Cape Times 2024-09-02

CLOTHING and apparel retailer Truworths expects the projected easing in monetary policy to boost its credit accounts and breathe impetus into consumer disposable incomes. After facing a challenging full year to June 30, 2024, Truworths expects headline earnings a share for the season to weaken – by between 5% and 9% – to between 795c and 830c. During the period, Truworths focused on containing costs and preserving its profit margins. Despite the expected plunge in earnings, Truworths said it was “encouraged by early indicators that will support the positive trajectory of consumer confidence” in the year ahead. “Monetary policy easing will contribute to improved credit demand and affordability, while prospects of higher growth and lower inflation are expected to boost consumer disposable income and spending in the medium term,” it…

THE NEW DEVELOPMENT Bank (NDB) is continuing to diversify its funding instruments and used Panda bonds as a financial instrument, according to Zhongxia Jin, the director general, Treasury & Portfolio Management Division of the NDB. Speaking at the 9th annual meeting of the NDB, he said on Saturday that the NDB aimed to ensure that sufficient resources were available to meet its funding and liquidity requirements, while minimising borrowing costs. As of July 2024, NDB’s total outstanding borrowing was around $16 billion (R283bn) in which the US dollar, Chinese yuan (also known at the renminbi, RMB) and the rand accounted for more than 96%. The US dollar alone accounted for more than 61% of the borrowing. Jin said the bank had been working on establishing bond programmes in other…

THE NEW DEVELOPMENT Bank (NDB) annual meeting has provided the first seeds of a solution to a seemingly in- tractable problem facing South Africa: How to pay for and build at least 14 000 kilometres of electricity transmission lines required by 2030 for the energy transition. NDB chief operating officer Vladimir Kazbekov said at the BRICS institution’s meeting in Cape Town over the weekend that they intend to use the NDB’s Project Preparation Fund and draw on the expertise of fellow BRICS members countries – and on South Africa’s unique requirements – to prepare a project plan to possibly help fund the expansion of the electricity transmission system. Some 55GW of new renewable en- ergy generation capacity is expected to come on stream in South Africa by 2032 (Eskom…

THE RAND STRENGTHENED to a fresh 13-month high on Friday, but stocks on the JSE ended the week lower in a mixed week of trading. The domestic currency surged to around R17.60 to the US dollar, its highest since July 2023, reflecting growing optimism about South Africa's economic prospects and expectations of imminent rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve. However, the JSE All Share Index eased by 0.6% to close at 83 749 on Friday, mainly pressured by resource-linked stocks and financials offsetting the advances in tech giants Naspers, Prosus and industrials. The JSE shed about 0.7% for the week but rose 1.2% on a monthly basis. The positive sentiment in the rand, which has gained nearly 4% in the year-to-date, has been supported by the formation…

Zimbabwean-born Sifiso Dabengwa, who was CEO of Africa’s largest mobile network operator, MTN, between 2011 and 2015, died of cancer yesterday morning. Family spokesperson Themba Sibanyoni announced his passing “with deep sorrow” in a media release yesterday afternoon. “Dabengwa was a titan in the telecoms industry and an astute businessman. His tenure as CEO of MTN Group from 2011 to 2015 was marked by visionary leadership, integrity, and dedication that drove significant advancements in the industry,” said Sibanyoni. Sibanyoni said Dabengwa, who leaves his wife and four children, has a legacy that extends far beyond the boardroom. “He was an advocate for education and a fervent believer in the power of technology to transform lives.” However, Dabengwa left MTN under a cloud when the group was under pressure from…

IN 2013, PRESIDENT Xi Jinping proposed for the first time China’s Africa policy of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith. and the principle of pursuing the greater good and shared interests. Guided by this policy and principle, China-Africa relations have scaled new heights over the past decade and yielded bountiful results in China-Africa economic co-operation, becoming a model for South-South cooperation. As China’s first fund for investment in Africa unveiled at the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation (Focac), the China-Africa Development Fund (CADFund) has aligned its business with the outcomes of each edition of Focac. Through high-quality investment, it has delivered a strong boost to Africa’s industrialisation and modernisation, playing a pilot role in China- Africa Belt and Road Co-operation. At a new historical starting point, CADFund will act on…