<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/XYLRJGDDEBIFFEYH3ILGDOLHJM-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-424605" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/XYLRJGDDEBIFFEYH3ILGDOLHJM-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/XYLRJGDDEBIFFEYH3ILGDOLHJM-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/XYLRJGDDEBIFFEYH3ILGDOLHJM-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/XYLRJGDDEBIFFEYH3ILGDOLHJM-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/XYLRJGDDEBIFFEYH3ILGDOLHJM-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/XYLRJGDDEBIFFEYH3ILGDOLHJM-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A man counts Nigerian naira notes in a market place as people struggle with the economic hardship and cashflow problems ahead of Nigeria&#8217;s Presidential elections, in Yola, Nigeria, February 22, 2023. REUTERS/Esa Alexander/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



ABUJA, Feb 26 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nigeria will outlaw street-trading of foreign currency in the country under new regulations set out by the central bank which also stipulate higher minimum capital levels for bureau de change operators.



The central bank issued the guidelines in a document published late on Friday but did not say when they would come into effect.



The moves are part of broader reforms to Nigeria&#8217;s currency market, which has suffered chronic dollar shortages after foreign investors fled following a previous oil price collapse and introduction of capital controls in 2015.



Hard currency is sold on the streets in the business districts of Lagos and Abuja by individuals or agents of bureaus de change officials who operate outside offices to cut down operating costs.



The central bank said in its guidelines that bureau de change operators will be required to have at least 2 billion naira ($1.28 million) in capital in order to be national operators, up from 35 million naira currently.



Exchange bureaus operating regionally will be required to have a minimum capital of 500 million naira.



Under the new regulations, individuals will not be able to take out more than $500 in hard currency in cash at a time, as higher amounts will need to be settled through the bank.



The bank will end a two-day policy meeting on Tuesday with analysts expecting it to lift interest rates by 225 basis points to 21.00%. It is Governor Olayemi Cardoso&#8217;s first meeting since he took office in September.



On Monday, the naira firmed to 1,550 per dollar on the parallel market, a similar level to on the official market, from 1,800 naira a week earlier.



The naira&#8217;s official exchange rate has been trading at levels close to the parallel market level after the currency was devalued last month, its second adjustment in less than a year as the crippling dollar shortage pushed the Nigerian currency lower.



The anti-graft agency raided bureau de change operators in Abuja on Friday and over the weekend, and held some officials. The agency has in the past accused operators of speculating on the currency.



The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission did not respond to a request for comment.



Under the new guidelines, the central bank capped the amount and frequency of purchases by individuals seeking foreign currency for travel, school fees and hospital bills.



($1 = 1,560.00 naira)



(Additional reporting by Camillus Eboh and Felix Onuah; Editing by Susan Fenton)

FILE PHOTO: Man counts Nigerian naira notes in a market place ahead of Nigeria’s Presidential elections in Yola

Nigeria outlaws street-trading by FX bureaus in new rules to stem naira slide

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="615" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Sasol_Garage_in_Boksburg-820x615.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-375629" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Sasol_Garage_in_Boksburg-820x615.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Sasol_Garage_in_Boksburg-300x225.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Sasol_Garage_in_Boksburg-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Sasol_Garage_in_Boksburg-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Sasol_Garage_in_Boksburg-scaled.jpg 2048w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Sasol_Garage_in_Boksburg-1110x833.jpg 1110w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Sasol_Garage_in_Boksburg-696x522.jpg 696w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Sasol_Garage_in_Boksburg-1068x801.jpg 1068w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Sasol_Garage_in_Boksburg-1920x1440.jpg 1920w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Sasol_Garage_in_Boksburg-600x450.jpg 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: via Flickr</figcaption></figure>



Feb 26 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South African petrochemical firm Sasol&nbsp;SOLJ.J&nbsp;is committed to a 30% cut in carbon emissions by 2030, but wants &#8220;a balanced debate&#8221; that weighs the economic impact of climate targets, its CFO said on Monday.



Sasol, the world&#8217;s biggest producer of fuels and chemicals from coal and gas, and a major carbon emitter, has recently faced criticism from environmental activists and some investors over its climate targets.



The company was forced to cancel its annual general meeting last November after it was disrupted by climate protesters.



A major part of Sasol&#8217;s plans to cut emissions is a 25% reduction in the use of coal, both as a key input and energy source. It plans to replace coal as a raw material, first with gas and eventually biomass, once it becomes economically viable, CFO Hanre Rossouw said.



Sasol has signed up 600 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy supply contracts, with 500 MW having reached financial close.



Sasol was &#8220;fully committed&#8221; to its decarbonisation targets, Rossouw said, &#8220;but we&#8217;ve got to be clear about what&#8217;s going to drive economic growth, jobs and energy security in South Africa. It&#8217;s not just energy transition at all costs.&#8221;



Sasol says it is one of South Africa&#8217;s biggest employers and tax payers, contributing 5% of the country&#8217;s gross domestic product.



On Monday, Sasol reported 34% decline in half-year profit, to 12.85 billion rand ($665.23 million) in the six months to Dec.31, from 19.39 billion previously mainly due to weaker oil and petrochemical prices as well as higher costs.



The company announced an interim dividend of 2 rand per share, down from 7 rand previously.



Rossouw said Sasol was considering changing its dividend policy, which is tied to core headline earnings, to base payouts on cash flow generation.



Sasol&#8217;s shares were 2.9% down at 141.77 rand at 1416 GMT.



($1 = 19.3167 rand)



(Reporting by Nelson Banya; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Kim Coghill and David Evans)

Sasol_Garage_in_Boksburg

Sasol committed to climate targets, but not “at all costs”

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="511" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/VUWEHZ7LJVPHXABMJEQQZHIP5M-820x511.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-460080" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/VUWEHZ7LJVPHXABMJEQQZHIP5M-820x511.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/VUWEHZ7LJVPHXABMJEQQZHIP5M-300x187.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/VUWEHZ7LJVPHXABMJEQQZHIP5M-144x90.jpg 144w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/VUWEHZ7LJVPHXABMJEQQZHIP5M-768x478.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/VUWEHZ7LJVPHXABMJEQQZHIP5M-1536x957.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/VUWEHZ7LJVPHXABMJEQQZHIP5M-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: U.S. dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration taken March 10, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, Feb 26 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The dollar inched lower on Monday ahead of a macro-packed week that could shed more light on the global rate outlook, with a U.S. inflation reading taking centre stage.



The core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve&#8217;s preferred measure of inflation, is due on Thursday, with a 0.4% rise on a monthly basis forecast.



Inflation figures in the euro zone, Japan and Australia also land this week, alongside a rate decision from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) and China PMI surveys.



The euro&nbsp;EUR=EBS&nbsp;was up 0.3% at $1.0854, after gains against the dollar in eight of the last nine trading sessions.



ECB officials have reiterated their focus on inflation in the euro zone, particularly the service sector and wage growth.



European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on Friday said wage growth had moderated, but it was too early to assume inflation had been conquered.



&#8220;Euro zone inflation is expected to cool to 2.5% and yet the ECB minutes still show the reluctance from the ECB to even talk about cutting rates,&#8221; City Index market strategist Fiona Cincotta said.



