Economy | Macro and Micro

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Macro and Micro News

Pick n Pay to list Boxer unit in Africa’s biggest IPO this year

By: Bloomberg 28th October 2024 Pick n Pay Stores said it will list its low-cost Boxer business on the Johannesburg bourse by the end of the year and that the South African grocer will raise as much as R8-billion in the process, making it the continent’s biggest offering this year. Amid a revamp of South Africa’s third-largest... →

South Africa not the only country facing challenges – Mavuso

By: Darren Parker 28th October 2024 Business Leadership South Africa CEO Busi Mavuso has noted that many of the challenges faced by the South African economy are shared by other nations. “One of the striking features of the B20 summit in Sao Paulo, Brazil, last week, which I attended as part of the business delegation, was that... →

Ramaphosa wants 250Mt of freight moved by rail by 2029, as he notes progress in the sector

By: Sashnee Moodley 28th October 2024 The seventh administration aims to push rail as the “backbone of transport” in the country, with President Cyril Ramaphosa urging that rail lines transport at least 250-million tonnes of freight a year by 2029. With Transnet set to finalise its Network Statement by year-end, Ramaphosa noted that... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

New Just Energy Transition matchmaking platform aiming for R600m in grant disbursements in 2025

By: Terence Creamer 25th October 2024 A new matchmaking platform to directly link providers of grant funding pledged to South Africa’s Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET-IP) with domestic beneficiaries is aiming to ensure the disbursement of at least R600-million in grant funding to 20 projects in 2025 and facilitate... →

Minister Patricia de Lille spoke at the launch of the JET Funding Platform in her capacity as acting Electricity and Energy Minister

Provincial govt says Cape Town port inefficiency dampening fruit exports, growth plans

By: Marleny Arnoldi 25th October 2024 Western Cape Minister of Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism Dr Ivan Meyer has expressed concern about the slow progress being made at the Cape Town port in respect of a terminal turnaround strategy. The slow pace at which the reforms are happening is having direct cost implications for... →

Spurred by shared grievances, Brics gathers pace

By: Reuters 25th October 2024 As US election jitters hung over this week's meeting of global finance chiefs in Washington, a smiling Vladimir Putin was in the Russian city of Kazan welcoming leaders of countries which together make up nearly half the world's population. The Brics club of emerging economies may be a long way... →

South African reforms could push rand higher, central bank chief says

By: Reuters 25th October 2024 South Africa's rand has further room to strengthen if the government in Pretoria pushes ahead with reforms and prudent policies, the country's central bank chief Lesetja Kganyago told Reuters. The currency of Africa's most industrialised nation has been a top emerging market performer,... →

Photo by Reuters
Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago

Greater coordination needed to realise green-hydrogen aspirations

By: Darren Parker 25th October 2024 Despite enthusiasm for the development of a hydrogen economy from the public and private sectors, there remains a significant lack of coordination to effectively implement projects and bring the dream of a green hydrogen economy to life, according to energy technology company Mitochondria Energy... →

Private renewable-energy projects accelerating energy sector growth

By: Lumkile Nkomfe 25th October 2024 The removal of the licensing threshold for embedded generation has boosted the renewable-energy market by allowing private-sector companies to procure energy directly from independent power producers (IPPs) and thereby facilitating greater investment across the renewable-energy landscape, says... →

GROWTH IMPETUS An increase in private-sector generation projects is required to meet rising energy consumer demand requirements

Afrimat posts 45.4% drop in operating profit after ‘extremely stressful’ first half

By: Darren Parker 24th October 2024 Although mid-tier mining and materials company Afrimat recorded a year-on-year revenue increase of 44.3%, from R2.8-billion to R4.1-billion for the six months ended August 31, its operating profit fell by 45.2%, from R534.1-million to R292.7-million. This followed Afrimat’s efforts to bolster its... →

Afrimat group CEO Andries van Heerden

Kganyago says South Africa’s inflation target should be lower

By: Bloomberg 24th October 2024 South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said the nation’s inflation target was overdue for review and it should be adjusted lower. “South Africa’s inflation target is out of sync with emerging market peers,” he told Bloomberg Television on Thursday during the annual International... →

Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago

Carbon taxes to add further upward pressure on electricity costs, Discovery Green warns

By: Terence Creamer 24th October 2024 South Africa’s disproportionate reliance on coal for electricity generation is poised to add further upward pressure on tariffs by exposing local businesses to carbon taxes that could make up over 35% of their electricity costs by 2034. This finding is contained in research conducted by Discovery... →

Discovery Green head Andre Nepgen

Local supply chain challenges pose significant threat to localised manufacturing

By: Darren Parker 24th October 2024 If hydrogen technology developer Mitochondria Energy CEO Mashudu Ramano had known beforehand how difficult it would be to find local suppliers for hydrogen fuel cell and electrolyser parts, he would never have entered the hydrogen market at all, he revealed on October 23. Speaking on the second... →

