Новости за 08.02.2024

President Cyril Ramaphosa used his final State of the Nation Address ahead of upcoming elections to reiterate government’s commitment to reforms in the country’s failing power and logistics sectors, including one that would open the electricity transmission sector to private investors. Speaking against the backdrop of almost daily power disruptions, South Africa’s worst-ever year for loadshedding in 2023, and a precipitous collapse in the freight rail service, which was constraining key commodity exports... Читать дальше...

Amid the creation of a temporary rebate on poultry products – as set out by Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel to the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac) – Itac notes that the directive followed the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) confirming the outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), which forced the culling of millions of fowls at great lost to key players across the poultry value chain. Poultry... Читать дальше...

The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) has revealed that its business confidence index (BCI) for December last year reached a notable 112.1, marking the second-highest level for the year, surpassed only by the January 2023 peak of 112.9. Throughout last year, the BCI maintained an average level of 109.6, consistent with 2022, and higher than the 108.5 recorded in 2021.

Manufacturing production increased by 0.7% year-on-year in December, Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) reports. The largest positive contributions were made by petroleum, chemical products, rubber and plastic products, which increased 5.3% and contributed 1.1 percentage points; wood and wood products, paper, publishing and printing, which increased by 2.7% and contributed 0.3 of a percentage point; and food and beverages, which increased by 0.9% and contributed 0.3 of a percentage point.

Steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) has deferred the wind-down of its long-products business by six months amid widespread concern regarding the detrimental impact of the closure on downstream industry and jobs and following consultations with government and other affected stakeholders during which several short-term interventions were agreed. The deferral announcement was made despite AMSA reporting a R1.89-billion loss for 2023, which represented a dramatic R4.5-billion negative swing... Читать дальше...

Electromechanical equipment manufacturer Actom High Voltage has secured a contract to supply and deliver high-voltage equipment for the Selebi-Phikwe solar photovoltaic (PV) plant, which is currently under construction in Botswana. The company will provide equipment for the first 60 MW phase of the plant. The 120 MW solar PV facility is being developed by the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) and renewable energy company Scatec.

The JSE's independent clearing house JSE Clear has introduced a new service to accept securities as collateral against open JSE derivative positions. Previously, only cash was accepted as collateral. By now accepting South African government bonds as collateral, investors are able to use their cash for different purposes, alleviating cash liquidity pressures and reducing their costs of cash funding.

The Citrus Growers Association of Southern Africa (CGA) has welcomed the announcement that global liner shipping company Hapag-Lloyd will be helping to export citrus from the ports in Durban and Gqeberha. The new service will run by the end of May, in time for the bulk of the 2024 season's citrus, until September.

Mozambique is seeking to become one of Africa’s biggest hydropower producers and launch a green hydrogen industry. The government plans to add 14 000 MW of hydropower capacity, with the bulk of that developed between 2030 and 2040, the government said in a 60-page Energy Transition Strategy seen by Bloomberg. A hydrogen program will be set this year, it said in the document, which hasn’t been released publicly.

Business organisation Business Unity South Africa (Busa) has outlined its expectations for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address tonight, with the first being a call for a clear acknowledgement on the partnership between government and business on energy, logistics and crime and corruption. It also expects a commitment from government to open up space for greater participation by the private sector in building, operating and maintaining critical logistics networks and in generating energy.

Steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) has deferred the wind down of its long-products business by six months amid widespread concern regarding the detrimental impact of the closure on downstream industry and jobs and following consultations with government and other affected stakeholders during which several short-term interventions were agreed. The deferral announcement was made despite AMSA reporting a R1.89-billion loss for 2023, which represented a dramatic decline from 2022, when... Читать дальше...

ArcelorMittal South Africa reported a full-year loss on Thursday, hurt by weak demand and increased imports from China. The South African unit of the world's No.2 steelmaker ArcelorMittal posted a headline loss per share of R1.70 in the year to December 31, versus headline earnings per share of R2.34 the previous year.