&#8220;We also saw inflation expectations in the euro zone ticked up very slightly, but also that upbeat mood on the back of earnings has been pulling some safe-haven flows out of the dollar and has pushed the euro higher,&#8221; she said.



A major driver behind the euro&#8217;s strength has been the narrowing gap between where traders believe U.S. and euro zone interest rates will finish the year.



Only two weeks ago, investors were assuming the Fed would cut rates by around 80 basis points this year, compared with around 100 bps from the ECB. By Monday, that gap had all but disappeared.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-spotlight-on-inflation">SPOTLIGHT ON INFLATION</h2>



The main event for investors this week will be Thursday&#8217;s U.S. core PCE. Hotter readings of producer and consumer inflation have increased the likelihood that this measure might top expectations as well, which could further push back expectations for when the Fed might deliver its first cut.



Markets are currently pricing in just about a 20% chance that the Fed will begin easing rates in May, versus a nearly 90% chance a month ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool.



&#8220;If anything, the (data) may be stronger than markets currently expect, and that will likely give a modest boost to the dollar,&#8221; said Carol Kong, a currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA).



The dollar index&nbsp;=USD&nbsp;was down 0.2% at 103.74.



Japan&#8217;s nationwide consumer prices are due on Tuesday and are forecast to show core inflation slowed to an annual rate of 1.8% in January, the lowest since March 2022.



That would complicate the Bank of Japan&#8217;s (BOJ) plans to end negative interest rates in coming months, keeping the yen under pressure in the near term.



The yen&nbsp;JPY=EBS&nbsp;was last steady at 150.57 per dollar, having already fallen more than 6% against it this year.



&#8220;News that Japan fell into technical recession in H2 2023 will have dampened some of the market&#8217;s enthusiasm regarding the pace of monetary tightening from the BOJ,&#8221; said Jane Foley, head of FX strategy at Rabobank.



Sterling&nbsp;GBP=D3, meanwhile, rose 0.2% to $1.2696, but eased by 0.1% against the euro&nbsp;EURGBP=D3&nbsp;to 85.50 pence.



In cryptocurrencies, ether ETH= rose by as much as 6.5% above $3,130 to another two-year high. It was last up 3.9% at $3,055, while bitcoin BTC= rose 0.3% to $51,140.



(Additional reporting by Rae Wee in Singapore; Editing by Jamie Freed, Jacqueline Wong, Ed Osmond and Alexander Smith)

FILE PHOTO: Illustration shows U.S. dollar banknotes

Dollar lower before inflation-heavy data deluge

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="508" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/LYNXMPEBBS0LW.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-460039" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/LYNXMPEBBS0LW.jpg 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/LYNXMPEBBS0LW-300x191.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/LYNXMPEBBS0LW-142x90.jpg 142w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/LYNXMPEBBS0LW-768x488.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A general picture shows the skyline of Tanzania&#8217;s port city of Dar es Salaam, July 12, 2013. REUTERS/Andrew Emmanuel</figcaption></figure>



DAR ES SALAAM, Feb 26 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Tanzania has switched on the first turbine of a new hydroelectric plant set to double power generation capacity but which has drawn stiff opposition from conservationists because of its location in a U.N.-designated World Heritage Site.



Doto Biteko, energy minister and deputy prime minister, said while visiting the 2,115 megawatt (MW) Julius Nyerere Hydropower Plant on Sunday that the turbine, with a capacity of 235 MW, was now contributing power to the grid.



He said the turbine would help reduce months-long power rationing, adding that rationing would end when the second turbine of the nine-turbine plant joins the grid next month.



Before construction of the hydro project began in 2019, conservationists warned that building a dam on a major river that runs through the Selous Game Reserve could affect wildlife and their habitats downstream.



The reserve is among the largest protected areas in Africa, harbouring one of the most significant concentrations of animals including elephant, black rhino and cheetah and a large variety of habitats, according to United Nations agency UNESCO.



The government forged ahead with the project under former President John Magufuli and his successor Samia Suluhu Hassan&#8217;s administration considers it a key part of efforts to boost power supply in a country where less than half of the population has access to electricity.



Biteko said the government would ensure all hydroelectric projects respect water sustainability.



Before the first turbine of the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Plant was connected to the grid, Tanzania had an installed generation capacity of 1,900 MW, with natural gas contributing nearly two-thirds of that amount.



(Reporting by Nuzulack Dausen; Editing by Alexander Winning and Miral Fahmy)

A general picture shows the skyline of Tanzania’s port city of Dar es Salaam

Tanzania switches on first turbine of hydro plant in World Heritage Site

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="604" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/SWKPWMQPNBJONAOSYUWQUMN254-820x604.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-460010" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/SWKPWMQPNBJONAOSYUWQUMN254-820x604.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/SWKPWMQPNBJONAOSYUWQUMN254-300x221.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/SWKPWMQPNBJONAOSYUWQUMN254-122x90.jpg 122w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/SWKPWMQPNBJONAOSYUWQUMN254-768x565.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/SWKPWMQPNBJONAOSYUWQUMN254-1536x1131.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/SWKPWMQPNBJONAOSYUWQUMN254-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Director-General of the World Trade Organization Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala arrives to attend the opening of the WTO ministerial meeting in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, February 26, 2024. REUTERS/Emma Farge</figcaption></figure>



ABU DHABI, Feb 26 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Trade ministers from around the world gathered in Abu Dhabi on Monday for a World Trade Organization meeting that aims to set new global commerce rules, but its ambitious chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and delegates sought to curb expectations.



The almost 30-year-old global watchdog, whose rules underpin 75% of global commerce, tries to strike deals by consensus, but such efforts are becoming more difficult amid signs that the global economy is fragmenting into separate blocs.



&#8220;Let&#8217;s not pretend that any of this will be easy,&#8221; Okonjo-Iweala said in her opening speech, describing the atmosphere as &#8220;tougher&#8221; than the WTO&#8217;s last 2022 meeting, citing wars, tensions and elections and signs that trade growth will undershoot the organisation&#8217;s own estimate.



She called on ministers to &#8220;roll up their sleeves&#8221; and complete negotiations, but seemed to rule out any deal in Abu Dhabi on reforming the body&#8217;s mothballed appeals court.



&#8220;We are not there yet,&#8221; she said.



Thani Al Zeyoudi, conference chair and UAE&#8217;s foreign trade minister said in an opening address: &#8220;The multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core is at a critical juncture; it is confronting many challenges.



&#8220;The WTO remains a powerful force in countering the current unilateralism, protectionism, and discrimination.&#8221;



Some delegates privately voiced concerns that India&#8217;s trade minister, seen as the main holdout on some key issues including agriculture, was absent on Monday although New Delhi said he would be in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-members">NEW MEMBERS</h2>



Negotiators say they remain hopeful for an agreement that could buoy global fish stocks and protect fishermen by banning government subsidies.



Other outcomes from the four-day meeting that are either definite or achievable are the accession of two new members &#8211; Comoros and East Timor &#8211; and a deal among around 120 countries to remove development-hampering investment barriers.



Tougher areas are extending a 25-year moratorium on applying tariffs on digital trade, which South Africa and India oppose, and an agreement on agriculture trade rules that has eluded negotiators for decades.



Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal repeated on Monday New Delhi&#8217;s drive for a controversial stand-alone permanent waiver to WTO rules that currently restrict domestic agriculture subsidies on food items like rice.



