Cape Times 2021-08-05

Astron Energy fired-up to rebrand all Caltex fuel service stations EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za ALL CALTEX-branded service stations in South Africa and Botswana are to be rebranded as Astron Energy, the biggest development in the local fuels industry in 30 years, the Glencore-owned fuels group announced yesterday. Astron Energy is South Africa’s second-largest petroleum network with more than 850 Caltex-branded service stations in South Africa and Botswana. Astron Energy interim chief executive Braam Smit said in an interview that such was the size of the project that there would be pressure to meet the 3-year completion date. He said the aim was to continue providing the same high quality and service, but also to introduce a broader spectrum of non-fuel products and services not available at forecourts and which were in…

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za LIBERTY Holdings paid out a “staggering” 61 percent increase in death and disability claims to R8.5 billion in the six months to June 30, reflective of the severe toll that the Covid-19 pandemic is taking on clients, the group’s chief executive David Munro said yesterday. The mortality and impact on clients during the second wave of the pandemic in South Africa had been worse than was expected, while the impact of the third wave was anticipated to be somewhere between the first and second wave’s, he said in a presentation yesterday. In view of the prevailing uncertainty around the pandemic, the group had increased a special reserve of funds it had set up for the pandemic, by about R1 billion, he said. The group,…

Factory activity falls to 10-month low as civil unrest, Covid-19 take their toll Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za SUPPLY chains and businesses in South Africa are facing a prolonged period of recovery as civil unrest and level 4 Covid-19 restrictions pushed industrial activity to a 10-month low in July. The IHS Markit Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), released yesterday fell from 51.0 points in June to 46.1 points in July, weighed down by supply disruption and declining demand amid civil unrest and level 4 Covid-19 restrictions. The dip below the 50 points mark in the headline South Africa PMI indicates a serious decline in the composite single-figure indicator of private sector business performance after months of consecutive growth. IHS said the downturn was led by renewed declines in new orders, employment…

Telkom appoints Serame Taukobong as chief executive designate Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za TELKOM yesterday appointed Serame Taukobong as the group’s chief executive designate, ushering in a new era for the partially state-owned telecommunications company. Taukobong, currently the chief executive of Telkom Consumer Business, had been appointed effective from October. He would assume the role of group chief executive from July 1, 2022, after Sipho Maseko officially leaves the group, Telkom said. “In line with the board’s leadership transition plan, Sipho and Serame will work together for the remainder of Sipho’s tenure to ensure orderly transition of the group chief executive designate and the stability of the business. During this transition period, Serame will continue to have oversight of the Telkom Consumer Business,” said Telkom in a statement. Telkom said a recruitment…

MTN Nigeria smoothens its relationship with country’s regulators BANELE GININDZA banele.ginindza@inl.co.za MTN NIGERIA says it has ironed out relations with authorities and regulators in that country to avoid future regulatory hurdles, which saw the group that operates in Africa’s most populous country fined $1.5 billion (R21bn) for failing to disconnect unregistered subscribers. MTN Nigeria’s chief executive, Karl Toriola, said this week that relations were smooth. He and the parent MTN’s group chief executive, who met with the Nigerian president recently, were well received. “We have built trust with the Governor of the Central Bank and the Minister for Information. “Our efforts at stakeholder management have been to shift perception of the company being a foreign entity solely in this country to reap profits,” Toriola said at the presentation of…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za SOUTH Africa’s third-biggest telecoms company, Telkom, was awash with mobile and fibre to home customers for the quarter to the end of June, despite the continued decline in the fixed-voice and postpaid segments. Telkom, whose subsidiaries include Openserve and Business Connexion, recorded a 13 percent growth in mobile service revenue during the quarter to R4.4 billion on the back of a 36.3 percent year-on-year growth in active custo- mers to 16.1 million. Increasing de- mand saw a 32.2 percent jump in the number of customers connected, with fibre increasing to 306 837, repre- senting a fibre connectivity rate of 50.1 percent, which remained the highest in the market, Telkom said. Chief executive Sipho Maseko said that despite the economy gradually…