21 May 2013

Manufacturing

Cloaks without daggers?

Minister of State Security Siyabonga Cwele says that a solid case is being built against South Africans suspected of having links with terrorist groups such as Al-Shabaab; arrests can be expected soon. In passing, however, he also mentioned that the government wants to recruit more spies. That begs the question for some: what for? It also makes some people wonder... given the fact that we have an air force that cannot fly many of its aircraft, and an army that ... well ... hasn't fared too well recently, and a navy that has its subs up on blocks, will our budding 007s be properly trained and equipped to do the job? Or will it be a case of cloaks without daggers.

Durban says, "Yes, we iCANN!" and the city's exclusive internet namespace .durban is on its way after passing its first ICANN hurdle.

One wedding and a whitewash? Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Jeff Radebe has said that the probe into the Waterkloof incident is to continue. However, a number of commentators believe that the so-called "probe" is little more than a whitewash to protect Jacob Zuma and an assortment of cabinet ministers, with officials taking the heat in their stead.

There's nothing like trying to get the message across... the WWF and TRAFFIC are targeting rhino horn consumers, particularly in Vietnam, as part of their global campaign against illegal wildlife trade. The bodies have developed a series of advertisements to discourage Vietnamese citizens from buying or consuming rhino horn.

Well, good luck and we hope it works, but in the meantime, efforts to stop the poaching must be stepped up, the kingpins be arrested and sentenced to rot in jail, and perhaps local communities around our game reserves be involved in some sort of system that rewards them for reporting suspect activities and people in their areas.

Rod Baker, Content Director

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Weekly top stories

Mondi to shut plants, cut costs
Cutting costs is a hallmark of packaging and paper group Mondi and over the longer term it has paid off, as could be seen in its recent upbeat interim management statement. Read more >>
Quick fix? Not for Astrapak
AngloGold's focus on cutting costs
[Allan Seccombe]


Editorial news

Manufacturing
SA tooling, manufacturing conference to tackle revival challenge
South Africa's tooling and manufacturing sectors are aggressively tackling skills challenges and modernising and growing their operations, with a view to taking on global manufacturing giants. Read more >>

CGCSA hosts business breakfast at SAITEX
The Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) will be hosting a business breakfast at SAITEX, the Southern African International Trade Exhibition, with the theme "Taking Your Business into Africa". Read more >>


Manufacturing
Eskom becomes a farmer (of wind)
The National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) has granted Eskom a licence for its Sere wind farm in the Western Cape, the power parastatal said on Monday (20 May). Read more >>

Barloworld's share earnings up 31%
[Mark Allix] Barloworld‚ a diversified industrial group‚ saw revenue rise 11%‚ operating profit increase 14% and headline earnings per share shoot up 31% for the interim period that ended in March. Read more >>

Illegal strike resolved at MBSA
Striking workers at the Mercedes-Benz plant in East London are expected to return to work on Tuesday (21 May), the company said in a statement. Read more >>

Income from food, drinks up 9.4%
The total income generated by the food and beverages sector in SA increased in nominal terms (current prices) by 9.4% year-on-year (y/y) in March‚ Statistics SA (Stats SA) data showed on Monday (20 May). Read more >>

Challenges face Pioneer this year
[Zeenat Moorad] Trading across Pioneer Food's product categories is expected to be challenging for the rest of the year as consumer spending remains constrained‚ the company‚ which reported its half-year results on Monday (20 May)‚ said. Read more >>

Oceana keen to 'hook' a big one
Perennially profitable fishing company Oceana could be angling for an offshore acquisition. Read more >>

Quick fix? Not for Astrapak
Astrapak optimists are betting heavily on the new chief executive Robin Moore's ability to restore the troubled packaging firm to health. Reflecting this confidence, Astrapak is trading on a 75,5 price:earnings ratio despite a 61% fall in headline earnings per share for the year to February and a 90% fall in earnings over the past three years. Read more >>

Mondi to shut plants, cut costs
Cutting costs is a hallmark of packaging and paper group Mondi and over the longer term it has paid off, as could be seen in its recent upbeat interim management statement. Read more >>

SA motor trade sales up 5.1%
Measured at current prices‚ South Africa's motor trade sales increased by 5.1% year-on-year in March according to data released by Statistics SA on Thursday (16 May). Read more >>

Broiler producers roasted by low margins
[Edward West] Sovereign Food Investments‚ which has operations in the struggling broiler industry‚ lifted headline earnings 10% to 74.5c per share for the year to February due to a more profitable product mix‚ good agricultural and production numbers and a focus on cost controls. Read more >>