&#8220;I think this week is really about trying to consolidate progress from two years ago and build on where possible, but I don&#8217;t think there&#8217;s going to be major new breakthroughs in new areas,&#8221; said Simon Conveney, Ireland&#8217;s Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, referring to the WTO&#8217;s 2022 meeting in Geneva.



U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said the meeting was a chance to &#8220;chart a future path together&#8221; and that success should not be measured by the number of deals.



One factor that could help is the determination of Okonjo-Iweala, a former Nigerian finance minister, whose insistence on all-night meetings helped deliver a package of deals in Geneva in 2022. She has already asked ministers to plan for the four-day talks to run overtime.



The European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said that uncertainty and multiple crises were impacting the rules-based global order. &#8220;This tense geopolitical environment makes multilateral organizations like the WTO much more, not less, important,&#8221; he said.



(Additional reporting by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Alex Richardson, Bernadette Baum and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

Director-General of the World Trade Organization Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala arrives to attend the opening of the WTO ministerial meeting in Abu Dhabi

WTO meeting seeks modest outcomes, with global trade at ‘critical juncture’

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="462" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107374413-1708024437471-gettyimages-1992338676-AA_10022024_1525083-820x462.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-459995" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107374413-1708024437471-gettyimages-1992338676-AA_10022024_1525083-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107374413-1708024437471-gettyimages-1992338676-AA_10022024_1525083-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107374413-1708024437471-gettyimages-1992338676-AA_10022024_1525083-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107374413-1708024437471-gettyimages-1992338676-AA_10022024_1525083-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107374413-1708024437471-gettyimages-1992338676-AA_10022024_1525083.jpeg 929w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Betul Abali | Anadolu | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Google is bullish on the prospect of its more advanced artificial intelligence models coming to smartphones in the next year.  



The internet giant expects that its currently available Gemini large language model (LLM), which competes with Microsoft-backed OpenAI’s most powerful GPT-4 AI model, will begin to get embedded into devices starting next year.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Google already offers Gemini Nano, which is the company’s most efficient model for “on-device” AI, across its Pixel devices and on all other capable Android devices.&nbsp;



Brian Rakowski, vice president of product management for Google’s Pixel unit, said that he expects the company’s most advanced large language models, which are currently only accessible via remote data centers via an internet connection, to begin arriving on smartphones directly next year.&nbsp;



“There are smaller versions of our Gemini model on the cloud,” Rakowski told CNBC. “There’s been quite a few breakthroughs to compress these models to get them to run on device.”&nbsp;



“Some have already been proven and some are being explored for some applications. It’d be great having all models on device. It still has wondrous applications.”&nbsp;



“Gemini Nano is performing at a level that our online models were at less than one year ago,” Rakowski added. “You can do a lot with these distilled small versions of the models on device.”&nbsp;



“If you just follow that trajectory, some of that stuff we thought we would have had to go to the cloud for next year will be on device, which is pretty exciting, which is instantaneous without requiring a connection or subscription.”&nbsp;



Large language models, or LLMs, are AI models capable of understanding and generating language in a humanlike way. Gemini Ultra is Google’s top LLM, clocking in at a whopping 1.56 trillion parameters. For comparison, OpenAI’s GPT-4 consists of 1.76 trillion parameters.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dreaming-of-a-smartphone-supercycle"><a></a>Dreaming of a smartphone ‘supercycle’</h2>



Smartphone makers have been dreaming of a “supercycle” in their industry, driven by artificial intelligence, after a bruising few years that saw device sales slow aggressively. In 2023, smartphone sales fell to 1.16 billion units, the lowest point for unit shipments in a decade.  



Analysts say a supercycle is unlikely to occur within the next few years as there’s not enough going on in the market in terms of novel features and innovation that will convince people holding their aging smartphones to upgrade.&nbsp;



“Unfortunately, we don’t expect that boom,” Francisco Jeronimo, vice president of data and analytics at research firm IDC, told CNBC.&nbsp;



“The last supercycle we saw was between 2010 and 2015, where in five years the market grew five times from around 300 million smartphones per year to 1.5 billion.”&nbsp;



Nonetheless, more and more smartphone makers are making big investments in AI in the hope that it will drive some more excitement around mobile technology.&nbsp;



The likes of Humane, Rabbit, and China’s Meizu are betting on a future for smartphones that doesn’t even look like a traditional smartphone. These are devices that would be smaller and more compact, and that we could interact with via voice activation, like an Amazon Echo speaker but on the go.&nbsp;



Google has been making huge bets on AI in an effort to gain an edge over its rivals like OpenAI, the Microsoft-backed company behind ChatGPT.



Google recently announced a major rebrand of Bard, its ChatGPT alternative, including a fresh app and subscription options. Bard was renamed Gemini, the same name as the suite of AI models that power the chatbot.



Android users can download a dedicated Android app for Gemini, while iPhone users can use Gemini in the Google app on iOS.



Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai highlighted the firm’s commitment to AI during the company’s Jan. 30 earnings call. Pichai said he eventually wants to offer an AI agent that can complete more and more tasks on a user’s behalf, including within Google Search, although he said there is “a lot of execution ahead.”



Likewise, chief executives at tech giants from Microsoft to Amazon have underlined their commitment to building AI agents as productivity tools.&nbsp;



<a href="https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"></a>

107374413-1708024437471-gettyimages-1992338676-AA_10022024_1525083

Google expects its more advanced large language models to arrive on Android phones next year

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="505" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/YVOFDSRNTVM37PQ7357O7KQHAY-820x505.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-459210" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/YVOFDSRNTVM37PQ7357O7KQHAY-820x505.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/YVOFDSRNTVM37PQ7357O7KQHAY-300x185.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/YVOFDSRNTVM37PQ7357O7KQHAY-146x90.jpg 146w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/YVOFDSRNTVM37PQ7357O7KQHAY-768x473.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/YVOFDSRNTVM37PQ7357O7KQHAY-1536x946.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/YVOFDSRNTVM37PQ7357O7KQHAY-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A customer walks beneath the logo of South African supermarket operator Pick n Pay in Cape Town, South Africa, April 26 2016. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Feb 23 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Pick n Pay&#8217;s efforts to shore up its balance sheet through a rights issue and the listing of its discounter business Boxer could give the South African retailer time to fix its core supermarket business, analysts said.



The group surprised investors on Thursday with the two-step&nbsp;recapitalisation plan&nbsp;aimed at raising up to 4 billion rand ($208 million) to boost its near-term liquidity.



With little wiggle room, new CEO Sean Summers made the call after the retailer&#8217;s net debt nearly doubled to 7.2 billion rand as of Jan. 21, from 3.8 billion on Aug. 27, breaching debt covenants.



&#8220;It is a very desperate attempt to put the business on the right path &#8211; probably a sign that Sean did not entirely envision Pick n Pay supermarkets&#8217; problems to be of this magnitude,&#8221; said Casparus Treurnicht, portfolio manager at Gryphon Asset Management.



data





Summers is tasked with turning round a company that has been losing market share against bigger rival Shoprite&nbsp;SHPJ.J&nbsp;and others for more than a decade in a highly promotional market and an economy struggling with high interest rates, rising inflation and high energy costs.



Specifically, he has to improve the performance of the core Pick n Pay supermarkets business.



