South Africa Financial News

By Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo

A week ago, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sat with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Jeddah for a meeting — or more importantly photo opportunity — he intended the world to see.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) — South Africa's National Treasury said it will implement a number of cost-cutting measures to rein in government spending, including a hiring freeze, after a shortfall in revenue collection.

GDP share of the six new members, being added to the five-member BRICS grouping of emerging economies from January, will be just 11 per cent, with Saudi Arabia's contribution the highest at 4 per cent, an analysis shows. The proposed addition of Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to the five-member BRICS, or Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, will also see the grouping's share in the global GDP rising to 30 per cent from 26 per cent now and that of the population to 46 per cent, according to an analysis by the SBI Research. The expansion decision, effective January 1, 2024, was announced at the recent BRICS summit held in Johannesburg. Currently China contributes 70 per cent of the BRICS' GDP, which will decline to 62 per cent, while India chips in with 13 per cent now that will inch down to 12 per cent.

Namibia to India to India Gabriel Sinimbo on Saturday said that the deaths of several cheetahs brought from his country and South Africa to Madhya Pradesh are «normal» as the project involves introducing animals to a new environment. He expressed hope that the felines will be able to fully adapt to India's environment. «When you are introducing animals to a new environment, there could be some challenges like fatalities. It's a part of any project of this nature,» said Sinimbo. Since March this year, nine of the 20 cheetahs brought from the two countries have died.

Amazon.com Inc. has added three executives to Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy’s senior leadership team, two from the cloud-computing unit and one who leads the company’s robotaxi subsidiary. Dave Brown, Aicha Evans and Swami Sivasubramanian are joining what Amazon calls the S-team, Jassy said in a note to employees on Friday, which was also posted on the company’s corporate blog.

G20 Summit 2023. For the first time in history, India has become the host the the Group of 20 Nations (popularly known as G20).

G20 Summit, Northern Railways has decided to cancel and divert over 200 passenger trains temporarily from September 8 to 11 here, a notification stated on Saturday. According to the schedule, over 90 trains have been cancelled on September 9. More than 100 passenger trains will be cancelled on September 10 as well.

Mint's journalists tried to take all their interactions very seriously. Many of our correspondents unsheathed the interview technique to bring us exclusive reports and analytical pieces. They're yours to judge.

By Kopano Gumbi and Wendell Roelf

This is the first in a series of commentaries and analyses that former Wallaby captain Simon Poidevin will write for the Financial Reviewduring the Rugby World Cup in France.

Cryptoasset businesses in the United Kingdom could now begin withholding certain crypto transfers to comply with the new Travel Rule for crypto that came into effect on Sept. 1.

By Clara Denina and Sarah McFarlane

BRICS last week in Johannesburg, South Africa, the real drama was being played out elsewhere. On one hand, even as Russian President Vladimir Putin was virtually addressing his counterparts, there came news that a private aircraft carrying Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin crashed in Russia, killing all 10 people on board.

‘The key element is that we on the MPC need to see the job through and ensure a lasting and sustainable return of inflation to the 2% target,’ Pill said. Credit: Bank of England

Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic laid out a case on Thursday against any further U.S. interest rate hikes, saying monetary policy is already tight enough to bring inflation back down to 2% over a «reasonable» period. «I feel policy is appropriately restrictive,» Bostic said in remarks prepared for delivery to the South African Reserve Bank Biennial Conference in Cape Town, South Africa.

BRICS intensified discussions on expansion and a common currency. Originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, and China, BRICS was coined by Goldman Sachs in the 1990s to encourage investment in emerging economies. South Africa, the first non-original member, aptly led a summit centered on group expansion.BRICS expanded its wings: The BRICS meeting concluded, and the good news is that they are happy to shake hands with 6 more countries- Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Currently, the core BRICS countries control around 23% of global exports and 19% of global imports, and the new members would add 3.7% and 3.0% respectively, with Saudi Arabia being the biggest individual new member in terms of exports and the UAE the biggest new importer. What BRICS+ have now? This alliance includes six leading crude oil producers—Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, UAE, and Iran—yielding substantial energy and geopolitical influence. It unites three top African economies—Egypt, South Africa, and Ethiopia—and South America's key players, Brazil, and Argentina. Strikingly, this coalition bridges the divide between ideological rivals: Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia and Shia-majority Iran. With a diverse mix of economic, energy, and political dynamics, this alignment reflects a complex global landscape where nations with disparate interests find common ground, underscoring the intricate interconnectedness shaping today's international relations. Saudi Arabia, China, Russia, India, and other nations have rapidly bolstered trade and relations.

IOA) president PT Usha will take a step further as an administrator as she will be contesting the upcoming Commonwealth Games Federation elections for the post of vice-president.

Hindustan Times quoting virologist Dr. Pavithra Venkatagopalan, Pirola variant appears to have undergone as many changes as the Omicron variant did from the Delta variant of the coronavirus. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Principal Secretary PK Mishra chaired a high-level meeting to review the global and national Covid-19 situation, newer variants in circulation and their public health impact on Monday, a press release from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare read.

Also Read: ‘Invite to African Union made G20 more inclusive’ The G20, consisting of 19 individual nations (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Türkiye, United Kingdom, and the United States) along with the European Union, collectively forms a prominent international assembly. As per the central government website on the G20 Summit, the G20 was upgraded to the level of heads of state, and government in the wake of the global economic and financial crisis of 2007, and, in 2009, was designated the “premier forum for international economic cooperation". The G20 Presidency oversees the G20 agenda over a span of one year and takes on the role of hosting the Summit.