The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Observatory (SKAO) has so far awarded contracts worth about R1.2-billion to South African companies and institutions, for work on the SKA-Mid radio telescope array, being created in the Northern Cape province’s Karoo region. This was pointed out by SKA-Mid construction director Tracy Cheetham at a media briefing at the SKAO [...]

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad), in its December 2023 ‘Global Trade Update’, said global trade in goods would decline by about $2-trillion this year, but trade in services was set to expand by $500-billion. Trade growth remained subdued in the fourth quarter, indicating persisting challenges. The outlook for 2024 remains uncertain, [...]

Through its green ammonia project in the Eastern Cape, the leadership of Hive Hydrogen South Africa intends showing how a just energy Transition is possible, Hive Hydrogen chairperson Thulani Gcabashe highlighted at the signing ceremony of the $5.8-billion Coega green export project. “We’re already working with governments in all spheres, development funding Institutions, and local [...]

Water utility Rand Water has settled its RW23 bond under its R10-billion domestic medium term note (DMTN) programme, which was listed with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in 2013 and matured on December 10. The utility settled the last coupon of this bond and the principal amount of R1.23-billion on December 11.

Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has confirmed that the draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) approved by Cabinet for public comment includes two time horizons as well as significant changes to the underlying assumptions that inform the plan when compared with the prevailing edition. However, she was unable to offer a timeframe for when the [...]

Business Leadership South Africa CEO Busi Mavuso has warned of the deteriorating health sector without the prospect of recovery, owing in large part to the passage last week of the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill into law, barring the assent of President Cyril Ramaphosa.  In her weekly newsletter published on December 11, Mavuso called this [...]

Union leaders have gone underground to fetch chronically ill mineworkers at the Bakubung platinum mine in Rustenburg, where an underground sit-in is being staged, and to bring them back to surface. Bakubung Platinum Mine is owned by Wesizwe Platinum, a company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Multinational engineering and construction group Murray & Roberts (M&R) says it has made meaningful progress in reducing its debt with its consortium of South African banks. Following on from the sale, in April, of its 50% shareholding in the Bombela Concession Company, which resulted in the halving of its debt to about R1-billion, the company has [...]

Rand Water on Friday called on municipalities to urgently pay their water debt as the amount owing to the water utility escalates and threatens its financial position. The water utility said it is deeply concerned over the escalating debts, currently standing at a cumulative R4.1-billion, caused by municipalities' failure to honour their bulk water purchase [...]

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which is the global representative body for the airline industry, “is still very focused on Africa”, assured IATA regional VP Africa and Middle East Kamil Alawadhi in a virtual media briefing on Thursday. He highlighted IATA’s Focus Africa initiative, which has six priority areas – in IATA’s order, safety, [...]

Africa could lose as much as $25-billion annually due to the European Union’s new carbon border tax, hurting the continent’s trade by penalizing valued-added exports such as iron and fertilizers, African Development Bank Group president Akinwumi Adesina said. The EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism is a tax on carbon-intensive goods such as fertilizers, cement, iron, [...]

South Africa’s current account deficit shrank by much more than expected in the third quarter, buoyed by a surge in the trade balance as the volume of imports fell. The deficit on the current account, the broadest measure of trade in goods and services, shrank to an annualised 0.3% of gross domestic product, or R19.3-billion, [...]