&#8220;With less pressure from a debt point of view, it might be easier&#8221; to do that, Treurnicht said.



More details of the turnaround plan will be announced in May, including the terms of the planned capital raising.



&#8220;If successfully implemented, these steps could stabilise and potentially revitalise the company, aligning with a broader strategy to focus on the core business and independently leverage Boxer&#8217;s strong performance,&#8221; Stephan Erasmus, investment analyst at Anchor Capital, said.



On Friday, Pick n Pay shares were 6.13% higher at 1221 GMT after plunging more than 17% on Thursday.



Richard Cheesman, senior analyst at Protea Capital Management, said many had expected either a rights issue or Boxer&#8217;s listing, but not both.



He added doing both was probably right as the retailer was &#8220;in a difficult space and it can&#8217;t really take half measures to try and rectify&#8221; years of underperformance.



($1 = 19.2678 rand)



(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Mark Potter)

FILE PHOTO: A customer walks beneath the logo of South African supermarket operator Pick n Pay in Cape Town

Pick n Pay fundraising seen giving grocer time to fix core business

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/STGRVJG24JLG5H7LHUH3IYPOV4-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-459177" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/STGRVJG24JLG5H7LHUH3IYPOV4-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/STGRVJG24JLG5H7LHUH3IYPOV4-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/STGRVJG24JLG5H7LHUH3IYPOV4-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/STGRVJG24JLG5H7LHUH3IYPOV4-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/STGRVJG24JLG5H7LHUH3IYPOV4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/STGRVJG24JLG5H7LHUH3IYPOV4-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A sign board is seen near the Sibanye gold mine in Westonaria, west of Johannesburg, April 6, 2016. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko</figcaption></figure>



Feb 23 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Sibanye Stillwater&nbsp;SSWJ.J&nbsp;on Friday said it had &#8220;significantly reduced&#8221; the number of job losses from the restructuring of its South African platinum group metal (PGM) operations after deferring the closure of one of its mature shafts.



South African PGM miners produce around 70% of global mined platinum output from some of the world&#8217;s oldest and deepest mines, which are expensive to operate. They are restructuring unprofitable production after a steep fall in PGM prices.



Sibanye said in a statement that about 2,000 workers had left the company through voluntary separation, early retirement and termination, fewer than the potential 4,095 job cuts the miner announced last October as it embarked on restructuring its four loss-making shafts.



Some 467 workers had also been removed from the payroll due to natural attrition since September 2023, the miner said.



As a result of consultations held with various parties including labour unions, Sibanye will continue operating the 4 Belt (4B) shaft at Marikana on condition that it does not run up net losses on a monthly basis. The shaft currently employs 1,496 permanent workers and 54 contractors.



Two other shafts, Rowland and Siphumelele, which have experienced operational and geological challenges, &#8220;have been repositioned for sustainable levels of production at a lower cost structure&#8221;, Sibanye said.



The Simunye shaft, which ceased production in 2023, has been closed.



Sibanye has forecast a 91% fall in annual profit for 2023 due to the decline in PGM prices. Peer Anglo American Platinum AMSJ.J has announced plans to cut 3,700 jobs after its profit plunged 71% last year, while Impala Platinum IMPJ.J is also offering voluntary job cuts to workers.



(Reporting by Nelson Banya; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: A sign board is seen near the Sibanye gold mine in Westonaria

Sibanye reduces planned job cuts after deferring shaft closure

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/76KI5H4MAFL5ZK7OGV4LXR2UG4-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-459116" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/76KI5H4MAFL5ZK7OGV4LXR2UG4-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/76KI5H4MAFL5ZK7OGV4LXR2UG4-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/76KI5H4MAFL5ZK7OGV4LXR2UG4-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/76KI5H4MAFL5ZK7OGV4LXR2UG4-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/76KI5H4MAFL5ZK7OGV4LXR2UG4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/76KI5H4MAFL5ZK7OGV4LXR2UG4-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, U.S., November 22, 2019. REUTERS/Angus Mordant/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Red Sea shipping delays and OPEC+ supply cuts are tightening physical oil markets in Europe and Africa as well as the Brent crude market structure, lending further support to oil futures prices, according to traders, LSEG data and analysts.



A sustained rise in crude prices would lift energy, transportation and manufacturing costs and threaten to unwind some of the recent falls in global inflation, just as major central banks are expected to begin cutting interest rates.



On Thursday, the benchmark Brent crude futures market structure hit its most bullish since October. The premium of the first-month contract to the six-month contract&nbsp;LCOc1-LCOc7&nbsp;reached $4.34 a barrel. This structure, called backwardation, indicates a perception of tight prompt supply.



&#8220;It looks like there has been a pick-up in (tanker) diversions, which is making the crude balance tighter,&#8221; said FGE analyst James Davis. Crude demand is high because of strong refining margins, despite refinery maintenance, he added.



More tankers are avoiding the Red Sea since Yemen&#8217;s Houthis began drone and missile attacks against shipping in mid-November, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians as Israel wages war on Hamas.



January average refining margins for diesel and gasoline in Europe rose to multi-month highs of $34.3 and $11.6 a barrel, respectively, Reuters calculations show.



U.S. crude CLc1-CLc7 is also in backwardation, with the strength of Brent and WTI taking the trading community by surprise after predictions that supply would outpace demand at the start of the year.



The stronger market is a bonus for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+. The group has been cutting supply for the past two years but has often struggled to achieve prices above $80 per barrel – the minimum most producers need to balance their budgets.



Brent&nbsp;LCOc1&nbsp;traded at almost $84 a barrel on Thursday and has risen 9% this year.



OPEC+ leaders have said backwardation is a positive market trend because it discourages traders from holding inventory to resell at a premium later, with low stocks also creating bullish market sentiment.



The world&#8217;s onshore crude inventories sit at 4.4 billion barrels, their lowest level since the start of 2017 when intelligence firm Kpler began tracking the data, JPMorgan said in a report.



&#8220;The physical sweet crude market is very tight,&#8221; said Black Gold Investors CEO Gary Ross, using a term for low-sulphur crude. Libyan outages, a U.S. cold snap that cut output and payment issues for some Russian supplies are among the reasons, he said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-firmer-footing">&#8216;FIRMER FOOTING&#8217;</h2>



OPEC+ sources have said the group will decide in early March whether to extend oil-output cuts into the second quarter of the year or begin returning supply to the market.



&#8220;The market has found a firmer footing with Brent trading above $80 for a while now, supported by what looks like a better-than-expected demand outlook together with the&#8230;tanker diversions keeping millions of barrels at sea for longer,&#8221; said Ole Hansen, Saxo Bank&#8217;s head of commodity strategy.



&#8220;OPEC+ I&#8217;m sure will be very pleased.&#8221;



In the North Sea crude market, the differential of Forties crude to benchmark dated Brent&nbsp;BFO-FOT&nbsp;has reached the highest since late November and the prices of some other grades considered local alternatives to Middle East crude have soared.



In October, about 1.07 million bpd of Middle Eastern crude came to Europe, Kpler data showed, with volumes falling in the following months amid the Red Sea attacks and expected to average about 606,000 bpd in February.



