Новости за 18.10.2021

An incentive is needed for the listing of companies on the smaller end of the stock exchange, which is facing an existential crisis, said AmaranthCX director and owner Paul Miller on Monday. Reacting to the groundswell of headlines about delistings and lack of listings on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) , Miller pointed out in a Zoom interview with Mining Weekly that stock markets become successful as venues for primary capital raising when the small end of the market is incentivised. (Also... Читать дальше...

Volvo Trucks South Africa (SA) should start the local testing of electric trucks within the next two years, says Volvo Trucks SA product support senior manager Erica Parry. “Sales will be determined by various factors but, most importantly, the investment and availability of charging facilities en route, or at customers’ facilities.

Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu and KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala have called on residents in the province to improve their water conservation measures amid marginal dam level increases in the province. On a Ministerial visit to assess the state of water and sanitation related services in KwaZulu-Natal, last week, Mchunu reminded residents that South Africa was a water scarce country.

A Western Cape-based distributor of healthcare products has agreed to pay a penalty of R20 000 for allegedly colluding on a provincial Health Department tender that related to the supply of diagnostic sets to hospitals and health institutions under the Western Cape Department’s control, including diagnostic sets used by clinicians to examine patients’ eyes, ears, noses and throats, the Competition Tribunal said on October 18. In terms of a consent agreement concluded between BMS Medical and the Competition Commission... Читать дальше...

The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) says the momentum in trade conditions that was temporarily interrupted in July appears to be recovering, although at a moderate pace, and the Trade Activity Index (TAI) remained in negative territory at 39 points for September. After being in negative territory in July and August, trade expectations for the next six months moved into positive territory, the organisation adds.

Sappi and the World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa (WWF-SA) are working together to improve water security in the uMkhomazi catchment area, in KwaZulu-Natal. Under a two-year water stewardship agreement, the duo will engage local communities, civil organisations, leadership and regulatory authorities in dialogue and cooperation focused on water stewardship.

The Department of Employment and Labour's (DEL's) inquiry into the events that led to a fatal incident at Rheinmetall Denel Munition's facility in Macasser, in the Western Cape, in 2018, is set to resume from October 19 to 22. This is the second sitting since the 2018 explosion at the munitions plant resulted in the death of nine workers.

A "catastrophic" fuel price hike is on the cards for November, the Automobile Association (AA) has warned. Based on its calculations, R20 per litre for petrol was "realistic" before the end of the year, it said in a statement on its website on Monday.

The global wind energy sector has released a manifesto calling on governments to get serious about the energy transition and to work with the private sector to rapidly scale up wind and renewable energy installations. The 90 wind energy companies and associations that contributed to the manifesto say annual wind installations need to scale up by four times the current levels for the world to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

The Competition Commission has welcomed a landmark judgment by the Constitutional Court (ConCourt), on October 15, upholding the commission’s appeal against a decision by the Competition Appeal Court (CAC) and setting aside the CAC’s decision in a matter concerning a merger between Mediclinic Southern Africa and Matlosana Medical Health Services (MMHS). “This is a landmark and path-breaking judgment by the ConCourt in the history of Competition Law,” says commissioner Tembinkosi Bonakele.

After taking stock of the extent to which violence and intimidation has occurred amid striking metals union workers for the last ten days, the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) has decided to endorse an improved offer to settle. The strike follows a deadlock declared between the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa and Seifsa since early August and failed meetings subsequently to reach agreement on a wage offer.

The world’s richest countries are courting South Africa as a model of how to transition to a more climate-friendly future from a dependency on coal. While $5-billion of cheap loans and grants are on offer as a first step, transforming Africa’s most industrialized economy demands more than cash. It needs to win over power brokers like Gwede Mantashe, a former coal unionist who is now energy minister and chairman of the ruling African National Congress, to weaken the nation’s reliance on the black rock.

In marking World Food Day on 16 October, The GE Foundation announced a $100 000 donation that will provide immediate relief to South African communities experiencing food insecurity. The donation will fund FoodForward SA and help to provide more than 20 000 people with one meal a day for a year in the Soweto and Alexandra townships.

Dual-listed Tlou Energy expects to sign a 10 MW power purchase agreement (PPA) with State-owned Botswana Power Corporation, for power generated at Tlou’s Lesedi project. Tlou plans to develop gas, solar and hydrogen power generation assets at Lesedi, with electricity to be sold into the local power grid.

South Africa’s energy sector has the highest carbon-intensity of the Group of 20 (G20) nations owing to its heavy reliance on coal, according to the latest assessment by Climate Transparency International. In 2020, three-quarters (74%) of South Africa’s total primary energy supply was derived from burning coal, which is more than double the G20 average of 31%.

JSE-listed coal exporter Thungela Resources says that, following an initial recovery in the performance of Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) subsequent to the yearly maintenance shutdown in July, rail performance has continued to deteriorate in the second half of the year. Thungela consequently implemented actions to mitigate the impact on its business. Third-party sales, which use the rail entitlement of Thungela, have been reduced from 926 000 t in the first half of the year to an anticipated 25 000 t for the second half of the year.

In South Africa's Franschhoek mountains a helicopter drops off abseilers to cut down invasive pine trees that are choking off water supplies to millions of Cape Town residents already facing climate change-induced shortages. The crews are there to help to remove 54,000 hectares of alien trees by 2025, in the process reclaiming an estimated 55-billion litres of water lost each year - two months water supply for Cape Town.

South Africa cannot afford endless delays in addressing unemployment, said President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday as he sought to assure citizens that phase two of the Presidential Employment Stimulus (PES) will bring the country closer to meeting its collective goal of decent work and opportunity for all. Last week, Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele announced that Treasury would allocate R11-billion to the second phase of the PES.

The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) says approvals for Post-Unrest Business Recovery Funding have surpassed R1-billion and will sustain 22 493 jobs. The agency said the fund was established to help affected businesses in a variety of sectors, including retail, manufacturing and agricultural, recover and rebuild.

There is much that business is already doing to encourage an uptake of the vaccine, but more needs to be done and employers are encouraged to support their employees to become vaccinated, business organisation Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) CEO Busi Mavuso says in her weekly newsletter. “We have now delivered over 20-million vaccine doses, with 10.5-million people fully vaccinated. Opening vaccinations to over-12s later this month will add momentum for a while.

Property developer and investor Calgro M3 says it has come a long way since its portfolio streamlining and transformation efforts started in 2016, particularly as the company is also coming out of what had been heavy Covid-19 impacts. The group posted a 262% increase in headline earnings a share to 42.79c for the six months ended August 31, compared with a headline loss a share of 26.29c posted for the corresponding period of 2020.

The latest deep space mission of the US space agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa), was successfully launched form the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in the US state of Florida at 11:34 South African time on Saturday. The launch was conducted by an Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41. The spacecraft and its mission are both named Lucy, and the aim of the operation is to fly by eight asteroids, which will make it the first probe to examine so many such bodies. Читать дальше...

South African natural gas and helium producer Renergen has inked a helium forward sale agreement with helium trading company Argonon Helium US for 100 000 units over 19 years, with each unit representing a thousand standard cubic feet (mcf) of helium at 99.999% purity and in liquid form. Argonon will take possession of the units once they are paid for and for which Argonon is under no obligation to purchase, Renergen said.