<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="5000" height="3216" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/LC3HNESUZFNFZJPY4WR2ZAA2BI.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-617773"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Electricity lights up the central business district of Cape Town, South Africa, June 18, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, May 6 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s private sector showed signs of stabilisation in April, emerging from a four-month downturn as sales picked up slightly and supply chains strengthened, a survey showed on Tuesday.



The S&amp;P Global South Africa Purchasing Managers&#8217; Index (PMI) rose to 50.0 in April, up from 48.3 in March. A PMI reading above 50 indicates growth, while below 50 points to a contraction.



This marks the first time since November 2024 that the index has reached the neutral mark, signalling a mild recovery in business conditions.



New orders, output and employment all moved into growth territory, albeit at a modest pace. New orders increased for the first time in five months, driven by larger client orders and successful marketing campaigns, although economic uncertainty continued to weigh on customer spending.



Supply chains improved notably, with suppliers&#8217; delivery times shortening for the first time since June 2023, aided by eased port congestion at Durban. This led to a modest rise in purchasing activity, the first in four months, as firms sought to replenish their inventories.



However, input price pressures intensified sharply, reaching an eight-month high, largely due to a weakening rand against the U.S. dollar.



&#8220;Volatility in the rand especially during the first half of April made its mark on prices,&#8221; said David Owen, senior economist at S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence.



Despite the better trends in activity, optimism for the year ahead dipped, with firms expressing concerns over domestic and international politics, Owen added.



(Reporting by Johannesburg newsroom; Editing by Toby Chopra)

LC3HNESUZFNFZJPY4WR2ZAA2BI

South African business activity stabilises as PMI hits neutral mark

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="410" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/108097078-17386832482025-02-04t144526z_1865597391_rc20l9alc6ia_rtrmadp_0_usa-trump-tariffs-ecommerce-820x410.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-617752" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/108097078-17386832482025-02-04t144526z_1865597391_rc20l9alc6ia_rtrmadp_0_usa-trump-tariffs-ecommerce-820x410.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/108097078-17386832482025-02-04t144526z_1865597391_rc20l9alc6ia_rtrmadp_0_usa-trump-tariffs-ecommerce-300x150.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/108097078-17386832482025-02-04t144526z_1865597391_rc20l9alc6ia_rtrmadp_0_usa-trump-tariffs-ecommerce-160x80.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/108097078-17386832482025-02-04t144526z_1865597391_rc20l9alc6ia_rtrmadp_0_usa-trump-tariffs-ecommerce-768x384.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/108097078-17386832482025-02-04t144526z_1865597391_rc20l9alc6ia_rtrmadp_0_usa-trump-tariffs-ecommerce.jpeg 884w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: via CNBC</figcaption></figure>



The closure of a trade loophole and prohibitive tariffs on China have upended Temu and Shein’s business model in the United States. And yet the e-commerce companies are likely to remain a dominant force in American online retailing, experts suggest.&nbsp;&nbsp;



On Friday, the de minimis rule — a policy that had exempted U.S. imports worth $800 from trade tariffs — officially closed for shipments from China. This has seen Temu and Shein exposed to duties as high as 120% or a flat fee of $100, set to rise to $200 in June.



The small-package tariff exemption had been key to the companies’ ability to maintain budget prices on the merchandise they ship from China. Now that it’s gone, prices on Temu and Shein have been surging, with the former ending direct shipments from outside the U.S. altogether. 



The change will be welcomed by many detractors of de minimis, among them U.S. lawmakers, labor unions and retailers, who have argued that Temu and Shein abused the exemption to undercut local businesses and flood the country with illicit and counterfeit products. 



But despite the new trade challenges that&nbsp;Temu and Shein face,&nbsp;e-commerce and supply chain experts told CNBC that the companies are still capable of competing with their rivals in the U.S.&nbsp;



“Don’t count them out &#8230; Not at all. These kinds of Chinese e-commerce apps are very adept and agile. They have contingency plans in place and have taken the necessary steps to cover the tariffs from a margin perspective,” said Deborah Weinswig, CEO and founder of Coresight Research.



“I personally believe, if anything, [America’s e-commerce] game has been accelerating in favor of Temu and Shein &#8230; I wouldn’t be surprised if the competitiveness gap actually continues to widen,” added Weinswig, whose research and advisory firm works with clients across tech, retail and supply chains.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-contingencies-in-place-nbsp"><a></a>Contingencies in place&nbsp;</h2>



The loss of the de minimis exemption had long been anticipated, with U.S. President Donald Trump temporarily closing it in February. In preparation, Temu and Shein had been accelerating localization strategies for the U.S.



Scott Miller, CEO of e-commerce consulting firm pdPlus, told CNBC that Shein and Temu will continue to onboard goods from American sellers onto their apps to protect them from tariffs.&nbsp;



“Many of the current sellers on Temu and Shein are located in China or countries nearby, but not all. Local U.S. companies have been joining these platforms at an accelerating pace &#8230; several of our clients have onboarded or began the process of onboarding in just the past few months,” he said.&nbsp;



While margins for more localized brands and sellers will be lower on the platforms than those shipping directly from China, they can be competitive, according to Miller.



He added that in the case of Temu, vendors are attracted to lower fees, lighter competition and greater assistance with onboarding and setting up sales channels compared with what Amazon offers.&nbsp;



In recent days, Temu, which is owned by Chinese e-commerce giant PDD Holdings, has begun exclusively offering goods shipped from local warehouses to U.S. shoppers.