&#8220;Delays to shipments from East of Suez&#8230;are making crude closer to home more attractive,&#8221; a European crude trader said. &#8220;The offers for West Africa and North Sea crude reflect that.&#8221;



&#8220;Refining margins in Europe for Angolan crude are very favourable and Nigeria is selling cargoes faster than it has for months.&#8221;



Nigerian Forcados&nbsp;BFO-FOC&nbsp;crude was offered this week at dated Brent plus $6.00 a barrel, the highest since October LSEG data showed. Nigerian grades Qua Iboe and Bonny Light have firmed to dated plus $3.80 and $3.00, respectively.



In Asia, Middle East cash crude differentials have stayed pretty stable month on month, suggesting Europe and African crude is seeing the bulk of the strength.



U.S. crude has been mixed. On the light side, there has been some tightness due to a cold snap last month hitting Permian production, while March loadings to Asia are set to pick up after a weak January and February.



An unplanned outage at BP&#8217;s Whiting refinery has pushed some heavy Canadian crude into the Cushing storage hub and so there is currently little tightness.



(Reporting by Alex Lawler, Natalie Grover, Noah Browning and Ahmad Ghaddar, additional reporting by Florence Tan and Arathy Somasekhar; editing by Dmitry Zhdannikov, Kirsten Donovan)

FILE PHOTO: The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County

Europe, Africa oil markets tighten, lending support to futures

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="462" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107335558-1700223310512-gettyimages-1797445843-js1_2971_if4auhpe-820x462.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-459046" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107335558-1700223310512-gettyimages-1797445843-js1_2971_if4auhpe-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107335558-1700223310512-gettyimages-1797445843-js1_2971_if4auhpe-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107335558-1700223310512-gettyimages-1797445843-js1_2971_if4auhpe-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107335558-1700223310512-gettyimages-1797445843-js1_2971_if4auhpe-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107335558-1700223310512-gettyimages-1797445843-js1_2971_if4auhpe.jpeg 929w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks in conversation with Emily Chang during the APEC CEO Summit at Moscone West on November 16, 2023 in San Francisco, California. The APEC summit is being held in San Francisco and runs through November 17. Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Munich, GERMANY — Rapid developments in artificial intelligence could help strengthen defenses against security threats in cyber space, according to Google CEO Sundar Pichai.



Amid growing concerns about the potentially nefarious uses of AI, Pichai said that the intelligence tools could help governments and companies speed up the detection of — and response to — threats from hostile actors.



“We are right to be worried about the impact on cybersecurity. But AI, I think actually, counterintuitively, strengthens our defense on cybersecurity,” Pichai told delegates at Munich Security Conference at the end of last week.



Cybersecurity attacks have been growing in volume and sophistication as malicious actors increasingly use them as a way to exert power and extort money.



Cyberattacks cost the global economy an estimated $8 trillion in 2023 — a sum that is set to rise to $10.5 trillion by 2025, according to cyber research firm Cybersecurity Ventures.



A January report from Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre — part of GCHQ, the country’s intelligence agency — said that AI would only increase those threats, lowering the barriers to entry for cyber hackers and enabling more malicious cyber activity, including ransomware attacks.



However, Pichai said that AI was also lowering the time needed for defenders to detect attacks and react against them. He said this would reduce what’s known as a the defenders’ dilemma, whereby cyberhackers have to be successful just once to a system whereas a defender has to be successful every time in order to protect it.



“AI disproportionately helps the people defending because you’re getting a tool which can impact it at scale versus the people who are trying to exploit,” he said.



“So, in some ways, we are winning the race,” he added.



Google last week announced a new initiative offering AI tools and infrastructure investments designed to boost online security. A free, open-source tool dubbed Magika aims to help users detect malware — malicious software — the company said in a statement, while a white paper proposes measures and research and creates guardrails around AI.



Pichai said the tools were already being put to use in the company’s products, such as Google Chrome and Gmail, as well as its internal systems.



“AI is at a definitive crossroads — one where policymakers, security professionals and civil society have the chance to finally tilt the cybersecurity balance from attackers to cyber defenders.&nbsp;



The release coincided with the signing of a pact by major companies at MSC to take “reasonable precautions” to prevent AI tools from being used to disrupt democratic votes in 2024′s bumper election year and beyond.



Adobe, Amazon, Google, IBM, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, TikTok and X, formerly Twitter, were among the signatories to the new agreement, which includes a framework for how companies must respond to AI-generated “deepfakes” designed to deceive voters.



It comes as the internet becomes an increasingly important sphere of influence for both individuals and state-backed malicious actors.



Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday described cyberspace as “a new battlefield.”



“The technology arms race has just gone up another notch with generative AI,” she said in Munich.



A report published last week by Microsoft found that state-backed hackers from Russia, China, and Iran have been using its OpenAI large language model (LLM) to enhance their efforts to trick targets.



Russian military intelligence, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, and the Chinese and North Korean governments were all said to have relied on the tools.



Mark Hughes, president of security at IT services and consulting firm DXC, told CNBC that bad actors were increasingly relying on a ChatGPT-inspired hacking tool called WormGPT to conduct tasks like reverse engineering code.



However, he said that he was also seeing “significant gains” from similar tools which help engineers to detect and reserve engineer attacks at speed.



“It gives us the ability to speed up,” Hughes said last week. “Most of the time in cyber, what you have is the time that the attackers have in advantage against you. That’s often the case in any conflict situation.



“If you can run a little bit faster than your adversary, you’re going to do better. That’s what AI is really giving us defensively at the moment,” he added.

107335558-1700223310512-gettyimages-1797445843-js1_2971_if4auhpe

AI can ‘disproportionately’ help defend against cybersecurity threats, Google CEO Sundar Pichai says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="562" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/77VC4ZKBPBPJFFYBYJIHNWEQ6I-820x562.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-427280" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/77VC4ZKBPBPJFFYBYJIHNWEQ6I-820x562.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/77VC4ZKBPBPJFFYBYJIHNWEQ6I-300x206.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/77VC4ZKBPBPJFFYBYJIHNWEQ6I-131x90.jpg 131w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/77VC4ZKBPBPJFFYBYJIHNWEQ6I-768x526.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/77VC4ZKBPBPJFFYBYJIHNWEQ6I-1536x1052.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/77VC4ZKBPBPJFFYBYJIHNWEQ6I-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Customers push trolleys as they shop at a Pick n Pay store at the Trade Route Mall, in Lenasia outside Johannesburg, South Africa, February 8, 2023. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



Pick n Pay, South Africa’s second largest grocery chain, slumped after announcing a share sale and plans to unbundle its fast growing Boxer chain as it struggles to cope with surging costs and competition from larger rival Shoprite Holdings.



“Our balance sheet needs to be restructured and stabilised,” Chief Executive Officer Sean Summers said in a statement. “This is the appropriate action, at the right time, to help our turnaround strategy.’’



Shares of the Cape Town based retailer dropped as much as 17.5 percent as it announced it may need to ask investors for as much as 4 billion rand ($208 million) in a rights offer by the middle of the year to stabilise the business. The stock is down more than 20 percent in the past six months versus a 4.7 percent gain by Shoprite Holdings.



The company said in a statement to the stock exchange in Johannesburg it will report an earnings, headline earnings and pro-forma headline earnings loss for the year ending February 28 mainly due to under-performance by its main Pick n Pay business, exacerbated by power cuts and restructuring and supply chain costs.



