Sector: Financials
The company is available at Interactive Brokers
Absa Group Limited (JSE:ABG) is a diversified African financial services provider offering products and services across retail, business, corporate, investment and wealth banking as well as investment management and insurance.
The group delivers a wide range of financial products and services through three customer facing segments:
Retail and Business Banking South Africa
Serving
Individuals; micro, small and medium enterprises; non-governmental organisations and public sector institutions.
Products and services
Comprehensive suite of banking and insurance offerings, including transactional banking, card solutions, lending solutions, deposit-taking, risk management, investment products, and cardacquiring services.
Presence
South Africa
Corporate and Investment Bank
Serving
Global, regional and mid- to large sized corporates and organisations; financial institutions; and public sector institutions.
Products and services
Specialist solutions across corporate and transactional banking, investment banking, financing, risk management, advisory products and services.
Presence
South Africa, serving customers across Africa alongside Absa Regional Operations and an international presence in the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Representative offices in Namibia and Nigeria.
Absa Regional Operations
Serving
Individuals; micro, small and medium enterprises; regional and local corporates; financial institutions; non-governmental organisations and public sector institutions.
Products and services
Comprehensive suite of retail, business, corporate and investment banking products and services, including transactional banking, card solutions, lending solutions, deposit-taking, risk management, investment products, and cardacquiring services. Insurance products in select markets.
Presence
Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
Semi-Annual values ($m)
Change (y/y)
P / E
Potential dynamics
Banking group Absa said the time is ripe for African fintech firms to consider public listings at home.
2024-02-22 09:15 +02:00
Absa has launched ChatWallet in WhatsApp, giving users access to banking services directly in the messaging app.
2024-02-07 15:47 +02:00
New customer sentiment data about the South African banking sector has yielded intriguing insights.
2023-11-30 12:36 +02:00
Black Friday spending this year was muted, experts have said. E-commerce, however, still saw good growth.
2023-11-28 15:26 +02:00
A PepsiCo fund has acquired a stake in agri-tech start-up Khula to help underpin the company’s expansion plans.
2023-11-21 13:35 +02:00
Interbank payments provider BankservAfrica has appointed Stephen Linnell as its new CEO, replacing Jan Pilbauer
2023-09-18 11:36 +02:00
Capitec and Discovery Bank have become the latest to offer access to PayShap, BankservAfrica’s rapid payments platform.
2023-08-15 08:30 +02:00
South Africa’s economy probably avoided a contraction in the second quarter, despite record power cuts.
2023-08-14 06:59 +02:00
PayShap, South Africa’s real-time digital payments service, has shown robust uptake since its launch in March.
2023-08-02 11:29 +02:00
There has been a particularly steep decline in expected business conditions, a survey showed on Thursday.
2023-06-01 11:59 +02:00
Jan-Jan Bezuidenhout tells the TechCentral Show that he believes fibre operators will soon find a way to deliver fibre broadband profitably into underserviced areas.
2023-04-05 14:38 +02:00
The bank will provide up to R50-million in energy subsidies to qualifying SMEs, allowing them to finance solar installations.
2023-04-03 13:15 +02:00
Telkom’s chairman, Sello Moloko, has resigned and will leave the board by no later than 31 March 2023.
2022-11-23 08:06 +02:00
Fixing South Africa’s broken utility and its rickety power system is proving a crucial test for the ANC ahead of elections in 2024.
2022-09-27 19:12 +02:00JSE:GLN JSE:AGL JSE:ABG JSE:MNP JSE:AVI JSE:MPT JSE:EMN JSE:EMH
Big changes are coming to the payments industry in South Africa early next year. BankservAfrica CEO unpacks all the details in this episode of TC|Daily.
2022-09-19 11:19 +02:00JSE:FSR JSE:SBK JSE:ABG JSE:NED JSE:BVT JSE:INP JSE:INL JSE:MPT JSE:SFN JSE:HUG JSE:ISA
Telkom’s largest shareholder, government, voted against the appointment of a large number of directors to the company’s board at its AGM on Wednesday.
