Table of contents for 2024-04-04 in Cape Times

CHOOSING stocks based on social media tips might generate big returns in the short term, but not in the longer run, and the influence of such tips raises concerns over investor protection and keeping markets orderly, the EU’s securities watchdog said yesterday. The power of social media in hyping up trading was seen in January 2021 when “meme stock” GameStop surged as much as 1 600% on Wall Street as amateur investors piled into the video game retailer’s shares. EU Finance Ministers are keen to attract more retail investors to help deepen the bloc’s capital market, but do not want market vola- tility such as that involved in speculative trading in GameStop to tarnish investing. The European Securities and Markets Authority (Esma) said in its first risk analysis on…

THE INTERNATIONAL Monetary Fund (IMF) has cautioned that the economic scarring of the Covid-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions, and the tightening of financial conditions have hit low-income countries, mainly in Africa, the hardest in recent years. The IMF defines low-income countries as the 69 countries eligible for the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust facilities. IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said yesterday that though the outlook for low-income countries was gradually improving, they were still facing persistent macroeconomic vulnerabilities, including liquidity challenges due to high debt service. Speaking during a joint high-level event with the World Bank, Georgieva said there was significant heterogeneity among low-income countries. She said the poorest and most fragile countries had faced deep scarring from the pandemic, while those with diversified economies and frontier markets were faring better.…

OIL PRICES extended gains yesterday, as investors mulled supply risks stemming from Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries and the potential for escalation in the Middle East conflict, while Opec+ Ministers made no changes to current output cuts in a meeting. Brent crude futures for June rose 75 cents, or 0.84%, to $89.67 (R1 690) per barrel at 1.30pm, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures for May gained 73c, or 0.86%, to $85.88 a barrel. Opec+ Ministers made no fresh policy recommendations in a meeting yesterday, after the group last month decided to extend production cuts until June. Oil futures compounded Tuesday’s gains, when Brent and WTI climbed 1.7% to their highest since October. Prices jumped higher on Tuesday after a fresh round of Ukrainian drone attacks on…

TRINA Solar, an international PV and energy storage solutions company, has partnered with China Energy International Group and China Gezhouba Group to power the Mooi Plaats 283MW ground photovoltaic power plant project in the Northern Cape, which will become South Africa’s biggest solar project. The project is financed by EDF Renewables, in conjunction with South Africa’s local financial institutions, a statement from Trina said yesterday. Solar power projects are growing fast in South Africa – in February over 1 000MW of renewable energy projects, mostly solar, were registered with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa, a figure almost two-thirds of the 1 664MW of renewable energy that registered in the whole of 2022. According to News24, the second- biggest solar project is a 149.3MW solar plant in…

As a child, Rego Moeketsi preferred to spend her free time in her grandmother’s kitchen, watching and helping her cook and bake. “I loved paging through magazines, finding recipes that appealed to me and copying them into my own home-made cookbook. I loved playing with flour and making my own little cakes and biscuits,” she told Business Report. As she grew older and became more proficient at making her own baked products, she started selling her home-made scones, cookies and muffins to colleagues and friends. “All I wanted to do was to hone my craft at a culinary school, but I just could not afford the fees,” she said. Moeketsi put her dreams on hold and took a job as a secretary at a military psychological institute, and while there,…

SPEAR Reit, the only regional-focused Reit on the JSE, said yesterday its port- folio of properties in the Western Cape had, for the most part, traded consistently through the year to February 28, 2024, in line with management’s expectations. The company said in an operational update that its lease renewal strategy had been successfully executed as renewals were concluded timeously and, in some instances, well ahead of expiry dates. Portfolio occupancy rates remained within the mid-90 percentile. More than 153 383 square metres of gross lettable area (GLA) was either renewed or relet, versus the 142 770 square metres that was classified as GLA that would either reach expiry or become vacant during the 2024 financial year. Spear’s balance sheet and income statement remained healthy and the fixed…

SOUTH African liquor retailer Norman Goodfellows (NGF) has acquired a substantial interest in Port2Port.wine in a deal that will create the largest online wine and spirit retail platform. Jason McEvoy, the CEO of Norman Goodfellows, said yesterday in a statement the acquisition for an undisclosed price promised to bring together the expertise and reach of two industry powerhouses, which would enhance the liquor-buying experience for consumers across South Africa. Port2Port.wine would continue to operate as an independent brand, under its current management team, headed by Nicolò Pudel. Founded in 2015 and with the backing of entrepreneur Michael Jordaan and Distell, Port2Port.wine has become a premier online destination for wine enthusiasts. Port2Port.wine offers more than 2 500 wine and spirits products from 500 producers in more than 15 countries. Its…

Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy yesterday announced that Cabinet has endorsed the recommendations of the Ministerial Task Team (MTT) on voluntary exit options and pathways from the captive lion industry. Recommendations include the acquisition and incineration of lion bone stockpiles contingent upon sterilisation of lions and compliance with the voluntary exit principles. Creecy released the task team’s report which found that South Africa currently has 7 834 captive lions in 348 facilities and about 3 163 lion skeletons and carcasses in stockpiles. The MTT was appointed in December 2022, following a recommendation by the High Level Panel on matters relating to the management, breeding, hunting, trade and handling of elephant, lion, leopard and rhinoceros. The panel recommended the closure of the captive breeding sector, including the keeping…

WHEN Cricket South Africa announced the men’s national contracts for the 2024/25 season, many were shocked by the omission of experienced players like Anrich Nortjé and former captain Quinton de Kock. Prior to the announcement of the contract list, De Kock had already retired from Test and ODI cricket, but is still available for T20 internationals. And because CSA had mentioned the possibility of taking the direction of single-format contracts starting next season, De Kock’s omission came as a surprise. However, it is understood that Cricket SA did propose an offer to the star left-handed batter, but it was declined by the 31-year-old. “No, I never wanted a contract,” De Kock told Redsportz after his latest Indian Premier League (IPL) outing for the Lucknow Super Giants this week. “I just…

Banyana Banyana will have one less problem to worry about when they face arch-rivals Nigeria at the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abuja tomorrow night (6pm kick-off, SA time). Banyana have been in Abuja for the last five days, gearing up for the first leg of the final Olympic qualifier against the west Africans. So, thanks to their early departure – which was made possible by Safa and sponsors Sasol – Banyana have been adapting to the scorching Nigerian heat. Pretoria, where Banyana held a preparation camp last week, has been averaging 25ºC, while Abuja has been peaking at 35 degrees this week. And with 17 players from coach Desiree Ellis’ 24-member squad all playing their club football in South Africa, it was important that they leave for Nigeria earlier.…

So, Louis Rees-Zammit signed a three-year deal with the NFL championship-winning Kansas City Chiefs last week. Good for him. Apparently they were dancing in the streets of Dublin at the announcement, while in the corridors of World Rugby’s headquarters in that city, old fogeys who have lost touch with reality were high-fiving each other in glee. To them, one of rugby’s most talented stars defecting to a rival sporting code is an apparent victory. “It’s official,” they wrote on their official X account last week Friday, their excited fingers frantically stumbling over their keyboard. “Louis Rees-Zammit has signed with back-to-back Super Bowl winners the Kansas City Chiefs.” While we can all agree that it is a fantastic achievement for the former Welsh international, it boggles the mind that rugby union’s…

Wilco Louw packs a mean punch – and that’s just in the scrums. You probably couldn’t find a nicer tighthead prop on and off the field. Okay, Frans Malherbe is of a similar ilk. But while these scrum gurus don’t talk much, they roar in the scrums. The 29-year-old Louw has been a rock for the Bulls this season after spending a few years at Harlequins in England. Louw, who is 126kg of prime Ceres beef, began his senior career at Loftus Versfeld before returning to his native Western Cape at the Stormers. That is where he became a Springbok, but his time overseas – which included a short stint at Toulon in France as cover during the 2019 World Cup – has moulded Louw into virtually a complete No…

GLOBAL logistics giant DP World is acquiring key assets of bp Southern Africa’s (bpSA) secondary transport operations, marking a significant expansion of its business in South Africa. International energy group bp has operated in Africa for more than 100 years – with operations from explor- ation to refining and fuel product distri- bution. In South Africa, it is one of few major industry players still running its own transport operations. The value of the transaction was not disclosed, a DP World spokesperson said yesterday. UAE-based global logistics group DP World, which has staff in 74 countries on six continents, acquired South Africa-based Imperial Logistics, effective in 2022. In the year to December 31, 2023, DP World lifted revenue 6.6% to $18.25 billion (R344bn) and adjusted earnings before interest, tax,…

