Gauteng Business 2023-24

OVERVIEW
Banking and financial services
Citibank is financing a major urban development.
The Sharpeville Memorial Garden falls within the area earmarked
for a major development.
A
grant of R200-million made available by Citibank for a
large infrastructure project in southern Gauteng has been
classified as an equity-equivalent investment, earning the
bank significant BEE credits.
The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) has
approved the amount, which forms part of a larger R1.3-billion
amount that the bank is providing in seed capital, as a type of
investment that exempts the bank from compliance with other
elements of BEE legislation.
The area between Vereeniging and Vanderbijlpark is being
developed as a major development node and plans for housing, an
airport, industry and logistics all form part of the intended project.
The Competition Tribunal has unconditionally approved
TymeBank’s purchase of Retail Capital, a fintech SMME funder,
Retail Capital.
TymeBank, which is majority owned by Patrice Motsepe’s
African Rainbow Capital, has been moving beyond its basic
banking model recently and this purchase indicates another
ONLINE RESOURCES
Association for Savings and Investment South Africa: www.asisa.org.za
Chartered Institute of Government Finance, Audit and Risk Officers:
www.cigfaro.co.za
Financial Sector Conduct Authority: www.fsca.co.za
SECTOR INSIGHT
Tyme is expanding.
broadening of the scope of the
bank’s ambitions. TymeBank
has also signed a deal with
TFG, a group that has a big
presence in Gauteng, to help it
expand its retail operations.
What used to be known
as the Foschini Group has 34
brands, including Markhams,
Totalsports, Jet and Dial a Bed,
and 30-million customers. In
the short term, TymeBank will
have access to 600 TFG kiosks,
taking the bank’s total in South
Africa to 1 450.
The flurry of new activity
in the financial sector has
slowed. Several new banks
and exchanges have been
launched in South Africa
since 2017, most of them in
Johannesburg. One of the
stock exchanges, 4AX, has
rebranded as the Cape Town
Stock Exchange and moved to
that city.
The launch by Sanlam
Investments of a Sustainable
Infrastructure Fund is a sign
of the times. In the context
of climate change caused
by the use of fossil fuels, the
investment community is
increasingly putting emphasis
on sustainability. Sanlam
Group will invest R6-billion in
the fund and aims to attract
a further R5-billion from
institutional investors. ■
PHOTO: GREENinc Landscape Architecture and Urbanism
25 GAUTENG BUSINESS 2023/24