Star 2024-11-26

PepsiCo South Africa’s R746 million investment expanding its Isando factory in Johannesburg with a new state-of-the-art potato chip production line will create 100 more jobs. The global company said yesterday that this project will position it to meet the growing appetite for snack foods in southern Africa as well as the export markets. Riaan Heyl, CEO of PepsiCo South Africa, said expanding the company’s potato chip production capacity was an important move to meet the growing demand for South Africa’s much-loved snacks. “Alongside creating new jobs, this new line shows our commitment to innovation and efficiency, as we continue to deliver high-quality products to people,” Heyl said. Potato chips make up a significant part of the company’s snack production, making it an important part of the business. Currently, PepsiCo South…

Netcare Group yesterday said it met key operational and strategy goals in its 2024 financial year and increased its final dividend 7.7% to 70 cents a share, while ongoing improvements were expected to continue into 2025 and beyond. This was according to CEO Dr Richard Friedland, who said yesterday that after the earlier school holidays in September 2023, hospital activity normalised in October and November 2024, and acute occupancy was trending at 64.6%. Occupancy at the Akeso mental health facilities was trending at 70.5%. “We will continue to focus on operational efficiency and strategic innovation, streamlining processes to reduce costs, and investing in technology that enhances patient care and service delivery,” he said. The group has forecast revenue for the financial year to September 30, 2025, to grow by between…

Peabody Energy set to take over resource group’s steelmaking coal mines in Australia Anglo American has lined up a $4.9 billion (R88.4bn) windfall from the disposal of its steelmaking coal operations, with the company reaching an agreement to spin off the Australian assets to US-listed Peabody Energy for $3.78bn at a time BHP still has legroom to make an offer for the London and Johannesburg-traded resource group. As per London listing rules, BHP has to make an offer for Anglo American by the end of this month. This follows the rejection of its offer by Anglo American, which then sought to fast-track its own restructuring process earlier this year. Anglo American’s restructuring includes the disposal of assets such as platinum group metals (PGM) operations, diamond mining, and its steelmaking coal…

The Infrastructure Fund (IF), a collaboration between the government, the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), National Treasury, and Infrastructure South Africa (ISA), has generated socio-economic benefits worth almost R100 billion in its four years of existence. This was said by the IF chief investment officer, Mohale Rakgate, yesterday as he said the Fund has demonstrated “substantial advancement and early-stage economic disbursements”. Established in 2020 following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the parties, the IF was tasked with helping alleviate the burden on the fiscus through bespoke blended financing solutions by sourcing and blending capital from the private sector, institutional investors, development finance institutions, and multilateral development banks. Its aim is to do so by securing commercial, international and institutional investment for public sector infrastructure projects.…

Unethical and unjustifiable – that's how the hesitation by the SA Reserve Bank (SARB) to take decisive action in reducing the interest rate is described. This is in spite of CPI inflation having dropped to 3.8%at the last publication - well below the SARB’s midpoint target of the range between 3% and 6%. SARB’s next Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) press conference will be held on November 21. I believe that if the Reserve Bank fails to announce a rate cut of at least 50 basis points, its decision-makers should take ethical responsibility for the undue hardship being placed on South Africans. Blame it on the model The MPC keeps reminding South Africans that it is bound to its inflation targeting mandate, focused exclusively on inflation and nothing else. It…

The Standard Bank Group yesterday said it has signed an agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to expand local currency lending and accelerate development projects across Africa. This collaboration aims to expand local currency lending and accelerate essential development projects across the continent, a crucial step for countries struggling with currency liquidity. This partnership will see Standard Bank and IFC work together on cross-currency swaps and derivatives, enhancing the market expertise that both institutions bring to the table. The primary goal is to improve access to local currency financing for businesses, especially in regions where such financing is often challenged. The bank said its ongoing partnership with IFC contributes to sustainable development across Africa, supporting its sustainability and development goals, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Paris…