WITHIN a six-year period, February 2018 to February 2024, diesel and petrol prices experienced significant increases of 69.9% and 64.6%, respectively, according to the Input Cost Monitoring (ICM) report. The report published this week by the National Agricultural Marketing Council (Namc) notes that diesel has risen from R12.57 a litre to R21.36 a litre, while petrol has risen from R14.12 a litre to R23.24 a litre during this period. Meanwhile, the crude oil price has increased by 25% from $65.65 (R1 237) a barrel to $82.03 a barrel, and in terms of rand value, crude oil prices rose by 100.7% from R775.33 a barrel to R1 556.11 a barrel. Looking at the price difference of diesel and petrol over a year, between February 2023 and February 2023, petrol…

The NATIONAL Development Plan (NDP) places the responsibility of creating 90% of all jobs in South Africa on small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs). Currently in South Africa, it is estimated that SMMEs create about 60% of all jobs, which means that we are still a bit behind most regions in the world. In most nations, SMMEs account for the most jobs in their economy. According to the EuroFund, SMMEs constitute more than 99% of European companies and account for about two-thirds of private sector employment and job growth. To achieve the NDP target, the white paper published by 22 On Sloane in January 2024 estimates that South Africa will need to create 3.2 million new SMMEs in the next seven years in order to achieve the NDP target.…

MC MINING’s independent board commit- tee (IDC) said yesterday that Goldway Capital Investment has continued to criti- cise the IDC and attempt to dismiss the findings of the Independent Expert, in an effort to justify Goldway’s A$0.16 (R1.96) offer price. The IDC had earlier found that the Goldway offer “significantly under-values,” MCM, and the IDC had advised MCM shareholders not to accept the offer, a recommendation that was reconfirmed yesterday, a statement from MC Mining said. BDO had assessed the value of an MCM share prior to the offer, at between A$0.214 and A$0.356, with a preferred value of A$0.285 per MCM share. The Independent Expert's Report, prepared by BDO Corporate Finance, had concluded the offer was neither fair nor reasonable to shareholders. In Goldway’s Fourth Sup- plementary Bidder's Statement…

Southern Palladium said yesterday that it was well funded to complete pre-feasibility studies at its Bengwenyama platinum group of metals (PGM) project in South Africa’s Bushveld Complex as it is sitting on cash reserves from its cash position of $8.34 million (R158m) as at the end of December 2023. After recently completing scoping studies for the project, Southern Palladium is of the view that there is a well-established downstream smelting and refining process for PGM concentrates within South Africa. And with most smelters processing the concentrate from the Eastern and Western Limbs of the Bushveld Complex situated in Rustenburg, the company believes its PGM concentrates from the project would be suitable for these facilities and it is now able to initiate discussions with potential off-take parties. Southern Palladium has…

IN A powerful, thrilling story about passion, jealousy and vengeance, Peter Shaffer’s classic play Amadeus, starring Alan Committie as Salieri, comes to Cape Town this month. After its debut in Johannesburg, Cape Town audiences will get to experience the play at Pieter Toerien’s Theatre on the Bay from April 12 to May 18. Joining Committie on stage is Aidan Scott (The Mousetrap, One Piece, A Midsummer Night’s Dream) as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Lisa Tredoux (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Skin Tight) as Constanze, Mark Elderkin (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night) as Emperor Joseph II, Phumi Mncayi (The Color Purple, Six Characters in Search of An Author) as Orsini Rosenburg, Andreas Damm (Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Metamorphosis) as Van Swieten, Miguel de Sampaio (Every Brilliant Thing, Mephisto) as Von Strack, and…

A former chief magistrate of the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court, who was fired for her rude behaviour and other antics, which included asking an attorney for money to travel to Washington, has failed in her legal bid against her axing. Judith van Schalkwyk was charged with 24 counts of misconduct but was found guilty on 13 counts. Her removal from the magistracy was recommended and she was ultimately fired by resolution of Parliament based on the report and recommendations tabled by the minister of justice in 2022. The charges she was convicted of, included being rude to, humiliating, belittling and threatening other judicial officers; and sending a disrespectful e-mail to her senior, chief magistrate Gert Jonker, and the chief justice. She also asked an attorney to pay for her personal…