Pick n Pay recalled former CEO Summer last year as it reported a half-year loss and scrapped its dividend. The company has battled to win back customers from competitors including Shoprite and luxury retailer Woolworths Holdings. A new strategy introduced by former CEO Pieter Boone last year failed to turn the tide, forcing the company to recall Summers.



Last month, the company appointed a new leadership team, saying it was a key step in returning its main supermarket business to growth, while growing the Online business, Boxer and Clothing chains. The new executives would focus on simplifying the product offer to customers and buying merchandise, it said.



“We have totally reorganised our leadership team and strengthened and simplified our operational structure to drive rapid decision making, focusing on better in-store execution and excellent customer service,” said Summers.



“Cutting debt and creating a sustainable platform for investment in growth is the next big step towards unlocking the Group’s clear potential, and more details of our turnaround plan will be announced when we release our results in May.”



For the 47-weeks to January 21, the company said Pick n Pay Supermarkets reported a 0.1 percent drop in sales while inventory sales rose. The underperformance, together with investments in Boxer, the clothing and online business asap! almost doubled total debt to 7.2 billion rand.



The Boxer business meanwhile lifted sales by 17.1% during the same period, with like-for-like revenue up 7.3%. Pick n Pay Clothing stores reported sales up 17.5% as the Pick n Pay online revenue jumped 75.8 percent.

FILE PHOTO: Pick n Pay sales grow but warns on extra costs from power cuts

Pick n Pay Plunges After Announcing Full-year Loss, Stock Sale

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="559" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/download-66.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-425261" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/download-66.jpg 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/download-66-300x210.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/download-66-129x90.jpg 129w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/download-66-768x537.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Workers from Mondi paper mill stand behind a fence in the town of Stamboliyski, Bulgaria. File photo. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov</figcaption></figure>



Feb 22 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;British packaging company Mondi&nbsp;MNDI.L&nbsp;said on Thursday that its customers, which include consumer goods companies and e-commerce retailers, have been reluctant to change to sustainable packaging due to cost considerations.



In recent years there has been a push to shift away from plastic packaging due to its negative impact on the environment, with companies seeking more sustainable ways to deliver goods.



&#8220;In the short term, we have seen the world naturally distracted by heightened geopolitical and macroeconomic risks, at times slowing down progress on key sustainability issues,&#8221; Mondi CEO Andrew King told analysts in a post-earnings call.



&#8220;We see this in the rate of adoption of some of the sustainable packaging solutions we have developed, where our customers and ultimately the end consumer have been reluctant to make the change due to cost considerations,&#8221; King added.



However, he added that he believed it to be more of a &#8220;cyclical phenomenon&#8221;.



For Mondi, which counts Unilever&nbsp;ULVR.L, Reckitt&nbsp;RKT.L&nbsp;and Tesco&nbsp;TSCO.L&nbsp;among its customers, 82% of its 2022 revenue came from packaging and paper products that are reusable, recyclable or compostable.



Mondi makes &#8216;EcoWicketBags&#8217; which are used to package diapers and toilet paper, as well as paper-based packaging for Reckitt&#8217;s Finish dishwasher tablets.



(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil and Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

download-66

Mondi says customers reluctant to switch to sustainable packaging on cost concerns

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-154793099-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-408693" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-154793099-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-154793099-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-154793099-120x80.jpg 120w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-154793099-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-154793099-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-154793099-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A sign stands at the entrance to the offices of Anglo American Plc in the Marshalltown district of Johannesburg, South Africa, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2012. Anglo American Plc Chief Executive Officer Cynthia Carroll , the first woman, external hire and non-South African to hold the job, will quit after Anglo lost $14 billion in value in the more than five years she was in charge. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, Feb 22 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Anglo American&nbsp;AAL.L&nbsp;said on Thursday it will review its assets after posting a 94% plunge in its annual profit&nbsp;and taking writedowns at its diamonds and&nbsp;nickel units.



The miner announced a $1.6 billion impairment charge on its De Beers diamond business owing to faltering demand, and an impairment of $500 million at its Barro Alto nickel mine&nbsp;as prices are hit&nbsp;by&nbsp;slowing&nbsp;demand from the electric vehicle sector.



&#8220;We are now in a process of systematically going through all of our assets in a review just to assess their role in the portfolio, their success in the portfolio, and absolutely nothing is off the table in respect of that review,&#8221; CEO Duncan Wanblad told reporters.



The review is expected to take around one year, he&nbsp;said.



Anglo&#8217;s shares&nbsp;was up 4.3% by 0830 GMT,&nbsp;as investors welcomed the plan.



The London-listed miner&#8217;s 2023 profit attributable to shareholders fell to $283 million from $4.5 billion a year earlier.



Anglo declared a full-year shareholder payout of $0.96 per share, totalling $500 million, down from $1.98.



Net debt swelled to $10.6 billion from $6.9 billion, slightly&nbsp;below&nbsp;the&nbsp;$10.93 billion&nbsp;expected by analysts.



The global miner, which also produces copper,&nbsp;platinum group metals (PGMs), iron oreand steelmaking coal, joined most of its rivals in reporting lower full-year earnings and shareholder dividends. But cuts at some of its businesses were more extreme.



Both its South African unit Kumba Iron OreKIOJ.J and Anglo American PlatinumAMSJ.J this week announced plans to cut more than 4,000 jobs and review agreements with some 780 contractors.



&#8220;In terms of cycle timing, the two assets that are dragging the portfolio today are the PGMs and diamonds businesses,&#8221; Wanblad said.



&#8220;To make any short-term decisions, you have to be absolutely certain that there had been a structural change in either of those markets or those businesses for us to want to do something very drastic with them,&#8221; he added.



Anglo had already announced $1.8 billionin spending cuts by 2026 after logging a $1.7 billion writedown on its project to produce fertiliser nutrients in Britain.



&#8220;The company-specific turnaround story, which could include changes to the portfolio or bringing in a partner for Woodsmith, is compelling,&#8221; Jefferies analysts wrote in a note.



(Reporting by Clara Denina and Felix Njini; editing by David Goodman and Jason Neely and Miral Fahmy)

Anglo American Plc’s South African Headquarters As CEO Cynthia Carroll Quits

Anglo American launches asset review after writedowns, profit plunge

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-496939146-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-421904" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-496939146-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-496939146-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-496939146-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-496939146-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-496939146-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-496939146-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">An Eskom sign sits on the exterior of the Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. headquarters, South Africas state-owned electricity utility at Megawatt Park in Sandton, near Johannesburg, South Africa, on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. A plan to reform state-owned power company Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. and bring South Africa and its economy out of the dark is starting to show results, according to Chief Executive Officer Brian Molefe. Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Feb 21 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s power sector will require increased private sector investment as debt-ridden utility Eskom implements structural reforms and builds critical new infrastructure, the company&#8217;s chairman told Reuters.



Private sector involvement in the power sector is a politically sensitive subject as South Africa prepares for elections in May, and the chairman made clear state-owned Eskom would not be moving towards privatisation.



&#8220;Private sector participation, yes, but the asset is going to end up with the government,&#8221; Mteto Nyati, the chairman of Eskom&#8217;s board of directors, said in an interview.



Africa&#8217;s most industrialised nation is weathering its worst power crisis on record, necessitating daily scheduled blackouts that have disrupted economic activity and crippled growth as Eskom battles to keep its ageing fleet of coal-fired power plants operational.



