Sashnee Moodley

https://staging1.creamermedia.com/

Sashnee Moodley

Sashnee Moodley is Senior Deputy Editor Polity and Multimedia.

Emira to become corporate Reit

8th April 2015 JSE-listed Emira Property Fund on Wednesday announced its decision to convert into a company, to become a corporate Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) to be called New Emira. →

Summit highlights need for robust energy system

8th April 2015 According to the International Energy Agency, only 290-million people out of a population of 915-million in sub-Saharan Africa have access to electricity. →

Event to focus on stimulating public-private partnership across Africa

3rd April 2015 The fourth yearly Infrastructure Africa Business Forum (IABF), which will take place on September 1 and 2 in Sandton, Johannesburg, will call on African infrastructure experts and decision-makers to promote intra-African trade relations and investment opportunities between public and private... →

Automation the key theme at warehousing conference

3rd April 2015 Automation in warehousing was the key focus at logistics software provider Dovetail’s 2015 warehousing conference, held in Johannesburg last month. →

Formal housing demand to drive residential property market growth

27th March 2015 Residential property prices are forecast to grow at 7.2% this year, on the back of 6.72% growth in 2014. →

Lightstone Property analytics director Paul-Roux de Kock

Ascendis mulls further acquisitive growth opportunities

27th March 2015 Health and care brands group Ascendis Health reported a 101% year-on-year rise in revenue to R1.3-billion for the six months ended December 31. →

KARSTEN WELLNER Ascendis Health’s operating profit increased by 84% to R161-million, while its operating margin declined from 13.2% to 12.1% for the six months ended December 31

Transport, energy projects underpin rise in Africa construction investment

27th March 2015 Investment in African megaprojects increased by 46% to $326-billion in 2014, mainly as a result of higher investment in transport, energy and power infrastructure, advisory firm Deloitte’s third yearly African Construction Trends report has revealed. →

POWERING UP Energy and power made up 37% of the number of megaprojects in Africa last year

Auto components firm unveils ‘first of kind’ press from Southern Africa

27th March 2015 Local automotive products manufacturer GUD Holdings will increase its product offering to the automotive sector following its R100-millon investment in a 630 t servo drive transfer press and a new manufacturing site in Port Elizabeth, in the Eastern Cape. →

SERVODRIVE PRESS There is an opportunity in South Africa to create a competitive advantage over conventional metal-pressing operations

Nersa raises Transnet petroleum pipeline tariffs, Gauteng petrol price to rise

27th March 2015 The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) earlier this month approved a 6.9% increase in Transnet’s petroleum pipeline tariffs for the period from April 1, 2015, to April 4, 2016. →

NHBRC revises home-building manual

27th March 2015 The National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) is revising its home- building manual to include the new regulations and standards of the past fifteen years. →

JEFFREY MAHACHI A major challenge the new manual will address is foreign products entering the South African market

Sappi to build pilot nanocellulose plant in the Netherlands

27th March 2015 South African paper and pulp producer Sappi reported earlier this month that it would build a pilot plant for the production of low-cost Cellulose NanoFibrils, or CNF (nanocellulose) at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Sittard-Geleen in the Netherlands. →

Photo by Duane Daws
RESOURCEFUL The raw material for the pilot plant would be supplied from the dissolving wood pulp plants at Sappi’s Saiccor and Ngodwana mills, in South Africa, and the Cloquet mill, in the US

AfDB supporting more countries to advance climate-smart initiatives

20th March 2015 Through its climate investment fund (CIF), the African Development Bank (AfDB) now supports one regional and 25 national investment plans across Africa. →

RENEWABLES The African Development Bank supports countries by implementing projects in investment plans

Growthpoint development, acquisition pipeline stands at R3.2bn

20th March 2015 JSE-listed real estate investment trust (Reit) Growthpoint Properties recorded distribution growth of 7.5% to 84.4c a share in the six months ended December 31. →

NORBERT SASSE Sasse attributed the results to the significant growth in the Reit’s South African property portfolio and its strong performance

Airlines’ share prices drop 3%, crude oil prices recover from January lows

13th March 2015 The International Air Transport Association (Iata) on Friday revealed that airlines’ share prices had dropped 3% in February, while crude oil prices had rebounded from January lows. →