Many of those goods are still sourced from China but then shipped in bulk to U.S. warehouses, according to experts. While these bulk items are subject to tariffs, they also benefit from economies of scale.&nbsp;



This development is likely to see the variety of products on Temu scaled back, said Henry Jin, an associate professor of supply chain management at Miami University. However, he added, Temu is likely to resume direct shipments from China, depending on the outcome of the trade war between Washington and Beijing.&nbsp;



Shein, meanwhile, has leaned into supply chain expansion, building manufacturing operations in countries such as Turkey, Mexico and Brazil, and reportedly plans to shift to Vietnam.



The company appears to still be shipping directly from China and likely has more room to absorb tariffs because of its “sky-high” margins in its core fast-fashion business, Jin said.



“If there’s one thing that Chinese companies are good at, it’s operating on a razor thin margin in an intensely competitive, if not adverse environment &#8230; they find every scrap that they can to survive,” he added.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Competitive prices?</h2>



Contingency plans aside, experts agree that Trump’s trade policy will continue to affect prices on Temu and Shein. The companies first announced they were raising prices in mid-April to counter tariffs.



According to data from Coresight, prices across shopping categories on Shein rose between 5% and 50% in the latter half of April, with the sharpest rises seen in toys and games and beauty and health.&nbsp;



However, many e-commerce experts remain confident that Temu and Shein will continue to prove price-competitive.&nbsp;



Coresight’s Weinswig said the two companies have previously been able to offer products at a third of the prices on Amazon for comparable goods. So, even if they more than double the prices to absorb the impacts of tariffs, many goods could remain cheaper than those on American e-commerce sites and retailers.&nbsp;



Jason Wong, who works in product logistics for Temu in Hong Kong, noted this dynamic when speaking to CNBC last month, likening Temu to a dollar store. If prices at the dollar store go from $1 to $2, it’s still a dollar store, he said.&nbsp;



Furthermore, Trump’s trade tariffs on China and other trade partners have also affected American retailers and e-commerce sites like Amazon. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Other advantages</h2>



When Forever 21 filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year, it blamed Shein and Temu’s use of the de minimis exemption, which it said “undercut” its business.&nbsp;



But experts say that exclusively attributing the success of Shein and Temu to that trade loophole misses many of the other factors that have made them smash hits in the U.S.



According to Anand Kumar, associate director of research at Coresight Research, Temu and Shein owe a lot of their success to their very agile supply chains that adapt fast to consumer trends.&nbsp;



For example, Shein’s small-batch production — in which product styles are initially launched in limited quantities, typically around 100-200 items — allows it to test and scale products efficiently.&nbsp;



Another key is the companies’ applications, which use various strategies to maintain user interest, including frequent phone notifications, product recommendation algorithms and perhaps most notably, constantly displaying discounted prices from promotions and flash sales.&nbsp;



Temu was offering a “mega savings extravaganza” for American consumers on Monday. Some of the bestselling items on sale included stainless steel hook earrings for $1.45 and a fitted mattress pad for $11.54. It’s unclear if the discounted local goods were stockpiled before tariffs came into effect.&nbsp;



In addition, app users will often be met with mini-games that grant different coupons or ways to earn rewards, as well as opportunities to buy “mystery boxes” with assorted products.



That “gamification strategy” definitely plays into the consumer psychology of many U.S. shoppers who often buy items out of the excitement of being able to get a great deal, said Miami University’s Jin.&nbsp;



Experts also flagged that Temu and Shein have been very effective at marketing, including through the harnessing of livestreaming and social media. 



On the other hand, according to Coresights’ Weinswig, American retailers have failed to adequately recognize threats from Temu and Shein and adjust their supply chains and pricing models.

108097078-17386832482025-02-04t144526z_1865597391_rc20l9alc6ia_rtrmadp_0_usa-trump-tariffs-ecommerce

Temu and Shein face massive tariffs. But don’t count them out of the U.S. e-tail scene, experts say

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="5000" height="3334" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/KL7PJSUB3BIZ3L2PC77XZFTHJ4.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-617503"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Delegates attend a hearing at the International Court of Justice for a case brought by Sudan to the World Court demanding emergency measures against the UAE and accusing the Gulf state of violating obligations under the Genocide Convention by arming paramilitary forces, in The Hague, Netherlands, April 10, 2025. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



THE HAGUE, May 5 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday dismissed Sudan&#8217;s case accusing the United Arab Emirates of fueling genocide in Darfur by supplying weapons to paramilitary forces, saying it lacked jurisdiction.



Sudan had argued before the U.N.&#8217;s top court last month that the UAE was violating the Genocide Convention by supporting paramilitary forces in Darfur, but the UAE said the case should be thrown out.



The court on Monday agreed with the UAE&#8217;s arguments, rejected Sudan&#8217;s request for emergency measures and ordered the case be removed from its docket.



Due to the lack of jurisdiction &#8220;the court is precluded by its statute from taking any position on the merits of the claims made by Sudan,&#8221; a summary of the ruling said.



The UAE hailed it as a legal victory.



&#8220;This decision is a clear and decisive affirmation of the fact that this case was utterly baseless. The court’s finding that it is without jurisdiction confirms that this case should never have been brought,&#8221; Reem Ketait, deputy assistant minister for political affairs at the UAE&#8217;s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.



&#8220;The facts speak for themselves: the UAE bears no responsibility for the conflict in Sudan. On the contrary, the atrocities committed by the warring parties are well-documented.&#8221;



By a vote of 14-to-two, the court threw out Sudan&#8217;s request for emergency measures to prevent genocidal acts against the Masalit tribe, which has been the focus of intense ethnic-based attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and allied Arab militias.



