Star 2025-04-14

Vukile Property Fund’s Spanish subsidiary Castellana Properties, through its 70%-owned subsidiary Caminho Propício has reached an agreement with DWS Grundbesitz, a German company, to acquire for €63.32 million (R1.36 billion) the shopping centre known as Forum Madeira, located in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal. The acquisition is Vukile's fifth retail asset in Portugal since it entered the country last year, following seven years of growing its Spanish retail portfolio from its South African base. Caminho will purchase all the shares of the property-owning company and the company housing the operations – namely, DB Real Estate Investment Madeira – Sociedade Imobiliaria, and DB Real Estate Investment Madeira – Sociedade Imobiliaria, Unipessoal Lda. Forum Madeira is a shopping centre on the island of Madeira, Portugal, comprising a lettable area of 21 472 square metres.…

US-South Africa tensions escalate The spectre of diplomatic strife between South Africa and the United States looms heavily over the upcoming Presidential G20 Summit to be held in Johannesburg later this year, particularly as the diplomatic tensions between the two countries continue to harden. Over the weekend, US President Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform to express doubts about the participation of the US delegation in the summit. While he described the G20 meeting as “very important”, Trump coupled this endorsement with unfounded allegations concerning violence against white farmers and land confiscation in South Africa. The G20 membership not only boosts the national prestige of South Africa on the world stage but provides a useful platform for the government to coordinate global policy approaches on a wide range…

The fortunes of aluminium component manufacturers in South Africa's aviation industry hang on a balance from ripple effects of global supply chain disruptions arising from the US import tariffs. The integration of the local industry is sturdy enough to take up opportunities arising from the US' as the industry waits on the wings on the 90 day period for the review. South Africa is a significant contributor to the manufacturing of aircraft with some local companies serving standing orders for manufacturing sections of the Airbus A321 Neo and another exporting popular recreational aircraft. Analysts over the weekend said South Africa could be affected by the tariff confusion risks delaying shipments, even if the industry has not been directly targeted for duties. Local companies that cannot be named because of sensitivity…

Uncertainty isn’t a distant storm - it’s a Category 5 hurricane battering our doorstep. Global markets tremble, geopolitical tensions boil, and in South Africa, a stalled VAT hike signals deeper economic fragility. After years of steering risk governance and strategy, one truth stands firm: the future belongs not to those who shrink from chaos but to leaders who master it. Strategic risk management has evolved from a back-office function into the frontline of survival - a lifeline for organisations on the brink. The evidence is undeniable. PwC’s 2024 Pulse Survey reveals that companies embracing advanced risk strategies have cut the financial impact of disruptions by 20% - translating to millions in saved revenue for large enterprises - while boosting operational efficiency by 15%. Deloitte’s 2024 Global Risk Management Survey adds…

Smallholder farmers in rural north KwaZulu-Natal have been given a boost to supply their crops and produce to the broader consumer market witht he help of the government and the private sector. On Friday, the Department of Agriculture launched the Jozini Smallholder Farmer Programme in Jozini in northern KZN focusing on cultivating herbs and spices, leveraging local resources to create a sustainable supply chain. Minister for Agriculture John Steenhuisen said that the agricultural and agro-pressing masterplan has one of its key pillars: how the department can include small scale farmers into the value chain. “This will help grow the agricultural sector and bring in more smallholder farmers into market access. This is crucial as when we do projects we need to ensure that they are sustainable, viable, and profitable. Being…

"Stablecoins are brilliant, especially in Africa. They solve cross-border payment issues and remittances, which can cost up to 20% in Africa. At a company I'm the Co-Founder of, Xago, we’ve built stablecoins for 6 different currencies (USD, ZAR, Euro, AUD, Pound and NGN), sending transactions in seconds for pennies," said Sonya Kuhnel, the managing director and co-founder of Bitcoin Events, in an interview with Business Report executive editor Philippa Larkin on Friday. The interview was held a week before Bitcoin Events upcoming virtual Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Summit. Bitcoin Events hosts several Web3 events including Africa’s first and largest blockchain conference, the renowned Blockchain Africa Conference. The inaugural event is testing the waters for discussions around Bitcoin as a national asset and is also a sign how far digital currencies…