Star 2025-10-20

Bank procedures in the spotlight after agreements overturned between Standard Bank and client Questionable bank foreclosure procedures have once again fallen into the spotlight following the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) decision last week to overturn two settlement agreements between Standard Bank and a defaulting client because the bank had not complied with the National Credit Act. The SCA overturned the settlement agreements in the Wolmarans Kinder Trust case after the agreements were used by the bank to obtain orders from the Bloemfontein High Court, allowing the bank to sell properties to recover its debt without the consumer being afforded an opportunity to oppose the application or follow some other route to repay the debt, such as a debt review process. The SCA judgement arose after the Trust and its…

Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) continues to show strong progress in its turnaround strategy, achieving record-breaking operational milestones that signal renewed efficiency across South Africa’s ports. The state-owned logistics operator announced that it handled 100 158 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) and 27 879 fully built automotive units (FBUs) in a single week — a major performance milestone that has been widely welcomed by industry experts. In the same reporting period, Week 28, the Ngqura Container Terminal (NCT) surpassed its daily operational targets by 60%, handling 2 760 container moves in a single day — one of its best performances in years. TPT CEO Jabu Mdaki said the results reflect a defining moment for the entity in the 2025/2026 financial year, which ends in March 2026. “TPT has broken 14 performance records…

The Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS) says it could take at least two weeks to restore suspended Instrument Flight Procedures (IFPs) at Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (KMIA), a move that has severely disrupted air travel and tourism just as South Africa’s holiday season begins to peak. Aviation company Airlink has raised alarm over ATNS’ recent suspension of additional IFPs affecting KMIA, compounding the impact of a broader nationwide suspension of 226 IFPs since July 2024. That suspension followed ATNS’s failure to submit paperwork required to renew the procedures’ validity, and more than 200 of those remain withdrawn. The Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism (KLCBT) has echoed Airlink’s concerns, warning that the ongoing suspensions—part of a mandatory recertification process under the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA)—have triggered…

The International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) has pledged to strengthen international cooperation and sound policymaking to safeguard global stability, address rising debt risks, and advance sustainable growth as the world economy undergoes a profound transformation. In a statement on Friday following its latest 52nd meeting, IMFC chairman Mohammed Aljadaan, who is the Minister for Finance of Saudi Arabia, said that while global growth remains resilient, it faces mounting pressures from high debt, geopolitical tensions, extreme weather events, and shifting trade and demographic dynamics. Aljadaan emphasized that these global challenges bring not only risks but also opportunities for reform and innovation. “The global economy is undergoing a profound transformation,” Aljadaan said. “Major policy shifts in trade and other areas are reconfiguring global markets and policy frameworks, heightening uncertainty. Growth has…

boost as China trade deal sealed South Africa’s agricultural sector has welcomed a breakthrough trade agreement that could open lucrative opportunities for local fruit producers. The Department of Agriculture (DoA) announced on Wednesday that Minister John Steenhuisen and China’s Minister of the General Administration of Customs (GACC), Sun Meijun, signed a landmark Stone Fruit Trade Protocol in Shanghai. The agreement, which covers fruits such as apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums, and prunes, is expected to unlock an estimated R400 million in export value over the next five years. Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at the Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz), said the deal marks a significant step in deepening South Africa’s access to the Chinese market — an increasingly vital destination for local produce. “We must work to broaden South Africa’s agricultural access…

The real story about South Africa’s likely removal from the Financial Action Task Force(FATF) grey list is not the expected announcement. It’s in the opportunity. At first blush, SMEs might wonder how grey listing has impacted their business. Direct capital inflow has not completely stopped since the February 2023 FATF greylisting, but it has been severely disrupted. The most dramatic impact has been on portfolio investments, which swung from R33.4 billion in inflows in quarter four 2024 to an outflow of R53.7 billion in quarter one 2025 - a net negative swing of R87.1 billion in a single quarter. This aligns with International Monetary Fund research showing that greylisted countries typically lose 7.6% of gross domestic product in capital flows, with portfolio investments declining by 2.9% of GDP on average.…