Indice dei contenuti per 2024-07-23 in Cape Times

The rand moderated yesterday but stocks on the JSE surged nearly 1%, shrugging uncertainty in the US as there was no clear indication as to whether US President Joe Biden’s replacement, Kamala Harris, will fare better than he was expected to do at the polls on November 4. The domestic currency remained virtually unchanged at R18.28 to the US dollar while JSE All Share Index rose 0.9% to 80 659 points by 4pm, rebounding after falling for four consecutive days last week on the back of concerns over trade relations between the US and China. The rand was trading at R18.26 at 6pm. US presidential hopeful Donald Trump has a history of seeing China as a competitor, and getting the US to impose trade restrictions. Analysts yesterday said they…

The Motor Industry Staff Association (Misa) has assigned its legal department to engage with business rescue practitioners (BRPs) of AutoZone Holdings as it ensures the protection of its 317 members, and their continued payment. This comes after the high court last week granted an order for Absa to seize AutoZone’s movable assets over its over R300 million debt burden. AutoZone owes Absa R302m which accumulated during a series of financial agreements and defaults. Misa said yesterday AutoZone did not inform it prior to filing its notice beginning business rescue proceedings, but it was on high alert and would participate in the process to protect the interests of its members. Martlé Keyter, Misa’s operations CEO, said the union was fully aware of the dire ongoing slump in the retail motor…

Cement manufacturer PPC has entered into a comprehensive strategic co-operation agreement with Sinoma Overseas Development Corporation (Sinoma) to work together on opportunities to improve efficiencies. The agreement, announced yesterday, will also modernise technologies, reduce production costs, accelerate the transition to alternative non-fossil fuels, and expand capacities in PPC operations in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana. Matias Cardarelli, CEO of PPC, expressed optimism about the agreement with Sinoma. “In the current highly competitive environment, we must execute our industrial operations in the most efficient way to produce high-quality products sustainably at the right cost,” Cardarelli said. “This agreement strengthens our relationship with Sinoma and will be one of the pillars of our recently initiated turnaround process, which aims to rebuild a profitable and sustainable PPC. It also highlights the commitment of…

Isn’t it fascinating how some things need time to grow, mature, and truly flourish – even when the evidence of progress seems scant – while others must be swiftly deemed unworthy of further investment and decisively cut off? VC Ponzigate? In November 2019, I had the pleasure of hosting a spirited episode of the African Tech Roundup podcast titled, Is Venture Capital a Ponzi Scheme? with guest co-host Rushil Vallabh from Secha Capital. Secha Capital is a South African growth capital impact firm that employs an operator-investor model and invests in traditional industries. Our conversation also featured Grant Phillips of PhilTech Consulting, who is now CEO of e4 Strategic. At that time, Phillips was collaborating with Convergence Partners and Stockdale Street, the Oppenheimer Family’s South African private equity firm, to…

Sasol’s share price shot up 6.3% yesterday after an annual production report showed mining, and fuel and chemicals production was within guidance, while gas production in Mozambique was higher than expected. The share price traded at R144.89 after midday yesterday, which although higher on the day was 39.3% below the price it was trading at the year before. Total mining productivity for the 2024 financial year was 3% higher than the previous year and within market guidance of 975 to 1 100 t/cm/s (tons per continuous miner shift). Secunda collieries productivity improvement was mainly due to the ongoing full potential programme partly offset by safety incidents, and other operational challenges. In the fourth quarter, total mining collieries increased by 4% and ended at 1 000 t/cm/s compared to the…

The countdown to the Paris Olympic and Paralympics is underway and in the build-up to the big sporting games beauty mogul Rihanna has announced an iconic partnership. Rihanna proudly shared on her official social media platforms that Fenty Beauty is a premium partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. “Tried to tell y’all … we outside all 2024!!! PROUD to announce that @FentyBeauty is a premium partner of the Olympic AND Paralympic Games baby!!!” The 36-year-old businesswoman posted a picture of herself holding hands with a photoshopped life-size Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer, sharing a romantic moment in front of the Eiffel Tower. According to a report by Elle, the beauty brand will provide make-up kits to volunteers awarding medals to athletes, so they can create a “designated…

