5 important things happening in South Africa today
·5 Mar 2024
Here’s what is happening in and affecting South Africa today:
- Sasfin’s legal woes could spread to other banks: SARS is suing Sasfin Bank for allegedly facilitating untaxed offshore payments with fake documents. The claim covers over half of Sasfin’s balance sheet and involves 19 companies, primarily linked to a tobacco mogul. Some of these companies had accounts with other South African banks, which may lead to further legal action. [amaBhungane]
- X snubs Competition Commission: X Corp has refused to take part in a public inquiry by South Africa’s competition authorities into how digital channels (like X, Facebook and Google) are affecting traditional media platforms and advertising revenues. X was one of 50 stakeholders invited by the Competition Commission but declined to participate, citing legal reasons. [BusinessDay]
- SAA sale secrets may be disclosed this week: The sale of South African Airways (SAA) for R51 to the Takatso Consortium is being kept secret by Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan. The details may be revealed in a parliamentary meeting on Wednesday, depending on legal advice and the relevance of the documents provided. [Moneyweb]
- South Africa’s debt troubles: The South African government is projected to have a deficit of R347 billion this year, leading to around R500 billion in new debt issuance to finance the deficit and refinance maturing debt. Although running a budget deficit is not a bad thing in itself, consistent deficits could result in a debt spiral where new debt is issued to cover existing debt. [Daily Investor]
- Markets: South Africa’s rand firmed slightly on Monday, ahead of GDP figures and a whole-economy purchasing managers’ index (PMI) survey. On Tuesday (5 March), the rand was trading at R19.07 to the dollar, R24.09 to the pound, and R20.70 to the euro. Oil is trading at $82.60 a barrel. [Reuters]
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