Cape Times 2025-11-20

The Fiscal Service Commission (FCC) has urged National Treasury to urgently pursue proactive debt restructuring, arguing that South Africa is missing a rare window of opportunity created by sharply lower government bond yields. Briefing Parliament on the recently tabled Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), FCC head of research Chen-Wei Tseng said the yield on the 10-year government bond has dropped from a peak of 11% to 8.67%. He said this signals that investors now perceive lower sovereign risk, and that government could potentially refinance its debt at a significantly lower cost. Chen-Wei said Treasury could now possibly borrow the same amount as before but costing less, however, warned that such savings do not materialise automatically. "But it does not happen automatically. It needs active market engagement. It's not an easy…

Economists remain optimistic that the South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) will cut interest rates from 7.00% to 6.75% per annum when the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meets on Thursday, despite consumer inflation rising to its highest level in more than a year. Data from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on Wednesday showed that annual headline consumer inflation rate accelerated for the second month in a row to 3.6% in October, from 3.4% in September. Though this inflation reading was below analysts' estimates of 3.7%, it was the highest inflation print since September 2024 when the rate was 3.8%. Stats SA chief director of price statistics, Patrick Kelly, said the latest increase was driven largely by transport, recreation and culture, alcoholic beverages and tobacco, as well as housing, food and non-alcoholic…

Parastatal is owed at least R105 billion in municipal arrear debt as at the end of September Eskom has warned that rising municipal debt remains a major stumbling block to improving its credit ratings, delaying its ability to re-enter capital markets without relying on government guarantees. At the end of September, Eskom was owed at least R105 billion in municipal arrear debt despite the National Treasury's intervention for municipal debt elimination, as this contributes to the power utility’s weak balance sheet. Briefing Parliament on its first-quarter performance for 2025/26 on Wednesday, the State-owned utility currently rated sub-investment grade by Fitch and Moody’s said ratings agencies remain unconvinced that Eskom is making meaningful progress in resolving municipal arrears. Eskom chief financial officer, Calib Cassim, said the agencies consistently cite municipal debt…

Transnet on Wednesday celebrated a major milestone in its fleet renewal programme as the 200th Traxx 23E locomotive was completed at its Durban manufacturing facility. The locomotive forms part of the 240-unit order that Transnet is building to modernise and expand its freight rail fleet. This as Transnet Engineering positions itself to become a leading Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for the continent. Group CEO Michelle Phillips and Transnet board chairperson Andile Sangqu attended the ceremony, hailing the achievement as a turning point for the State-owned logistics company. Sangqu said the board had committed earlier this year to return to Durban once the 200th locomotive was rolled out. “It really gives me great pleasure to witness the launch of the 200th locomotive, which marks a significant milestone in our effort as…

South Africa’s R1 trillion infrastructure plan could help give the economy the boost it urgently needs. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said during the most recent budget speech that government’s fiscal plan will direct more resources to infrastructure. “We will ensure that our goal of public sector investment in infrastructure exceeds the R1 trillion mark over the next three years,” said Godongwana. Michelle Green, credit analyst and chairman of the ESG Committee at Prescient Investment Management, said if this “bold ambition” is realised, it “will translate into a series of transformative projects”. Green noted that these projects will be across energy, water, student housing, internet infrastructure and logistics hubs. Godongwana told Parliament that government will push for private investment through public:private partnerships. “We are leveraging public resources to mobilise private finance…

For the past decade, South Africa has felt like a country stuck in slow motion: growth barely above population growth, load-shedding as a national pastime, and investors treating us like the problem child of emerging markets. That narrative is now cracking — and 2025 is the year the crack becomes a breakthrough. Think of it as the moment the crow in Aesop’s fable finally feels the water touch its beak. After years of dropping stone after painful stone — unglamorous, unpopular, grinding reforms — the level is rising fast enough for everyone to see. And when markets see momentum, they don’t walk. They sprint. The evidence is no longer scattered or incremental; it is converging into a single, powerful signal: South Africa is becoming investable again. Start with the headline…