Cape Times 2023-07-21

NORTHAM Platinum plans to sell its 34.5% stake in Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) for R9 billion to its rival Impala Platinum due to a decrease in platinum group metals (PGM) prices, which led to adverse market developments. In a statement, Northam, which had been a contender in the takeover bid of RBPlat that was won by Implats, said it has submitted its acceptance of the Implats Mandatory Offer in respect of all of the 100.2 million RBPlat shares held by Northam Holdings. Northam withdrew from its proposed acquisition of RBPlat in April. Northam CEO Paul Dunne said: “The prevailing PGM market conditions and the material decline in the PGM basket price during, in particular, the last four months may signal a potentially protracted cyclical downturn. “Relative positioning on the…

SOUTH African businesses remain pessimistic about trade conditions in the next six months as sentiment was still firmly in contractionary levels in June, in spite of an expected improvement in sales in the months ahead. The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) yesterday said trade conditions remained largely unchanged in June, maintaining a slightly negative trend consistent with the first six months of 2023. The survey is conducted by Sacci among its members who are some of the biggest companies in South Africa and the largest employers. While there were occasional posi- tive seasonal fluctuations, Sacci said overall trade conditions did not show significant improvement. In June, approximately 55% of respondents anticipated an improvement in trade activities over the next six months, a slight decrease compared with the…

POULTRY producers are subsidising the consumer by at least R3 per kilo of chicken as production costs spiral, aided by the cost of load shedding which has added R1.50 per kilo in the producer price, participants at an industry discussion heard yesterday. South African Poultry Association (Sapa) CEO Izaak Breitenbach said the cost of load shedding had added 10% of overheads to the large producers who had to provide their own electricity backup plans while smaller producers had seen a spike of 20% in overheads. This is as the industry awaits a decision by the Minister for Trade Industry and Competition who last July suspended import tariffs on frozen bone-in-imports from Brazil, Denmark, Ireland, Poland, and Spain for a year and is due to make a decision next month…

But the MPC’s message must be interpreted as a ‘hawkish pause’, says economist Parsons THE SOUTH African Reserve Bank (SARB) has given a strong indication that it might increase the borrowing costs as risks to the inflation outlook were assessed to the upside, even though it has paused its interest rates hiking cycle for now. In a split decision, the SARB yesterday kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged at a 14-year high of 8.25% per annum for the first time after 10 consecutive hikes since November 2021. This comes after headline consumer inflation returned to the upper end of the inflation target range in June, easing by 0.9% to 5.4% in June, from 6.3% in May, due to softening fuel and some food prices. Inflation is now forecast to sustainably…

THE DA and the Patriotic Alliance (PA) have snatched three wards from the GOOD Party in by-elections held in George this week. The hotly-contested by-elections saw the DA winning Ward 16 and Ward 27, and the PA winning Ward 20. The vacancies in the wards were a result of the resignation of two councillors, all from the GOOD Party. DA provincial leader Tertuis Simmers said the party prevailed despite attempts by opposition parties to “derail their campaign”. “The voters of New Dawn Park, Pacaltsdorp and surrounds, held fast and were impervious to undue influence and fake news by the opposition. “Residents chose to vote for good governance and service delivery. These wards are now in the capable hands of Theresa Jeyi and Marchell Kleynhans, and we are confident that they…

PEOPLE who were fined for infringement of the Covid-19 State of Disaster regulations will soon have their criminal records expunged – once amending legislation was passed by Parliament and then signed into law. This was according to Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola in response to parliamentary questions from IFP MP Themba Msimang. Msimang asked by what date the criminal records would be wiped out, as tens of thousands of people who were fined for infringements of disaster regulations were restricted from continuing with several aspects of their lives. Lamola said the Judicial Matters Amendment Bill was currently under deliberation by the National Assembly committee on justice and correctional services. The bill was approved by Cabinet for introduction to Parliament. It was also referred to the committee on March…