Interview: Mike Brown What impact will rising interest rates have on the South African banking sector? MIKE BROWN: For a long period of time the South African banking system and the “big four” banks in particular have been remarkably resilient, generating earnings growth in good times and bad times. The challenge now is how to continue to grow earnings in a slower growth domestic environment…
Interview: Nhlanhla Nene What financing mechanisms can be utilised to enhance revenues and narrow the budget deficit? NHLANHLA NENE: South Africa’s fiscal policy focuses on revenue enhancement and expenditure sustainability. As noted in the 2015 budget speech, we are operating in a constrained fiscal environment and as such our fiscal programme seeks to stabilise debt growth and restore fiscal…
Interview:Lesetja Kganyago To what extent are inflationary pressures driven by exogenous rather than domestic factors? LESETJA KGANYAGO: A combination of external and internal factors impact inflation in South Africa, which influences monetary policy decisions. In 2015 the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meetings consistently highlighted that risks to the inflationary outlook would come from…
Interview:Stephen van Coller How are current challenges facing the world’s capital markets affecting South Africa? STEPHEN VAN COLLER: Generally speaking our capital markets have done well due to a global glut of liquidity caused by factors such as previous quantitative easing (QE) by the US, present QE by Europe and low interest rates. Investors are chasing yield, which is most likely to…
Interview: DonnaOosthuyse The JSE has performed well over the past year in spite of muted macroeconomic growth. To what do you attribute this divergence? DONNA OOSTHUYSE: The perceived disconnect between the performance of the economy and that of the country’s capital markets can be attributed to many factors. First, it is important to note that the level of development in the capital markets…
Interview:Thabo Dloti How would you evaluate South Africa’s transition to a “Twin Peaks” approach thus far? THABO DLOTI: The South African insurance industry is coping well with the introduction of the new regulatory regime. The transition to a Twin Peaks model of oversight was introduced early enough that much has been done to prepare the industry. The new approach will see the South…
Interview:Norman Mbazima What factors are driving the iron ore industry? NORMAN MBAZIMA: The iron ore industry is experiencing its toughest period in some time. Prior to 2014, when prices started plummeting, it was performing quite well. Now, everyone in the industry is scrambling to reduce their cost per tonne and stay afloat. The seaborne iron ore market constitutes about 1.3bn tonnes, of…
Interview:Andre de Ruyter What factors are driving demand for packaging products across markets in Africa? ANDRE DE RUYTER: In common with the rest of the continent, South Africa’s rising middle class has led to increased demand for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) that require packaging, which tends to be correlated with consumer demand and spending. We have seen strong, sustained growth…
Interview: Mark Lamberti Which infrastructure corridors offer most potential for boosting regional cross-border activity? MARK LAMBERTI: For the region to grow and thrive there needs to be very efficient transport infrastructure in place. Along with free trade areas, a strong Customs regime and good border management, the tools will then be in place to boost cross-border activity. The tripartite…
Interview: Brian Molefe To what extent can power purchase agreements help improve the overall availability of supply? BRIAN MOLEFE: Eskom’s generation fleet has not been performing at optimal levels and therefore is not producing the power needed to meet rising demand. This, coupled with delays in new power plants coming on-line, has led to limited capacity. This required load shedding on a few…
