Star 2025-07-24

The South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) may once again loosen its monetary policy before the year draws to a close despite recent data revealing an uptick in consumer price inflation. This comes as the Sarb’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will announce its decision on the policy rate next week after cutting the repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.25% per annum in May. Data from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on Wednesday showed that the headline consumer price index (CPI) edged higher to 3.0% in June after holding steady at 2.8% in April and May. This was the 11th consecutive month in which inflation remained below the 4.5% midpoint of the Sarb’s 3-6% target range. Stats SA chief director of price statistics, Patrick Kelly, said the annual rate for…

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) reached a monumental threshold on Wednesday as the FTSE/JSE All Share Index (ALSI) celebrated its ascent to 100 000 points for the first time ever. This remarkable figure is not just a testament to numerical achievement; it symbolises a prosperous evolution since the index began at just 100 points in January 1960, marking a staggering increase of 1 000 times over the past 65 years. The index's annualised returns have exceeded 11%, underscoring the resilience of South Africa’s capital markets and positioning the JSE as one of the best-performing markets globally in both US dollar and rand terms for the year 2025. The bourse has been breaking records since the year began as it started 2025 on a high above 84 000 index points. By…

The Competition Tribunal of South Africa has approved the R35 billion acquisition of the MultiChoice Group (MCG) by French media giant CANAL+. effectively consolidating two of Africa's biggest television and media groups. This landmark deal, designed not only to strengthen CANAL+’s foothold in sub-Saharan Africa but also to foster competition against dominant global streaming services like Netflix, comes with a series of stipulations aimed at promoting local empowerment in the audio-visual industry. CANAL+, recently spun off from parent company Vivendi, made an offer to MultiChoice shareholders at R125 per share—valuing the total acquisition at R55bn. The Competition Commission previously indicated that the merger would not impede competition within any market. Historically, CANAL+ has focused on francophone African territories, while MultiChoice has predominantly catered to the sub-Saharan demographic. The approval marks…

Natco puts in ambitious bid for 135-year-old South African pharmaceutical company NATCO Pharma, a listed pharmaceutical manufacturer in India, has put in a bid to acquire 135-year old South Africa pharmaceutical group Adcock Ingram Holdings via a R4.2 billion deal involving a cash offer to minority shareholders. Adcock Ingram’s share price rocketed on the JSE on Wednesday on news of the bid, with the share price ending 18.1% higher at R67.70. The offer was pitched at R75 per Adcock Ingram share, which represents a significant premium to the share price. The offer comprises all the shares in Adcock Ingram, excluding those already held by NATCO Pharma and major shareholder Bidvest. Should the offer be accepted, NATCO Pharma will hold a 35.75% stake in Adcock Ingram, valued at R4bn, and the…

The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) has updated labelling regulations for plant-based meat analogue products - a move welcomed by LIVEKINDLY Collective Africa (LKCA) and Fry Family Foods. The regulations do not allow the use of meat names such as beef, chicken, pork in the products but allow the use of names such as burger, sausage, nugget, hot dog. The name for a meat analogue needs to be preceded by a descriptive name such as “plant-based”, “fungi-based”, “mushroom-based”, “vegan”, “veggie” or “vegetarian” and/or a similar descriptive name or term that will assist or enable the consumer to determine the true nature and composition of the meat analogue, according to the regulations. The updated regulations are the result of a collaborative and consultative process that unfolded over…

Despite global economic uncertainties and constrained exit environments, Southern Africa’s venture capital (VC) sector closed off 2024 with a record R13.35 billion in active investments across 1 325 deals, up 24% year-on-year, according to the 2025 Savca VC Survey. Nicola Gubb, interim executive director of Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (Savca), said the findings reflect an industry that has demonstrated remarkable tenacity and resilience. “Behind these numbers lies the story of a maturing market, more sophisticated capital deployment, deeper investor networks, and an encouraging shift toward early-growth stage funding, especially Series A, which speaks to a growing confidence in scalable local innovation,” she said. Stephan Lamprecht from VS Nova, Savca's research partner, said, “South Africa’s VC landscape is showing promising growth, with renewed government involvement - particularly…