Star 2024-07-24

The rand plunged to a three-week low yesterday on the back of market inertia as traders track US political developments while local investors also keenly awaited consumer inflation data in South Africa. The domestic currency remained in a tight range yesterday, falling by 1% to trade at R18.43 against the US dollar, its lowest since July 3, disrupting the strengthening momentum since the SA Reserve Bank’s (SARB) hawkishness last week as it indicated that it could hike interest rates at the next monetary policy committee meeting in September. The Bank of America forecasts an interest cut in the US in September, but the SARB is unlikely to do anything before the US Federal Reserve acts. The rand has weakened from R14.50/$1 in early 2022, to R20.00/$1in 2023, but pulled back…

Cashbuild had a much stronger fourth quarter trading as revenue increased 13% for the 14 weeks to the end of June, compared with a 13-week period the prior year, while it only increased by 5% over the year. South Africa’s biggest hardware retail group said in a trading update yesterday that on a more comparable 52-week versus a 52-week comparison, transactions through the tills in the fourth quarter increased 3% over that of the comparative period, with existing stores increasing by 2% and 12 new stores contributed 1% growth. Also on a 52-week basis, revenue in the fourth quarter rose by 4%. For the 310 existing stores - in existence prior to July 2022 - revenue increased by 3%. Selling inflation was 1,7% at the end of June 2024, when…

South Africa’s egg production industry has drawn a line in the sand on switching its production method from battery cages to free-range as mobilised by global animal activists FOUR PAWS in an ongoing online campaign. The South African Poultry Association (Sapa) yesterday said that untenable price increases and consumer sentiment would seriously devastate the sector, worth more than R20 billion, and already besieged by the impact of avian influenza outbreaks, load shedding, and higher feed costs. Sapa’s CEO for egg production, Dr Abongile Balarane, said that based on a study they had commissioned the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC) to do, the macroeconomic and socio-economic impacts of the cage-free layer hen system would reduce production by about 26.3%, with a significant increase in production costs. Referring to the study, Balarane…

Some of the biggest global drugmakers, undeterred by mounting Sino-US tensions, are scouring China for deals to replenish drug pipelines and boost their presence in the world’s second-biggest pharmaceutical market, industry executives and investment bankers said. Several major deals have already been completed this year, including AstraZeneca’s $1.2 billion purchase of China-based cell therapy developer Gracell Biotechnologies and Novartis’s acquisition of the remaining shares of kidney disease therapy developer SanReno Therapeutics for an undisclosed amount. South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare, which announced in December that it had agreed to buy Swiss group Sandoz’s China unit, is expanding in other markets to balance China risk while continuing to scout for Chinese assets, said Larry Merizalde, the firm’s China CEO. China accounted for about 10% of Aspen’s global revenue, Merizalde said before the…

The World Bank Group (WBG) has noted progress made by the South African and Namibian governments in achieving their development goals following a visit by a delegation of the bank’s board of Executive Directors (ED) two weeks ago. The bank yesterday reaffirmed its commitment to providing support to South Africa and Namibia after 11 EDs and Alternate EDs were hosted by the World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) country offices during their recent visit on July 7-13. The visit provided a platform to assess progress with projects and engage on the evolution of the World Bank Group’s relationship with the countries, from a knowledge-focused to a broader knowledge and financing partnership. EDs met government and business leaders, local stakeholders, and project beneficiaries, and experienced first-hand how the countries manage…

As South Africa embarks on the ambitious journey of implementing the National Health Insurance (NHI) system, it is met with a mix of excitement and scepticism. The overarching goal of universal health-care coverage is commendable, aiming to provide all citizens with equitable access to quality health-care services. However, significant concerns regarding the funding model associated with the NHI Act have emerged, raising questions about its feasibility and sustainability. The importance of a robust funding model The lack of a clear and sustainable funding model for the NHI Act poses serious challenges. In his recent parliamentary address, President Cyril Ramaphosa emphasised the government’s commitment to implementing the NHI and ensuring accessible health care for all South Africans. However, the fundamental question remains: Where will the necessary funds come from, and how…