Stellenbosch FC continue to take local football by storm as their unstoppable form has carried them to an incredible unbeaten run of 19 matches across all competitions. On Tuesday evening, Stellenbosch defeated Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 – with Devin Titus grabbing the winner – at the FNB Stadium, and the victory allowed the club to consolidate second position on the DStv Premiership log. The young Cape Winelands side have been in rude health of late. Before their away conquest against Chiefs, Stellies beat Royal AM 3-0, and a few days prior, scored a 6-1 win over Chiefs slayers Milford FC. Coach Steve Barker is over the moon with his team. “I can’t speak highly enough of this group of players,” said Barker. “It’s now 19 games unbeaten, of which 15 are…

South Africa’s two-time Rugby World Cup-winning skipper Siya Kolisi said yesterday that he accepts he will lose the Springbok captaincy because he is based abroad. Bok head coach Rassie Erasmus said last month he preferred his captain to be playing in South Africa, with their next Test in June. Flank Kolisi, 32, joined French club Racing 92 on a contract until 2026, after October’s second consecutive World Cup triumph. “That’s normal. I knew that before making the decision to come here,” Kolisi told reporters. “He (Erasmus) speaks and he says this is the situation. It is what it is, there’s nothing I can do about that,” he added. Kolisi will return from a thumb injury he suffered on March 2 for Sunday’s last-16 Champions Cup trip to five-time winners Toulouse.…

Tottenham Hotspur are still a work in progress, but there are encouraging signs they are heading in the right direction, said manager Ange Postecoglou whose side put on a mature performance in a 1-1 draw at West Ham on Tuesday night. His Spurs team dominated the game with 68% possession, but the hosts created almost as many chances in an end-to-end encounter as the London rivals did battle in the pouring rain at the London Stadium. “The players are showing a real willingness to learn,” Postecoglou said of a Spurs team that were thrashed 3-0 at Fulham in their last away game. “I thought today against a tough opponent, their play was quite mature,” he told reporters. “I’m always looking for a performance that shows we’re developing. “Tonight, especially in…

Part of TNPA’s multi-billion rand expenditure on critical infrastructure upgrades TRANSNET National Ports Authority (TNPA) has awarded a R60 million contract to a local joint venture to construct and operate the first-ever solar-powered, seawater desalination plant at the Port of East London. This is part of TNPA’s multi-billion rand expenditure on critical infrastructure upgrades over the next few years, which include a desalination plant project to enable the ports operator to minimise dependency on external parties to provide water to the port system. The move comes at a time when South Africa faces a deteriorating water infrastructure, which has led to parts of the country being water-shedded. TNPA yesterday appointed a joint venture – Norland Civil Engineers & Contractors and Impact Water Solutions, trading as Sun Water East London…

AS THE GLOBAL stage prepares to witness the inaugural BRICS Simulation Conference, set against the backdrop of Cape Town, anticipation is rife among the 200-strong international delegation. Scheduled to unfold over five transformative days beginning on April 18, 2024, this conference promises to be a watershed moment in the realm of multinational collaboration and economic strategy. At the heart of this gathering lies a pivotal theme: “BRICS Unleashed – the Impact of BRICS on Industries and Shaping Monetary Policy”. This topic aims to provide entrepreneurs with a roadmap to success in international business and innovation while leveraging the industrial strengths and supply capabilities of BRICS. Reflecting on the genesis of BRICS, in 2021, economist Jim O’Neill prophetically envisioned that this trade unit would dominate the global eco- nomy by 2050.…

LAST MONTH, South Africa’s Cabinet, the most senior level of the executive branch of the government, approved the country’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2023. Formally issued by Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe, the original intention was for the plan, that lays out how South Africa will seek to ensure security of electricity supply, to be updated every two years. However, only two versions of the IRP exist to date, which include the original 2010 plan and the amended version enacted in 2019. Nonetheless, the 2019 IRP provided for the installation of more than 25GW of renewable energy capacity and 3GW of energy storage by 2030, procured through regular auctions. Steps have been toward achieving this. In October 2021, the government awarded power purchasing agreements (PPAs) for 2.6GW…

Amid MARKET fluctuations, inflationary pressures and economic uncertainty, a global capital shortage has emerged, impacting start-ups across the world. Recent data reveals a significant decline in the volume and value of funding deals in Africa, with many South African start-ups securing funding in 2023 plummeting to the lowest level in six years. Notably, 99% of South African start-ups are self-funded, reflecting the challenges faced in accessing external capital. The trend can be attributed to the highly competitive nature of the capi- tal-raising market. Every year, hundreds, if not thousands, of entrepreneurs vie for funding from a limited pool of investors who mus weigh up the relative risks and rewards of the businesses and the broader economic context in which they operate. In South Africa, factors such as currency fluctuations and…

