Новости за 08.05.2024

Financial infrastructure services company BankservAfrica's Economic Transactions Index (BETI) increased by 0.6% month-on-month in April to reach an index level of 134.2, which is the highest level in eight months. While loadshedding, which has remained suspended since the end of March, may have had a positive impact on economic activity in April, the upcoming elections might have also played a role, the company noted.

Property developer Equites Property Fund has officially started wheeling renewable energy onto Cape Town’s grid from solar panels atop its newly built distribution centre in Parow. The company is among the first to begin wheeling energy for the municipal grid, with its current offtaker being a commercial office block on the Foreshore, where Equites is headquartered.

Financial services firm Absa has launched a non-banking subsidiary in China to fortify the economic links between Africa and the Asian country. The office will operate under a wholly foreign owned enterprise licence, which permits the financial institution to provide general advisory services to clients based in China for concluding transactions across the African continent as a non-banking subsidiary of Absa Group.

South Africa’s Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) says it will continue to invest in Durban Container Terminal (DCT) Pier 2 while legal proceedings around its selection of International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI), of the Philippines, for a 25-year partnership at what is South Africa’s largest container terminal. Rival bidder AP Moller–Maersk, of Denmark, is contesting Transnet selection of ICTSI, which was made in July last year, calling the award unlawful and invalid.

South African regional and domestic airline Airlink has announced that it is to implement the New Distribution Capability (NDC) for its transactions with the travel trade, with effect from July 31 this year. NDC was launched by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and is a data exchange format, using Offer and Order management processes to enable airlines to create and distribute relevant offers to customers, irrespective of the distribution channel. NDC is supported by the travel industry. Читать дальше...

Mining company Gold Fields expects to be in a position to decide on the establishment of a wind power project at the South Deep gold mine, west of Johannesburg, in the third quarter of this year. The project is currently undergoing scoping and feasibility and one of the key pieces of work has been around its environmental impact in general and its effect on a bat colony that exists in the nearby area in particular, Gold Fields CEO Mike Fraser said in response to Mining Weekly at this week’s first-quarter results and environmental... Читать дальше...

Personality type is a major factor in people’s vulnerability to cybercrime, a Stellenbosch University (SU) researcher has established. People with an “agreeable” personality were more vulnerable than others to “social engineering” cyberattacks. The research was carried out by systems analyst Vian Smit, who recently graduated with a Master's in Socio-Informatics from SU. Smit surveyed nearly 700 people for his research. They were divided into five “personality types” – conscientious, extravert, agreeable, open, and neurotic. Читать дальше...

After not paying levies owed to the South African Sugar Association (Sasa) since October 2022, sugar producer Tongaat Hulett has again been ordered by the Durban High Court to pay the outstanding levies. The levies are essential to the economic survival of many sugarcane farmers and the thousands of livelihoods they support, says industry body SA Canegrowers, which welcomes the High Court judgment.

The JSE is undertaking several initiatives to mitigate de-listings and reduced market capitalisation, chairperson Phuthuma Nhleko said during the entity’s AGM on May 7. Speaking to Engineering News prior to the meeting, consultancy and research provider AmaranthCX director Paul Miller posited that the entire public market ecosystem was “withering” and that the JSE’s communication did not reflect the extent of this problem.

South Africa will provide a new timeline for the shutdown of coal-fired power plants in a bid to secure about $2.5-billion in climate finance, an agency in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office said. The timetable to be proposed to the Climate Investment Funds in June aims to ensure the country remains on track to obtain funding under the so-called Just Energy Transition Partnership — a $9.3-billion pact with some of the world’s richest nations. Under the agreement, first announced in 2021, South Africa... Читать дальше...

Very early on in his term, Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis was told by law enforcement agencies that there could never be enough boots on the ground to fully combat violent crime and the drug trade in the city. What these agencies needed was for the local authority “to go all in” on technology, adding a new layer every time it becomes more widely available and increasingly affordable.

As South Africa approaches its 2024 national elections, scheduled for May 29, telecommunications infrastructure will play a key role in ensuring seamless communication among voters, electoral bodies and all stakeholders involved in the electoral process, the Communication Risk Information Centre (COMRiC) said on Wednesday. “As we approach the elections, the need for secure and reliable communication channels cannot be overstated. These systems are the backbone of electoral transparency and efficacy,” said COMRiC CEO Advocate Thokozani Mvelase... Читать дальше...

South Africa has appointed a new Honorary Consul in the UK, it was announced on Wednesday. An Honorary Consul serves to promote South African exports to the country (or a specific region within a country) in which he or she is based, act as contact person for visiting South African businesspeople, distribute general information on South Africa, and represent the country at receptions and other functions. The new Honorary Consul is businessman Bassim Haidar. Born in Nigeria, he is the founder of mobile... Читать дальше...

Civil engineering and construction industry organisations the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (Saice), Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA) and Master Builders South Africa (MBSA) have urged patience to allow for investigations into the cause of the building collapse in Victoria street, George, on May 6. Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi has committed the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) to undertake an Occupational Health and Safety Act investigation of the... Читать дальше...

Retailer Spar Group has been approved for a secondary listing on A2X Markets (A2X) and its shares will become available for trade on the exchange from May 15. Spar has wholesale warehousing and distribution operations in Southern Africa and parts of Europe that support over 4 500 stores through 14 distribution centres. It operates in 11 countries and reported revenue of R149-billion in 2023.

Paper and packaging group Sappi has signed a milestone 175 GWh/y renewable energy power purchase agreement (PPA) with private electricity trading company Enpower Trading. Sappi is working towards attaining various science-based target objectives, with the renewable energy solution aimed at lowering Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 6% and 4%, respectively, across its South African operations.

The commercial vehicle industry in South Africa is getting to understand the opportunities in the automotive sector, such as in the autonomous vehicles space, despite various macroeconomic challenges, event organiser Messe Frankfurt South Africa MD Michael Dehn said during the Futureroad vehicle trade exhibition on May 3. He highlighted how the commercial vehicle industry continued to be a key driver of innovation and how it boosted the overall automotive industry’s ability to contribute 4.9% to... Читать дальше...

Growth in solar and wind power pushed renewable generation to a record 30% of global electricity production in 2023, putting a global target to triple renewable capacity by 2030 within sight, a report by think tank Ember said. Cutting fossil fuel use and emissions in the power sector is seen as vital to meeting global climate targets. More than 100 countries at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai last year agreed to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030.