Photo by Mitochondria Energy Company
Mitochondria's fuel cell technology

Poultry industry again seeking to have VAT on certain chicken products abolished

By: Rebecca Campbell 24th October 2024 The South African Poultry Association (SAPA) announced on Thursday that it would submit an application that certain chicken products be zero-rated in terms of value added tax (VAT) – that is, that they will be exempt from VAT. The application will be submitted in the middle of next month. This... →

Experts weigh in on increasingly decentralised freight logistics model

By: Marleny Arnoldi 24th October 2024 As government and the private sector work to accelerate reforms and improve efficiencies in the logistics sector, experts from a range of spheres have emphasised the importance of targeted investment and collaboration to ensure the sustainability and inclusivity of the economic growth that is... →

Speakers who participated in the October 23 transport webinar

Experts weigh in on increasingly decentralised freight logistics model

Surge in Q3 renewables registrations to 2GW may signal market shift from loadshedding to economics

By: Terence Creamer 23rd October 2024 Despite welcome relief from loadshedding in South Africa, a total of 3.3 GW of renewable-energy projects were registered with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) this year, with more than 2 GW registered in the third quarter alone. Analysis conducted by Gaylor Montmasson-Clair,... →

Photo by Creamer Media
Wind projects feature in list of Nersa registrations during Q3 of 2024

BRICS leaders tout joint finance, trade projects at Russian summit

By: Reuters 23rd October 2024 Leaders of the nations in the BRICS grouping, which accounts for 37% of global economic output, predicted its influence would grow as they met in Russia on Tuesday, outlining common projects ranging from a grain exchange to a cross-border payments system. Russia's President Vladimir Putin, who... →

Families welcome South African Parliament's call for two engineers to be released from Equatorial Guinea prison

By: Creamer Media Reporter 23rd October 2024 The families of Frik Potgieter and Peter Huxham, the two South African engineers who have been illegally imprisoned in Equatorial Guinea since February 9, 2023, say they are "deeply grateful" to the South African Parliament, which on October 22 adopted a unanimous motion calling for the... →

Peter Huxham and Frik Potgieter

South African inflation drops sharply, paving way for more rate cuts

By: Reuters 23rd October 2024 South Africa's inflation dropped sharply in September, hitting its lowest level in more than three years and bolstering expectations for another interest rate cut by the central bank next month. Annual consumer price inflation slowed to 3.8% from 4.4% in August, Statistics South Africa data... →

South Africa inflation seen edging below 4% fuels rate cut bets

By: Bloomberg 23rd October 2024 South Africa’s inflation rate is expected to fall below 4% for the first time in more than three years in September, sealing the case for borrowing costs to be lowered again next month. The median of 15 economists’ estimates in a Bloomberg survey is for consumer prices, due Wednesday at 10 am in... →

‘Deep collaboration’ through regional value chains could unlock rapid African industrialisation

By: Terence Creamer 22nd October 2024 There is potential to catalyse rapid industrialisation in Africa by pursuing policies that actively leverage both existing demand and continental moves towards trade integration to increase the production of manufactured goods, a well-known industrial policy and automotive specialist has argued.... →

Toyota Wessels Institute for Manufacturing Studies’ Professor Justin Barnes

Sidestepping industrialisation to move straight to services is hurting the economy, Cilliers says

By: Darren Parker 22nd October 2024 Skipping industrialisation and transitioning directly to the services sector is one of the key reasons for Africa’s lacklustre economic growth, Institute for Security Studies founder and former executive director Dr Jakkie Cilliers has said. Speaking at the Manufacturing Indaba conference and... →

South Africa is still tapping oil stockpile to fund fuel subsidy

By: Bloomberg 22nd October 2024 South Africa is still selling oil from strategic stockpiles to fund measures introduced two years ago to cushion consumers from a spike in road fuel prices. The Strategic Fuel Fund Association paid the National Treasury R2-billion in proceeds from the sale of oil inventories for the financial... →

IPP procurement changes mulled to unlock 10 GW of renewables amid grid pressures and green industrialisation ambitions

By: Terence Creamer 21st October 2024 The South African government is considering far-reaching changes to the way public procurement of independent power producer (IPP) generation capacity is being carried out so as to accelerate deployments in a way that navigates the country’s prevailing grid constraints, while also creating the... →

Automotive industry the ‘unsung hero’ of the South African economy – Mavuso

By: Darren Parker 21st October 2024 Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) CEO Busi Mavuso has described the domestic automotive industry as the “unsung hero of the South African economy” after joining the naamsa | The Automotive Business Council’s 2024 South African Auto Week conference, in Cape Town, from October 15 to 18, where... →

BLSA CEO Busi Mavuso

JPMorgan expects South Africa IPO surge on economic optimism

By: Bloomberg 21st October 2024 South Africa is poised for a surge in initial public offerings and fund-raising activity as soon as next year, spurred by optimism that the continent’s biggest economy may be turning a corner after years of lackluster growth, said JPMorgan Chase & Co. Positive sentiment has been building with the... →