2022-08-24 19:30 +02:00
Manufacturing activity contracted for the first time in a year in July, when South Africa experienced severe power cuts, Absa said on Monday.
2022-08-01 11:33 +02:00
Shares in Alviva Holdings leapt higher on Thursday after the group received an offer from a black-led consortium to buy it out.
2022-06-30 16:15 +02:00
Absa is making a raft of changes to its top management position to refocus its strategy towards being more customer centric.
2022-06-30 07:56 +02:00
African Rainbow Energy and Power is looking to boost renewable power generation to become one of the biggest clean energy providers in South Africa and Africa.
2022-06-13 13:18 +02:00
EOH Holdings CEO Stephen van Coller is considering a sale of the IT services firm after returning the group to profitability, sources said.
2022-05-04 16:38 +02:00
Long-serving MetroFibre Networx CEO Steve Booysen will step down from the fibre-to-the-home operator at the end of May.
2022-04-28 21:35 +02:00
JSE-listed SilverBridge Holdings has received a takeover offer of R2/share from UK-based ROX Equity Partners, sweetening a previous offer made in March.
2022-04-22 15:55 +02:00
The South African Reserve Bank has taken a step closer to creating a national digital currency. This is after it took the wraps last week off the second phase of Project Khokha.
2022-04-11 15:17 +02:00
More engagement with the fintech industry is needed before distributed ledger technology can be incorporated into South Africa’s financial markets, according to a new report.
2022-04-06 14:01 +02:00
Absa has appointed long-serving executive Arrie Rautenbach as its new CEO, replacing Daniel Mminele, who resigned last year after clashing with the banking group’s board.
2022-03-29 08:00 +02:00
In a blurring of boundaries between banks and telecoms operators, Telkom has launched a mobile point-of-sale solution aimed at SMMEs.
2022-03-14 11:54 +02:00
Absa-banked merchants can now accept card payments directly on their mobile phones, without the need for a point-of-sale terminal.
2022-03-10 11:07 +02:00
The constitutional court has upheld a ruling by a lower court that allowed the government to renege on salary increases for public servants.
2022-02-28 11:05 +02:00
Big changes are coming to South Africa’s payments industry that will shake up the financial services sector, according to BankservAfrica CEO Jan Pilbauer.
2022-02-18 15:29 +02:00JSE:FSR JSE:MTN JSE:SBK JSE:ABG JSE:NED JSE:BVT JSE:INP JSE:INL JSE:AVI JSE:SFN JSE:ISA
Absa Bank has joined the Hyperledger Foundation, an open, global ecosystem for enterprise blockchain technologies.
2022-02-16 10:02 +02:00
The news earlier this week that Apple plans to allow merchants to accept contactless payments directly on iPhones has stirred a great a deal of interest.
2022-02-10 15:13 +02:00
Since much of Africa’s population has limited access to financial services, the continent is one of the world’s most attractive banking opportunities as incomes rise.
2021-12-09 17:00 +02:00
Public net sentiment towards Absa has jumped in the past year, an analysis of hundreds of thousands of social media conversations shows.
2021-11-30 16:30 +02:00
Absa Group said on Thursday that its partnership with Amazon Web Services to train employees in cloud computing skills will see almost 1 800 people benefit.
2021-11-25 09:55 +02:00
Africa is central to Swedish music streamer Spotify’s plans to extend its reach to a billion customers.
2021-10-12 17:33 +02:00
The obstacle to getting higher EV adoption rates in South Africa has not been the cost of EVs but rather how much more they cost.
2021-10-07 09:56 +02:00
Teraco, the largest data centre operator in South Africa, has completed its Cape Town “hyperscale” data centre campus expansion. Here’s what it looks like.
2021-10-07 09:54 +02:00
FirstRand will end funding for new coal-fired power stations and coal mines and has lowered the cap on its coal exposure as part of moves to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, it said on Wednesday.
2021-09-15 11:33 +02:00
Teraco Data Environments has completed the second and final phase of its massive new data centre, JB3, at its Isando campus in Johannesburg. Here’s what it looks like.