Sudan accuses the UAE of arming the RSF, which has been fighting the Sudanese army in a two-year-old civil war. The UAE denies the charge but some U.N. experts and U.S. lawmakers have found it credible.



The ICJ is the U.N.&#8217;s highest court that deals with disputes between states and violations of international treaties. Sudan and the UAE are both signatories of the 1948 Genocide Convention.



(Reporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten and Anthony Deutsch. Editing by Gareth Jones and Mark Potter)

KL7PJSUB3BIZ3L2PC77XZFTHJ4

World court dismisses Sudan’s genocide case against UAE over alleged Darfur interference

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="5000" height="3334" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/EVFY2VMEMRMSJOTLJGNLZRU6IQ.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-617425"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Eskom CEO Dan Marokane speaks to Reuters at the Eskom Head Office, in Johannesburg, South Africa June 28, 2024. REUTERS/Lelethu Madikane/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, May 5 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South African state utility Eskom said on Monday that it was optimistic about the power outlook over the southern hemisphere winter, aiming for no electricity cuts in the next four months if breakdowns stay around current levels.



Eskom&#8217;s difficulties supplying power to Africa&#8217;s biggest economy have curbed economic growth for more than a decade, but a turnaround in its plant performance last year saw no cuts for nine months, including throughout winter.



Chief Executive Dan Marokane told a briefing that Eskom expected there to be no electricity cuts until the end of August if unplanned outages remain below 13,000 megawatts, its base case.



If outages increase to 14,000 MW there would be one day of outages till the end of August, rising to 21 days if unplanned outages reach 15,000 MW.



Eskom had a nominal generating capacity of over 46,000 MW as of March 2024, mostly comprising coal plants, but it also operates a nuclear power station and some smaller plants that burn diesel or use water to generate electricity.



Marokane said the power system was in a more reliable position than in recent years.



He called the 14 days of power cuts in January-April this year a temporary setback and maintained electricity availability was improving.



Marokane added: &#8220;This year&#8217;s winter outlook prediction is built on an improvement in operational performance and overall efficiency.&#8221;



(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov. Editing by Alexander Winning and Mark Potter)

EVFY2VMEMRMSJOTLJGNLZRU6IQ

South Africa’s Eskom aiming for no power cuts for next four months

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="507" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/JFN5R5LQLJOE7L4Y2UY425AGMU.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-412065" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/JFN5R5LQLJOE7L4Y2UY425AGMU.jpg 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/JFN5R5LQLJOE7L4Y2UY425AGMU-300x190.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/JFN5R5LQLJOE7L4Y2UY425AGMU-142x90.jpg 142w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/JFN5R5LQLJOE7L4Y2UY425AGMU-768x487.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A 3D printed oil pump jack is seen in front of displayed stock graph and Opec logo in this illustration picture, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LONDON/DUBAI, May 3 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;OPEC+ has agreed to accelerate oil production hikes for a second consecutive month, raising output in June by 411,000 barrels per day, the group said on Saturday, despite falling prices and expectations of weaker demand.



Following an online meeting lasting just over an hour, the producer group announced the supply increase, saying the fundamentals of the oil market were healthy and inventories were low.



Oil prices fell to a four-year low in April below $60 per barrel after OPEC+ announced a bigger-than-expected production boost for May, and as U.S. President Donald Trump&#8217;s tariffs raised concerns of global economic weakness.



OPEC+ sources have said Saudi Arabia is pushing OPEC+ to accelerate the unwinding of earlier output cuts to punish fellow members Iraq and Kazakhstan for poor compliance with their production quotas.



The hikes also follow calls from Trump on OPEC+ to raise output. Trump will visit Saudi Arabia later in May.



In December, eight OPEC+ countries that have been implementing the group&#8217;s most recent output cut of 2.2 million bpd agreed to gradually phase it out in monthly increases of about 138,000 bpd from April 2025.



The June increase from the eight will take the total combined hike for April, May and June to 960,000 bpd, representing a 44% unwinding of the 2.2 million bpd cut, according to Reuters calculations.



Brent crude futures&nbsp;LCOc1&nbsp;lost more than 1% on Friday to $61.29 a barrel as traders braced for more oil from OPEC+.



Oil prices will fall on Monday due to the OPEC+ news amid trade tensions and concerns about economic growth, said UBS&#8217;s analyst Giovanni Staunovo.



&#8220;We continue to call this a &#8216;managed&#8217; unwind of cuts and not a fight for market share”, he said.



After his participation, Kuwait&#8217;s oil minister said the OPEC+ meeting on Saturday would significantly affect production policy formulation in the coming period.



Reuters reported this week that officials from Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of OPEC+, have briefed allies and industry officials that they are unwilling to prop up oil markets with further supply cuts.



&#8220;Compliance again appears to be the key focus, with Kazakhstan and Iraq continuing to miss their compensation targets, alongside Russia to a lesser extent,&#8221; said Helima Croft of RBC Capital Markets.



Kazakhstan defied OPEC+ this month when its energy minister said he will prioritise national interests over those of the OPEC+ group when deciding on oil production levels. Kazakhstan&#8217;s April oil output exceeded its OPEC+ quota despite a 3% fall.



OPEC+, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia, is still cutting output by almost 5 million bpd and many of the cuts are due to remain in place until the end of 2026. The group plans to hold a full ministerial meeting on May 28.



