Cape Times 2023-06-05

NEDBANK announced on Friday that it was seeking a new CEO as Mike Brown, its CEO, is set to retire after 14 years at the helm. The new leader will be in charge of a bank valued at R103 billion. This as Alexforbes’ outgoing chairperson and former SA Reserve Bank (SARB) deputy governor Daniel Mminele was in February announced as the next Nedbank chairperson. Mminele took the role after the annual general meeting on June 2, succeeding Nedbank’s current chairperson, Mpho Makwana. Brown has 30 years’ experience working at the banking group. He took up the CEO position in 2010 and held the role of chief financial officer previously. In its voluntary trading statement, the group said it would commence a process to choose a successor to Brown, supported…

NESBANK said on Friday it had revised its South African gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for 2023 downwards as trading conditions had declined and its credit-loss ratio was higher than management's expectations. In a trading statement, the lender said it had altered its SA GDP growth forecast for 2023 downwards from 0.7% in February 2023 to 0.2%. “The cost implications of load shedding and a weaker rand have resulted in upward adjustments to its inflation forecast, which is now expected to average 6% in 2023, up from 5.5% in February 2023,” it said. According to the bank, in response to higher-than-expected inflation, the weaker rand and the continuous tightening of foreign monetary policy, the SA Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee increased the repo rate by 50 basis…

Electricity Minister says risk of a national blackout was extremely low given the various control measures in place THE MINISTER in the Presidency responsible for Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has warned that the government will be ramping up Demand Side Management (DSM) programmes this winter as part of measures to prevent load shedding from exceeding stage 6. DSM is a strategy used by electricity utilities to control demand by encouraging consumers to modify their level and pattern of electricity usage, and typically includes monetary incentives to encourage consumers to buy energy-efficient equipment, or lower prices if they agree to reduce usage during peak times of demand. Ramokgopa on Friday presented an update on the implementation of the Energy Action Plan, saying that they were working tirelessly to avert a…

REVISED trade accords with most of Brazil's trade partners, including China, make it unlikely the world's largest chicken supplier will impose a nationwide ban on exports should the virus that causes highly pathological avian influenza (HPAI) hit commercial flocks. Ricardo Santin, the head of a group representing firms such as JBS and BRF, said the agreements with trade partners should limit any export restrictions to smaller geographic regions. Still, the details of a 2004 bilateral sanitary protocol with China, Brazil's top chicken buyer last year, could spell some pain for exporters. The protocol, which the agriculture ministry said remains in force, requires immediate notification to Beijing of epidemic diseases, and imposes temporary national and local bans depending on the type of illness threatening the health of poultry. It also stipulates…

THE GLOBAL market for luxurious components, such as jewellery and designer apparel, has remained resilient to the worldwide economic tumult – characterised by high inflation and rising interest rates – and helped drive up volumes and profitability in Richemont. Johann Rupert, the chairperson of Richemont, said in the company’s annual report released on Friday, that Richemont had grown its earnings despite of volatility in geopolitical volatility. Uncertainty and disruption to supply chains has decimated production and volumes for other companies. “The group has drawn on the strength of its Maisons and the resilience of luxury consumers in an environment characterised by geopolitical volatility, economic uncertainty and high inflation,” Rupert said. Cartier, the flagship jeweller brand for Richemont, will this year unveil a new high-end collection, its CEO, Cyrille Vigneron, said.…

TRANSNET CEO Portia Derby said on Friday that the ban on the export of scrap metal initiated by the government to curb the theft of copper cables and other grid infrastructure inadvertently had created cartels – an unintended consequence. In response to questions from the Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises and Communications, Derby said subsequent to the just elapsed six-month ban, which is under review to permanent status, Transnet being given a list of takers to invite for the sale of scrap through action had found it created a structure that was “like a cartel”. This as authorised buyers, including foundries and mini-mills seemed to have a conversation among themselves. In a Gazette last month, the International Trade Administration Commission (Itac) invited comment on the proposal to prohibit the export…