Cape Times 2023-10-13

Banking sector is a key intermediary and conduit of capital across the country’s key sectors ROBUST transformation of South Africa’s financial services sector is a critical component of the country’s economic make-over as the banking sector is a key intermediary and conduit of capital across key sectors and players, Dondo Mogajane, the chairperson of the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) said yesterday. The GEPF has just officially launched a new Transformation Policy that seeks to create a framework for future GEPF investments by to stimulate and achieve socio-economic transformation, leverage the vast investment power of the GEPF to encourage the growth of black owned financial service providers and to invest in asset classes aimed at delivering positive financial social service outcomes. The new policy is also aimed at nudging…

SOUTH African entities will now be able to trade in carbon credits and renewable energy market products following a collaboration between the JSE and Xpansiv in setting up the JSE Ventures platform. Globally and regionally companies have been rushing to sign carbon credit deals, with Zimbabwe this month inking a deal giving an UAE company vast tracts of land under a carbon credit scheme. According to the International Monetary Fund, effective use of carbon pricing policy, reducing inefficient government subsidies that have delayed the green transition, and other green financial and sectoral measures are key in meeting South Africa’s ambitious climate objectives. It adds that with an official carbon tax rate set at R134 per ton of CO2 emitted by end 2022, an estimated effective rate of less than R7…

THE SOUTH African Revenue Service (Sars) was the lead agency in a search and seizure operation yesterday as it said that it had broken the back of a coal syndi- cate. In a statement it said information became available regarding a host of tax crimes allegedly committed by members of the coal-smuggling syndicate. The coal syndicate had substituted superior quality coal from trucks supplying power utility and smuggled it out of the country to alternative markets, which has led to the fiscus losing at least R500 million in revenue. The low-grade coal damages the in- frastructure at the Eskom power stations, which is a major factor in crippling the power utility’s ability to generate electricity for the South African grid. Some of the identified and arrested suspects were employed by…

THE NEXT generation of self-healing smart phones will be able to repair themselves if their screens get scratched or damaged. A new report by analytics firm CCS Insight has predicted advances in technology mean manufacturers will be able to start producing gadgets with self-healing displays featuring a nano-coating within five years, meaning they could hit shelves as early as 2028. The coating on the screen would be able to mend scratches by creating new material to fill gaps when it is exposed to the air. The Predictions for 2024 and Beyond report states: “Self-healing displays appear on smartphones and other consumer electronics by 2028. The first self-healing displays emerge capable of repairing minor scratches and dents on their own. This is enabled by using a special material in the…

G7 FINANCE leaders yesterday condemned “terror attacks” on Israel by Hamas and voiced “unwavering” support for Ukraine in its continuing struggle against a Russian invasion. “We unequivocally condemn the recent terror attacks by Hamas on the State of Israel and express our solidarity with the Israeli people,” the G7 finance ministers and central bank governors said in a joint communique after meeting on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual gathering in Morocco. Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki, who chaired the meeting, said many G7 participants voiced concern and condemnation over the escalating conflict in the Middle East. The group, made up of the US, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan, also voiced its resolve to enforce sanctions and other economic measures against Russia. “We…

THE SOUTH African government has invited businesses in the country to submit expressions of interest in the pilot of the Trusted Employer Scheme (TES) in a bid to attract skills and services from abroad. The announcement was made by the Department of Home Affairs against the backdrop of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address in which he said the government would be reviewing its visa application system to make it easier for foreigners to travel to the country for tourism, business and work. Operation Vulindlela, a initiative of the Presidency and National Treasury to accelerate the implementation of structural reforms and support economic recovery, conducted a review of the work visa framework to identify and remove barriers related to the attraction and retention of skills needed for economic…