Star 2025-02-26

South African fund managers expect the delayed budget statement to meet expectations regarding policy reforms as they look forward to at least one repo cut this year while they forecast the rand to hit R17.60 to the dollar. Fund managers surveyed for the Bank of America South Africa Fund Manager Survey for February, 69% said they “expect the economy to get a little stronger” while 62% said they “expect inflation (to be) slightly higher” for this year. Fewer managers see the next rate cut by the South African Reserve Bank in the second quarter of the current year. However, the surveyed managers' repo forecast over the next 12 months rose in February to 7.19% compared to 7.18% previously. They have also forecast SA’s R2035 bond yields to ease to 10.08%.…

The Airports Company of South Africa (Acsa) has filed for leave to appeal a significant judgement delivered by the Gauteng High Court in November 2024, which has currently halted its efforts to procure essential baggage screening equipment through an open tender process. This legal manoeuvre signals Acsa’s determination to assert its constitutional mandate amid rising tensions within the aviation sector. At the centre of this judicial battle is Aviation Co-ordination Services (ACS), a consortium created by prominent airline associations, including the Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA) and the Board of Airline Representatives of South Africa (BARSA). The court has ruled in favour of ACS, permitting it to replace its back-up screening equipment while simultaneously interdicting ACSA from advancing with its plans to self-provide baggage screening equipment. This judgement will…

VAT is seen as a regressive tax that disproportionally negatively affects the poor. South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor, Lesetja Kganyago, has cautioned that the proposed 2 percentage points increase in the value-added tax (VAT) would be treated as an “economic shock”. Last week, finance minister Enoch Godongwana was forced to postpone tabling the 2025 Budget Review in Parliament by three weeks as parties within the Government of National Unity (GNU) disagreed over the increase of VAT from 15% to 17% in a bid to raise an additional R58 billion in revenue. Speaking to the SABC on the sidelines of the G20 meeting of Deputy Ministers of Finance and Deputy Central Bank Governors in Cape Town on Tuesday, Kganyago hinted that the SARB would react when the VAT increase leads…

The Takeover Regulation Panel (TRP) has ruled that the DK Trust acted in concert with JSE-listed printing and packaging company Novus Holdings in its mandatory offer for computer and technology distribution company Mustek, also JSE-Listed, which was announced on November 15, 2024. The decision, detailed in a 34-page ruling by TRP’s deputy executive director, Zano Nduli, mandates immediate compliance with takeover regulations. The TRP concluded that the DK Trust’s irrevocable undertaking, signed on November 13, 2024, not to accept the mandatory offer or sell its Mustek shares until the offer closed, was “a critical enabler” of Novus’s R13-per-share bid. “The DK Trust’s waiver undertaking… reduced Novus’s financial exposure under Regulation 111 by approximately R123 million,” Nduli wrote, lowering the required bank guarantee from R458.9 million to R335m. This, the panel…

As South Africa takes on the G20 presidency for 2025, it has a unique opportunity to address two of the most pressing issues of our time: countering corruption and tackling illicit financial flows (IFFs) - the movement of money that is illegally acquired, transferred, or spent across borders. Deemed an opportunity missed by Brazil during its leadership tenure in 2024, corruption and IFFs undermine the continent’s progress towards the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and its ability to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets. South Africa’s G20 presidency offers an ideal platform to address corruption’s devastating impact on Africa and place it firmly on the global agenda. Corruption facilitated by professional enablers in the global financial system divert resources away from critical areas like healthcare, education, and infrastructure, leaving…

Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille, has reassured the local Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) industry that the government wanted to position Africa as a global powerhouse in the MICE sector and grow it from more than R120 billion it was worth in 2023. Speaking at the opening of the Meetings Africa 2025 on Tuesday, Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille said the gathering was a powerful platform where ideas meet opportunity, where connections spark innovation, and where Africa stood together to showcase its limitless potential. According to Allied Market Research, the global MICE industry was valued at approximately $523.3bn (R9.6 trillion) in 2023 and the South African MICE industry was valued at $6.6bn in 2023. De Lille said the industry and the government can drive lucrative investments, create jobs,…