BUSINESS - The African Mirror

Jul

14

2021

South African rand sinks to 3-month low, bonds drop on violent protests

BUSINESS

OLIVIA KUMWENDA-MTAMBO and NQOBILE DLUDLA SOUTH Africa's rand dropped to a three-month low on Tuesday and local and hard currency bonds suffered as violent protests over economic hardship and inequality rippled across the country. Crowds clashed with police and ransacked or set ablaze shopping malls, with dozens of people reported killed as grievances unleashed by the jailing of ex-president Jacob Zuma boiled over into the worst violence in years. The protests rattled financial markets in the continent's most industrialised economy, with the rand dropping as much as 1.8% to 14.67 against the dollar, its lowest level since mid-April. The currency…

Jul

11

2021

By The African Mirror

G20 signs off on tax crackdown, warns on virus variants

BUSINESS

DAVID LAWDER and LEIGH THOMAS FINANCE chiefs of the G20 large economies have endorsed a landmark move to stop multinationals shifting profits to low-tax havens at talks where they will also warn that coronavirus variants threaten the global economic recovery. They also acknowledged the need to ensure fair access to vaccines in poorer countries. But a draft communique to be rubber-stamped at the meeting in the Italian city of Venice did not contain specific new proposals on how to do that. The tax deal was set to be the biggest fresh policy initiative emerging from their talks. It caps eight…

Jul

15

2021

By The African Mirror

The cost of looting in SA: R7 to R10-billion, counting…

BUSINESS

CLAIMS for damage and theft from businesses affected by civil unrest in South Africa are likely to be between R7- billion rand and R10-billion rand, the head of the only insurer covering political violence in the country told Reuters. Days of riots and looting have left more than 70 people dead, hurt thousands of businesses and damaged major infrastructure in some of the worst civil unrest in decades. Triggered by the jailing of ex-president Jacob Zuma last week after he failed to appear at a corruption inquiry, it has widened into an outpouring of anger over poverty and inequality. Sasria,…

Apr

07

2021

By The African Mirror

How Nigerian banks empower women through corporate social responsibility

BUSINESS

BUSINESSES are part of societies and successful businesses can create an environment that benefits their customers, employees, communities and shareholders. They do this through various forms of corporate social responsibility, based on the idea that businesses should “strive to make a profit, obey the law, be ethical and be a good corporate citizen”. EMMANUEL MOGAJI, Senior Lecturer in Advertising and Marketing Communications, University of Greenwich The benefits of corporate social responsibility practices for businesses include enhanced reputation, legitimacy and customer loyalty. But these practices are not just marketing to make businesses look good. They are also a way to develop…

Jul

15

2021

By The African Mirror

Africa’s growth mints more dollar millionaires

BUSINESS

SETH ONYANGO, BIRD NEWSROOM AFRICA'S steady economic growth and fast-growing population is churning out an ever-expanding crop of dollar millionaires, despite a low of 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, and Morocco have the highest number of High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs), each of whom has a minimum of 1 million US dollars worth of assets. The aforementioned countries, combined, have 73,900 individuals worth one million dollars or more – South Africa (36, 500), Egypt (15, 500), Nigeria (9, 100), Kenya (8, 300) and Morocco (4, 500) according to Statista. Mauritius followed…

Apr

09

2021

By The African Mirror

Kim Kardashian is now a self-made female billionaire. Here are 5 more on the short list

BUSINESS

LIN TAYLOR REALITY television star, entrepreneur and now self-made billionaire - Kim Kardashian has for the first time been included on Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s billionaires. Forbes said it estimated that Kardashian, 40, "is now worth $1 billion, up from $780 million in October, thanks to two lucrative businesses - KKW and Skims - as well as cash from reality television and endorsement deals, and a number of smaller investments." In February, Whitney Wolfe Herd became the youngest female self-made billionaire after shares of her company, the dating app Bumble, made their stock market debut. The 31-year-old founder…

Jul

09

2021

By The African Mirror

Thriving: Africa’s $31-billion made-for-Africa fashion market

BUSINESS

SETH ONYANGO FROM Ankara shoes to kitenge dresses, to kente and other tribal fabric patterns — Africans are wearing African, as the continent’s apparel market shifts and grows. More Africans are embracing their cultural heritage through fashion than ever before, with the continent's vibrant styles increasingly showcased "at home" on the African continent as well as on the world stage. Euromonitor estimates the continent’s clothing and footwear market is now worth more than 31 billion US dollars and growing, nurturing a new crop of home-grown African designers keen to wrestle the market from importers of cheap and second-hand clothes. From…

Apr

08

2021

By The African Mirror

What happens when women run the economy? We’re about to find out

BUSINESS

ANDREA SHALAL WOMEN now hold many of the jobs controlling the world's largest economy - and they're trying to fix it. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and trade czar Katherine Tai hold top jobs in U.S. President Joe Biden's administration and many of his economic advisers also are women, as are nearly 48% of his confirmed cabinet-level officials. This sea change may already be affecting economic policy - a new $2.3 trillion spending plan introduced by Biden last week includes $400 billion to fund the "care economy," supporting home- and community-based jobs taking care of kids and…

Apr

08

2021

By The African Mirror

IMF says more vaccine spending is fastest way to shore up public finances

BUSINESS

DAVID LAWDER THE COVID-19 pandemic will continue to swell global public debt in 2021, but spending more money to accelerate vaccinations is the fastest way to start to normalize government finances, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday. The IMF said in its 2021 Fiscal Monitor report that if faster global vaccinations bring the virus under control sooner, more than $1 trillion in additional global tax revenue could be collected through 2025 in advanced economies. If that same upside scenario in the Fund's economic forecasts materializes, global GDP output could increase by $9 trillion during the same period as businesses…

Apr

07

2021

By The African Mirror

New IMF reserves could fund vaccinations for low and middle-income countries – report

BUSINESS

ANDREA SHALAL MOVES to bolster the IMF's emergency reserves could provide the $44 billion needed to vaccinate 70% of the population in lower- and middle-income countries by the end of 2022, at no added cost to rich countries, a new Rockefeller Foundation report finds. Finance officials from the Group of 20 major economies are expected to back a $650 billion new allocation of the International Monetary Fund's Special Drawing Rights (SDR) this week to help countries cope with the pandemic and its economic fallout. Vaccination rates and economic development are diverging widely across the globe, according to the IMF and…