2021-08-19 17:00 +02:00
First National Bank has finally launched supported for Apple Pay in South Africa, the financial services institution said on Tuesday.
2021-08-03 10:07 +02:00
First National Bank is deploying mobile ATMs in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng hit by recent large-scale looting as a temporary measure while it rebuilds infrastructure destroyed in the riots.
2021-08-02 07:21 +02:00
Amazon.com’s planned new Africa headquarters in Cape Town is to draw demonstrations on Wednesday as indigenous people protest its construction on a heritage site.
2021-06-16 10:20 +02:00
Absa, Investec and the Development Bank of Southern Africa indicated they could support a bid by a Turkish company to supply emergency power to South Africa, sources said.
2021-05-25 06:01 +02:00
The Ombudsman for Banking Services’ annual report reveals that it opened 7 717 formal cases in 2020 – a new record. That’s a 19% increase on the prior year, despite the Covid-19 lockdown.
2021-05-13 06:56 +02:00
The high court has ruled that Ayo Technology Solutions’ bid to overturn First National Bank’s decision last month to close the JSE-listed technology group’s banking facilities will not be heard on an urgent basis.
2021-04-29 13:52 +02:00
Absa has joined several other banks, including Capitec and FNB, in launching the ability for clients to use its banking app to make payments using QR codes.
2021-04-28 09:02 +02:00
Absa Group CEO Daniel Mminele has stepped down, the bank said on Tuesday, a shock departure just 15 months into his post that sent shares in one of Africa’s biggest lenders down as much as 5%.
2021-04-20 06:06 +02:00
First National Bank has terminated the banking facilities it provides to Iqbal Survé’s Ayo Technology Solutions, Ayo said in a statement to shareholders after markets closed in Johannesburg on Thursday.
2021-04-15 16:01 +02:00
Absa Group said on Thursday that it is launching a skills incubator in partnership with Amazon Web Services to train employees in cloud computing skills.
2021-04-08 06:59 +02:00
Apple Pay has finally been launched in South Africa. Customers from Nedbank, Absa and Discovery Bank were on Tuesday morning able to load their bank cards into their Apple wallets.
2021-03-30 10:22 +02:00
South African fibre telecommunications infrastructure company MetroFibre Networx has raised R2.5-billion in new debt financing, led by Investec, adding to the R1.5-billion recently raised from shareholders.
2021-03-23 15:30 +02:00
Acting minister in the presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has paid tribute to Peter Matlare for his contribution to the economic development of South Africa.
2021-03-08 06:00 +02:00
Telkom on Friday said Dirk Reyneke will replace chief financial officer Tsholofelo Molefe, who resigned in December to join MTN Group, also as CFO.
2021-02-05 16:00 +02:00
Teraco Data Environments has concluded its biggest fundraising round to date, securing R2.5-billion from Absa and other lenders that will be used to build a giant new data centre east of Johannesburg.
2021-02-02 14:05 +02:00
An Absa employee accused of leaking some of the bank’s South African customer data to third parties provided the information, which included credit card numbers, to several third parties in return for payment.
2020-12-01 16:06 +02:00
Absa has been hit by a data leak, which the banking group said on Monday evening was limited in nature, but which involved the “unlawful” leaking of client information by an employee.
2020-11-30 19:01 +02:00
South African fibre broadband provider MetroFibre Networx has raised R1.5-billion in a new funding round led by infrastructure-focused private equity fund manager African Infrastructure Investment Managers.
2020-11-17 08:17 +02:00
The paint has barely dried on phase 1 of Teraco’s huge new expansion of its Isando data centre but the company is already embarking on its next big build: a massive, R4-billion facility north of OR Tambo International Airport.
2020-11-03 17:54 +02:00
Bank Zero has announced its account pricing as it edges closer to launch. The digital-only bank says “basic banking should be free and extras should be paid for – not the other way round”.