(Reporting by Alex Lawler, Maha El Dahan and Ahmad Ghaddar; Writing by Alex Lawler and Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Barbara Lewis and Frances Kerry)

JFN5R5LQLJOE7L4Y2UY425AGMU

OPEC+ agrees another accelerated oil output hike for June

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="720" height="480" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/QNXH2W24F5N4TBKD2Z4CF3FOSU.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-616628"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">SpaceX founder and Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks on a screen during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, June 29, 2021. REUTERS/Nacho Doce/ File Photo</figcaption></figure>



KINSHASA, May 2 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Democratic Republic of Congo said on Friday it had become the latest African country to grant a licence to tech billionaire Elon Musk&#8217;s Starlink and that the company would begin operations soon.



A unit of SpaceX, the satellite internet provider is rapidly expanding its services on the continent and is live in more than a dozen countries. It was granted licences by Somalia and Lesotho in April.



War-torn Congo has low connectivity, with just around 30% of the population using the internet as of 2023, according to the International Telecommunication Union.



The government had previously resisted allowing access to Starlink, with military officials warning it could be used by rebel groups including Rwandan-backed M23, which has seized more territory than ever before in the east of the country this year.



In March 2024, the Congolese Post and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said use of Starlink was banned and violators would face sanctions.



The same entity announced on Friday that the company had been given a licence and &#8220;will proceed with the launch of its services in the coming days.&#8221;



An official at the authority did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



Starlink is also trying to establish a presence in neighbouring Uganda. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said on Tuesday that he had a productive meeting with Starlink representatives.



(Reporting by Congo newsroom; Writing by Robbie Corey-Boulet; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

QNXH2W24F5N4TBKD2Z4CF3FOSU

Congo grants licence to Starlink, reversing earlier ban

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="640" height="425" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/FN6SHZMGJVMXJICANZS4G326BA.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-616284"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A general view shows the Tetra Pak factory floor in Durban, South Africa, April 4, 2024. REUTERS/Rogan Ward/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, May 2 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;A gauge of South African manufacturing sentiment dropped sharply in April, with survey respondents citing uncertainty linked to global trade tensions and local politics.



The seasonally-adjusted Purchasing Managers&#8217; Index (PMI) sponsored by South African bank Absa declined to 44.7 points in April from 48.7 in March.



It was the sixth straight month that the headline PMI has been below 50, reflecting a contraction in activity.



U.S. President Donald Trump&#8217;s April 2 &#8220;Liberation Day&#8221; tariff announcement ushered in sweeping duties on most imports to the United States, sparking a trade war with China and uncertainty for companies worldwide.



Trump later paused most of the steepest tariffs for 90 days, but economists say many businesses have been left in a state of paralysis.



In South Africa months of wrangling over the budget culminated in the finance minister scrapping a planned increase in value-added tax (VAT), meaning he will have to present a new budget next month.



&#8220;Global tariff developments and local political uncertainty because of the VAT saga and open disagreements within the government likely weighed on sentiment,&#8221; Absa said in a statement.



Other local factors dampening the mood included excessive rains and the return of scheduled power cuts.



(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov; Editing by Alexander Winning)

FN6SHZMGJVMXJICANZS4G326BA

South African factory mood sours sharply in April, Absa PMI shows

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="640" height="423" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/B6IT6UX6YZL43P46QXVFCGWBZA.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-616228"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A South African Rand is seen in this illustration picture taken October 30, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/Illustration/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, May 2 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The South African rand firmed in early trade on Friday, ahead of the release of a purchasing managers&#8217; index (PMI) survey for the local manufacturing sector.



At 0633 GMT, the rand was trading at 18.4375 against the dollar&nbsp;ZAR=D3, up roughly 0.5% on Thursday&#8217;s closing level.



The dollar index&nbsp;=USD&nbsp;was down about 0.3% on global markets, as investors awaited the U.S. non-farm payrolls report for an indication of when the Federal Reserve will resume cutting interest rates.



Rand traders are looking to South Africa&#8217;s April manufacturing PMI due for release around 0900 GMT to shed light on business conditions in Africa&#8217;s most industrialised economy.



The PMI has been in contractionary territory for the past five months, weighed down by strained South Africa-U.S. relations, power cuts and logistics bottlenecks.



April vehicle sales&nbsp;ZAVEHY=ECI&nbsp;figures are also expected around 1200 GMT.



South Africa&#8217;s benchmark 2030 government bond&nbsp;ZAR2030=&nbsp;was marginally stronger in early deals, with the yield down 2.5 basis points at 8.795%.



(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov; Editing by Alexander Winning and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

B6IT6UX6YZL43P46QXVFCGWBZA

South African rand firms before local manufacturing PMI

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="640" height="390" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Z7OUSBHECZMJVEHQT7G2AZVSQU-1.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-615600"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">South African Rand coins are seen in this illustration picture taken October 28, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/Illustration/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, April 30 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The South African rand slipped&nbsp;on&nbsp;Wednesday&nbsp;following mixed local economic data and&nbsp;as the dollar gained after data showed the U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter.



At&nbsp;1329 GMT, the rand traded at 18.62 against&nbsp;the dollar&nbsp;ZAR=D3, roughly 0.4% weaker than Tuesday&#8217;s closing level.



Domestic data showed South Africa recorded a trade surplus of 24.77 billion rand ($1.33 billion) in March, while the budget deficit stood at 13.11 billion rand in the same month.



The dollar=USD was last trading up about 0.25% against a basket of currencies, after a Commerce Department report showed U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) fell 0.3% in the first quarter.



The data was worse than market expectations, but better than the dire predictions touted by some of the biggest U.S. banks.



