Star 2025-08-01

August 1, 2025, marks the dawn of a new era for South Africa, albeit a troubling one, as a hefty 30% export tariff to the United States came into effect. This significant policy change has sent ripples through the nation’s economy, stirring anxiety among businesses and consumers alike. With no agreement in sight to prevent this trade burden, South Africans are bracing themselves for the ramifications on both local markets and international trade relations. US President Donald Trump last month announced that his administration would levy a staggering 30% tariff on all South African products entering the US, with some exclusions or reduced tariffs on metals and minerals, in a bid to address long-standing trade imbalances and unfair market restrictions. South Africa exports billions of rands’ worth of goods to…

ArcelorMittal South Africa’s interim headline loss was virtually unchanged at R1.01 billion, non-core asset sales may be necessary and the closure of the Longs business in Vereniging next month is still on the cards. All this bad news sent the beleaguered steel maker’s share price tumbling 7.4% on the JSE late Thursday afternoon to R1.00. The price has fallen steadily from R1.36 a year ago. “Subdued market demand, disruptive rail and electricity interruptions (with a R358m cost impact), and aggressive import penetration placed significant pressure on volumes and margins. Domestic sales volumes fell 10%, and exports by 13%, while long steel imports, predominantly from Zimbabwe, rose sharply,” CEO Kobus Verster said. He warned that should due diligence by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) not yield an outcome, non-core assets would…

Monetary Policy Committee reduces benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points to 7% The South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) has signalled potential future interest rate cuts as it embarks on a strategic adjustment to its inflation-targeting framework from the midpoint of 4.5% to 3%. This comes as the Sarb’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Thursday unanimously reduced its benchmark lending rate for the second time in a row by 25 basis points to 7%, 2025, the lowest level since November 2022. This means that the prime lending rate will also decline from 10.75% to 10.50% per annum. The cut was widely anticipated amid concerns over a new US tariff regime threatening the already fragile economy. FNB chief economist Mamello Matikinca-Ngwenya said the decision highlighted the MPC’s focus on stable domestic…

MTN Nigeria, the biggest subsidiary of the South African telecoms provider, experienced robust demand in the second quarter and saw a sharp turnaround in first-half profit as the West African economy began to stabilise. “The macroeconomic conditions in Nigeria showed notable improvements (six months to June 30), including a relatively stable naira, improved foreign exchange (forex) liquidity and easing inflationary pressures,” said MTN Nigeria CEO Karl Toriola. This follows recent economic instability during which many South African companies suffered foreign exchange-related losses, in particular, from their operations in Nigeria. MTN Nigeria posted a N414.9 billion net profit in the first half of 2025, a dramatic turnaround from the N519.1bn loss in the first half of 2024. “Building on momentum from the first quarter, we delivered strong growth in service revenue…

Multinational mining and metals processing group Sibanye-Stillwater, which is listed in South Africa and America, has filed an antidumping petition with the US Department of Commerce and the US International Trade Commission (ITC) on imports of unwrought palladium from Russia. Sibanye-Stillwater, together with the representative union at its US PGM operations in Montana, the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (United Steelworkers Union), said on Thursday they have initiated legislative processes intended to ensure the sustainability of Sibanye-Stillwater's US PGM operations and protect the long-term viability of domestic United States platinum group metals (PGM) supply. Neal Froneman, the CEO of Sibanye-Stillwater, said, “We believe that Russian palladium imports are being sold below market prices due to various factors, beginning primarily after…

SA Breweries (SAB), which managed to grow its revenues and profits by the mid-single digits for the second quarter to end-June, has warned that increasing volumes of illegal alcohol products were entering the South African market. SAB CEO Richard Rivett-Carnac, interviewed on the same day as its parent Anheuser-Busch InBev released its half-year report, said illegal alcohol product sales were now estimated to make up as much as about 20% of the local market, generating up to R25 billion a year in sales. This also translated into a loss to the government of many billions of rand through unpaid customs and excise duties and other taxes, he said in an interview. He said many illegal alcohol product vendors were operating relatively sophisticated schemes, such as recycling bottles, counterfeiting brand labels…