Star 2025-07-17

Transnet and United Manganese of Kalahari (UMK) on Wednesday signed a 10-year contract for the transportation of manganese by rail from UMK’s mine in the Northern Cape to ports for export markets. Through the Manganese Export Capacity Allocation (MECA) 3 agreement, Transnet allocates rail and port capacity to manganese producers in South Africa for their export volumes. Transnet said the contract with UMK signifies the company’s confidence in Transnet’s ability to ensure efficient access to global markets. Transnet Group CEO, Michelle Phillips said, “We are encouraged by the vote of confidence expressed by UMK through their long-term commitment as part of the MECA programme. This agreement is a clear demonstration of our customers’ confidence in the efficiency and reliability of our services. It also bodes well for Transnet’s growth…

Former finance minister Trevor Manuel has issued a stark warning regarding the pervasive debt challenges facing the African continent. Speaking at the G20 Finance Track meetings on Wednesday, Manuel underscored how burgeoning debt service costs were stifling essential development expenditures, particularly in health and education. Manuel said this usually happened in circumstances where countries have not borrowed more, but the interest rate burden has increased very rapidly. “Debt squeezes out development. It impoverishes countries, actually. It’s the only thing that is really shared by people,” he said. “The expert panel has made 11 recommendations to deal with debt going forward. We need to develop a handle on debt. Part of dealing with debt is also understanding the cost of capital. And there are elements of the cost of capital that…

Eskom executive says utility’s power stations may struggle to meet emissions standards South Africa’s power utility, Eskom, has openly acknowledged significant hurdles in achieving the ambitious decommissioning targets set for the Just Energy Transition (JET) by 2030. During a presentation to Parliament on Wednesday, Eskom’s head of generation Bheki Nxumalo revealed that the utility’s existing power stations may struggle to meet the crucial emissions standards due to insufficient technology designed to curb nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulphur oxides (SOx). “The emissions standards post-2030 call for reduction much more aggressively. That’s where the risks are because stations have different technologies. We are now on a drive for emissions abatement technologies post-2030 but its not all of them that will be ready, including Medupi,” Nxumalo said in response to questions from MK…

Postbank CEO Nikki Mbengashe on Wednesday revealed the urgent need for R1.7 billion to maintain capital adequacy, following a challenging 18 months in which the bank has already expended more than R500 million of its own revenue to sustain operations. Mbengashe underscored the bank’s necessity for R600m for direct operations, with the remainder serving as a guarantee in alignment with the South African Reserve Bank's (Sarb) regulatory requirements. "With the money we have made, we have spent more than R500m in the last 18 months to two years. We've been able to establish a new call centre, we've got visibility, we are partnering with retailers, we have built in new systems," she said. "We need a little bit more to build on that. The R1.7bn fulfills the sub-regulatory requirements to…

in the second quarter - Anchor Capital JSE-listed equities continued their upward trajectory in in the second quarter of 2025 (2Q25), Nolan Wapenaar and Peter Armitage, Chief Investment Officers at Anchor Capital, said on Wednesday. Following on from a strong opening quarter, JSE-listed equities continued their upward trajectory to end 2Q25 up another 9.7%. Year to date, the FSE/JSE Capped Swix has risen by 16.1%, and the MSCI South Africa Index is up 30.3% (in US dollar terms). This puts the JSE as a standout performer in global equities year to date and over the past 12 months. "In April, we were still digesting the double threat of the GNU (Government of National Unity) failing and the Trump administration imposing growth-crippling tariffs across the globe. These factors were primarily to…

The South African retail landscape appears to be on a positive trajectory, buoyed by significantly low consumer inflation, the availability of disposable income from Two-Pot retirement withdrawals, and a notable decrease in fuel prices. Data from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on Wednesday showed that the retail sector continued to strengthen in May, with sales increasing by 4.2% year-on-year following an upwardly revised 5.2% advance in April. Raquel Floris, deputy director for distributive trade statistics at Stats SA, said six of the seven retail groups recorded a positive month, largely driven by textiles, clothing, footwear, and leather goods. “Textiles and clothing and general dealers continued to shine, with textiles and clothing increasing by 12.5% and general dealers by 3.6% year-on-year,” Floris said. “Together, the two groups pushed overall growth higher…