Star 2025-03-19

Tensions with the United States could propel South Africa to depart from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) agreement, a development that could also have regional ramifications and add to uncertainties dogging the government of national unity. Bilateral tensions have ratcheted up between South Africa and the US under President Donald Trump in the past few weeks. The US has cut aid advances to South Africa while there is increasing consensus that the simmering tensions will culminate in South Africa leaving Agoa. “Our baseline view is that South Africa Africa will exit Agoa (but) we can't however, tell you with any certainty when that will be the case,” said Gina Schoeman, South Africa economist for Citigroup, on Tueday. Scheoman added that South Africa was likely to exit Agoa next…

African Rainbow Capital Investments (ARCI), part of the broader African Rainbow Capital group owned by well-known businessman Patrice Motsepe, plans to delist from the JSE and A2X markets via an offer to buy all the shares. ARCI’s share price increased 4.7% to R9.14 on the JSE Tuesday morning. ARCI has offered its shareholders R9.75 a share cash, which is a 12.6% premium to the closing price of R8.66 on March 14, and a premium of 21% to the R8.06 per share 30-day average price. ARCI’s board said they wish to delist because there is limited liquidity in the shares, and the share price does not reflect the “true value” of the investments in the ARC Fund, so investors in ARCI are not receiving the true value of their investment. The…

Credit ratings agencies have warned that South Africa’s national government debt will stabilize higher in relation to gross domestic product (GDP) than anticipated by the National Treasury during the 2025 Budget tabled last week. This comes as the gross government debt is projected to reach R5.69 trillion or 76.1% of gross domestic product (GDP) this year. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana last week forecast that the debt ratio will peak in the coming fiscal year, before gradually declining from fiscal 2026-27 given primary surpluses. Godongwana said the government projected that gross debt-to-GDP will stabilise at 76.2% of GDP in the 2025 fiscal year, compared with 76.1% in 2024, before declining gradually thereafter. The budget forecasts the fiscal deficit will fall to 3.5% of GDP by fiscal 2027/28, a slight worsening compared…

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has shed light on significant discrepancies in the complaints management processes of South Africa's banking sector. This comes following a comprehensive thematic review aimed at measuring the alignment of these processes with established regulatory requirements. The findings reinforce the FSCA's unwavering commitment to enhancing industry practices while ensuring the fair treatment of financial customers. The FSCA is the market conduct regulator of financialinstitutions in South Africa manfated to protect financial customers bypromoting fair treatment of financial customers by financial institutions, including banks Conducted as part of the FSCA's ongoing supervisory efforts, the review assessed how effectively banks were managing complaints, particularly in relation to Conduct Standard 3 of 2020 (Banks). This pivotal standard, which came into force in July 2021, lays down rigorous expectations…

David Masondo, South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Finance, on Tuesday warned of Africa’s spiralling debt crisis, urging the development of “tangible, actionable solutions” to shift the continent from distress to “long-term financial resilience and sustainable growth”. Speaking at the Group of Twenty (G20) International Financial Architecture Working Group Debt Side Event in Pretoria, he told African representatives, international financial institutions, and private lenders that rising debt-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratios, a pivot to private creditors, and structural weaknesses demand faster debt resolution. Africa’s debt has ballooned, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where World Bank data shows nominal public debt tripled since 2010 to $1.1 trillion (R20 trillion) by 2022. The median debt-to-GDP ratio in SSA jumped from 32% in 2010 to 57% in 2022, fuelled by weak debt management, poor…

The current outbreak of the Asian Influenza virus in poultry may mutate to humans as has been the case in the US with 70 cases reported and one fatality. This was a warning from a microbiologist on Tuesday as the South African government is accused of dithering on a comprehensive poultry vaccination and bio-security drive rather than culling, which was unstainable without compensation. Industry experts said on Tuesday the poultry industry has suffered losses estimated at R1.8 billion due to the culling and associated disruptions. Major poultry producers like Astral Foods have reported significant financial losses, with operating losses reaching R621 million. The outbreak has also hiked prices of eggs, which surged by 19% between September and October 2023 alone, reflecting supply shortages caused by the Avian Influenza outbreaks. At…