Bisha mine processing plant shut down for repairs

13th March 2015 The processing plant at TSX-listed Nevsun Resources’ Bisha mine, in Eritrea, would be shut down for about two weeks to resolve a mechanical setback with the ball mill. The company said in a statement on Friday that the temporary shutdown would not negatively impact its 2015 full-year production... →

Nersa raises Transnet petroleum pipeline tariffs, Gauteng petrol price to rise

13th March 2015 The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) on Thursday approved a 6.9% increase in Transnet’s petroleum pipeline tariffs for the period from April 1, 2015, to April 4, 2016. →

Sappi prices €450m senior secured notes offering

13th March 2015 South African paper and pulp producer Sappi announced on Friday that it had priced its bond offering to raise €450-million of new senior secured notes, due in 2022, with a coupon of 3.375% a year. →

SA firm pursuing $2bn solar project in Cameroon

13th March 2015 Local company GSC Energy, a subsidiary of GSC Holdings, has entered into a 27-year partnership agreement with the Cameroonian government and will undertake a $2.2-billion project to construct ten solar parks to help the country meet its energy needs. →

STEVEN MOTI The project is expected to produce enough clean, renewable energy to power more than 50 000 homes

Applications open for African entrepreneurship prize

13th March 2015 African entrepreneurs under the age of 22 have until April 15 to submit applications for the fifth Anzisha Prize, which aims to identify Africa’s most exciting young social and business entrepreneurs. →

Photo by Bloomberg
ECONOMIC GROWTH This year, the prize is expanding to provide increased support to entrepreneurial youth and partner organisations in driving pan-African economic growth to 2020

GMO crops can drive development, proponents argue

13th March 2015 In the field of biotechnology (biotech), South Africa is the leader in Africa, having realised an economic gain of $1.15-billion between 1998 and 2012 from the use of genetically modified (GM) crops or biotech crops. →

Photo by Duane Daws
GMOS South Africa has grown 2.7-million hectares of maize, soya and cotton crops in 2014

NDP to be under spotlight at metals, engineering indaba

13th March 2015 The National Development Plan (NDP) will be the highlight of the first breakaway session of the inaugural Southern African Metals and Engineering Indaba, which will be held, in Johannesburg, on May 28 and 29. →

KAIZER NYATSUMBA The Indaba panel would analyse the NDP and discuss its economic opportunities and its possible impact on the South African economy and manufacturing sector

Proposed R5.3bn expressway to increase N3 safety, productivity

13th March 2015 The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) recenlty outlined the benefits of its proposed R5.3-billion De Beers Expressway, saying this would result in significant relief in congestion on the Van Reenen’s Pass route. Sanral communications GM Vusi Mona noted in a statement last... →

SAFER TRAVELS The proposed expressway would result in higher levels of safety, comfort and productivity for road users

Ascendis reports revenue growth of 101%

12th March 2015 Health and care brands group Ascendis Health on Thursday reported a 101% year-on-year rise in revenue to R1.3-billion for the six months ended December 31. →

Sappi to build pilot nanocellulose plant in the Netherlands

11th March 2015 South African paper and pulp producer Sappi reported on Wednesday that it would build a pilot plant for the production of low-cost Cellulose NanoFibrils, or CNF (nanocellulose) at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Sittard-Geleen in the Netherlands. →

Transport, energy projects contribute to 46% rise in Africa construction investment

11th March 2015 Investment in African megaprojects increased by 46% to $326-billion in 2014, mainly as a result of higher investment in transport, energy and power infrastructure, advisory firm Deloitte’s third yearly African Construction Trends report has revealed. →

Poor trade conditions resume – Sacci

11th March 2015 The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (Sacci’s) Trade Activity Index (TAI) pulled back into negative territory, at 48 points, in February, following a surprising rise to 59 points in January. →

Emira highlights strong performance in distribution growth

6th March 2015 JSE-listed Emira Property Fund reported distribution growth per participatory interest (PI) of 9% for the six months ended December 31, 2014. →

JAMES TEMPLETON Emira’s operational performance is the best it has been in a long time

Cesa also worried about secondment of Cuban engineers

6th March 2015 Consulting Engineers South Africa (Cesa) last month said it was dismayed that the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) was seconding 35 Cuban engineers on a two-year contract to share their expertise with South African engineers in the water sector. →

