African Potash meets with Ugandan President over creation of local fertiliser industry

Aim-listed African Potash chairperson Chris Cleverly has met with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and a delegation of officials in Kampala, Uganda, to discuss potential opportunities to develop a... 

Pilot programme set to upgrade lower-tier automotive suppliers

Gauteng-based government implementation agency the Automotive Industry Development Centre (AIDC), in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (Unido) and the... 

M&R's Canadian subsidiary buys project management group

Murray & Roberts (M&R) subsidiary Cementation Canada has completed the acquisition of project and construction management services group Merit Consultants International. Merit has worked with... 

Sub-Saharan African sovereigns face rising financing costs – report

Governments in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are facing increasingly expensive debt financing, as favourable global and domestic conditions come to an end, ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P’s)... 

Eskom to select coal supplier for Arnot station by March

Energy utility Eskom is in the throes of reviewing various requests for proposals submitted as part of its hunt for a new coal supplier for the Arnot power station, in Mpumalanga, after the... 

Company launches container-fitted solar power solution

Off-grid solar systems provider ePower Holdings has announced the launch of a solar-powered energy solution aimed at the rural market that produces 18 000 W of power from 72 solar panels installed... 

Property industry joins call to scupper Eskom tariff bid

As one of the latest organisations to come out in opposition to a tariff hike application by Eskom, the South African Property Owner’s Association (Sapoa) has cautioned that the energy utility’s... 

Chinese economic slump not the precursor to Africa’s demise – Standard Bank CEO

While Africa-friendly China’s economic growth languishes at 25-year lows, Standard Bank joint CEO Sim Tshabalala has deviated from popular economic opinion which cautions of a devastating knock-on... 

Botswana to host Innovation Prize for Africa awards

Botswana Infrastructure Science and Technology Ministry permanent secretary Dikagiso Mokotedi has welcomed the decision for Botswana to host the fifth Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) awards,... 

Zuma arrives in Davos to attend WEF

Leading a South African delegation of seven Ministers and several private-sector chairpersons and CEOs, President Jacob Zuma has arrived in Davos, Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum... 

Lack of regional econ diversification stalls Sub-Saharan African job growth

Against the backdrop of long-standing structural weaknesses, combined with unfavourable and volatile current conditions in the global economy and a lack of regional economic diversification, the... 

Prices, decline in share value to dent Assore’s H1 earnings

On the back of lower export selling prices across its product portfolio, a declining share portfolio value and a subsequent impairment, mining holding company Assore expects headline earnings to... 

Moz tax ruling issued for Manica project sale

The Mozambique Tax Authority has determined that $698 968.78 in capital gains tax is due and payable at completion of the sale of the Manica gold project, owner Sydney-listed Auroch Minerals has... 

W Cape applies for drought relief as national agri losses hit billions of rands

Reiterating that the drought is likely to cost South Africa billions in trade losses, as well as result in a 42% decrease in national agricultural production, Western Cape Economic Opportunities... 

JSE to open Cape Town office

As Cape Town continues to increase its profile as an important hub for South Africa’s financial services industry, the JSE has announced plans to open a new office in the mother city to enhance its... 

Eskom tariff hike bid unaffordable, says local govt

While noting that it supported the financial sustainability of energy utility Eskom, the South African Local Government Association (Salga) has called for this to be achieved responsibly and... 

Kariba dam at risk of collapse, report warns

Concerns around a “catastrophic” failure of the Kariba dam, between Zambia and Zimbabwe, have again been thrust into the spotlight, as Zambia’s Energy and Water Development Minister last week... 

Mild temps, econ sentiment sends oil demand to new low in Q4 – report

“Exceptionally” mild temperatures in the early part of the winter in Japan, Europe and the US, coupled with weak economic sentiment in China, Brazil, Russia and other commodity-dependent economies,... 

Bank access to national identification system saving R3.8bn/y – Gigaba

A joint partnership between the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) and the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric), which allows banks to verify the identity of their prospective and... 

Wits, Unilever to pioneer practical work training for engineering students

In the first corporate-academic partnership of its kind, consumer goods manufacturer Unilever South Africa and the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) have announced a collaborative skills... 

