NEW YORK/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – China Petroleum and Chemical Corp (Sinopec) is nearing an agreement to buy a majority stake in Chevron Corp’s South African assets, which are estimated to be worth $1 billion, two people familiar with the transaction said. The sources said Sinopec, Asia’s largest oil refiner, was the last bidder remaining, and close […]

In one week Florence Mudzivo’s life has changed radically for the better… thanks to knocking on the right door (and to hard work, perseverance and the kindness of South Africans!). The 53-year-old Zimbabwean widow sadly lost her husband in 2011 and was left alone to single-handedly provide for her four children and one grandchild. With […]

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s BT has appointed Jan du Plessis, chairman of miner Rio Tinto as its next chairman, taking over from Mike Rake who has led the telecoms group for 10 years. BT said on Thursday that du Plessis would join its board as a non-executive director on June 1, and become chairman on […]

Brand South Africa is in Australia on a “charm offensive” to woo South African expats living ‘down under’ – who are apparently the most negative about SA – to rather fly the flag for South Africa and become ambassadors for their former homeland… Brand SA – which is responsible for promoting a positive reputation for […]

A Sky News investigation in the Democratic Republic of Congo has found children as young as four not only working, but working under extremely dangerous conditions… to mine cobalt, an essential ingredient in lithium ion batteries used in smart phones and laptops. Eight-year-old Dorsen tells Sky his mother is “already dead and I have to work […]

Traffic in and around Pretoria, South Africa, ground to a virtual halt this morning as truck drivers made their way to Marabastad, ahead of a protest march to the Union Buildings. The truckers, reportedly contracted to Eskom to carry coal, are protesting against the implementation of renewable energy projects and requesting it be slowed down. Eskom […]

North West government to start donkey production programme… Writes Kimon de Greef A Johannesburg businessman was arrested this week after falsely declaring a shipment of 300 donkey hides at OR Tambo airport. Investigators suspect that the man, a Chinese national, is the leader of a local donkey smuggling ring. Gelatin from donkey hides is used to […]

CAPE TOWN – Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has proposed a new personal income tax bracket for those earning salaries of above R1.5 million. In tabling his Budget Speech 2017, in the National Assembly on Wednesday, Gordhan basically said “those who earn more must pay more”. The Minister has also proposed an increase in the dividend withholding […]

Many see the decision by South Africa’s governing African National Congress (ANC) to send the disgraced former CEO of the power utility Eskom to parliament as the precursor to another attack on the National Treasury and to remove finance minister Pravin Gordhan. The decision to give Brian Molefe a seat in the country’s parliament has […]

The South African Rand has raced to its highest in almost 20 months, in a six-day winning streak (its longest since September), following positive sentiment towards emerging market currencies. It comes on the same day that the SA Competition Commission announces that 17 banks will be prosecuted for price-fixing. Of the Rand’s high today Bloomberg said […]

South Africa’s Minister of Science and Technology, Grace Naledi Mandisa Pandor, has been chosen by the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to receive the 2016 Award for Science Diplomacy… for using science and technology to support development in SA and sub-Saharan Africa. Pandor (63) is being honoured by AAAS not only for integrating science […]

South African expat Roelof Botha has been promoted to become a ‘steward’ of one of Silicon Valley’s most successful venture capitalist firms – Sequoia, famous for investing in companies like Apple, PayPal and WhatsApp. Botha is already well known for not only being the grandson of South Africa’s former Foreign Minister ‘Pik’ Botha (and son of […]

The publication of the preliminary report by the public protector on the money Absa was supposed to owe the state was an absolute game changer in South African politics. The “leaking” of the report was a stroke of genius by the Zuma/Gupta/state security complex that has been trying very hard for months now to steer […]

South Africans have long LOVED Nando’s for its brilliantly conceived advertising campaigns… let alone its tasty peri-peri chicken. And now Americans are catching on quickly too with the fast food restaurant chain’s latest political statement even making it yesterday to the pages of esteemed national newspaper, The Washington Post. Nando’s grabbed attention – and customers – in Washington […]

PRETORIA – Stakeholders in the business process services (BPS) sector in the United Kingdom have agreed to set up a technical working group with the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) to enhance South Africa’s value proposition. The decision was taken in a meeting that the Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies, hosted with BPS […]

PRETORIA – Van der Merwe & Associates, lawyers for Oakbay Investments, submitted an affidavit to the High Court in Pretoria Friday in response to the October application by Pravin Gordhan, South Africa’s Minister of Finance. Update: Oakbay lawyer, Gert van der Merwe, has given a video interview on the explosive affidavit – see below. Gordhan’s application […]

A lack of jobs in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, led Thoko Njemla, 51,a former receptionist to take up beekeeping 15 years ago. Today she employs five people from her village and harvests tonnes of honey every year. Njemla lives in a small village called Ndungwana just a few kilometres from Mthatha. She left her […]

A 2010 presidential project intended to house shack dwellers in the south of Johannesburg is mired in corruption and wholesale land theft, with hundreds of residents cheated out of houses they paid for… writes CIARAN RYAN. Those who have attempted to get to the bottom of the theft have been threatened and, in one case, […]

In a country in which wine making is still predominantly a white, largely male profession, South Africa’s first black woman winemaker, Ntsiki Biyela, is a pioneer: her latest achievement, the creation of her own brand, Aslina. Biyela is no novice to wine making, having brought accolades to red wine producer Stellekaya for the past 13 […]

LONDON (Reuters) – Moody’s is likely to make key rating calls on Britain, China and South Africa among others this year as rising political risk and debt levels push the number of countries on a downgrade warning back to a record high. From Europe’s Brexit strains and looming elections to the battles of China, South […]

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has warned taxpayers and corporate organisations to be on the lookout for scams and fraudulent activities over the festive period. “The South African Revenue Service has noted several scams, including the issuing of fake third party appointment (AA88) notices to companies, the unauthorised use of its logo as well […]

Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies has welcomed the R150-million Chinese investment at the Dube Trade Port which will build local capacity in the manufacturing of fibre optic cables and generate employment opportunities for locals. Yangtze Optics Africa Cable  is a R150-million investment to set up and operate a modern optical fibre cable manufacturing plant […]

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, is in South Africa on a two-day visit to showcase the UK’s commitment to forming even stronger global ties with SA… as the UK prepares to leave the EU. The Chancellor said: “As we leave the EU, Britain’s future prosperity depends on maintaining the strongest possible economic links with our European neighbours, […]

There’s a new building in town – and it’s impossible to ignore. Shiny, shimmering, sexy and super-cool – South Africans are going crazy over the new Sasol global headquarters in Sandton, Johannesburg. According to Betapoint, Sasol’s strategic real estate advisory and implementation partner, the 67,000 square meter development consolidates Sasol’s previous 11 properties, which were spread […]

The whole economically-aware population of South Africa is celebrating that the three main ratings agencies held off on junking the country’s financial reputation in the past two weeks. I am celebrating too. But a closer look is needed. The statement by Standard & Poors – more strict than Fitch and Moody’s – lacked logic and […]