BUSINESS - The African Mirror

Feb

12

2021

‘South Africa remains an attractive investment destination’

BUSINESS

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER DESPITE the devastation inflicted by COVID-19 on its economy, South Africa remains an attractive destination and has over R773-billion in investments to prove this. This was the strong message from South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in his State of the Nation address delivered last night. Ramaphosa said the country’s third South Africa Investment Conference, held in November last year, raised R108 billion in additional investment commitments. “Together with investment confirmed from the two previous investment conferences, we have now received R773-billion in investment commitments towards our five-year target of R1.2-trillion. Firms have reported that some R183-billion of…

Feb

12

2021

By The African Mirror

‘Liberia will bounce back from COVID-19 crisis with 3.2% growth’

BUSINESS

ALPHONSO TOWEH LIBERIA is in talks with China over debt relief and expects to return to economic growth this year of 3.2% after an estimated 3% contraction in 2020 due to the coronavirus crisis, Finance Minister Samuel Tweah told Reuters yesterday. Tweah said he had feared the worst when the pandemic struck last year, since the West African nation's economy was already fragile partly due to the winding down of some foreign aid flows after a 2014-16 Ebola outbreak. "We thought the economy would have collapsed, but it did not happen," he said in an interview. "That suggests strong resilience.…

Aug

04

2021

By The African Mirror

Caltex service stations in SA, Botswana to be renamed “Astron Energy”

BUSINESS

IN what is set to be one of Africa’s biggest branding exercises, fuel giant Caltex is to rename all its service stations in South Africa and Botswana to Astron Energy. Astron Energy is South Africa's second-largest petroleum network with over 850 Caltex-branded service stations in SA and Botswana. The rebrand means Astron Energy becomes the overarching brand across corporate, commercial and retail, and will be the public face of the company at all forecourts and other key sites. Astron Energy said the rebranding is an important step in its ambition to become the biggest fuel brand in South Africa. The…

Aug

04

2021

By The African Mirror

Africa’s aviation industry is on an upward trajectory. There’s room for a more aggressive takeoff

BUSINESS

SETH ONYANGO, BIRD NEWSROOM The air transport industry in Africa is expected to grow at 5 per cent annually over the next 20 years with the African Development Bank asserting the sector is the "next infrastructure growth frontier for Africa” Africa’s aviation industry is expected to maintain a cruising altitude of 5 per cent growth per annum for the next 20 years, despite the ongoing COVID-19 financial turbulence. However, there is room for a far more aggressive takeoff. International Air Transport Association (IATA) forecasts the sector’s growth to remain steady for two decades as African carriers add more routes on…

Feb

11

2021

By The African Mirror

Kenya Airways receives $92 million from government

BUSINESS

KENYA Airways has received 10 billion shillings ($91.49 million) from the government as part of efforts to prop up the carrier after the pandemic grounded global aviation, the Business Daily newspaper has reported,. The airline, which is majority owned by the government with Air France-KLM holding a small stake, secured 8 billion Kenyan shillings from the Treasury and 2 billion shillings from the ministry of transport, the paper reported, citing a supplementary budget presented to parliament on Tuesday. Kenya Airways declined to comment on the report, which did not say when the airline had received the funds. African airlines have…

Aug

03

2021

By The African Mirror

Ford appoints its first South African head of finance

BUSINESS

YOTA Baron has been appointed the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for Ford South Africa. Baron previously served as CFO for Direct Markets within the Ford International Markets Group. South Africa-born Baron takes over as CFO of the local operations from Joseph (Pepe) Verga, who will be repatriating back to the United States. Verga has been Ford South Africa’s CFO since November 2016. Neale Hill, MD of Ford South Africa said: “We welcome Yota back to the Ford South Africa family, where her vast global experience in finance will further enhance our drive to reinvigorate our business as we focus…

Feb

21

2021

By The African Mirror

EU envisages 1 bln euros aid to Ivory Coast to meet sustainable cocoa laws

BUSINESS

ANGE ABOA THE European Union envisages providing around one billion euros over six years to aid Ivory Coast's cocoa sector as it adapts to EU supply chain laws due to be introduced later this year, according to its envoy in Abidjan. "In the context of our future programming for 2021-2027, the EU is envisaging a Team Europe initiative which could mobilise up to one billion euros to accompany Ivory Coast in the transition towards sustainable cocoa production," EU Ambassador to Ivory Coast Jobst von Kirchmann said in an interview. Kirchmann did not say when a final decision would be taken.…

Feb

21

2021

By The African Mirror

World Bank, IMF to consider climate change in debt-reduction talks

BUSINESS

ANDREA SHALAL The World Bank is working with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on ways to factor climate change into the negotiations about reducing the debt burdens of some poor countries, World Bank President David Malpass told Reuters in a Friday interview. Three countries - Ethiopia, Chad and Zambia - have already initiated negotiations with creditors under a new Common Framework supported by the Group of 20 major economies, a process that may lead to debt reductions in some cases. Malpass said he expected additional countries to request restructuring of their debts, but declined to give any details. The coronavirus…

Feb

20

2021

By The African Mirror

Entrepreneur takes quality products to the township consumer

BUSINESS

TANYA McCLEAN TAKING the traditional stokvel business model to the digital level, reducing the cost of food for township communities and creating jobs - that's the win-win situation being implemented by owner of Thrift Online, Thabiso Mongane from Soweto. Mongane, who has a background in corporate banking, said that Thrift Online is a social commercial platform with the original goal being to target students and their grocery needs. The concept was simple, aggregate the student grocery demand and co-ordinate individual purchases into bulk purchases, making grocery shopping far more affordable for the student market. But then the Covid-19 pandemic hit…

Feb

20

2021

By The African Mirror

Air Cote d’Ivoire says 2020 turnover fell 42% during coronavirus pandemic

BUSINESS

IVORY Coast's national airline Air Cote d'Ivoire reported a turnover of 48 billion CFA Francs ($88.7 million) in 2020, down 42% from 83 billion the previous year because of the coronavirus pandemic, an official has said. The airline received 14 billion CFA francs from the government last June to keep it afloat as flights were halted. Travel curbs have hit heavily-indebted airlines in the region, forcing some into liquidation. The Ivorian flag carrier took delivery of a new Airbus A320neo on Thursday and aims to start serving South Africa in the second half of this year, said Laurent Loukou, deputy…