UWC’s Associate Professor Renier Coetzee from the School of Public Health has been appointed deputy president of the Pharmaceutical Society of South Africa (PSSA) following his involvement in shaping policies and driving positive change in his role in various national and provincial committees. The PSSA supports pharmacists in roles throughout South Africa and aims to be a leader and guardian of the pharmacy profession, promoting and enhancing the profession of pharmacy to improve medication use and advance patient care. A trained clinical pharmacist, Coetzee joined the School of Public Health in 2022 after working at the School of Pharmacy. Here, he was responsible for developing undergraduate and postgraduate clinical programmes. He is continuing his research on patient safety, with a particular interest in rational medicine use and antimicrobial stewardship.…

Battered and bruised in the two previous editions, Tadej Pogacar made his return to the top of the Tour de France podium with a loud, big bang on Sunday to cement his place among the cycling greats. The Slovenian became the first to win both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour in the same season since the late Marco Pantani in 1998, in brutal, ruthless fashion as he crushed defending champion Jonas Vingegaard, whom he beat by six minutes and 17 seconds. Last year, Pogacar paid the price for a preparation that was disrupted by a crash in April, and this time, it was Denmark’s Vingegaard who entered the race diminished after he sustained broken ribs and a collapsed lung three months before the start in Florence. Vingegaard made a…

Mr Price Group’s sales indicate that positive consumer sentiment was created by the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU) last month, and this also translated into higher balances at retail store tills. The budget clothing and homeware retailer’s sales picked up sharply by 12.7% in June, the last month of its first quarter trading period, compared to the market’s growth of 10.3%, the group said in a trading statement yesterday. In June, following the formation of the GNU, positive consumer sentiment had supported improved sales performance across the sector, the group directors said. During April and May, the group’s retail sales grew by only 0.9% compared to the comparable market’s decline of 4.6%. “Pleasingly, these sales trends were similar across all trading segments. Gross margin percentage increases were…

The performance of the venture capital (VC) sector in South Africa defied the downwards trend in annual deals seen since 2020 as investments hit the R3 billion mark in 2023, displaying the level of resilience that has since become synonymous with the start-up ecosystem. The Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SAVCA) said yesterday that the local information and communication technology (ICT) stole the show once again, capturing investor interest and reiterating the sector’s position as a front runner in economic development and innovation. This was one of the key insights to emerge from this year’s SAVCA VC Survey Launch 2024 – an annual research initiative by the SAVCA launched last week in Cape Town. SAVCA CEO Tshepiso Kobile shared her ongoing conviction that the VC industry must…

Local consultancy XA Global Trade Advisors has launched a website to provide pinprick information on South Africa’s contentious scrap metals industry to help with accurate data on the estimated R20 billion-a-year industry, currently in limbo over efficient regulations. This as the industry awaits considerations of the new Minister of the Trade Industry and Competition (dtic), Parks Tau to pronounce on its regulation following the dropping of an exports moratorium in January after it had been implemented intermittently over the past two years. XA founder and CEO Donald MacKay yesterday said the myscrapmatters platform would have update information from scrap metal suppositories including Transnet and Eskom, scrap value from upstream manufactures to steel mills, cable theft data, landfill data, and updates on export duties, among the many offerings. “The industry is…

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) stands as one of the most disruptive technologies in human history, capable of transforming entire economies and business sectors. It’s also one of the fastest-adopted technologies ever. OpenAI’s ChatGPT gained 1 million users within five days of its 2022 launch and reached 100 million users in just two months. The potential of generative AI has spurred technology giants such as Microsoft Meta and Alphabet to aggressively pursue AI initiatives. Projections suggest the market could contribute up to $20 trillion (more than R372 trillion) to global gross domestic product by 2030 and save 30 billion work hours annually, according to a recently released report by the Oliver Wyman Forum. The report also revealed that 96% of the roughly 25 000 workers surveyed believe generative AI…

South African steel companies have continued coming out against the import duties on steel products as it affects their competitiveness. This comes as South Africa last month notified the World Trade Organization of its intention to impose a 9% duty on hot-rolled steel products in a bid to protect the local industry from a surge in imports. It followed the application by the South African Iron and Steel Institute (Saisi), on behalf of ArcelorMittal South Africa (Amsa), for a safeguard on hot-rolled steel in February. John Thompson, a division of ACTOM and the designer and manufacturer of industrial boilers for the energy, manufacturing and other industries, over the weekend said the import duty on steel products was impacting its input costs and affecting its competitiveness. John Thompson chief operations officer,…