2020-10-28 06:55 +02:00JSE:SBK JSE:ABG JSE:NED JSE:CLS JSE:OMU JSE:AVI JSE:ARH JSE:ISA
Altron has won an appeal at the supreme court, overturning the high court’s earlier decision to set aside the awarding of a broadband contract by the City of Tshwane to Thobela Telecoms.
2020-10-05 12:41 +02:00
Africa’s mobile phone operators are ramping up plans to bring banking to millions of Africans, in some cases for the first time, after the coronavirus crisis caused a surge in use of digital financial services.
2020-09-29 17:45 +02:00
Alviva Holdings, the JSE-listed parent of technology companies such as Axiz, Pinnacle and Datacentrix, has reported a 50% decline in full-year headline earnings per share but will pay a dividend of 15c/share.
2020-09-28 12:57 +02:00
As of 1 January 2021, Nedbank clients will no longer be able to use cheques as a payment option. In an announcement on Tuesday, the bank said this is because few clients make use of the service.
2020-09-22 14:18 +02:00
South African businesses have had to respond to the coronavirus and lockdown restrictions since March. At the same time, the country’s economy is in crisis. Here’s how companies are coping.
2020-09-18 07:20 +02:00JSE:AGL JSE:AMS JSE:FSR JSE:MTN JSE:SBK JSE:VOD JSE:IMP JSE:SSW JSE:ABG JSE:SHP JSE:NED JSE:PPH JSE:AVI JSE:SPG JSE:MSM JSE:SUI
Credit bureau Experian said on Thursday that no consumer credit information or financial information was obtained by a suspected fraudster and that the incident has been “contained”.
2020-08-20 16:29 +02:00
The appointment of a white treasurer at Eskom has become mired in allegations of racism, deepening a political dispute between a rabble-rousing opposition party and a cabinet minister.
2020-08-11 17:00 +02:00
The lead independent non-executive director of EOH Holdings has resigned from the board a year after being appointed and five months after taking the lead directorship role.
2020-07-28 15:48 +02:00
Banking group Absa is transferring 32 members of its enterprise resource planning software team to Dimension Data.
2020-07-23 14:40 +02:00
Another South African is making headlines in the US. Pierre Naudé is the CEO of the global fintech company nCino, which listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange on Tuesday.
2020-07-17 18:02 +02:00
Pick n Pay now allows customers to deposit money directly into their own bank accounts at till points thanks to a partnership with Mastercard, Visa and Absa.
2020-07-08 08:18 +02:00
South Africa’s seasonally adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index expanded in June as an easing of coronavirus restrictions lifted business activity and sales.
2020-07-01 04:12 +02:00
Finance minister Tito Mboweni said national treasury has no plans to boost income tax, corporate tax or VAT even as the coronavirus decimates the nation’s finances.
2020-06-29 05:22 +02:00
South African banks face the steepest earnings slump in half a century – with some posting losses – as measures to curb the coronavirus drag the economy deeper into recession.
2020-06-08 08:47 +02:00
South Africa’s seasonally adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index expanded in May with factories gradually restarting activity as the coronavirus lockdown eased, helping to lift production and sales.
2020-06-01 10:35 +02:00
Teraco Data Environments plans to invest R4-billion in Africa to meet rising demand for data as the continent’s governments battle the coronavirus.
2020-05-07 11:10 +02:00
Business activity in South Africa’s manufacturing industry fell to a record low in April, when a nationwide lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic brought output to a near standstill.
2020-05-04 09:54 +02:00
Vodacom is suing Absa for losses of at least R1.2-billion it claims it incurred due to an alleged unauthorised payment from the operator’s accounts to Tanzania’s tax agency last year. It’s also demanding R4.3-billion under a guarantee signed between the parties.
2020-04-06 18:00 +02:00
The Competition Commission has approved JSE-listed technology group Altron’s acquisition of identity management security specialist Ubusha Technologies.
2020-03-04 07:47 +02:00JSE:SBK JSE:VOD JSE:ABG JSE:NED JSE:INP JSE:INL JSE:TKG JSE:JSE JSE:MSM JSE:ISA
Sentiment in South Africa’s manufacturing industry fell to the lowest level in more than a decade in February as the prospect of continued power cuts weighed on confidence.
