Flash Briefing: Covid-19 roll-out is a farce - politicians; petrol price hike looms; interest rate risk; MTN, Vodacom

Loading player...
* The ANC government is trying to spin it otherwise, but there is no national rollout by government, says Steenhuisen. The only roll out so far has been the expansion of the Johnson & Johnson trials, run by trial scientists around existing trial sites, using other countries’ leftover J&J trial vaccines, he says.
* Coca-Cola is weighing options for its bottling business in Africa, including a sale or initial public offering, reports Bloomberg.
* South Africa’s rising long term bond yields and the related cost of government borrowing remain a concern, ratings firm S&P Global said in its second quarter economic outlook for emerging markets.
* The Automobile Association (AA) says it expects a further hefty hike in fuel prices in April with 95 ULP heading into record territory when the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy makes the official adjustment next Wednesday.
* South Africa opened up a telecommunications contract to supply 1.2 million government employees, allowing arch rivals MTN Group Ltd. and Vodacom Group Ltd. to share in the state business, says Bloomberg
* South Africa’s trade surplus widened to about R29 billion rand in February from a revised surplus of about R12.5 billion in January, data from the revenue service showed on Wednesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
31 Mar 2021 11AM English South Africa Investing · Business News

Other recent episodes

BizNews Edge: Stranger than fiction - Jooste's consigliere meets ET-type end

Today's BizNews Edge covers three stories that cut to the heart of South African business and politics. John Steenhuisen has broken publicly with the DA, naming Geordin Hill-Lewis and Tony Leon in allegations that threaten serious damage to the party just months before the 2026 municipals. Prosus, once a byword…
29 Jun 8AM 24 min

Criminalising corporate silence with Wendy Addison

South Africa's first high-profile whistleblower Wendy Addison is done talking shop. She's raised a criminal docket against a corporation and its directors for silencing two financial industry whistleblowers — and she thinks it could be a watershed moment. Can personal criminal accountability finally give whistleblower protection real teeth?
29 Jun 6AM 23 min

BN Daybreak: Strait of Hormuz showdown as US and Iran head back to Doha

Vessels are still threading the Strait of Hormuz, but a Bloomberg analyst calls it Schrodinger's Strait: you never know if it's open until you try to get through. With traffic down to a fraction of normal and ships taking hits, owners are weighing whether the world's most vital oil route…
29 Jun 12AM 15 min