Star 2024-10-01

THE SPAR GROUP is achieving growth in key segments while a two-year plan to reshape its balance sheet is on track, the grocery franchise store chain said yesterday. The Spar Group said in a trading update that for the 47 weeks to August 23, they had seen a “welcome upturn in Build it sales in the last month, as the two-pot retirement withdrawal system started kicking in and interest rates start trending down”. “While customers seem to slowly be enjoying more disposable income, we continue to focus on delivering everyday value and low prices for our shoppers,” said Spar Group CEO Angelo Swartz. He said the sale of its Polish division was well under way and awaiting regulatory approval. The group also reported positive progress on its IT…

THE SIGNIFICANT decrease in fuel prices for October will provide real relief for financially constrained South African consumers. This comes as the Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Gwede Mantashe, announced yesterday the adjustment of fuel prices based on current local and international factors, such as lower global oil prices and the stronger rand exchange rate, with effect from Wednesday. The department said petrol 93 (ULP & LRP) would decrease by R1.06 and petrol 95 (ULP & LRP) by R1.14 per litre. Henry van der Merwe, chairperson of the South African Petroleum Retailers Association – a member of the Retail Motor Industry Organisation – said yesterday that the fuel price cut was a highly positive development for the economy, especially in these challenging times as we approach the last quarter…

Private sector companies have begun showing great appetite in taking credit to boost their businesses as interest rates, structural reforms and policy direction under the Government of National Unity (GNU) bring certainty to the markets. The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) yesterday said private sector credit extension (PSCE) increased by 1.4% month-on-month in August, translating to 4.95% when measured on an annual basis, 4.95% year-on-year in August, accelerating to its highest in one year from a five-month low of 3.5% rise in July. This marked the 38th consecutive month of growth in private credit and the highest level since July 2023 and was ahead of the consensus forecast of 4.25% year-on-year. Specifically, the SARB said credit uptake by corporates which comprises more than half of total PSCE increased by a…

Old Mutual Group Chief Economist Johann Els sees rand breaking R16/$ The RAND AND the JSE’s all share index were on a hot streak yesterday, continuing to break records on the back of the new administration, falling inflation, lower interest rates, and wiping out the losses the market saw during the global Covid-19 pandemic. The all share index is up around 50% over the past five years, but was 0.8% weaker to 86 921 index points by 4pm yesterday. Meanwhile, the local currency also strengthened to R17.05 against the greenback early yesterday morning, before shedding gains to R17.22/$1 by 4pm. Unlike some recent rallies, the JSE’s gains were not being exclusively driven stronger by miners, which were on the back foot during morning trade, but rather an assortment of…

IN THE PREVIOUS edition of Coffee Table Economics, dated September 18, we discussed how, according to the latest data from the Institute of International Finance (IIF), global debt reached a new record in 1Q24, adding $1.3 trillion in just three months to a total of $315trln. While rising global debt has risks, it can play a critical role in economic development and crisis recovery when managed carefully and used for growth-enhancing purposes. As such, debt plays a crucial role in shaping the economic landscapes of both DMs and EMs, but the dynamics of how it operates in these two spheres differ significantly. This divergence stems from differences in economic maturity, risk profiles, and institutional frameworks. These variations are evident across multiple sectors, including sovereign debt, corporate debt, the financial…

EXXARO Resources is forging a path of resilience and sustainability by leveraging its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy, board chairperson Geoffrey Qhena announced yesterday. The South African mining giant is focusing on decarbonisation beyond compliance and diversifying into more resilient minerals, setting ambitious targets to navigate the future’s environmental challenges. Over the half-year period to June, Exxaro said it was affected by “continued lacklustre rail performance due to locomotive unavailability, cable theft, derailments, (while) vandalism” remained a challenge. However, collaborations under the Transnet Freight Rail-Industry Recovery Team had brought about some benefits, with the deterioration in Transnet services halting. Nonetheless, Exxaro is now focusing on decarbonisation, setting targets to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The company wants to maximise coal runway through early value strategy and market-to-resource optimisation initiatives.…