THIRTEEN people accused of being part of the three-year looting spree at VBS Mutual Bank appeared in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, yesterday on an array of charges ranging from racketeering, money laundering and corruption to theft. An amended indictment cites a total of 179 charges, although not all the accused face all the charges. Among those who appeared before Judge Peter Mabuse were former VBS CEO Andile Ramavhunga; former treasurer Phophi Mukhobdobwane; KPMG auditor Sipho Malaba; Lieutenant-General Avhashoni Ramikosi, a non-executive director; and Ernest Nesane and Paul Magula, who both represented the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) on the VBS board as non-executive directors. Their appearance followed on the heels of the sentencing earlier this month of Tshifhiwa Matodzi, the former VBS chairperson and mastermind behind the looting of R2…

Goolam Muhammed Suliman Vawda, known on social media as @goolammv, has left the country after being unmasked by Independent Media investigative journalists. Reports indicate that Vawda had escaped South Africa and is now in Mauritius, where he is said to have fled to after the first of several criminal charges against him were laid. The move followed more than six years of using his anonymous account to defame prominent detractors of President Cyril Ramaphosa and the DA. “Because an owner of a media house and another person I have rightly called out have put a total of R3 million on my head, I have safely left the country. Will reach my final destination country tomorrow, which I will call home for a while. I will then continue doing what I…

POLICE have recovered two bodies believed to be the soccer players who went missing at Lagoon Beach, Milnerton, over the weekend. It appears that they were both caught in strong rip currents while attempting to retrieve a soccer ball, according to the NSRI. Table View police and SAPS Water Policing and Diving Services responded to calls north of Milnerton Beach yesterday, where members of the public had reported the bodies of two men found during the spring low tide. “On arrival at the scene the two bodies, that may be those of the two young men from yesterday’s (Sunday’s) incident at Lagoon Beach, were recovered by police officers and police divers. They were taken into the care of the Government Health Forensic Pathology Services,” said NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon. “All…

Young skateboard sensation Boipelo Awuah was introduced to the world of skateboarding by her brother and she has since carried the momentum straight into her second Olympics. On her journey from Kimberley in the Northern Cape to the City of Lights, the 19-year-old will be looking to strengthen her love for skateboarding and complete a dream that was ignited on the world’s grandest stage three years ago, and she hopes to inspire other young girls to take up the sport along the way. A fractured pelvis ended her Olympic aspirations and participation prematurely for Awuah at the Tokyo Games in 2021, when she was 15. Awuah feels not a lot was going right for her in Tokyo prior to the injury, but she believes she is better prepared physically and…

In a series leading up to the Paris Games, we here at Independent Newspapers continue to catch up with former South African Olympians to regale us with their unique experiences. Today, David Kannemeyer, who represented the country in football at Sydney 2000, talks to Zaahier Adams. Where does the Games stand in your career? We were the first South African football team to qualify for the Olympics, so it was quite an achievement. Personally, it was the highlight of my football career. I went on to play for big clubs such as Mamelodi Sundowns, but there is nothing like representing your country on the international stage. It was a real journey for us as a team. We had been together for many years, for some of us since our teenage…

ABOUT R2.6 billion in half-year dividends, steady and less acrimonious progress in retrenchment of 3 700 employees from its workforce and a 5% firming up in its refined platinum group metals (PGM) production left Anglo American Platinum’s (Amplats) share price stronger on the JSE yesterday. Shares in the world’s biggest platinum producer on the JSE climbed by 3.14% in afternoon trade to R630.15, momentarily reversing its losses by 4.51%, 16.41% and 36.62% in the past seven days, 90 days and year-to-date comparatives, respectively. This was despite the company reporting an 18% plunge in headline earnings a share for the June interim period to R25.56. The R9.75 a share interim dividend that it declared was also 19% lower compared to the same period a year ago. But with the company…

As the US presidential election nears, the prospect of Donald Trump returning to office raises significant questions about the global economic landscape. For South Africa, Trump’s potential re-election could have multifaceted implications, particularly in areas such as the economy, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity, and the overall ease of doing business. Trump’s economic policies during his first term were characterised by a strong emphasis on protectionism, with a focus on “America First”. Should he return to office, South Africa might face similar policies, potentially leading to tighter trade conditions. Trump’s approach to trade often involved tariffs and renegotiating trade agreements to favour US interests. This could be aggravated by the close ties the previous South African government forged with US protagonists, such as Russia, China and Iran, and its anti-Israeli…

