South African Business 2023
A unique guide to business and investment in South Africa. Welcome to the 11th edition of the South African Business journal. First published in 2011, the publication has established itself as the premier business and investment guide to South Africa, supported by a website at www. southafricanbusiness.co.za. A special feature in this journal focusses on the importance of partnerships as the way forward for the country’s growing number of Special Economic Zones. There are now SEZs in eight provinces and collaboration between the private sector and government and its agencies is proving a crucial element in pursuing the goal of industrializing the South African economy. These zones intended as catalysts for economic growth in established sectors and in stimulating new industries. Regular pages cover all the main economic sectors of the South African economy and give a snapshot of each of the country’s provinces. The fact that South Africa’s law-enforcement agencies are arresting people alleged to have been involved in state capture and the Reserve Bank has started freezing assets in other matters leads the national overview because business can’t function properly without the rule of law. South African Business is complemented by nine regional publications covering the business and investment environment in each of South Africa’s provinces. The e-book editions can be viewed online at www.globalafricanetwork.com. These unique titles are supported by a monthly business e-newsletter with a circulation of over 35 000. Journal of African Business joined the Global African Network stable of publications as an annual in 2020 and is now published quarterly.
A unique guide to business and investment in South Africa. Welcome to the 11th edition of the South African Business journal. First published in 2011, the publication has established itself as the premier business and investment guide to South Africa, supported by a website at www. southafricanbusiness.co.za.
A special feature in this journal focusses on the importance of partnerships as the way forward for the country’s growing number of Special Economic Zones. There are now SEZs in eight provinces and collaboration between the private sector and government and its agencies is proving a crucial element in pursuing the goal of industrializing the South African economy. These zones intended as catalysts for economic growth in established sectors and in stimulating new industries.
Regular pages cover all the main economic sectors of the South African economy and give a snapshot of each of the country’s provinces. The fact that South Africa’s law-enforcement agencies are arresting people alleged to have been involved in state capture and the Reserve Bank has started freezing assets in other matters leads the national overview because business can’t function properly without the rule of law.
South African Business is complemented by nine regional publications covering the business and investment environment in each of South Africa’s provinces. The e-book editions can be viewed online at www.globalafricanetwork.com. These unique titles are supported by a monthly business e-newsletter with a circulation of over 35 000. Journal of African Business joined the Global African Network stable of publications as an annual in 2020 and is now published quarterly.
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Banking and financial services<br />
<strong>African</strong> Bank is on the acquisition trail.<br />
OVERVIEW<br />
Banking and financ<br />
<strong>African</strong> Bank has signalled that it is ready to grow, with SECTOR INSIGHT<br />
an agreement to buy Grindrod Bank and an R80-<br />
Advisory companies that<br />
million deal to purchase lender Ubank.<br />
enabled state capture are<br />
After going into administration in 2014, Mutual <strong>African</strong> banks facing have sanctions. been granted licences.<br />
Bank took some time to recover and is still half-owned by the<br />
Reserve Bank but it has materially added to its retail client<br />
base and the addition of more than 4.5-million clients with<br />
the purchase of the troubled Ubank, which had as its base<br />
mine workers, will further strengthen its position. The R1.5-<br />
billion purchase of Grindrod Bank gives <strong>African</strong> Bank a stronger<br />
position in business lending.<br />
Consulting company Bain & Company has been excluded<br />
from British government contracts for three years because of<br />
the role the company played in the evisceration of the <strong>South</strong><br />
<strong>African</strong> Revenue Service in the time of state capture. Although<br />
the Zondo Commission on state capture found that KPMG and<br />
McKinsey also enabled state capture, no such strictures have yet<br />
been applied by the <strong>South</strong> <strong>African</strong> government.<br />
Discovery Bank reported in June 2022 that it was signing up 750<br />
new clients every day which puts it on course to achieve more than<br />
600 000 customers by 2024. The bank, which launched in Ubank, 2019, has and with renewable a history energy, of catering a fast-tgrowing by the sector <strong>South</strong> with <strong>African</strong> enormous Reserve Bank<br />
minew<br />
already opened more than one-million accounts. Early in 2022, long-founterm insurer and asset manager Liberty delisted from the JSE and was unacceptable potential. Naspers Foundry is<br />
integrated into the Standard Bank Group.<br />
one of several capital investment adequacy funds<br />
ratio in May 20<br />
consequently placed under curatorship.<br />
The New Development Bank, established to fund infrastructure Teba Trust looking Fund, which for opportunities owns Ubank, in was activ<br />
projects in BRICS countries, had approved loans of $5.1-billion a strategic to investor the financial when sector. the curatorship Insurance was anno<br />
be spent in <strong>South</strong> Africa by July 2022. This included renewable administrators technology of the fund is are of the particular National Union of M<br />
energy projects and the Port of Durban upgrades. (NUM) and Minerals interest, Council together SA. One with of the credit banks being<br />
The launch by Sanlam Investments of a Sustainable Infrastructure the <strong>South</strong> <strong>African</strong> services arm and of Nigeria’s payment Access systems. Bank Group a<br />
Fund is a sign of the times. The <strong>South</strong> <strong>African</strong> state has promised Council SA remains Capital positive Appreciation, about the future which of the ban<br />
a huge infrastructure drive but in the context of climate change Despite the is collapse part-owned of VBS by Mutual the Public Bank in 2018, the<br />
caused by the use of fossil fuels, the investment community mutual banks is is Investment strong, given the Corporation, nature of the is <strong>South</strong> <strong>African</strong><br />
increasingly putting emphasis on sustainability. Sanlam Group Young will Women already in <strong>Business</strong> invested Network in a (YWBN) software has been gran<br />
invest R6-billion in the fund and aims to attract a further R5-billion bank licence and developer, Bank Zero also a intends credit to use card the mutual m<br />
from institutional investors. Investments will be made in housing, Tyme Digital payment went from terminal acquiring provider a licence and to runnin<br />
transport, health, water, waste, communication, conventional with energy services has available R500-million in more than available 500 Pick for n Pay and<br />
in less than two further years. investments. <strong>African</strong><br />
ONLINE RESOURCES<br />
Second to Rainbow market among Capital the has country’s a stake new in banks w<br />
the investment company and is<br />
Financial Sector Conduct Authority: www.fsca.co.za Bank, which officially launched in 2019 and is experie<br />
Insurance Institute of <strong>South</strong> Africa: www.iisa.co.za growth in retail the deposits. owner of Discovery TymeBank, Bank which is applying the<br />
<strong>South</strong> <strong>African</strong> Institute of Chartered Accountants: www.saica.co.za model it uses received in its health a banking business licence to in reward goo<br />
behaviour. The 2017 Discovery and expanding group is already rapidly. ■a giant on t<br />
ONLINE RESOURCES<br />
75 SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS <strong>2023</strong><br />
Financial Sector Conduct Authority: www.fsca.co.za<br />
Public Investment Corporation: www.pic.gov.za<br />
<strong>South</strong> <strong>African</strong> Reserve Bank: www.resbank.co.za
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