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Business confidence ticked up ahead of elections but more is needed to spur investment

Published: 05 Jun 24

The Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) and Bureau for Economic Research (BER) Business Confidence Index (BCI) increased by five points to 35% in the second quarter of the year ahead of the national elections. Just more than a third of 2 500 survey respondents were satisfied with prevailing business conditions between May 9 and May 27; however, uncertainty around the election was top of mind for many respondents.

Alley Roads’ Riverstone Mall kickstarts R600m development injection for Meyerton

Published: 05 Jun 24

As part of its pipeline of 175 000 m2 of retail space earmarked for township and peri-urban areas across South Africa, property developer Alley Roads has unveiled its first retail development Riverstone Mall in Meyerton. Sabrina Jardim tells us more.

Sigfox SA appointed to support South Africa’s transition to smart water meters

Published: 05 Jun 24

National Treasury has selected Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity service Sigfox South Africa’s network to underpin South Africa’s new smart water meter ecosystem. The tender, commonly known as “RT29” awarded to various system integrators, will see existing meters adapted or replaced to become smart meters to improve revenue collection and service delivery.

Think tank outlines five priorities for new government and for shaping coalition talks

Published: 05 Jun 24

The Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE) has released a list of five priorities for South Africa’s yet-to-be-formed new government and which the think tank also argues should help guide ongoing coalition negotiations. The priorities have been canvassed with various business, academic and civil-society stakeholders and have been packaged into what CDE has dubbed ‘Agenda 2024’, and include:

MinRes sells stake in Onslow Iron haul road for A$1.3bn

Published: 05 Jun 24

ASX-listed Mineral Resources (MinRes) on Wednesday announced a binding agreement to sell a 49% interest in the Onslow Iron project’s dedicated haul road to Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners for A$1.3-billion. The Onslow Haul road is a key component of the transportation infrastructure solution that MinRes developed to unlock stranded iron-ore deposits in the West Pilbara region of Western Australia.

China’s unusually large copper stockpiles fuel demand concerns

Published: 05 Jun 24

China’s copper inventories are growing at exactly the time of year when they should be shrinking fast — an anomaly that underscores concerns about demand in the world’s biggest market. Stockpiles of the metal held in Shanghai Futures Exchange warehouses ended last week well above 300 000 t. That’s not the biggest volume ever, but it is the most for any end-of-May date on record. In China’s highly seasonal economy, inventories typically peak in March and slide lower as factories ramp up activity heading into the summer.

An image showing a dry screening plant at the Krone-Endora at Venetia project

Diamcor closes first tranche of increased placement

Published: 05 Jun 24

TSX-V-listed Diamcor Mining has closed a $1.4-million first tranche of a nonbrokered private placement following receipt of conditional acceptance of the offering from the TSX-V. The company now anticipates the offering will be oversubscribed and has increased the total amount of the original offering from $1.5-million to an aggregate of up to $2.5-million, with a second and final tranche closing expected to occur on or before June 15.

Unctad outlines reforms to avoid impending global public debt crisis

Published: 05 Jun 24

Global body UN Trade and Development (Unctad) has urged action to deal with the alarming surge of global debt and proposed reforms to international finance systems to safeguard “a prosperous future for people and planet”. A report published by Unctad on June 4 shows that global public debt hit a record $97-trillion in 2023, up by $5.6-trillion from 2022.

SABS expresses appreciation for voluntary technical committee chairpersons

Published: 05 Jun 24

The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) has acknowledged and recognised the voluntary work of committee chairpersons during an engagement session and workshop to synchronise the approach to chairing committees at the SABS, in Pretoria, on June 5. The event included the welcoming of new members of chairing committees, which is critical in the development, maintenance and publication of South African National Standards (SANS), the SABS said.

Green Connection petitions court to ‘force’ Nersa, DMRE to supply Karpowership information

Published: 05 Jun 24

Environmental activist nonprofit organisation the Green Connection has taken the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) to court in an effort to “force” them to supply key information regarding the Karpowership deals. Karpowership uses powerships, or floating power plants, that can anchor at ports and provide electricity facing power supply constraints.