Category: Southern Africa

The rand steadied in early trade on Monday, but looked vulnerable to risk aversion before the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting this week and a referendum of Britain’s potential exit from the European Union next week. At 08:45, the rand traded at R15.2350/$, not far off its New York close of R15.2420/$ on Friday.…

South Africa’s National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) will not return to work at Northam Platinum’s violence-hit Zondereinde mine before they receive assurances over security from police and the company, a spokesman for the union said on Thursday. The platinum producer suspended operations at the mine on Monday after a worker was fatally stabbed at the…

Rwanda said on Wednesday it had asked the International Monetary Fund to offer it a short term facility worth $200 million to help fend off foreign exchange risks in case the country’s reserves dwindled. The central African state has previously said it had approached the IMF for help but had not revealed the amount involved.…

Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi on Thursday fired Finance Minister Adriano Maleiane, who has been embroiled in more than two weeks of negotiations with Russia’s VTB Bank over a late $178 million loan repayment. A statement from Nyusi’s office gave no reason for the dismissal and did not say who would be replacing Maleiane. Mozambique Asset…

Falling inflation expectations may have come at the perfect time for South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) governor Lesetja Kganyago, who is caught in a rate-increase cycle at a time when ratings companies have told the country to boost growth or have its credit rating cut to junk. The five-year breakeven rate, a measure of bond…

South Africa’s economy looked set on Tuesday for its first quarterly contraction in a year after measures of business sentiment tumbled, dragged down by shrinking consumer spending that has sunk hopes of a retail-led recovery. Rising inflation due to severe drought and a weakening currency have triggered a steep rise in lending rates over the…

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) will start its shorter settlement cycle on July 11 2016, it announced on Tuesday. This is after the final market testing phase of the project has been successfully completed. Tyrone Arendse, head of change delivery in the post trade and information services division at the JSE, told Fin24 that clearing…

Economists expect a negative GDP reading for the first quarter of 2016, while ratings agency Fitch should follow Moody’s and Standard Poor’s and not downgrade SA to junk status. Many economists expect a negative gross domestic product (GDP) reading when Statistics SA announces the figures for the first quarter of 2016 on Wednesday. Expectations are…

Zimbabwe’s central bank threatened to cancel the licences of banks and foreign currency dealers found to have violated new exchange control regulations aimed at easing a dollar shortage. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe last week sent a directive changing the way banks and other authorised foreign-currency dealers are required to handle export earnings, adding measures…

South Africa’s Northam Platinum suspended production at its Zondereinde mine after a worker was stabbed to death there during a fight between members of two different unions, the company said on Monday. Northam said the fight broke out after another worker had been shot dead in a nearby town on Sunday. The mine produces about…