2020-03-02 06:40 +02:00
Power shortages cost South Africa as much as R118-billion last year, a drain on the economy that’s set to continue for two to three years unless urgent action is taken, a new study has found.
2020-01-22 10:02 +02:00
Less than a month into 2020, South African companies have already announced thousands of job cuts. In a country where a third of the labour force is already unemployed, this will put even more strain on economic growth.
2020-01-22 06:17 +02:00
Google has hired advertising industry veteran Alistair Mokoena as its new country director for South Africa. Mokoena replaces Luke Mckend in the role.
2020-01-17 19:00 +02:00
EOH is in the cross-hairs of shareholders over executive pay, with an astonishing 65% of shareholders voting against the group’s remuneration policy and its implementation at Thursday’s AGM.
2019-12-09 14:42 +02:00
JSE-listed technology group Altron said on Monday that it had acquired Ubusha Technologies, an identity management security company, for R360-million.
2019-12-09 07:55 +02:00JSE:SBK JSE:VOD JSE:ABG JSE:NED JSE:INP JSE:INL JSE:TKG JSE:JSE JSE:MSM JSE:ISA
EOH Holdings plans to sell a further R1-billion of non-core businesses in 2020 as it reorganises and reduces debt.
2019-10-15 18:00 +02:00The development bank founded by the so-called BRICS countries closed the auction for its first South African rand bonds on Tuesday, as it comes under pressure to boost its local currency fundraising and lending.
2023-08-16
South African bank Absa said on Friday its loan losses were expected to have risen above its target range in the first half of this year as consumers felt the burden of higher interest rates.
2023-07-14
The South African rand recovered from a record low hit earlier on Thursday, following a hammering in May on the back of souring investor sentiment.
2023-06-01
The South African rand hit a fresh record low in early trade on Thursday, extending a hammering from May on the back of souring investor sentiment.
2023-06-01South Africa`s Standard Bank Group funded renewable energy projects worth 55 billion rand ($2.79 billion) in 2022, exceeding its green financing target and putting it ahead of the world`s top lenders, it said on Tuesday.
2023-05-30
Defending champions Senegal, Burkina Faso, South Africa and Tunisia added their names to the list of qualified teams for next year’s African Cup of Nations finals after away successes in Tuesday’s qualifiers.
2023-03-29
South African lender Absa Group aims to cut its net carbon emissions to zero by 2050 by curtailing lending to coal, oil and gas projects as well as increasing its exposure to renewables, it said on Friday.
2023-03-24
The South African Reserve Bank will probably jack up interest rates by just 50 basis points more in early 2023 as signs of disinflation are expected to materialise after a series of aggressive rate rises this year, a Reuters poll found.
2022-12-14
* Strong balance sheet to tackle uncertainty, CEO says (Adds comments from press conference, interview)
2022-08-15
Thanks to his rooftop solar panels, Pierre Moureau only notices the blackouts that regularly plunge South Africans into darkness when complaints pop up on his Johannesburg neighbourhood`s WhatsApp group.
2022-08-15
* Turkey cenbank decision due at 1100 GMT, S. Africa`s at 1300 GMT
2022-07-21
The South African rand steadied on Wednesday, supported by an upbeat manufacturing survey that helped it hold its ground against a stronger dollar on global markets.
2022-06-01LONDON (Reuters) -Barclays has sold a 7.4% stake in South African bank Absa, it said on Thursday, raising 526 million pounds ($687 million) as it looks to bolster its capital levels.
2022-04-21
* Bank sets 17% ROE target by 2024 (Adds details, shares, CEO quote)
2022-03-14Spain`s Grupo Cobra and SENER companies are seeking to exit their stake in the 100-megawatt (MW) Ilanga solar power plant, which supplies electricity to South Africa`s national grid, two sources with knowledge of the process told Reuters.
2021-11-03South African banks say they have to keep funding at least some coal projects for now because an immediate halt would put huge political and economic strains on a nation that relies on the most polluting of fossil fuels.
