Cape Times 2022-02-10

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa will have to clear a laundry list of demands as he delivers his State of the Nation Address (Sona) tonight, setting out the government’s plans for the year ahead and with pressure on him to rev the economy by strengthening structural reforms, amid rising unemployment and an ongoing energy crisis. “The State of the Nation Address is an opportunity for the president to take stock of challenges faced by the nation, but also of progress made,” the Presidency said yesterday. However, Investec chief economist Annabel Bishop was not as optimistic about Sona’s prospects to stimulate a direction towards economic growth. “The Sona is expected to show little difference in content to prior years, with insufficient reform implementation to drive economic growth past 2…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE MARKETS strengthened yesterday with stocks rising to a record high and the rand dipping below the R15.30 mark to the US dollar on the back of strong business sentiment for December and January. The JSE All Share Index rose by almost 1 percent to another record high of 76 715 index points by 4pm, driven by gains in Sappi, Mondi, Richemont and Naspers. The rand also lifted by 0.11 percent to R15.35 to the US dollar by 4pm, tracking positive global cues and strong January business sentiment, after touching R15.27 during intraday trade. The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) said yesterday that the business confidence index (BCI) increased by 2.1 index points to 94.9 points between December and…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za LOGISTICS utility Transnet has better hope of meeting its infrastructure and financial commitments after it successfully raised more than R2 billion in an investor roadshow, despite a Moody’s downgrade in November that should have dampened investor confidence. Transnet announced it had raised R2.15bn on senior unsecured notes ranging from a tenor of one to 12 years, translating to an over-subscription of the issuance by 1.28 percent, the utility said in a regulatory JSE announcement yesterday. “The over-subscription demonstrates the support and confidence of investors in Transnet and its strategic direction,” Transnet told investors and stakeholders. Pundits said Transnet had been placed in good stead by the remedial plan put forward by its current executive team, in which it aims to address its Public Finance Management Act…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za SAPPI, the global wood fibre products group, had proven resilient, had recovered fully from the pandemic and was bullish about its prospects in the second quarter of its 2022 financial year, chief executive Stephen Binnie said yesterday. Yesterday morning the share price soared 10.1 percent to R50.01 after results for the first quarter to end-December 2021 were released that showed headline earnings rebounding strongly to US22 cents (R3.40) per share, compared with a US3c per share loss reported at the same time in 2020. The share price has risen more than 38 percent over five months. Sales were up 46 percent to $1.7 billion (R26.25bn), while earnings before interest tax and depreciation allowances, before special items, was up 145 percent to $240…

Tawanda Karombo THE ZIMBABWE Platinum Producers’ Association, which encompasses projects controlled by Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), Impala Platinum and Sibanye, wants Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube to defer a pending 5 percent tax on the shipment of platinum group metals (PGM) that are not beneficiated. Zimbabwe’s Treasury has been granting fiscal and monetary concessions to Zimbabwean miners and this includes new requirements for them to pay royalties and other taxes in local currency. Now, the platinum miners, faced with the pending raw platinum export levy, have written to the government to defer the tax as they ramp up investments to meet local platinum beneficiation demands from the government. Alex Mhembere, chairperson of the Zimbabwe Platinum Producers’ Association, has written to Ncube asking the Treasury to “reconsider” the policy on value…

Dieketseng Maleke dieketseng.maleke@inl.co.za ANGLO American has announced that the construction and commissioning of the Aquila metallurgical coal mine in Central Queensland in Australia is in its final stage. Aquila mine had achieved its first longwall shear of steel-making metallurgical coal on schedule and on budget, which the JSE-listed firm said was an indication that the project was close to conclusion. Anglo American produces about 3.5 million tons of coal a year at the Aquila site and owns 70 percent of the mine. Tokyo-headquartered conglomerate Mitsui & Co owns the other 30 percent at Aquila. The Aquila mine, near Middle- mount in Central Queensland in Australia, extends the life of Anglo American’s existing Capcoal underground operations by seven years after the company’s nearby Grasstree mine reached the end…