Star 2024-08-27

SOUTH Africa has remained one of three leading countries in the African export market, which reached $665.4 billion (about R11.8 trilllion) in 2022-2023, but was still below 3% of global exports, despite the ongoing challenges with the ports. South Africa has been struggling to meet its export potential for the past few years, as a result of logistical bottle- necks experienced by State-owned rail and ports operator, Transnet, but these are being addressed speedily now in partnership with the private sector. The inaugural 2023 Africa Export Competitiveness Report released yesterday showed that South Africa, along with Morocco and Nigeria, accounted for a significant share of total exports in the continent. The report examines the export capacity and ecosystems of 30 African countries, and sheds light on the main…

DISCOVERY Bank said yesterday that it has reached its first one million clients, two years ahead of its plans. The bank started opera- tions in 2019 after receiving its banking licence in 2017, building its systems and moving clients with credit cards – part of Discovery’s initial partnership with First Rand Bank – to the Discovery Bank platform. Dis- covery Bank CEO, Hylton Kallner, said the growth in customer numbers reflected the impact of their “unique shared-value model” that aimed to create value as clients man- aged their money and engaged with other Discovery products and rewards, and used their digital banking app and platforms. The bank’s client and deposit growth increased by 31% to R16.67 billion in the first half of 2024, with advances increasing by 20% to…

NEDBANK Corporate and Investment Bank- ing (CIB) said yesterday that it had made inroads into the Ivory Coast market with a €18.5 million (R366.8m) sustainability-linked loan for Cosmos Yopougon shopping mall – it is the lender’s first successful property and sustainable finance transaction in the region. The facility was done in collabora- tion with HC Capital Properties, sponsor of Cosmos Yopougon shopping mall. The deal consolidated Cosmos Yopougon’s position as the leading sustainable retail destination in the region and underscored both com- panies’ commitment to environmental sustainability and responsible finance, Nedbank CIB said in a statement. Cosmos Yopougon was the first operational building in Francophone West and Central Africa to achieve International Finance Corporation Edge Green Building certification. The sustainability-linked debt solution, struc-tured by Nedbank’s Property Finance Africa and…

THERE was muted growth in the housing market in the second quarter as owners awaited the outcome of the national election, but listing prices as measured by one large estate agency were up 7%, indicating improved confidence in the market. RE/Max of Southern Africa CEO and regional director Adrian Goslett said it was no surprise that the housing market would remain subdued until there was greater clarity on the way forward. Registered sales totals essentially reflect sales concluded roughly two to three months prior to the date of registration, whereas active listing prices are more reflective of what is happening within that quarter, Goslett said. Meanwhile, the average active listing price for the first quarter had dropped to R2 754 249 which, in part, now reflected registered sales…

THE CABINET will, in the next three weeks, consider recommendations to enact legislation forcing the government departments owing municipalities a large chunk of the R347 billion in arrears for electricity to pay up in a set two-month period or have the amounts sequestrated from their allocations. Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Velenkosini Hlabisa, and Minister for Electricity and Energy, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, said yesterday that government departments underlying the sustenance of local government – including Water and Sanitation, Human Settlements, Electricity and Energy, Treasury, Cogta, and Transport – had at Cabinet level been assigned to formulate turnaround strategies for municipalities, with Cogta as the vanguard. The Ministers were speaking during a panel discussion of the Municipal Just Energy Transition conference in Johannesburg yesterday. The proposal for financial…

SOUTH Africa’s climate is a complex mosaic, marked by its heterogeneous but predominantly semi-arid conditions. This diversity, however, does not shield the nation from the increasing threats posed by climate variability. The widening gap and stickiness of each El Niño-Southern Oscillation cycle extreme, now lasting three years or even projected to be more by meteorological experts, exacerbate the challenges. From the crippling 2016 drought that saw dams dry up and farmlands wither, to the devastating 2022 floods that swept away homes and livelihoods, the nation has experienced extreme climatic events that hint at a grimmer future. Imagine a scenario where the ex- tremes converge in a relentless sequ- ence, each phase intensifying the suffer- ing of the land and its people. For this narrative, we delve into the progres- sive…