2021-10-15JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa`s FirstRand will end funding for new coal-fired power stations and coal mines and has lowered the cap on its coal exposure as part of moves to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, it said on Wednesday.
2021-09-15
* Absa`s interim profits rise 14-fold, restores dividend (Recasts on Nigeria, adds details, shares)
2021-08-16
South African manufacturing activity shrank at its fastest rate in 14 months in July, weighed down by tighter coronavirus lockdown restrictions and civil unrest in some parts of the country, a survey showed on Monday.
2021-08-02Sun International has agreed easier borrowing terms with its lenders, two sources told Reuters, giving South Africa`s biggest casino firm a year of financial breathing space as a third wave of COVID-19 crashes over the tourism industry.
2021-07-09
South Africa`s seasonally-adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers` Index (PMI) expanded at slower pace in April as growth in business activity and new sales orders slowed, a survey showed on Monday.
2021-05-03South Africa`s rand got off to a weak start against a firmer U.S. dollar on Monday, with investors awaiting a raft of local and global data this week.
2021-05-03A surge in South African tomato prices, after output was hit by wet weather in the main growing areas, is expected to be short-lived, bringing comfort to cash-strapped consumers.
2021-04-21
South Africa`s seasonally-adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers` Index (PMI) expanded for third month in a row in March as new sales and exports rose with the easing of coronavirus lockdown restrictions, a survey showed on Thursday.
2021-04-01
South Africa`s Nedbank on Wednesday refrained from paying a dividend as its annual profit plunged 56.8%, after the COVID-19 crisis drove up credit impairments and lower interest rates hit revenue.
2021-03-17South African lender Absa said on Monday it would not declare a full-year dividend after profit fell 58%, falling behind two key rivals who managed to restore shareholder payouts in recent weeks.
2021-03-15South Africa`s rand weakened early on Tuesday in a broad emerging market retreat as investors reassessed expectations that the U.S. central bank would maintain its quantitative easing program at the current pace.
2021-03-02At least two of South Africa`s major banks are likely to declare dividends after the central bank last week eased guidance on payouts, analysts and investors said.
2021-02-23JSE:FSR JSE:SBK JSE:ABG JSE:NED JSE:INP JSE:INL JSE:AVI JSE:ARH
A credit scheme central to South Africa`s efforts to counter the economic impact of the coronavirus is on course to pay out less than a tenth of the loans it is offering, the country`s banking association said on Wednesday.
2021-02-03South African barley farmers are bracing for a tough market ahead as demand for the grain used to make beer falls and stockpiles grow after a ban on the sale of alcohol was reinstated as the country battles a surge in COVID-19 cases.
2021-01-27
South Africa`s seasonally-adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers` Index (PMI) recovered further in October, as some respondents suggested demand was approaching pre-COVID lockdown levels and businesses upped their inventories, a survey showed on Monday.
2020-11-02
Shares in South African lender Absa rose more than 2% on Monday as investors looked past a plunge in profit to the prospect of a better second half.
2020-08-24
South African banks are looking at options ranging from debt consolidation to new ways of leveraging equity to avoid defaults when coronavirus-related debt relief measures end, industry officials said.
2020-07-10South African banks and the government are looking for ways to boost take up of an up to 200 billion rand ($11.58 billion) loan scheme to help coronavirus-hit businesses, two bank executives and a source close to the discussions told Reuters.
2020-06-15
South Africa`s seasonally-adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers` Index (PMI) expanded in May with factories gradually restarting activity as the coronavirus lockdown eased, helping to lift production and sales.
2020-06-01
* Absa says coronavirus crisis had substantial impact in April
2020-05-26
South Africa`s rand firmed against the U.S. dollar on Monday, staging a technical rebound after a selloff in the previous session due to thin liquidity, while stocks closed lower.
2020-05-04
South Africa`s seasonally-adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers` Index (PMI) fell in April, with business activity contracting to its lowest ever, as the coronavirus lockdown, now in its sixth week, paralysed manufacturing activity.
