South Africa | - Part 20

HSBC, Standard Chartered Face U.K. Probe Over Gupta Ties

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – United Kingdom regulators are looking into whether HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc facilitated money-laundering as a result of possible ties to South Africa’s politically powerful Gupta family. The Financial Conduct Authority probe comes after Peter Hain, a member of the unelected House of Lords, wrote a letter raising concerns about the banks’ possible exposure to the Guptas. In the letter, Hain said allegedly illicit funds may have passed through the…

South Africa Urges PIC to Invest in Social Development Projects

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Public Investment Corporation, which manages South African state-worker pensions, should consider investing a portion of its 1.93 trillion rand ($143 billion) in assets into projects that will boost job creation and support people on lower incomes, a parliamentary committee said. That shouldn’t include providing funds for ailing and mis-managed state-owned companies that won’t deliver a return on investment, the standing committee on finance said in an emailed statement…

AngloGold Ashanti to raise $307 mln with South African mine sales

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s AngloGold Ashanti is to sell its newest mine to Harmony Gold for $300 million and another mine for 100 million rand ($7.4 million) to China’s Heaven-Sent SA Sunshine Investment Company, the company said on Thursday. AngloGold, after suffering heavy losses in its home market, said in June it would restructure its South African mines which could see 8,500 workers, around 30 percent of its workforce, laid off….

South Africa’s poor tax revenues to delay fiscal consolidation

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s finance minister is expected to address concerns over dwindling tax revenues in his mid-term budget on Wednesday to reassure credit agencies of his commitment to a tighter purse, a Reuters poll found. Malusi Gigaba is due to give his first review on finances on Oct. 25 and economists expect him to announce a revenue shortfall of 40 billion rand ($3.0 billion) for the year that began in…

South Africa September Inflation Uptick Limits Room for Rate Cuts

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African inflation quickened for a second consecutive month in September, reducing room for the nation’s central bank to ease policy. The inflation rate rose to 5.1 percent from 4.8 percent the previous month, Pretoria-based Statistics South Africa said in a report on its website on Wednesday. The median of 24 economist’s estimates in a Bloomberg survey was 5 percent. Prices rose 0.5 percent in the month, the highest monthly rate since March….

South African Bond Traders Have Bigger Fish to Fry Than Inflation

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African bonds were little moved by faster-than-forecast inflation data on Wednesday, suggesting traders are holding steady before Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba’s fiscal update next week. The yield on the rand-denominated 10-year government bond was up less than two basis points at 8.76 percent after a report showed annual consumer-price growth accelerated for a second month in September. The move was pale in comparison with Tuesday’s 10 basis-point jump following a surprise…

Zuma’s Moves Threaten Split in South Africa’s Ruling Alliance

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African President Jacob Zuma’s decision to fire communist party leader Blade Nzimande from his cabinet is widening a rift with two of the African National Congress’s closest allies before a key leadership conference in December. In dismissing Nzimande as higher education minister Tuesday, Zuma, 75, targeted the communist party, which along with the main labor confederation, Cosatu, has said the president must step down because of a series of scandals that have…

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