Earlier on Wednesday, South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana briefed reporters on the next steps for the local budget after he scrapped a fiercely-opposed increase in value-added tax and a court set aside parliament&#8217;s adoption of the fiscal framework.



He said a new budget would be presented on May 21, which would maintain a government focus on stabilising public debt.



Separately, central&nbsp;bank data showed private sector credit extension slowed slightly in March&nbsp;ZACRED=ECI&nbsp;to 3.45% year-on-year from 3.68% in February.



On the stock market, the Top-40&nbsp;.JTOPI&nbsp;index was last trading about 0.3% higher.



The benchmark 2030 government bond&nbsp;ZAR2030=&nbsp;was&nbsp;little changed,&nbsp;with the yield&nbsp;up 0.5 basis point at&nbsp;8.815%.



(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov and Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Alexander Winning, Sharon Singleton and Mark Heinrich)

Z7OUSBHECZMJVEHQT7G2AZVSQU

South Africa’s rand weakens after mixed local data, US GDP dip

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="640" height="427" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/3GWHJ24G6BNGHDPVWY36IOPFFQ.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-615524"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">South Africa&#8217;s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana speaks during his 2023 budget speech in Cape Town, South Africa, February 22, 2023. REUTERS/Shelley Christians/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



PRETORIA, April 30 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s finance ministry said on Wednesday that a new budget would be presented on May 21 which would maintain the government&#8217;s focus on stabilising public debt.



Africa&#8217;s biggest economy will adjust revenue and spending projections and growth forecasts after scrapping a contentious increase in value added tax that exposed deep rifts in the coalition government.



Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana&nbsp;said there would be thorough consultations with all political parties in the coalition before the revised budget is tabled in parliament, adding that fiscal consolidation was still in place.



His ministry issued a statement saying that debt stabilisation was &#8220;a crucial element in strengthening our public finances&#8221;.



Months of political wrangling over this year&#8217;s budget has caused investor unease, hurting the rand currency&nbsp;ZAR=D3.



The budget was postponed in February because of disagreements in the coalition over a plan to increase VAT from 15% to 17%.



A revised version in March proposed raising VAT by 1 percentage point over two years, but that plan was also deeply unpopular.



The Democratic Alliance, the second-biggest party in the Government of National Unity coalition, took the budget to court before agreeing an out-of-court settlement with the finance minister.



Godongwana acknowledged on Wednesday that the budget process had been messy.



&#8220;We are in a coalition government and we have to do things differently,&#8221; he said.



(Additional reporting by Bhargav Acharya and Sfundo Parakozov; Writing by Alexander Winning; Editing by Ed Osmond)

3GWHJ24G6BNGHDPVWY36IOPFFQ

South Africa says revised budget will keep focus on stabilising debt

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1080" height="720" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/AWIZDBZH5VO2XJX7G2VI2D5PBI.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-615478"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Ragui El-Etreby, Assistant Minister for Multilateral International and Regional Economic Affairs of Egypt, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior and Reem bint Ebrahim Al Hashimy , Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov , Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos, Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister on Economic Diplomacy, Seyed Rasoul Mohajer and Ambassador Dammu Ravi pose for a family picture, on the day of the BRICS Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 28, 2025. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares</figcaption></figure>



RIO DE JANEIRO, April 29 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Foreign ministers from the BRICS group of developing nations failed to agree on a joint communique on Tuesday, highlighting differences within the fast-growing diplomatic bloc,&nbsp;while&nbsp;the chair Brazil issued a statement condemning trade protectionism.



In the statement, Brazil said the group&#8217;s foreign ministers expressed &#8220;serious concern at the prospect of a fragmented global economy and the weakening of multilateralism&#8221; at their gathering in Rio de Janeiro.



The statement did not name the United States, which has taken a sharp protectionist shift under President Donald Trump, whose unilateral tariffs have raised concerns about a global economic slowdown.



The failure to reach a joint declaration was unexpected, a diplomatic source said, adding that there was room to iron out differences before July, when BRICS leaders will gather in Rio.



The expanded BRICS group, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa as well as new joiners Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Iran, faces daunting challenges from U.S. trade actions.



&#8220;The ministers voiced serious concerns about the rise of unjustified unilateral protectionist measures inconsistent with WTO rules, including indiscriminate raising of reciprocal tariffs and non-tariff measures,&#8221; the statement said.



The statement reflected a broad consensus among the 11 countries, although a person involved in the negotiations said China &#8211; affected by 145% levies in the trade war with the U.S. &#8211; had pushed for a harsher tone.



&#8220;There was a consensus among all the countries, which is expressed in the declaration,&#8221; said Brazilian Foreign Relations Minister Mauro Vieira.



Still, the final declaration was a &#8220;chair statement,&#8221; falling short of a joint statement as the countries could not reach an agreement on all issues. Egypt and Ethiopia refused to accept some of the language calling for reform of the United Nations, including its Security Council, a longstanding aspiration of Brazil, India and South Africa.



That difference underscores the group&#8217;s new composition&nbsp;after&nbsp;new&nbsp;members that have&nbsp;competing views on some issues&nbsp;joined in 2024. The&nbsp;diplomatic source told Reuters that the new African members took issue with putting forward South Africa as a preferred BRICS candidate for a reformed Security Council.



&#8220;The expansion has its costs. Of course we have to work more to reach a consensus. But, at the same time, an expanded group has more power, more resources, more space for cooperation,&#8221; said the source.



Brazilian diplomats stressed the importance of a strong shared position on the central issue of &#8220;unjustified&#8221; trade barriers condemned in the declaration, which cited tariffs and non-tariff measures, such as the abuse of green policies for protectionist purposes.