2020-05-04
Major South African lender Absa said on Monday it had agreed hundreds of millions of dollars in temporary repayment relief for its borrowers, after the industry said 1.2 million people had applied for help.
2020-05-04
South African lender Capitec said on Tuesday it would not pay a dividend for its full year, although profits rose by 19%, in line with guidance from the country`s central back to scrap payouts amid the coronavirus outbreak.
2020-04-14
South African bank stocks recovered to make gains on Tuesday after the central bank signalled that its advice not to pay dividends did not include 2019`s and that the National Treasury was considering a scheme to encourage lending.
2020-04-07JSE:FSR JSE:SBK JSE:ABG JSE:NED JSE:INP JSE:INL JSE:AVI JSE:ARH
Standard Bank on Tuesday withdrew its financial guidance citing uncertainty caused by the coronavirus which has forced South Africa into a 21-day lockdown expected to take a toll on an already sputtering economy.
2020-03-31
South Africa`s biggest retail banks say that around 15-20% of their lending books do not definitely qualify for coronavirus relief measures announced by the banks last week, though more could be done if the government were to provide fiscal support.
2020-03-30
South Africa`s rand weakened more than 1% on Friday and stocks fell as the country reported its first two deaths from the coronavirus and a sharp jump in new infections just as a three-week national lockdown commenced to try to curb the outbreak.
2020-03-27
South Africa`s rand weakened early on Wednesday as another bout of risk aversion dragged emerging market currencies lower, with investors fretting over the economic impact of the coronavirus and opting to move money to safe-haven assets.
2020-03-11
South Africa`s seasonally-adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers` Index (PMI) fell deeper into contraction territory in February, sliding to its lowest since the 2009 global financial crisis as new sales and business activity tanked, the survey showed on Monday.
2020-03-02
The South African rand gained on Wednesday after Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said in a budget speech that the government would cut the public sector wage bill to contain a rising budget deficit.
2020-02-26
South Africa`s seasonally adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers` Index (PMI) slipped deeper into contraction territory in January as employment and inventories fell despite a recovery in new sales orders, a survey showed on Monday.
2020-02-03
South African lender Absa said on Monday it had appointed former central bank deputy governor Daniel Mminele as Group Chief Executive, effective Jan. 15.
2020-01-06
South Africa`s rand was flat against the dollar on Friday, struggling for direction after surprise gains in the face of a darkening growth outlook following a week of nationwide power cuts and ongoing uncertainty over U.S.-China trade talks.
2019-12-13
South Africa`s rand powered to a 5-week best as a contraction in the U.S. manufacturing sector boosted bids for risk and emerging markets` currencies and fuelled bets the Federal Reserve would cut lending rates.
2019-12-02
Solani Rivele, a single mother of four, earns about 800 rand ($55) a week but owes 100 times that amount in loans. Millions of South Africans like her rely on credit to feed their families.
2019-11-04
South Africa`s seasonally adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers` Index (PMI) sank to its lowest level in a decade in September, on weak demand linked to fears over slowing domestic and global growth, the survey showed on Tuesday.
2019-10-01
South Africa`s rand firmed against the dollar on Friday, as signs of a thaw in U.S.-China trade tensions and monetary easing in the euro zone and Turkey buoyed developing world currencies.
2019-09-13South African business leaders on Wednesday urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to push through reforms faster to boost the economy and curb investment outflows, as executives and policymakers gathered for a continental economic summit.
2019-09-04
South African business leaders on Wednesday urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to push through reforms faster to lift the economy and curb investment outflows, as executives and policymakers gathered for a continental economic summit.
2019-09-04
Lawyers for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa have asked a court to not make public certain information contained in the record of the country`s corruption watchdog because it was obtained unlawfully, the Presidency said on Saturday.
2019-08-10Lawyers for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa have asked a court to seal financial records held by the country`s corruption watchdog because they were obtained unlawfully, online news site Times Live reported on Friday.