TRANSACTION Capital said yesterday that all the unbundling conditions relating to the listing of WeBuyCars (WBC) had been fulfilled and that the unbundling had become unconditional. In addition, the Takeover Regulation Panel (TRP) had issued a compliance certificate. The group announced in February that to unlock value for shareholders, it would unbundle WBC and list it separately on the Main Board of the JSE via a WBC share issue of R760 million, a private placement of WBC shares of R500m, and a pre-listing capital raise of up to R750m. WBC shares were expected to start trading on April 11 this year on the JSE. As a result of the capital-raising initiatives, Transaction Capital’s shareholding in WBC on listing would be 61.44%. The distribution ratio as set out in the…

THE SOUTH African property market demand and supply balances are expected to improve in the second half of this year in line with expectations of lowering interest rates and falling inflation rates, key factors that are expected to provide impetus to investors. John Loos, a property strategist for FNB commercial property finance, said yesterday that there were high expectations that South Africa’s economic performance would start to improve in the second half of 2024. Other analysts and economists said elections slated for May 29 were casting uncertainty on South African markets and the economy. “We do expect an improvement in investor market demand-supply balances in the second half of 2024,” Loos said, as FNB released its Commercial Property Finance Insights for the 2024 first-quarter period. “The reason for this expectation…

As we enter the second quarter of 2024 consumers in South Africa are still looking for different ways to make their rands stretch further every month. This comes as the fuel price continues to increase, worsening the cost of living crisis in the country. April now brings higher fuel costs for motorists, along with interest rates remaining elevated, and to further compound pressures for South Africans, Eskom implemented a more than 12% tariff increase on Tuesday. Abigail Moyo, the spokesperson of the trade union Uasa, told Business Report yesterday that living expenses had become a nightmare for workers who were already bent over backwards to look after their families. Moyo said: “The South African Reserve Bank’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged last week brought some relief, but rising fuel…

A Citrusdal police officer will remain behind bars after his bail application was denied as he faces charges of rape and attempted rape of a woman detainee. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) confirmed the police officer would appear in court again on May 14 as the matter was postponed for further investigation and DNA analysis. NPA spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said the State had a prima facie case against the officer who had arrested the woman. “The court also found his release on bail will lead to the victim’s intimidation as it has been revealed during his bail application that his supporters have threatened the victim, asking her to withdraw the charges against him,” said Ntabazalila. “Acting control public prosecutor Bradford Newman led Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) investigating officer Masixole…

A judge, in sentencing a killer to life imprisonment, noted that “it has been said that there is no such thing as a crime of passion, only a crime of possession”. Judge Robin Mossop, sitting in the high court in Pietermaritzburg, said the observation seemed to apply neatly to the facts of this matter, in which Sifiso Dlamini stabbed his girlfriend’s lover to death. “Some may construe it to be a crime of passion because it involved your former lover but it is, in truth, a crime of possession,” the judge told Dlamini. He told the killer that when his girlfriend was not prepared to continue in a romantic relationship with him, he was not prepared to accept her decision. “You wanted to continue to possess her and you reckoned…

After slumping to their eighth Premiership defeat of the season, Kaizer Chiefs continue to pay a heavy price for appointing a coach who “does his best”. The Chiefs hierarchy have not opted for a coach who produces results and who has proved his worth at the helm of a high-profile team. Despite Chiefs’ storied history, there are no signs that the club’s prolonged trophy drought will end any time soon. Another season of failures could see the once-mighty Amakhosi, whose barren trophy run dates to 2015, go without silverware for a decade. On Tuesday night, Chiefs tasted defeat yet again in their Soccer City backyard, where visiting Stellenbosch ran out 1-0 winners. According to Chiefs’ interim coach Cavin Johnson, his team were felled by a “sucker punch goal”. Chiefs’ glut…

Aphelele Fassi says he turned disappointment at being excluded from the Springbok World Cup squad into motivation to get himself in peak condition for the Sharks. The fullback was in the broader plans of Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber, but fell by the wayside after an indifferent performance on defence in the 2022 Test match against Wales in Bloemfontein. That display was followed by a succession of injuries. The 26-year-old had an excellent game against Edinburgh at the weekend, and his message was clear: the “Weekend Special” is back and means business. “It was tough to miss out on World Cup selection, but I had to face the reality that I hadn’t played a full season, and had had the same problem for two or three years,” he said ahead…