Computer users recently experienced what could be described as an important warning for the digital world. For some, it manifested in the form of a blue screen, also known as Blue Screen of Death, which stopped working. For others, it was cancelled flights and the inability to access important information to carry out work. Essentially, the global community experienced what it feels like when systems fail. What happened and what can we learn from the failure of systems? A cybersecurity firm, CrowdStrike, a Texas company that specialises in protecting corporate clients from cyberthreats, pushed out an automatic update to its security software on its clients’ machines. Unfortunately, the update inadvertently contained a bug that forced machines that received it to crash, resulting in the Blue Screen of Death, the screen…

South32’s South African manganese and aluminium mines raised production in the quarter to June, 2024 although the company said yesterday that its cost profile for the country was highly dependent on rand fluctuations, which have an impact on raw material pricing as well as electricity supply dynamics. Despite an improvement in electricity supply over the past three months, South African companies are still suffering from logistical constraints, especially the bulk miners and those that produce large amounts of ore. In spite of this, South32’s manganese and aluminium mines in SA raised output during the June, 2024 quarter as they “responded to stronger manganese prices” to achieve “record” annual production. Its Hillside Aluminium also “achieved record production”. Nonetheless, South32 stocks on the JSE dipped by 12.26% to R36.50 per share in…

Hammerson, owner of upmarket UK city retail destinations with a secondary JSE listing, plans to sell its Value Retail division to Silver Bidco, a new company established by affiliates of L Catterton for £600 million (R14.1 billion) cash. The sale of Hammerson’s “overweight, non-controlling and yield- dilutive interest” in Value Retail at a £1.5bn enterprise value and for £600m would be a clean exit from a complex structure at a good price, Hammerson said in a statement yesterday. Value Retail comprises a portfolio of nine upmarket “Village” centres in Italy, Greece, Spain, France, Belgium, and the UK. “This is a transformational deal for Hammerson, generating cash proceeds of £600m while removing an overweight, low-yielding and minority stake, and positioning us for accelerated growth and value creation,” CEO Rita-Rose…

When you lead an active lifestyle, fuelling your body right is as important as lacing up your sneakers. Imagine your body is like a car. Just like different cars need different types of fuel to run efficiently, your body needs different kinds of nutrition to keep up with your active pace. Whether you’re hitting the gym, going for a run or just staying on the move, what you eat plays a huge role in how well you perform and recover. But navigating the world of nutrition can feel a bit like trying to jog through a maze. That’s why we're diving into the essentials of nutrition for those who love to move. We’ll keep it simple and fun because eating well shouldn’t feel like a workout on its own. Whether…

The office of Joburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda has slammed the calls for his removal via an impending motion of no confidence as “opportunistic and with political moves”. “With the R200 surcharge for prepaid users receiving a backlash from residents and parties,” Gwamanda said his plotters “undermine the complexity of challenges confronting Johannesburg”. The mayor insisted that since he assumed office, local government has enjoyed stability, unlike in 2016. His conspirators want to enforce a DA-led racist government of local unity in the metro, Gwamanda said. “The calls are an attempt to resuscitate the multiparty government led by the DA through a race-based offensive against the the mayor.” Yesterday, ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba called for the removal of the mayor over the R200 surcharge imposed on prepaid electricity users, among other…

For a few fleeting moments, it seemed like South Africa would have another Major champion, but Thriston Lawrence suffered a meltdown over the final nine holes at the Open in Scotland on Sunday. He hashed at least four birdie attempts on the back nine, which if he had holed could have catapulted him to world fame. Lawrence alerted the golf world to his quest to win the Claret Jug after he carded a faultless front nine holes with four birdies and five pars. This saw the burly 27-year-old move to the top of a congested leader board on seven-under. His final-round playing partner and overnight leader Billy Horschel was two shots back, with the eventual winner Xander Schauffele on five-under. Sandwiched in-between Lawrence and the American duo of Schauffele and…

All eyes will be on Kaizer Chiefs when they run out against Tanzanian heavyweights Young Africans SC in the inaugural Toyota Cup on Sunday at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein. It will be the first opportunity for new Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi to give some substance to the promise he made to AmaKhosi fans. He said: “I want to give you pleasure in football, this is my dream.” It is a wonderful promise from the Tunisian-born Nabi after the long-suffering Chiefs fans have experienced many seasons of heartbreak in nine years without a trophy. Nabi’s debut as Chiefs’ mentor will also reveal if there is any truth to what sporting director Kaizer Motaung jr said about the appointment. “We believe we have found the right man to fulfil our…