ABE THELA Cuban engineering skills are not recognised by the Engineering Council of South Africa

SA preparing to submit EIAs for new nuclear power stations

6th March 2015 South Africa is in a pre-procurement process regarding nuclear energy and is close to submitting environmental impact assessments (EIAs) for areas selected for the deployment of nuclear power. →

Photo by Duane Daws
PHUMZILE TSHELANE Vendor countries provided an array of solutions and government will use the information to put a procurement strategy in place

$450bn needed to provide African cities with access to electricity

6th March 2015 Sub-Saharan Africa is still faced with the challenge of providing citizens access to electricity and an additional $450-billion will need to be invested to ensure that people in urban areas have access to electricity by 2040. →

Photo by Duane Daws
JOAN MACNAUGHTON Many countries were also struggling to balance the energy trilemma of energy security, energy equity and environmental sustainability

Growthpoint reports half-year distribution growth of 7.5%

4th March 2015 JSE-listed real estate investment trust (Reit) Growthpoint Properties recorded distribution growth of 7.5% to 84.4c a share in the six months ended December 31. →

AfDB supports more countries to advance climate-smart initiatives

27th February 2015 Through its climate investment fund (CIF), the African Development Bank (AfDB) now supports one regional and 25 national investment plans across Africa. →

Prestigious competition seeks to showcase and inspire local entrepreneurs

27th February 2015 The 2015 Sanlam/Business Partners Entrepreneur of the Year (EOY) competition was launched earlier this month in Johannesburg, with the main focus on creating and inspiring entrepreneurs to create jobs and boost the economy. →

Business Partners CFO Ben Bierman

Health provider uses quality-management tool to boost customer service

27th February 2015 Private health insurance administrator Discovery Health has reduced its call centre defects five-fold following the implementation of the Lean Sigma Six (LSS) and Defects per Million Opportunities (DPMO) methods introduced by global strategic management consultants BMGI. →

Govt reveals beneficiaries of electrification spend

27th February 2015 President Jacob Zuma revealed in his State of the Nation Address earlier this month that a number of municipalities would continue to benefit from government’s electrification programmes, pointing out that 3.4-million households still did not have access to electricity. →

Photo by Duane Daws
IN THE DARK 3.4-million households still did not have access to electricity

Auto group wins energy efficiency award

27th February 2015 Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) has won its second consecutive Energy Company of the Year award, presented by the Southern Africa Association for Energy Efficiency, for its efforts in energy efficiency. →

Photo by Duane Daws
MAKING A CHANGE Owing to the rising energy costs and mounting energy challenges, the vehicle manufacturer launched a dedicated environmental engineering department

Proposed R5.3bn expressway to increase safety, productivity of N3 road users

26th February 2015 The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) on Thursday outlined the benefits of its proposed R5.3-billion De Beers Expressway, saying this would result in significant relief in congestion on the Van Reenen’s Pass route. →

NDP to be under spotlight at metals, engineering indaba

26th February 2015 The National Development Plan (NDP) will be the highlight of the first breakaway session of the inaugural Southern African Metals and Engineering Indaba, which will be held, in Johannesburg, on May 28 and 29. →

South Africa leads continent in terms of GMO crops

24th February 2015 In the field of biotechnology (biotech), South Africa is the leader in Africa, having realised an economic gain of $1.15-billion between 1998 and 2012 from the use of genetically modified (GM) crops or biotech crops. →

Hyprop declares 262c interim dividend

23rd February 2015 Property company Hyprop on Monday reported strong return growth with an interim dividend of 262c a share for the six months to December 31, an increase of 13.7% on the previous year. Hyprop CEO Pieter Prinsloo stated that the total return for the six months was 25.9% and Hyprop’s revenue and... →

Wits in trilateral deal to enhance entrepreneurial growth opportunities

20th February 2015 The University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), entered into a trilateral partnership with Ryerson University, in Canada, and the Bombay Stock Exchange, in India, last week, to increase entrepreneurial growth opportunities and fast-track start-up incubation in the three partner countries. →

ADAM HABIB The partnership is the kind of boost that South Africa requires to foster development, innovation and entrepreneurship

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