners (BRPs) yielded to pressure exerted by “the Lending Group”, a group of banks and financial institutions owed billions of rand by Tongaat, and an opaque consortium of businesses registered in Mauritius and the United Arab Emirates. In February, an urgent interdict application to the court by Powertrans was dismissed due to lack of urgency. Powertrans was ordered to pay the costs, but RGS Group, which joined…

SOUTH Africa’s trade relations with the United States could get a reprieve if a new bill for an early extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) for another 16 years, to 2041, enjoys majority support and is passed by the US Congress. However, analysts say the upcoming US elections could be a big factor behind the bill to renew Agoa, as both Democrats and Republicans try to fortify US foreign policy and preferential trade agreements in case former president Donald Trump emerges victorious in November. University of Johannesburg sociology professor and political economist Patrick Bond on Friday said it was hard to know how things will develop, because in an election year, the Demo- cratic leadership does not want to be seen as being punitive to South Africa…

AFRIKA Tikkun, a non-profit youth organisation for disadvantaged communities in South Africa, has welcomed the US bipartisan effort to renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) until 2041. Democrat Senator Chris Coons and Republican Senator James Risch, introduced a 34-page “Agoa Renewal and Improvement Act of 2024” bill in Congress last week, in a bid to renew and strengthen a key trade programme with sub-Saharan African countries. Agoa provides eligible sub-Saharan African countries with duty-free access to the US market for more than 1 800 products, in addition to the more than 5 000 products that are eligible for duty-free access under the Generalised System of Preferences programme. Afrika Tikkun executive deputy chairperson Marc Lubner yesterday said they strongly supported initiatives that create opportunities for youth, both…

WASHINGTON and London on Friday prohibited metal-trading exchanges from accepting new aluminium, copper and nickel produced by Russia and barred the import of the metals into the US and Britain. The action is aimed at disrupting Russian export revenue amid Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, which has killed or wounded tens of thousands and reduced cities to rubble. Russia is a major producer of aluminium, copper and nickel. Russian metals producers Rusal and Nornickel did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment, nor did the Russian embassy in Washington. The US Treasury Department said Friday’s action would prohibit the London Metal Exchange (LME) and Chicago Mercantile Exchange from accepting new Russian production of aluminium, copper and nickel. “Our new prohibitions on key metals, in co-ordination with our partners…

THE SOUTH African government should probably not consider subsidising a local solar equipment manu- facturing industry as the scale of the international competitors in this market is too big to compete with. This was according to SolarWorld Africa managing director Gregor Kuep-per, who spoke on Friday at a briefing in Cape Town to celebrate the 40 years that the company has been a supplier and distributor of imported solar equipment, mostly from Europe and from China, for a host of local companies and applications. He said investment in solar power manufacturing capacity in South Africa should rather just be on innovations peculiar to the South African market. SolarWorld’s client companies count among the pioneers of solar power installation in South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, long before the Eskom load shedding…