Cape Times 2024-07-31

Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago yesterday expressed concern about continuing risks to the inflation rate, but many economists believe the outlook is more positive and could lead to an interest rate cut at the September meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). In an address to the bank’s annual general meeting yesterday, Kganyago said annual inflation averages that are trending lower hide ongoing volatility in the underlying components of inflation, demonstrating the risks and uncertainty marking the disinflation path. He said that in line with the global trend, South Africa’s headline inflation decelerated since the pandemic, falling from 6.9% in 2022 to an average 6% in 2023. However, he said that since September last year, headline inflation had been fluctuating between 5% and 6%, with frequent monthly setbacks coming from…

Markets will be keeping a close eye on commodities firm Glencore after it said yesterday that it would let investors know next week whether or not it planned to demerge its coal and carbon steel materials business. It is unclear at this point what a demerger would mean for its South African operations. A demerger is when the company splits off certain assets to form a separate company. Gary Nagle, the CEO for Glencore, said, “We are now in the process of consulting with shareholders to assess their views regarding the potential demerger of our coal and carbon steel materials business. We expect to be able to announce the outcome of such engagement and the decision of the board regarding the potential demerger alongside our interim results next week.” Coal…

Production of gold from global bullion mines is projected to soar even higher, boosted by surging output from Africa – including South Africa – against the backdrop of higher prices, although producers are being held back from full profitability potential by rising costs and weakening demand. South African gold producers – such as Harmony Gold, Pan African Resources and AngloGold Ashanti among others – fed into the global gold supply for this year’s second quarter, which recorded a 4% rise to 1 258 tons compared to the same period last year. Gold prices under the London Bullion Market Association averaged new highs of $2 338 (R42 871) per ounce in the 2024 second-quarter period, representing an 18% jump on the prior year’s corresponding period and 13% firming compared to the…

MOZAMBIQUE won a fraud case over a $2 billion (R37bn) bond scandal that embroiled Credit Suisse and created a financial crisis for the southern African nation. After a 3-month trial, a London judge ruled that Mozambique was defrauded in a controversial maritime project meant to finance the construction of a new coastal patrol and a tuna fishing fleet. The government-backed fund-raising was plagued by corrupt deals, with hundreds of millions of dollars looted, while much of the debt was kept hidden from bondholders and other lenders. Mozambique had initially sued Credit Suisse, which arranged most of the debt, before settling with the bank on the eve of the trial. That left the nation pursuing shipbuilder Privinvest and its wealthy French founder, Iskandar Safa, who died during the trial. “The scale…

South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) recently approved the licence applications of 63 more crypto asset service providers (CASPs). They are therefore now authorised to act as financial services providers. This brings the total number of approved CASPs to 138 of the current 383 applications. The good news is that this forms an important part of South Africa’s project in escaping its grey-listed status with the Financial Action Task Force. However, when it comes to taxpayers maintaining their compliance with SA Revenue Service (Sars), many crypto traders remain none the wiser about the correct tax treatment of their investments. In some ways, Sars and National Treasury expect crypto-active taxpayers to remain compliant while the rules around crypto are still abstract. The authorities are perceived by many to be putting…

The R40 million Da Vinci XI surgical robot, to be installed at the Busamed Gateway Private Hospital at Splendid Inn in Umhlanga today, is the first one like it in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), says Imraan Soomra, the CEO of EASE Holdings. In an interview with Business Report, Soomra said South Africa currently had 12 other Da Vinci robots across the country, so this would be the country’s 13th. “By providing surgeons with better vision, and improved dexterity, as well as better precision and ergonomic comfort, the Da Vinci robotic system enables more surgeons to perform complex minimally invasive procedures. It allows surgeons to perform complex surgeries through small incisions, which can lead to less pain, reduced blood loss, quicker recovery times and shorter hospital stays for patients,” Soomra said. EASE South…