On 28 September 2016, the shareholders of South African born international brewer, SABMiller, approved the company’s acquisition by Anheuser-Busch InBev for $104 billion (R1.5 trillion). The deal paved the way for the creation of what is now by far the world’s largest brewing company. For a company that started out selling beer to miners in […]

JOHANNESBURG – Moody’s Investors Service today downgraded the ratings of 10 South African regional and local governments (RLGs) and three government-related entities (GRIs) and changed the outlooks to negative. At the same time, Moody’s affirmed their national scale ratings. The rating actions conclude the review for downgrade that commenced on 4 April 2017, Moody’s said in a […]

South Africa has been ranked fourth on the latest Africa Investment Index, by Quantum Global Research Lab. Botswana claims top spot as the most attractive economy for investments flowing into the African continent, according to the 2016 Africa Investment Index. Botswana’s position is based on a number of factors, including improved credit rating, current account ratio, import cover and […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Barclays’ plan to sell its African business and pull out of the continent are being hindered by South Africa’s political upheaval and credit-rating downgrades, according to banking sources and fund managers. The British bank gave itself 2-3 years to sell its controlling stake in Johannesburg-based Barclays Africa when it announced the plan […]

PRETORIA (Reuters) – South Africa’s new finance minister signalled on Saturday he would oversee a redistribution of wealth to the country’s black majority, as a row over the sacking of his predecessor laid bare bitter divisions within the ruling ANC party. Saying the country was poised at a “polarised and contentious” moment, Malusi Gigaba promised […]

The call for radical economic transformation has grown louder following President Jacob Zuma’s 2017 State of the Nation Address. Accompanying these calls is a line of argument that says “white monopoly capital” is to blame for the fact that the majority of black South Africans remain marginalised from the mainstream economy 22 years after apartheid […]

After recently strengthening and becoming the second best performing currency in the emerging markets, the Rand plummeted today to become the worst performer. This shocking drop follows the Presidency’s confirmation earlier on Monday that President Zuma has recalled Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and his Deputy, Mcebisi Jonas, to cancel their UK and US investment trip to […]

PRETORIA – President Jacob Zuma has instructed Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and his Deputy, Mcebisi Jonas, to cancel the international investment promotion roadshow to the United Kingdom and the United States and to return to South Africa immediately. Gordhan, who was already in London, was meant to embark on a non-deal international investor roadshow in the two countries, […]

Clare Wiese-Wentzel shares an interview with her father – South African retail tycoon Christo Wiese – on what defines happiness, what doesn’t matter and what keeps him grounded… A few years ago (OK, if I were to give away my age and be brutally honest, I would confess it was about 14 years ago), I found myself working […]

Joburg is the leading destination in Africa on the Fortune 500 List, according to a new report released by global business research company, Infomineo. The company, which specialises in the Middle East and Africa (MEA), says the region has become increasingly important for the majority of global Fortune 500 countries. The report focuses on multinationals looking at entering, […]

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – Airbnb expects to maintain its rapid growth in Africa this year and double its customer numbers to 1.5 million, its Chief Executive Brian Chesky and regional head told Reuters on Friday. The number of people using the online room rental service on the continent rose by 143 percent to about 765,000 […]

NEW YORK/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – China Petroleum and Chemical Corp (Sinopec) is nearing an agreement to buy a majority stake in Chevron Corp’s South African assets, which are estimated to be worth $1 billion, two people familiar with the transaction said. The sources said Sinopec, Asia’s largest oil refiner, was the last bidder remaining, and close […]

In one week Florence Mudzivo’s life has changed radically for the better… thanks to knocking on the right door (and to hard work, perseverance and the kindness of South Africans!). The 53-year-old Zimbabwean widow sadly lost her husband in 2011 and was left alone to single-handedly provide for her four children and one grandchild. With […]

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s BT has appointed Jan du Plessis, chairman of miner Rio Tinto as its next chairman, taking over from Mike Rake who has led the telecoms group for 10 years. BT said on Thursday that du Plessis would join its board as a non-executive director on June 1, and become chairman on […]

Brand South Africa is in Australia on a “charm offensive” to woo South African expats living ‘down under’ – who are apparently the most negative about SA – to rather fly the flag for South Africa and become ambassadors for their former homeland… Brand SA – which is responsible for promoting a positive reputation for […]

A Sky News investigation in the Democratic Republic of Congo has found children as young as four not only working, but working under extremely dangerous conditions… to mine cobalt, an essential ingredient in lithium ion batteries used in smart phones and laptops. Eight-year-old Dorsen tells Sky his mother is “already dead and I have to work […]

Traffic in and around Pretoria, South Africa, ground to a virtual halt this morning as truck drivers made their way to Marabastad, ahead of a protest march to the Union Buildings. The truckers, reportedly contracted to Eskom to carry coal, are protesting against the implementation of renewable energy projects and requesting it be slowed down. Eskom […]

North West government to start donkey production programme… Writes Kimon de Greef A Johannesburg businessman was arrested this week after falsely declaring a shipment of 300 donkey hides at OR Tambo airport. Investigators suspect that the man, a Chinese national, is the leader of a local donkey smuggling ring. Gelatin from donkey hides is used to […]

CAPE TOWN – Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has proposed a new personal income tax bracket for those earning salaries of above R1.5 million. In tabling his Budget Speech 2017, in the National Assembly on Wednesday, Gordhan basically said “those who earn more must pay more”. The Minister has also proposed an increase in the dividend withholding […]

Many see the decision by South Africa’s governing African National Congress (ANC) to send the disgraced former CEO of the power utility Eskom to parliament as the precursor to another attack on the National Treasury and to remove finance minister Pravin Gordhan. The decision to give Brian Molefe a seat in the country’s parliament has […]

The South African Rand has raced to its highest in almost 20 months, in a six-day winning streak (its longest since September), following positive sentiment towards emerging market currencies. It comes on the same day that the SA Competition Commission announces that 17 banks will be prosecuted for price-fixing. Of the Rand’s high today Bloomberg said […]

South Africa’s Minister of Science and Technology, Grace Naledi Mandisa Pandor, has been chosen by the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to receive the 2016 Award for Science Diplomacy… for using science and technology to support development in SA and sub-Saharan Africa. Pandor (63) is being honoured by AAAS not only for integrating science […]

South African expat Roelof Botha has been promoted to become a ‘steward’ of one of Silicon Valley’s most successful venture capitalist firms – Sequoia, famous for investing in companies like Apple, PayPal and WhatsApp. Botha is already well known for not only being the grandson of South Africa’s former Foreign Minister ‘Pik’ Botha (and son of […]

The publication of the preliminary report by the public protector on the money Absa was supposed to owe the state was an absolute game changer in South African politics. The “leaking” of the report was a stroke of genius by the Zuma/Gupta/state security complex that has been trying very hard for months now to steer […]

South Africans have long LOVED Nando’s for its brilliantly conceived advertising campaigns… let alone its tasty peri-peri chicken. And now Americans are catching on quickly too with the fast food restaurant chain’s latest political statement even making it yesterday to the pages of esteemed national newspaper, The Washington Post. Nando’s grabbed attention – and customers – in Washington […]