&#8220;The main&nbsp;thing for BRICS is to ensure that the multilateral trade system doesn&#8217;t fall apart completely&#8221;, a diplomat told Reuters.



(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu; Additional reporting and writing by Andre Romani; Editing by Brad Haynes, Gabriel Araujo and Nia Williams)

AWIZDBZH5VO2XJX7G2VI2D5PBI

Growing BRICS group shows internal rifts as ministers fall short of joint statement

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="640" height="427" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/JT5FON3TKNLAVIU755DNGWMJVE.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-615451"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A fruit vendor stands in his shop at a market place in Nairobi, Kenya December 3, 2018. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, April 30 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenya&#8217;s inflation rate&nbsp;KECPI=ECI&nbsp;in April rose to 4.1% year-on-year, up from 3.6% a month before, the statistics office said on Wednesday.



On a monthly basis, inflation was at 0.3% in April, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.



Kenya&#8217;s inflation rate has risen steadily since a low of 2.7% in October, but remains well within the central bank&#8217;s 2.5% to 7.5% target range.



Earlier this month Kenya&#8217;s central bank cut its policy interest rate for the fifth meeting in a row to KECBIR=ECI 10.0%, a surprise move aimed at further stimulating private sector lending.



(Reporting by Hereward Holland; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Christopher Cushing)

JT5FON3TKNLAVIU755DNGWMJVE

Kenya inflation rate rises to 4.1% in April

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/GettyImages-1258640786-1-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-427449" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/GettyImages-1258640786-1-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/GettyImages-1258640786-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/GettyImages-1258640786-1-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/GettyImages-1258640786-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/GettyImages-1258640786-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/GettyImages-1258640786-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Bill Gates, co-chairman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, during the EEI 2023 event in Austin, Texas, US, on Monday, June 12, 2023. The event aims to address the major challenges and opportunities facing electric companies today. Photographer: Jordan Vonderhaar/Bloomberg via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



April 29 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;A group of philanthropies including the Gates Foundation has set up a fund backed with nearly $500 million to help save the lives of newborn babies and mothers in sub-Saharan Africa, standing out against a bleak global health funding landscape.



The Beginnings Fund was launched on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, the home of another key backer &#8211; the United Arab Emirates&#8217; recently established Mohamed Bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity.



The project has been in the works for at least a year. But its role has become more important as governments worldwide follow the U.S. in&nbsp;pulling back from international aid, its chief executive Alice Kang’ethe told Reuters in an interview.



“It is an opportune moment,” she said earlier this month, stressing that the fund aimed to work alongside African governments, experts and organizations rather than parachuting in experts or technologies, an approach she said differed from many traditional donor programmes.



The Beginnings Fund aims to save the lives of 300,000 mothers and newborn babies by 2030, and expand quality care for 34 million mothers and babies.



The partners also pledged $100 million in direct investments in maternal and child health, separate to the fund.



It plans to operate in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Lesotho, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, focusing on low-cost interventions and personnel in high-burden hospitals. The work will track and target the key reasons babies and mothers die, including infection, severe bleeding for mothers, and respiratory distress for infants.



The world has made major progress in reducing newborn and maternal deaths, halving the neonatal mortality rate between 1990 and 2022. But that&nbsp;progress has stagnated or even reversed&nbsp;in nearly all regions in the last few years, according to the World Health Organization, which has warned that aid cuts could&nbsp;make this worse.



“Mothers and newborns should not be dying from causes we know how to prevent,” said Dr. Mekdes Daba, minister of health for Ethiopia, stressing that the majority of deaths are avoidable.



Kang’ethe said the Beginnings Fund, like other philanthropies, was getting calls to fill gaps in global aid funding, but remained focused on its long-term aim of changing the trajectory of mother and newborn survival.



The fund is also backed by the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, Delta Philanthropies and the ELMA Foundation, among others. It will be led from Nairobi, Kenya.

GettyImages-1258640786-1

Gates, others launch $500 million maternal, newborn health fund, bucking aid cuts trend

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/KC4JBNQVH5KDFMNHV4IGIF4FRY-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-546353" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/KC4JBNQVH5KDFMNHV4IGIF4FRY-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/KC4JBNQVH5KDFMNHV4IGIF4FRY-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/KC4JBNQVH5KDFMNHV4IGIF4FRY-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/KC4JBNQVH5KDFMNHV4IGIF4FRY-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/KC4JBNQVH5KDFMNHV4IGIF4FRY-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/KC4JBNQVH5KDFMNHV4IGIF4FRY-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: IMF African Department Director Abebe Aemro Selassie listens to a question during an interview with Reuters at the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, in Marrakech, Morocco October 9, 2023. REUTERS/Susana Vera/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



April 25 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Sub-Saharan African economies should work to increase their domestic revenue collection to avoid having to take on debt amid &#8220;turbulent global conditions&#8221;, International Monetary Fund Africa Director Abebe Aemro Selassie said.



The region&#8217;s economy is likely to expand by 3.8% this year, the Fund said in its World Economic Outlook report this week, marking a cut from its previous forecast of 4.2% due to the potential impact of the U.S. administration&#8217;s stance on trade.



&#8220;There is a period where maybe relying on debt financing is not the right way to do development,&#8221; Abebe told Reuters, adding that policymakers have to also identify new sources of cheaper capital.



Investors sold off risky assets after President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on dozens of U.S. trading partners, pushing up the yields of most issuers in sub-Saharan Africa into double digits, a sign that such so-called frontier economies could struggle to access capital markets.