Coface report highlights strain on SA's growth
The Coface Group, a worldwide leader in credit insurance, has released its latest report on South African growth prospects, taking into account the mining and export slumps. Overall, economic activity remains generally sluggish while upside risks to inflation have increased due to a weaker rand. Coface believes that this will persuade the Monetary Policy Committee to keep policy neutral over an extended period, with interest rates remaining unchanged for most of 2013. A reversal in policy easing is likely only late in the year or even in 2014. Read more >>

Sasol plastic prices "too high" says Lebi
[Amanda Visser] An exponential increase in imports of household plastic products over the past few years and the high domestic prices of polypropylene have been hampering the competitiveness of one of SA's larger manufacturers, Usabco‚ which owns the Addis brand. Read more >>

Warehouse profits reach R243,3m
[Zeenat Moorad] Holdsport‚ which owns the Sportsmans Warehouse and Outdoor Warehouse on Wednesday (15 May) said the current retail environment is challenging and the group does not envisage any improvement in its performance during the remainder of the year. Read more >>

Retail sales rise marginally
[Ntsakisi Maswanganyi] The expected slowdown in retail sales in March was confirmed when Statistics SA (Stats SA) released its official figures on Wednesday (15 May). Read more >>

SOEs exploring set-asides for small firms, black industrialists
Minister of Public Enterprises Malusi Gigaba is considering putting in place set-asides from the growing procurement spend of state-owned enterprises for small businesses and black industrialists to help transform the economy. Read more >>

Maersk profits, sales fall 33%
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK: Danish conglomerate A.P. Moeller-Maersk reported a drop in net profit and sales in the first quarter of 33% and blamed its performance on the sluggish economies in North America and Europe. Read more >>

AngloGold's focus on cutting costs
[Allan Seccombe] AngloGold Ashanti is gearing up to sell a second mine as the company deepens its focus on delivering value to shareholders in a difficult gold market‚ new chief executive Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan said on Monday (13 May). Read more >>


International
Climate change warnings may be invalid
PARIS: A global warming "pause" over the past decade may invalidate the harshest climate change predictions for the next 50 to 100 years, a study said on Sunday (19 May) - though levels remain in the danger zone. Read more >>

China warns EU to drop telecom probe, solar panel tax
BEIJING, CHINA: China has warned the European Union against escalating bilateral trade disputes, urging Brussels to drop plans to probe Chinese telecom products and impose hefty taxes on its solar panels. Read more >>

Egyptians want to ban booze sales
CAIRO, EGYPT: Egypt's liquor stores are under growing pressure to stop selling alcohol, they say, but the pressure is not from the country's Islamist government, but from society itself. Read more >>

Dell's profits crash by 79%
NEW YORK, USA: US computer company Dell said last week its quarterly profits plunged 79% from a year ago, as a shift away from personal computers hammered the company's bottom line. Read more >>

Glencore Xstrata axes Bond
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND - The chairman of newborn mining and commodities giant Glencore Xstrata, John Bond, was on Thursday (16 May) axed by its annual general meeting, just weeks after the Swiss-based group was created via a merger of two major mining companies. Read more >>

Sony urged to sell entertainment unit
TOKYO, JAPAN: Sony shares rose on Wednesday (15 May) after a US hedge fund called for the partial sell-off of its entertainment unit, in a rare bid by a major foreign shareholder to penetrate Japan's staid corporate culture. Read more >>

Ranbaxy sold adulterated drugs in US
WASHINGTON, USA: American authorities said on Monday (13 May) that a US$500m fine would be imposed on Indian generic pharmaceutical manufacturer Ranbaxy after it pleaded guilty to selling adulterated drugs in the United States. Read more >>

Bangladesh garment factories to close
DHAKA, BANGLADESH: Hundreds of Bangladeshi garment factories are to close indefinitely after worker unrest sparked by last month's collapse of a nine-storey building, the textile industry's main body said on Monday (13 May). Read more >>

More International...


Government
Hydrogen fuel cells to be made in SA
Government is aiming to drive up demand for platinum by developing hydrogen fuel cell technology, Science and Technology Minister Derek Hanekom said on Thursday (16 May). Read more >>

Public Enterprises wins Treasury battle
[Nicky Smith] A six-month battle between the Treasury and the Department of Public Enterprises over the empowerment and local content weighting in Transnet's R35bn acquisition of new locomotives has ended with the Treasury agreeing to let the tender go unchanged. Read more >>

More Government news...


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2013 Biz Trends Report

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