The government is working to add generating capacity, largely through deals with private companies operating solar and wind projects.



However, Nyati said the capacity to connect those new projects to the national grid was limited by available transmission capacity.



&#8220;We probably need close to 350 billion rand ($18.61 billion) over the next 10 years to build the transmission infrastructure. We do not have, from our own operations, the capacity to fund that,&#8221; he said.



Nyati said Eskom had the finances to fund the first three years of its transmission expansion plan.



Beyond that, it would need private investment, he said, adding the board was considering the kind of build, operate, transfer models that had already been used to construct highways and communications networks.



Under a reform plan announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2019, Eskom will be unbundled into three companies that will separately manage electricity generation, transmission and distribution.



The transmission unit will be operational this year, Nyati said, with the new distribution entity to follow suit in 2025.



In future, he predicted Eskom&#8217;s generating company would be the sole provider of the baseload electricity required to keep the grid running, but with independent power projects increasingly involved in adding new generating capacity.



A government planning document released for public comment last month called for a massive programme of power plant construction to ensure adequate electricity supply to 2050.



($1 = 18.8082 rand)



(Reporting by Joe Bavier; editing by Barbara Lewis)

Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd Chief Executive Officer Brian Molefe Interview

South Africa’s power sector needs more private investment, Eskom chair says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="573" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/NEPKJJCZ6JMDDNTX4MOGZ42NFI-820x573.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-458452" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/NEPKJJCZ6JMDDNTX4MOGZ42NFI-820x573.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/NEPKJJCZ6JMDDNTX4MOGZ42NFI-300x210.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/NEPKJJCZ6JMDDNTX4MOGZ42NFI-129x90.jpg 129w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/NEPKJJCZ6JMDDNTX4MOGZ42NFI-768x537.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/NEPKJJCZ6JMDDNTX4MOGZ42NFI-1536x1074.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/NEPKJJCZ6JMDDNTX4MOGZ42NFI-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">South Africa&#8217;s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana speaks during his medium-term budget policy statement in Cape Town, South Africa, November 1, 2023. REUTERS/Esa Alexander</figcaption></figure>



South Africa&#8217;s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced the drawdown of R150 billion from the country’s Gold and Foreign Exchange Contingency Reserve (GFECRA) account over the next three years saying the money will help keep borrowing and debt service costs low.



Godongwana told parliament debt levels were unsustainably high at a time when the economy was facing lack-lustre growth because of power shortages, logistics bottlenecks and a general mismanagement of public funds.



The GFECRA, which is held by the South African Reserve Bank, captures losses and profits on foreign currency reserves, which helps reduce currency volatility. The reserves are currently valued at over R500 billion rand as the rand trades near its lowest levels against the dollar.



Godongwana said dipping into the reserves was a mid-term solution that helps lower the gross borrowing requirement from R553.1 billion in the current fiscal year to R428.5 billion by the 2026/27 fiscal year.



He cut his growth forecast for 2023 to 0.6 percent but forecast an acceleration to an average of 1.6 percent from now till 2026.



&#8220;The growth outlook is supported by the expected easing of power cuts as new energy projects begin production, and as lower inflation supports household consumption and credit extension,&#8221; he said.



Godongwana also announced he is committing R943.8 billion in total infrastructure funding over the next three years to mitigate the country&#8217;s&nbsp; energy supply and logistics failures.



Transnet, in particular, has been granted a new guarantee of R47 billion, he said, with R22.8bn available for immediate use. Godongwana says the guarantee is mainly to address persistent challenges relating to liquidity and supply chain backlogs.



Compared to a year ago, the country&#8217;s budget deficit for 2023/24 is projected to have worsened to 4.9 per cent of GDP, better than analysts&#8217; projections of a 5% deficit.

South Africa issues medium-term budget policy statement

South Africa dips into emergency reserves as fiscal space vanishes

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="533" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2024-02-21T123154Z_1_LYNXNPEK1K0GH_RTROPTP_3_SAFRICA-ECONOMY-BUDGET.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-458455" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2024-02-21T123154Z_1_LYNXNPEK1K0GH_RTROPTP_3_SAFRICA-ECONOMY-BUDGET.jpg 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2024-02-21T123154Z_1_LYNXNPEK1K0GH_RTROPTP_3_SAFRICA-ECONOMY-BUDGET-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2024-02-21T123154Z_1_LYNXNPEK1K0GH_RTROPTP_3_SAFRICA-ECONOMY-BUDGET-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2024-02-21T123154Z_1_LYNXNPEK1K0GH_RTROPTP_3_SAFRICA-ECONOMY-BUDGET-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">South Africa&#8217;s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana speaks during his 2024 budget speech in Cape Town, South Africa, February 21, 2024. REUTERS/Esa Alexander/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



CAPE TOWN, Feb 21 (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa&#8217;s government will draw down 150 billion rand ($7.93 billion) over the next three years from a central bank-administered contingency account to limit borrowing, the National Treasury said on Wednesday.



Africa&#8217;s most industrialised economy has barely grown in more than a decade, with GDP growth averaging 0.8% since 2012. Weak revenue collection has seen debt levels rise, with debt-servicing costs consuming a greater share of the national budget.



The bleak economic backdrop is looming large over a general election due on May 29 that could see the governing African National Congress (ANC) party lose its parliamentary majority for the first time in 30 years.



The Treasury said in the 2024 budget that it was able to tap the Gold and Foreign Exchange Contingency Reserve Account (GFECRA) &#8211; which had a balance of 507.3 billion rand in January 2024 &#8211; because it was &#8220;now larger than any plausible losses on foreign exchange reserves from rand appreciation&#8221;.



It said the government would receive distributions from the central bank of 100 billion rand in 2024/25, 25 billion rand in 2025/26 and 25 billion rand in 2026/27.



&#8220;This will be formalised through legislation. Government will use these funds to reduce borrowing, and consequently the growth in debt-service costs,&#8221; Treasury said.



&#8220;We are in effect replacing our standard more expensive borrowing with this draw-down of GFECRA,&#8221; said Treasury Director-General Duncan Pieterse, adding another 100 billion rand from the account would be allocated to the central bank to cover the expenses of the settlement.



As a result of the settlement, gross debt is projected to stabilise at 75.3% of GDP in 2025/26, lower than 77.7% of GDP seen in November.



The consolidated budget deficit in the current 2023/24 fiscal year is seen at 4.9% of GDP, unchanged from November&#8217;s forecast. The budget deficit is projected at 4.5% of GDP in the fiscal year starting April 2024 and 3.7% of GDP in 2025/26.



GDP growth is projected at 1.3% this year from estimated growth of 0.6% in 2023.



A major constraint on growth for more than a decade has been rolling power cuts that have hurt businesses of all sizes. State power utility Eskom in 2023 implemented its heaviest power outages ever.



South Africa also faces a logistics crisis as another state company, Transnet, struggles to provide adequate freight rail and port services because of equipment shortages and maintenance backlogs after years of under-investment. Rampant cable theft and vandalism have also damaged the network.



&#8220;The 2024 Budget strikes a careful balance between the urgent demands of national development and the sustainability of our public finances,&#8221; Treasury said.