2019-08-09
The plans of South Africa`s ruling African National Congress (ANC) to nationalize the central bank will be implemented responsibly and will not affect the institution`s mandate or independence, party officials said on Tuesday.
2019-07-30South Africa`s biggest banks are betting cut-price accounts, big mortgages and offers on everything from Adidas backpacks to Xboxes will help them win over the youth market, which many overlooked until it was targeted by a host of start-up rivals.
2019-07-15
South African lender Absa Bank, along with U.S based Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Britain`s Standard Chartered Bank, have signed a $500 million syndicated loan, a statement from Absa Group said on Friday.
2019-07-04A severe shortage of computer skills in South Africa has left its major banks fighting over a limited pool of people with the skills they need to upgrade technology platforms and keep pace with changing customer demands and competition from new rivals.
2019-06-14
South Africa`s rand firmed in afternoon trade on Friday thanks to a weakening U.S. dollar, but the local currency was on track to end the week on a weaker footing after a row over the central bank`s mandate rattled investors, while stocks also gained.
2019-06-07
South Africans were offered low-fee, digital accounts by two "traditional" banks this week in a sign of how competition from a new breed of cheaper, online-only rivals is driving change in the $30 billion market.
2019-05-21
South Africa`s rand strengthened more than 1% on Friday on expectations of political continuity, as the governing African National Congress (ANC) headed for a national election victory.
2019-05-10
* Equities retreat as tariffs threaten emerging markets (Adds latest data, trader comment, stocks)
2019-05-06
South Africa`s rand turned flat in late afternoon trade on Thursday, but hovered near a four-week low hit earlier in the session on the back of a firmer dollar, while stocks fell.
2019-04-25
South Africa`s state pension fund denied considering a former banking executive as its next chief executive as it seeks to fill a position which has become increasingly sensitive given the successive departures of its CEO and temporary replacement.
2019-04-18
South African lender Absa is aiming to make a start on its investment bank-focused expansion into Nigeria in the second half of this year, chief executive of the division, Charles Russon, told Reuters.
2019-04-10
South Africa`s rand firmed on Monday, helped by increasing demand for emerging market currencies amid a slew of disappointing economic data in developed markets and growth warnings from central banks.
2019-03-11
South Africa`s Absa is considering entering Ethiopia, where lenders are hoping reformist Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed will liberalise an antiquated and state-dominated banking sector.
2019-03-11
South Africa`s rand firmed in early trade on Monday, helped by increasing demand for emerging market currencies as returns on offer in developed market assets faltered following poor data last week.
2019-03-11
Banking group Sasfin and money transfer service Hello Paisa will launch a bank in South Africa this year, hoping to bring thousands of people into the financial system for the first time, the firms said on Wednesday.
2019-03-06
South African farmers are lining up to plant more rooibos tea as demand for the anti-oxidant-rich red brew it produces grows, but a natural limit on suitable land may mean supply will struggle to keep pace.
2019-03-01
South African services firm Bosasa, which is known as African Global Operations, said on Monday it had applied for voluntary liquidation after its banks told it they would close its accounts by the end of the month, citing reputational risk.
2019-02-18
* PIC is Africa`s biggest pension fund (Adds Treasury comment, details)
2019-02-01
South Africa`s deputy minister of finance and chairman of the state-owned Public Investment Corporation (PIC), Mondli Gungubele, said on Wednesday he had done nothing wrong after a whistleblower made new graft allegations at the pension fund.
2019-01-30
* PIC is Africa`s biggest pension fund (Recasts with Gugubele detail, adds response)
2019-01-30
South Africa`s rand firmed on Tuesday, gaining with other emerging market currencies on hopes of a pause to increases to U.S. interest rates, while stocks also climbed.
2019-01-29
* Chairwoman says external candidate to be in place in one year
2019-01-29
South African lender Absa will not buy a Nigerian bank, its CEO told Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, clearing up a lingering question over how it will execute its aggressive growth strategy.
2019-01-24
South African retailer Edcon is in talks with shopping mall owners about a two-year 41 percent rent reduction in exchange for a small stake in the company, the Sunday Times reported.
2018-12-16