&#8220;You have to look for internal resources to address the development and address social spending needs,&#8221; Abebe said. &#8220;These policies that are to enhance resilience, there is a higher premium on those.&#8221;



The average debt-to-economic-output ratio in the region was steady last year at less than 60% of GDP, the IMF said, but some economies like Kenya have been struggling with high debt-servicing costs.



Although the United States is not a major trading partner for many economies in the region, the knock-on effects from its approach to international trade are also piling pressure on the foreign exchange rates of economies, he said.



&#8220;We have already seen oil prices decline&#8230; Countries like Nigeria and Angola are going to see a mark-down in economic activity, and they are some of the largest economies in sub-Saharan Africa,&#8221; he said.



The projected setback could interrupt a &#8220;hard fought economic recovery&#8221; from the global pandemic, a worldwide inflation spike and an interest rate surge that effectively locked many African economies out of foreign capital markets, the IMF said.



Growth in the region, home to a wide range of economies, including fairly diversified ones like Tanzania and Senegal, reached 4% last year, surpassing the IMF&#8217;s forecast of 3.6%, the Fund said.



Last year&#8217;s robust economic expansion in the region was accompanied by an improvement in macroeconomic imbalances, the IMF said, citing lower average inflation and stable debt levels.



&#8220;We have seen quite a lot of resilience in the region,&#8221; Abebe said, adding that 11 out of the 20 fastest-growing economies in the world will be in sub-Saharan Africa.



(Reporting by Karin Strohecker in Washington DC and Duncan Miriri in Nairobi; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

FILE PHOTO: IMF African Department Director Selassie at interview with Reuters during International Monetary Fund and the World Bank meeting in Marrakech

Sub-Saharan Africa must lift revenue to ride out global turbulence – IMF Africa head

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="720" height="474" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/INJ7YSACHNMCJGVADGR3LX4GQA.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-613563"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Members of the M23 rebel group mount their vehicles after the opening ceremony of Caisse Generale d&#8217;epargne du Congo (CADECO) which will serve as the bank for the city of Goma where all banks have closed since the city was taken by the M23 rebels, in Goma, North Kivu province in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, April 7, 2025. REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



April 25 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Congo and Rwanda plan to sign an agreement in Washington on Friday to promote peace and economic development, sources told Reuters, part of a diplomatic push to end violence after an advance by Rwandan-backed rebels in eastern Congo.



The agreement, expected to be signed by the two countries&#8217; foreign ministers at a ceremony with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, comes as Washington is in talks to invest billions of dollars in mineral-rich Congo. Rwanda said this week it was also speaking to Washington about a possible minerals deal.



Congo has seen a surge in violence after Rwandan-backed M23 rebels launched a major offensive in January that led to the capture of the two largest cities in the east.



The United Nations and Western governments say Rwanda has provided arms and troops to M23. Rwanda denies backing M23 and says its military has acted in self-defence against Congo&#8217;s army and a militia founded by perpetrators of the 1994 genocide.



Both Qatar and the U.S. have shown an interest in mediating a resolution. The Gulf state has long positioned itself as a peacemaker, while Washington is interested in accessing a greater share of Congo&#8217;s mineral wealth.



A diplomatic source said the agreement to be signed on Friday aims to foster a &#8220;pathway to peace, stability, and integrated economic development&#8221; in eastern Congo and &#8220;the resumption of normal bilateral relations&#8221;.



Another source briefed on the agreement said it was intended to build investor confidence.



The Trump administration has taken a special interest in Congo since a Congolese senator contacted U.S. officials to pitch a minerals-for-security deal this year.



Washington wants greater access to minerals like copper, cobalt and lithium, which are used in mobile phones and electric cars, and are currently exploited predominantly by China and its mining companies.



(Reporting by Sonia Rolley and Jessica Donati; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet, Alison Williams, Alexandra Hudson)

INJ7YSACHNMCJGVADGR3LX4GQA

Congo and Rwanda to sign agreement in US on peace, economic development, sources say

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2713" height="1897" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/MF7YJCVU2JJNLNHDA33ALMRGHM.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-613520"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">South Africa&#8217;s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana speaks at a press conference ahead of his 2025 budget speech in Cape Town, South Africa March 12, 2025. REUTERS/Esa Alexander/File Photo </figcaption></figure>



WASHINGTON, (Reuters) &#8211; South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said on Thursday he will not resign after the government&#8217;s U-turn on a planned value-added tax hike, despite opposition calls for him to quit.



&#8220;My job is to introduce money bills &#8211; nothing says they must be popular,&#8221; he told Reuters on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings in Washington.



Godongwana,&nbsp;who&nbsp;landed in the U.S. capital this week already grappling with the worst rift in U.S.–South African relations in&nbsp;decades, was forced on Thursday&nbsp;to scrap a rise in&nbsp;the value-added tax that&nbsp;threatened the stability of the ruling coalition government.



The proposal to raise the VAT by 1 percentage point over two years, which was intended to boost state revenue, met resistance as Africa&#8217;s most industrialized economy grapples with sluggish growth and public discontent over rising living costs.



The about-turn blows a 75 billion rand ($4 billion)&nbsp;hole in the medium-term budget&nbsp;and leaves Godongwana with the task of drawing up what he said was &#8220;a different fiscal framework in line with the new realities of revenue and spending.&#8221;



&#8220;I still maintain that if the purpose for which the VAT was raised is taken into account, its reversal will have a negative impact on those issues&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;that cannot be disputed,&#8221;&nbsp;he&nbsp;said.