($1 = 18.9092 rand) 



(Reporting by Kopano Gumbi and Wendell Roelf in Cape Town, Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Nellie Peyton in Pretoria, and Anait Miridzhanian in Johannesburg Editing by Alexander Winning)

South Africa’s Finance Minister Godongwana presents 2024 budget in Cape Town

South Africa will tap contingency account to curb rising debt

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="500" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/IPIBPAZT5NJTLHOJHSQKY4RVUE-820x500.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-458408" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/IPIBPAZT5NJTLHOJHSQKY4RVUE-820x500.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/IPIBPAZT5NJTLHOJHSQKY4RVUE-300x183.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/IPIBPAZT5NJTLHOJHSQKY4RVUE-148x90.jpg 148w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/IPIBPAZT5NJTLHOJHSQKY4RVUE-768x468.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/IPIBPAZT5NJTLHOJHSQKY4RVUE-1536x936.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/IPIBPAZT5NJTLHOJHSQKY4RVUE-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A pit head is seen at the Tumela Mine , an Anglo American Platinum open pit mine located in the north-western part of South Africa in Thabazimbi, Limpopo on June 9,2016. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Feb 21 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s mines, which laid the foundation for the nation&#8217;s industrial growth well into the post-apartheid era, are cutting thousands of jobs and paying much less tax, muddying the domestic economic outlook months away from a crucial election.



The country&#8217;s biggest mining investors are halting plans to spend billions of rand on new projects in response to a slump in profits due to myriad local challenges and weakening prices of commodities such as platinum.



The layoffs and investment cuts come against a backdrop of high unemployment and weak economic growth that are looming large over the parliamentary vote, due in May and likely to see the governing African National Congress (ANC) lose its parliamentary majority for the first time in 30 years.



A rally in recent years in the price of commodities such as palladium, rhodium, coal and iron ore helped the likes of Anglo American Platinum&nbsp;AMSJ.J, Sibanye Stillwater&nbsp;SSWJ.J, Kumba Iron Ore&nbsp;KIOJ.J, Exxaro Resources&nbsp;EXXJ.J&nbsp;make windfall returns &#8211; allowing them to partly paper over domestic constraints including power cuts, a poor rail network and crime.



But with prices plummeting since last year, companies are in restructuring mode and cutting jobs.



&#8220;The challenge is now just to be able to operate, to be able to produce on a continuous basis,&#8221; said Claude Baissac, the CEO for Eunomix Research.



&#8220;Unless there is a fundamental change of policy and state capacity, we are going to end up with a marginal mining industry, providing marginal jobs.&#8221;



The mining sector&#8217;s contribution to South Africa&#8217;s gross domestic product stood at 6.2% last year from 7.3% in 2022 and 8.3% a decade earlier, according to Minerals Council South Africa, an industry lobby group. The sector employs about 477,000 people.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-loss-making">LOSS MAKING</h2>



Anglo American&#8217;s AAL.Lplatinum and iron ore units in South Africa this week announced plans to cut more than 4,000 jobs and review agreements with a combined 780 contractors.



The restructuring, which includes postponing spending plans at some platinum shafts and closing a metals processing plant, aims to save Anglo 13 billion rand ($687 million).



Some 15 of South Africa&#8217;s biggest mining companies, including Amplats, Kumba and Glencore, contributed 110 billion rand in taxes and royalties in 2021, the bulk of about 360 billion rand in corporate tax collected by the treasury, according to RMB Morgan Stanley analysts.



The analysts forecast that amount halved in 2023.



Sibanye, which is South Africa&#8217;s top employer in the mining sector, plans to cut about 4,000 jobs at its platinum mines. Smaller platinum producers and some coal producers have also announced job cuts.



About half of the country&#8217;s platinum mines, some of which are the world&#8217;s deepest and costly to operate, are loss-making at current prices, said Impala Platinum&nbsp;IMPJ.J&nbsp;spokesperson Johan Theron.



&#8220;That means if nothing changes (in terms of prices), more than 50% of the industry will disappear in some shape or form over time,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Nothing is sustainable that is fundamentally loss-making.&#8221; Impala has said it may cut jobs and last year asked workers to take voluntary exit packages.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rail-crisis">RAIL CRISIS</h2>



South Africa&#8217;s 2023 coal exports hit the lowest level since 1992 because of the dire state of its railway network, operated by state group Transnet and hampered by a lack of wagons and spare parts, cable thefts and inadequate maintenance. For a while companies stockpiled their commodities hoping the situation would improve, but more recently they have been scaling down production and cutting jobs to cushion losses.



Anglo American&#8217;s Kumba, Africa&#8217;s top iron ore miner, has cut mining output for the next three years until rail capacity improves, CEO Mpumi Zikalala said on Tuesday. Kumba had about 7 million tons of the steel-making ingredient stockpiled at its mines as of December.



&#8220;Clearly, for as long as there is no immediate solution to the electricity crisis, and rail and port infrastructure challenges, we will continue to lose jobs,&#8221; said the National Union of Mineworkers, one of South Africa&#8217;s biggest and most powerful trade unions which was once led by Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa&#8217;s current president.



($1 = 18.9349 rand)



(Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo, Silvia Aloisi and David Evans)

featured

Nigeria outlaws street-trading by FX bureaus in new rules to stem naira slide

Sasol committed to climate targets, but not “at all costs”

Dollar lower before inflation-heavy data deluge

Tanzania switches on first turbine of hydro plant in World Heritage Site

WTO meeting seeks modest outcomes, with global trade at ‘critical juncture’

Google expects its more advanced large language models to arrive on Android phones next year

Pick n Pay fundraising seen giving grocer time to fix core business

Sibanye reduces planned job cuts after deferring shaft closure

Europe, Africa oil markets tighten, lending support to futures

AI can ‘disproportionately’ help defend against cybersecurity threats, Google CEO Sundar Pichai says

Pick n Pay Plunges After Announcing Full-year Loss, Stock Sale

Mondi says customers reluctant to switch to sustainable packaging on cost concerns

Anglo American launches asset review after writedowns, profit plunge

South Africa’s power sector needs more private investment, Eskom chair says

South Africa dips into emergency reserves as fiscal space vanishes

South Africa will tap contingency account to curb rising debt

In election year, South African mines bleed cash, jobs

News Tips

Advertise With Us

featured

Nigeria outlaws street-trading by FX bureaus in new rules to stem naira slide

Sasol committed to climate targets, but not “at all costs”

Dollar lower before inflation-heavy data deluge

Tanzania switches on first turbine of hydro plant in World Heritage Site

WTO meeting seeks modest outcomes, with global trade at ‘critical juncture’

Google expects its more advanced large language models to arrive on Android phones next year

Pick n Pay fundraising seen giving grocer time to fix core business

Sibanye reduces planned job cuts after deferring shaft closure

Europe, Africa oil markets tighten, lending support to futures

AI can ‘disproportionately’ help defend against cybersecurity threats, Google CEO Sundar Pichai says

Pick n Pay Plunges After Announcing Full-year Loss, Stock Sale

Mondi says customers reluctant to switch to sustainable packaging on cost concerns

Anglo American launches asset review after writedowns, profit plunge

South Africa’s power sector needs more private investment, Eskom chair says

South Africa dips into emergency reserves as fiscal space vanishes

South Africa will tap contingency account to curb rising debt

In election year, South African mines bleed cash, jobs

News Tips

Advertise With Us

Newsletters