{"id":859226,"date":"2026-05-05T13:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T11:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=859226"},"modified":"2026-05-05T14:02:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T12:02:22","slug":"1540-businesses-facing-insolvency-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/859226\/1540-businesses-facing-insolvency-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"1,540 businesses facing insolvency in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South Africa is expected to see business insolvencies reach 1,540 cases in 2026, and while this is a decline from the start of the decade, risks from the Iran War are extensive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is according to Allianz Trade’s latest Insolvency Report, which examines non-payment risks for corporates in 2026 and 2027. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world leader in trade credit insurance said that global business insolvencies will rise by 6% in 2026. This would result in a 5th\u00a0straight year of growing insolvencies worldwide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although global insolvencies are expected to plateau at a high level in 2027, a long conflict would amplify insolvency risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Middle East Crisis following the US and Israel’s attacks on Iran and the subsequent targets on the region’s energy supply have thrown global markets into turmoil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In South Africa, the crisis has led to a massive rise in fuel prices, a weakening of the rand, and a rise in risk-off sentiment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While talks between the US and Iran to end the conflict have been ongoing for several weeks, tensions remain high, especially about the Strait of Hormuz. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allianz said that the Middle East crisis has amplified volatility and uncertainty across energy markets, shipping costs and global supply chains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the immediate impact, the second-round effects point to accelerating inflation, tighter financial conditions, and a deterioration in business confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis situation is driving up costs across global value chains, from agrifood to manufacturing, healthcare and technology,” said Aylin Somersan Coqui, CEO of Allianz Trade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The combination of weaker demand, rising input costs and tighter financial conditions is straining companies with weak pricing power, thin margins, high debt levels or structurally higher working capital requirements.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz persists, second-order effects could further disrupt oil, gas, and other commodity supplies, including fertilisers and helium. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA sustained and widespread escalation would see global insolvencies increase by +10% in 2026 and +3% in 2027,” said Maxime Lemerle, Lead Analyst for insolvency research at Allianz Trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa ahead of the curve<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

South Africa is an interesting case: the nation has seen a gradual decline in business insolvencies, with 2026 expected to see a plateau ahead of the rest of the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allianz Trade said it expects the decrease in business insolvencies, which has been the trend since 2020, to continue softening and reach a plateau in 2026. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa recorded a 1% decrease in business insolvencies in 2025, a slower rate of decline compared to the -6% and -13% in 2024 and 2023, respectively. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Business insolvencies reached 1,534 cases in 2025, which was a new low level in a historical perspective. 2025’s data was 18% below the last 10-year average and 40% below the last 20-year average. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It said that the current environment, shaped by the Middle East conflict, will likely reverse the tailwinds that were in place in recent years, like interest rate cuts, lower fuel prices, and improved sentiment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allianz Trade expects business insolvencies to reach 1,540 cases in 2026 and 1,590 cases in 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile South Africa has benefited from a multi\u2011year decline in business insolvencies, the environment is clearly becoming more fragile,” said Luke Morawitz, Country Manager, Allianz Trade South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Global geopolitical tensions, particularly in the Middle East, are reversing some of the tailwinds that supported local businesses in recent years.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morawitz said that as cost pressures rise and financial conditions tighten, local companies will need to reassess their risk exposure and place greater focus on cash-flow resilience and credit risk management. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Allianz Trade’s latest Insolvency Report predicts over 1,500 insolvencies in South Africa in 2026, with the Iran War posing severe risks to the economy. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":859243,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-859226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/859226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=859226"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/859226\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":859246,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/859226\/revisions\/859246"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/859243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=859226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=859226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=859226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}