BUSINESS - The African Mirror

Nov

27

2020

One of Africa’s business leaders appointed chair of SBV Services

BUSINESS

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER PROFESSOR Bonang Mohale, one of Africa’s reputed business leaders and academic, has been appointed as chair of the board of directors of SBV Services. SBV Services is a leader in essential cash services to the Banks of South Africa including its four shareholder banks - ABSA Bank Limited, FirstRand Bank Limited, Nedbank Limited and The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited. It is also a service provider to the South African Reserve Bank. Mohale, who is also chancellor of the Free State University, has an impeccable CV. He has held several leadership positions in the private sector…

Nov

26

2020

By The African Mirror

Nigeria ready to reopen its land borders to trade – Finance minister

BUSINESS

NIGERIA is ready to reopen its land borders to trade for the first time in more than a year after closing them to try to stamp out smuggling, the finance minister said on Wednesday. Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed said those involved had learned from the closure and worked together on joint border patrols. "We will be expecting that the borders will be reopened very soon," Ahmed told journalists, explaining that the president would determine the exact date. Nigeria, Africa's largest economy, closed its land borders in late 2019 over concerns about illegal exports of price-controlled gasoline and illegal imports of…

Nov

26

2020

By The African Mirror

EXCLUSIVE-Exxon and Total in talks over Mozambique LNG resource-sharing deal

BUSINESS

HELEN REID, EMMA RUMNEY and STEPHEN JEWKES ExxonMobil and Total are in negotiations over their massive LNG projects in Mozambique, with each seeking to extract more gas from a shared field that straddles the two developments and cut costs, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The talks between the energy majors also involve the Mozambican government, according to the sources, as it has to give final approval to any new agreement. The field that straddles the projects happens to contain gas that is thicker and therefore cheaper to extract and convert into LNG than reserves elsewhere in the…

Nov

28

2020

By The African Mirror

Huge potential for big post COVID-19 trade between Africa and Europe

BUSINESS

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER THE COVID 19 global pandemic may result in 2020 seeing the worst year of growth for the global economy in 40 years, but there remains “huge untapped potential” in the trade relationship between Southern Africa and Europe. This was the overwhelmingly positive message from an upbeat seventh edition of the Southern Africa Europe CEO Dialogue, held this year in a hybrid physical and digital format in Johannesburg. The high-level networking and debate platform, organised by one of the world’s leading think tanks The European House Ambrosetti and the Gauteng Provincial Government, again brought together key decision makers…

Dec

05

2020

By The African Mirror

Glencore boss Glasenberg to step down, Gary Nagle named new CEO

BUSINESS

ZANDI SHABALALA and HELEN REID Glencore boss Ivan Glasenberg is to step down next year and Gary Nagle, head of coal assets at the mining and trading group, will become the new CEO. Ivan Glasenberg Glasenberg's departure will mark a shift to a new, younger leadership for the business, which, along with other mining companies, has faced increasing pressure from investors to cut carbon emissions. Glasenberg, 63, has been chief executive since 2002 and investors have been expecting a succession plan after several senior members of management retired in the last few years. He said his goal during his 18-year…

Dec

04

2020

By The African Mirror

S.Africa gives national airline $98 mln, but administrators can’t use it

BUSINESS

THE South African government has transferred 1.5 billion rands ($98 million) to administrators for national airline South African Airways (SAA) but the funds cannot be used yet, the administrators said. The administrators said the conditions the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) attached to how the money should be spent were in contravention of labour and companies laws. “We are unable to utilise the funds until the conditions have been amended by the DPE,” they added in a statement. A DPE spokesman said the department would comment later. SAA entered a local form of bankruptcy protection in December last year after…

Dec

04

2020

By The African Mirror

Managing your investments during a period of turmoil

BUSINESS

VIMAL KUMAR The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every sector of society across the globe, with everyone impacted from an economic, health and social perspective. While the majority of people have focused on stability and job security during this period, affluent and high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) saw an erosion to their personal net worth as economic activity and investments deteriorated during the pandemic. As individuals tried to remain as liquid as possible during this period, some of the key trends reflected were the shifting of deposits to secure banks, while automation and digitalisation were further embraced to offer customers the convenience and…

Dec

03

2020

By The African Mirror

Nissan sets up new business unit for African region

BUSINESS

JAPANESE automotive group Nissan is to set up a new regional business unit for Africa as it seeks to boost manufacturing capacity and penetrate one of the world’s biggest undeveloped new car markets. The move marks a reorganisation of the company’s disparate operations on the continent, bringing them within one entity headed by Mike Whitfield, who has previously served as managing director of Nissan’s units in both South Africa and Egypt. “Beyond internal operating enhancements, this also positions Nissan to focus on the massive opportunity that Africa presents to the organisation globally,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday.…

Dec

03

2020

By The African Mirror

COVID slashes Kenyan tourism revenues by $1 billion

BUSINESS

KENYA’S tourism sector lost close to $1 billion in revenue between January and October when numbers of foreign visitors fell by two thirds due to COVID-19, the tourism ministry has disclosed. From safaris in the Maasai Mara and other world-beating wildlife reserves to holidays on pristine Indian Ocean beaches, Kenya's tourism industry contributes 10% of economic output and employs over 2 million people. It brought in the equivalent of 163.5 billion shillings last year, and the government had initially expected that figure to grow 1% in 2020. But international visitors fell to fewer than 500,000 in the first 10 months…

Dec

02

2020

By The African Mirror

Africa retail tech start-up Sokowatch eyes electric tuk tuks to cut costs

BUSINESS

ELIAS BIRYABAREMA AFRICAN start-up Sokowatch, an online supplier of goods to micro retailers, is deploying electric tuk tuks, a first on the continent, that could slash fleet maintenance costs by more than 50%, according to an official. The Kenya-based firm developed an app on which small retailers in east Africa can log orders of various goods to restock their shops. Once the orders are received, Sokowatch then dispatches the goods from its warehouses to the retailers. In a region where cities are plagued by gridlock, with narrow and pot holed roads, Sokowatch adopted the three-wheeled rickshaws as a primary means…