Cape Times 2023-06-30

SOUTH African households’ finances remained under pressure in the first quarter of 2023 due to slower growth in disposable income, resulting in moderated growth in real final consumption expenditure. This was revealed in the Quarterly Bulletin released by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) yesterday. The SARB said that real spending on both services and durable goods decreased slightly during the quarter, with the latter largely reflecting reduced purchases of personal transport equipment. According to the quarterly bulletin, personal disposable income grew by a modest 0.2% quarter-on-quarter, down from 0.6% in the fourth quarter of 2022, due to a seasonal rise in employment. However, the purchasing power of personal disposable income was hurt by elevated inflation, with consumer prices surprising to the upside in February and March. The higher inflation…

BMW AG’s R4.2 billion investment over five years to electrify its Rosslyn plant to manufacture semi electric vehicles represents another initiative by the motor industry to adapt to the changing global market. BMW AG board member for production Milan Nedeljkovic said in a statement yesterday that their South African business had become a mainstay of the group’s global automotive network, and to mark the 50 years that the local plant became BMW AG’s first foreign facility, the investment would be made to manufacture the BMW X3 as a plug-in hybrid for global export, from 2024. The investment would also be accompanied by specialist training for more than 300 employees at the plant. Currently, only two of SA’s major vehicle manufacturers make vehicles that can run on electricity (EVs). Toyota…

‘Our foreign relations policy is driven by our economic and national interests’ MINISTER in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has reiterated her defence of South Africa’s foreign policy in spite of potential withdrawal of economic benefits to the country. Addressing the Black Business Council Summit, Ntshavheni yesterday said that the government’s non-alignment position on the Russia/Ukraine war had nothing to do with the possible withdrawal of South Africa from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). Ntshavheni said South Africa would maintain its international relations policy for the benefit of its interests.“I want to set the record straight, that the largest trading partner of this country is Germany or the European Union followed by the US and then China. South Africa cannot be friends with people who want us to remain…

RICHARD Branson’s Virgin Galactic flew its first paying customers to the edge of space yesterday, completing a long-awaited milestone that comes nearly 20 years after the British billionaire started to pursue his dream of creating a space tourism venture. The flight from Spaceport America in New Mexico was not full of wealthy thrill-seekers but rather was commissioned by the Italian government for a pair of Italian air force officers and an Italian engineer who used the mission as a training exercise and to conduct science experiments. Yesterday, the spacecraft landed softly on a runway at about 11.44am Eastern time after reaching a peak altitude of about 53 miles (85km), the company said on a live broadcast of the flight. With the completion of its first commercial mission, the company says…

CONSUMERS in South Africa are expected to continue holding back on making large purchases in the next 12 months as high borrowing costs has resulted in pessimism about the prevailing economic conditions. The FNB/BER Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) plunged to its lowest in one year in the second quarter of 2023, sagging further to -25 points after having plummeted from -8 to -23 index points during the first quarter. This CCI reading was the second-lowest reading on record since 1994 after a low of -36 index points recorded during the hard Covid-19 lockdown in the second quarter of 2020. It was also indicative of concerns about South Africa’s economic prospects and consumers’ household finances. Consumer confidence has now dropped back to the same low level that was recorded during…

PRODUCER inflation in South Africa is expected to continue moderating after falling nearly to a two-year low in May as local food prices are beginning to match slowing global prices. Data from Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) yesterday showed that the annual Producer Price Inflation (PPI) eased further to 7.3% year-on-year in May, down from 8.6% in April. This was the softest reading since August 2021, matching market forecasts. StatsSA said this was prompted by a slowdown in the costs of coke, petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products; metals, machinery, equipment and computing equipment; food products, beverages and tobacco products; paper and printed products; and transport equipment. According to StatsSA, manufactured food price inflation decelerated further in April to 8.8% year-on-year in May, from 11.1% and 11.7% recorded in April…