The revamped fiscal framework will be keenly watched by S&amp;P Global Ratings, which currently has a positive outlook on South Africa.



A credible outcome could secure the first credit rating upgrade for South Africa in two decades, while the opposite could raise future borrowing costs and dent investor appetite for the country.



&#8220;If you ask me, I don&#8217;t think what will inform them is the noise,&#8221; Godongwana said. &#8220;What will trigger them is whether the final product is a sustainable budget.&#8221;



($1 = 18.7792 rand)



(Reporting by Karin Strohecker in Washington and Colleen Goko in Johannesburg; Editing by Leslie Adler and Paul Simao)

MF7YJCVU2JJNLNHDA33ALMRGHM

South Africa’s finance minister says he won’t resign after VAT U-turn

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="5000" height="3334" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/VZZUZJG5MVPPXDITWKEDW2SOB4.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-613502"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Chinese Finance Minister Lan Foan attends a press conference about a bill on raising ceilings on local government debt, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China November 8, 2024. REUTERS/Josh Arslan</figcaption></figure>



BEIJING, April 25 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;China warned a G20 meeting that world economic growth was &#8220;insufficient&#8221; as tariff and trade wars exacerbated economic and financial instability and sapped growth momentum, its finance ministry and central bank said.



Speaking at the group&#8217;s meeting in Washington, Finance Minister Lan Foan called on all parties to strengthen multilateral cooperation, saying that China supported dialogue and consultation &#8220;on equal footing&#8221; to settle trade and tariff disputes.



Meanwhile, People&#8217;s Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng said that economic fragmentation and trade tensions had disrupted supply chains, weakening the momentum of global economic growth, the central bank said in a separate readout on Friday.



Pan also told the meeting, which took place on Wednesday and Thursday, that the world&#8217;s major economies should strengthen their participation in international macroeconomic and financial policy coordination.



Other participants at the finance ministers and central bank governors meeting also flagged the significant increase in risks to global growth from trade tensions, tighter financing conditions and long-term structural challenges, according to the PBOC statement.



They also called for strengthening dialogue and policy coordination, the statement said without referring to the United States.



The Group of 20 major economies were meeting in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump&#8217;s announcement of hefty tariffs on imports that have triggered turmoil in financial markets and prompted the International Monetary Fund to cut its growth forecasts for most countries around the world.



While Trump later put some of the tariffs on hold, he raised China levies to 145%, and maintained a universal import tariff of 10% as well as 25% duties on cars, steel and aluminium.



The U.S. indicated talks were taking place with China on tariffs but Beijing on Thursday denied that, demanding the U.S. drop the levies.



Lan also urged for better implementation of the debt treatment mechanism under the G20&#8217;s Common Framework, and said all parties should pool more resources for Africa&#8217;s development and strengthen Africa&#8217;s capacity-building.



The finance ministry said Lan held bilateral meetings and exchanges with representatives from countries and organisations including South Africa, the European Commission, Pakistan, Germany, South Korea, Indonesia, Britain, Japan and the World Bank.



The meetings were mainly to discuss the macroeconomic situation, key issues of the G20 fiscal channels and bilateral cooperation, the readout said.



(Reporting by Liz Lee and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Himani Sarkar, Shri Navaratnam and Kate Mayberry)

featured

South African business activity stabilises as PMI hits neutral mark

Temu and Shein face massive tariffs. But don’t count them out of the U.S. e-tail scene, experts say

World court dismisses Sudan’s genocide case against UAE over alleged Darfur interference

South Africa’s Eskom aiming for no power cuts for next four months

OPEC+ agrees another accelerated oil output hike for June

Congo grants licence to Starlink, reversing earlier ban

South African factory mood sours sharply in April, Absa PMI shows

South African rand firms before local manufacturing PMI

South Africa’s rand weakens after mixed local data, US GDP dip

South Africa says revised budget will keep focus on stabilising debt

Growing BRICS group shows internal rifts as ministers fall short of joint statement

Kenya inflation rate rises to 4.1% in April

Gates, others launch $500 million maternal, newborn health fund, bucking aid cuts trend

Sub-Saharan Africa must lift revenue to ride out global turbulence – IMF Africa head

Congo and Rwanda to sign agreement in US on peace, economic development, sources say

South Africa’s finance minister says he won’t resign after VAT U-turn

China warns G20 global economic growth ‘insufficient’, trade tensions weaken momentum

News Tips

Advertise With Us

featured

South African business activity stabilises as PMI hits neutral mark

Temu and Shein face massive tariffs. But don’t count them out of the U.S. e-tail scene, experts say

World court dismisses Sudan’s genocide case against UAE over alleged Darfur interference

South Africa’s Eskom aiming for no power cuts for next four months

OPEC+ agrees another accelerated oil output hike for June

Congo grants licence to Starlink, reversing earlier ban

South African factory mood sours sharply in April, Absa PMI shows

South African rand firms before local manufacturing PMI

South Africa’s rand weakens after mixed local data, US GDP dip

South Africa says revised budget will keep focus on stabilising debt

Growing BRICS group shows internal rifts as ministers fall short of joint statement

Kenya inflation rate rises to 4.1% in April

Gates, others launch $500 million maternal, newborn health fund, bucking aid cuts trend

Sub-Saharan Africa must lift revenue to ride out global turbulence – IMF Africa head

Congo and Rwanda to sign agreement in US on peace, economic development, sources say

South Africa’s finance minister says he won’t resign after VAT U-turn

China warns G20 global economic growth ‘insufficient’, trade tensions weaken momentum

News Tips

Advertise With Us

Newsletters