Star 2025-12-04

The Central Energy Fund (CEF) says it is preparing to absorb fuel infrastructure and other assets from global oil companies that are scaling down operations in South Africa, as part of its strategy to secure national fuel supply and strengthen its downstream footprint. Acting Group CEO Sifiso Msabala told Parliament that several oil majors, including Shell, have approached the State-Owned Entity with proposals to offload assets as they retreat from the local market. "We have a very clear understanding of how the majors have been behaving in wanting to sell in that space. A number of them are offloading their assets. The State cannot be caught in a situation where the assets are not attended to as we will be the last resort for fuel," Msabala said. "Some of…

South Africa’s transport and logistics industry has warned of higher operating costs, rising consumer prices and pressure on holiday travel budgets after the government announced steep fuel price increases for December. This comes as both grades of petrol rose by 29 cents per litre on Wednesday, while diesel saw even sharper increases of 65.48 cents per litre for 0.05% sulphur diesel and 82.48 cents per litre for 0.005% sulphur diesel. The timing, coinciding with the height of the festive season, has raised concerns across the logistics, agricultural and labour sectors. Gavin Kelly, CEO of the Road Freight Association (RFA), said that the increase in petrol and diesel at the beginning of December is not a good omen and will have an immediate impact on transporters who purchase fuel daily. “The…

The South African Revenue Service (Sars) has moved to attach PetroSA’s mothballed Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) refinery in Mossel Bay as the state-owned oil company struggles to settle more than R4.5 billion in unpaid licensing and duty fees. PetroSA executives told Parliament this week that Sars officials arrived at the company’s offices last Tuesday to discuss a repayment plan, followed shortly by a formal notice demanding a response by Friday, 5 December. Failure to comply would allow Sars to proceed with attaching the refinery as security for the debt. Nombulelo Tyandela, PetroSA's chief financial office, said the refinery’s book value, R340 million, falls far short of the amount owed. "Looking at the balance sheet, the refinery is sitting at R340m. We owe Sars R4.5bn. The attachment won't cover sufficiently what they want…

South Africa has just come through its most demanding tourism year since the 2010 FIFA World Cup as Johannesburg hosted the G20 Summit. The event brought heads of state, ministerial teams, security units, media crews and technical staff to the country, who depend on reliable logistics and high-quality service, which placed real pressure on hospitality, tourism and events businesses that must deliver at a global standard while managing the usual seasonal peaks. Consider the magnitude of the G20 as an operation; delegations travelled with specialist staff, protocol requirements, and strict security expectations. As such, hotels had to balance full occupancy with seamless guest handling, conference venues had to deliver consistent technical and service execution, and restaurants and travel companies had to accommodate fluctuating demand while maintaining speed and accuracy. This…

South Africa’s private sector recorded another month of deteriorating business conditions in November, with the S&P Global South Africa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) slipping to 49.0, signalling a second consecutive monthly contraction. Although slightly better than October’s reading of 48.8, the second consecutive month of decline highlights a subdued end to 2025 for the economy. The S&P PMI corresponds with the seasonally adjusted Absa PMI released earlier this week, which showed that sentiment plunged by 7.2 points to 42, its weakest reading in several months and well below the 50-point mark that separates expansion from contraction. According to the S&P survey data collected between November 12–26, firms continued to grapple with reduced output and a shortage of new business, particularly in domestic markets. Activity levels dropped at the fastest rate…

South Africa recorded a welcome rebound in business sentiment in the final quarter of 2025, with the RMB/BER Business Confidence Index (BCI) rising by five points to 44, its highest level this year and three points above the long-term average. The improvement follows two consecutive quarters of decline and reflects a broad recovery across five of the six sectors surveyed. Only building contractors reported weaker sentiment. RMB said the latest uptick represents a “green shoot” - promising, but still fragile - and stressed that continued structural reform and steady demand will determine whether business confidence strengthens sustainably. According to RMB Chief Economist Isaah Mhlanga, the uptick is not a dramatic shift but marks a “meaningful turn in the right direction”. “The key positive is that the improvement is broad-based. Even…