Half of global GDP facing double-digit increase in insolvencies

By: Schalk Burger 18th October 2024 Trade credit insurance company Allianz Trade's latest Global Insolvency Report points to a more severe outlook for the global business landscape, with insolvencies projected to increase by 11% in 2024, which is a steeper rise than previously anticipated, as the global economy grapples with... →

Scatec making final preparations for construction of R3bn Northern Cape battery project

By: Terence Creamer 18th October 2024 Renewable-energy group Scatec says it is making final preparations to start construction of the R3-billion Mogobe battery energy storage system (BESS) project, which reached financial close on October 16. The 103 MW/412 MWh project is located near Kathu, in the Northern Cape, and has been awarded... →

Scatec has already developed the hybrid Kenhardt project in the Northern Cape, comprising 540 MW of solar PV and a 225 MW/1 140 MWh BESS facility

Biggest companies to help resolve South African water crisis

By: Bloomberg 18th October 2024 South Africa’s biggest companies are exploring widening a partnership with the government to help resolve a water crisis that’s threatening to leave the nation’s commercial hub dry. Business for South Africa — which is already working with the government to boost energy production, fix a broken... →

German energy expert says energy transition a mistake

By: Darren Parker 18th October 2024 The energy transition in its current form, as a grid-scale build out of wind and solar with the goal to replace oil, coal, and gas, is probably one of the greatest mistakes that humanity has ever made, German-listed commodity company HMS Bergbau Group shareholder Dr Lars Schernikau said at... →

komati power station with solar panels in front

South Africa could lower inflation target at little cost, central bank governor says

By: Reuters 17th October 2024 South Africa's central bank governor, Lesetja Kganyago, said on Thursday that the country could move to a lower inflation target at little cost. Kganyago is a strong advocate for a lower target than the bank's current 3% to 6% range and told Reuters in April that teams from the central bank and... →

Photo by Bloomberg
Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago

In pioneering move, Malben Engineering begins green steel trial at Nigel auto component plant

By: Creamer Media Reporter 17th October 2024 South African manufacturer Malben Engineering, of Nigel, is pioneering the use of green steel in the production of automotive components for leading local original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The company, which was established in 1974 and has developed into a tier 1 supplier of stampings and... →

Malben Engineering founder Amerigo Smargiasso (centre) in front of green steel coil, alongside (left to right standing) Jithin Kottikal, Giuliano Smargiasso, Luca Smargiasso, of Malben, with Lee-Ann Geyser, of Allied Steelrode, Marco Smargiasso and Werner Kapp, also of Malben, and Naacam CEO Renai Moothilal, with Shane Barnard of United Steel and Marius Schafer of Malben kneeling.

First two private utility-scale battery projects reach commercial close

By: Terence Creamer 17th October 2024 Two projects selected as preferred bidders under South Africa’s inaugural Battery Energy Storage Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (BESIPPPP) bidding round have advanced to commercial close and will now enter construction. The projects, named Mogobe BESS and Oasis Mookodi, have a... →

Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa (centre) at the signing ceremony with (left to right) DMRE DG Jacob Mbele, EDF Africa VP Laurent Clement, Scatec business development VP Alberto Gambacorta, NTCSA interim CEO Segomoco Scheppers and IPPO head Tshifhiwa Bernard Magoro

Insurance M&A dealmaking up in early 2024 – PwC

By: Darren Parker 16th October 2024 Auditing firm PwC says the first half of this year saw a measured uptick in dealmaking across the insurance industry, both globally and in South Africa However, despite the emergence of a turning rate cycle, macroeconomic weakness and political uncertainty for those still facing uncertain... →

AMSA reports R1bn third-quarter loss amid ‘particularly difficult period’

By: Darren Parker 16th October 2024 Steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) has reported a headline loss of a little more than R1-billion for the third quarter. “The global and local steel market deteriorated further since we released our June interim results. Despite the recent optimism in South Africa, the domestic steel... →

Photo by Creamer Media
AMSA's Vanderbijlpark plant

Businesses increasingly confident of investing in South Africa as reforms take shape

By: Marleny Arnoldi 16th October 2024 Pharmaceuticals group Aspen strategic trade development executive Stavros Nicolaou has confirmed that the Government of National Unity’s (GNU’s) efforts to accelerate economic growth in South Africa are already bearing fruit, as more foreign companies are looking to invest in the country.... →

Business insolvencies to increase by 11% this year – Allianz

By: Schalk Burger 16th October 2024 Trade credit insurance company Allianz Trade's latest 'Global Insolvency Report' points to a more severe outlook for the global business landscape, with insolvencies projected to increase by 11% this year – a steeper rise than previously anticipated – as the global economy grapples with sluggish... →

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