Aquarius shareholders approve takeover by Sibanye

Shareholders of Aquarius Platinum have approved a proposed deal that will see the company acquired by fellow miner Sibanye Gold for of $0.195 a share. The transaction, which would be implemented by... 

Liviero appoints new strategic projects division head

Construction group Liviero has appointed Paul Le Sueur as group executive of its strategic projects division. He would join Liviero from Group Five, where he held various senior positions over the... 

Energy efficiency tax rebate increased to 95c/kWh

An amendment to Section 12L of the recently promulgated Taxation Laws Amendment Act, which deals with the energy-efficiency tax incentive, has increased the amount of the deduction from 45c/kWh to... 

Business weighs in on S Africa’s 2016 prospects

With South Africa expected to narrowly escape a technical recession this year, with economic growth pegged at 1.5% and gross domestic product expansion a marginal 1.7%, the country’s business... 

Sibanye shareholders approve Rustenburg Platinum Mines deal

Shareholders of gold miner Sibanye Gold have approved the acquisition of the North West-based Bathopele, Siphumelele and Thembelani mines from Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) subsidiary... 

Sub-Saharan Africa M&A deal value climbs 73% to $66.7bn in 2015

The value of announced merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions with any sub-Saharan African involvement reached $66.7-billion in 2015, swelling by a hefty 73% on that registered in 2014,... 

Yanfolila DFS doubles NPV to $142m

A definitive feasibility study (DFS) of Aim-listed Hummingbird Resources’ Yanfolila gold project, in Mali, has demonstrated “significant enhancement” to its economics as an openpit, low-cost gold... 

Tariff increase to bolster investor confidence, credit rating, says Eskom

State energy group Eskom says a “favourable”outcome from public hearings into the parastatal’s application to have its regulatory clearing account (RCA) balance approved could provide much-needed... 

AMSA rights offer undersubscribed

After announcing in December that it would undertake a R4.5-billion fully underwritten renounceable rights offer, ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) said on Monday that the offer, which closed on... 

Bennett to head up M&R’s oil and gas business

Construction group Murray & Roberts (M&R) has appointed Peter Bennett as CEO of its oil and gas business platform and of project services subsidiary Clough, with effect from February 1. He would... 

S Africa still a viable investment proposition, says Gordhan

As a delegation of South African Cabinet Ministers and business representatives prepares for the World Economic Forum’s (WEF’s) yearly meeting, to be held next week in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland,... 

Plastics industry joins water relief efforts amid national drought

The South African plastics industry has joined the wave of volunteers helping to bring water relief to drought-stricken areas, with the Maitland office of Plastics South Africa (SA) chosen as a... 

South African research strengthened through involvement in European Union scheme

A study of the impacts of South Africa’s participation in the Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7) of the European Union (EU) has found it to have... 

Futurist advocates ‘strategic foresight’ in corporate planning

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation chair in futures studies Professor Sohail Inayatullah has touted the adoption of “transformative and strategic foresight” by... 

Central, West Africa a hotbed of infrastructure growth, report finds

A study into infrastructure development in Africa has pointed to the emergence of Central and North Africa as megaproject hotspots, with 301 transport, energy and power, water and mining projects –... 

Services, not manufacturing, Africa’s silver growth bullet – Wooldridge

While a resurgence in manufacturing in Africa has been popularly touted as the silver bullet that will accelerate the continent’s economic growth prospects, The Economist management editor and... 

GE kicks off local production of Transnet locomotives

Industrial giant GE has started production late last year of the 233 GE Evolution Series locomotives it has been contracted to supply to State-owned Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) as part of its... 

AB InBev announces $46bn offering to fund SABMiller deal

Global brewery Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) subsidiary Anheuser-Busch InBev Finance has completed the pricing of $46-billion in principal bonds to fund a portion of the purchase price for the... 

Emira to undertake R795m overhaul of Bryanston office park

JSE-listed real estate investment trust, the Emira Property Fund, is undertaking a major R795-million redevelopment of its Knightsbridge Manor office park, in Bryanston, Johannesburg, transforming... 

Healthcare enquiry not a witch hunt, chair assures

Former chief justice Sandile Ngcobo has worked to assure private healthcare providers that the ongoing investigation into the competitiveness of the sector should not be regarded as a campaign to...