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KwaZulu-Natal Business 2018-19 edition

  • Text
  • Agriculture
  • Sappi
  • Nedbank
  • Mondi
  • Toyota
  • Southcoast
  • Logistics
  • Transportation
  • Port
  • Portofdurban
  • Investdurban
  • Kwazulunatal
  • Kzn
  • Durban
  • Municipality
  • Sector
  • African
  • Provincial
  • Economic
  • Industrial
The 2018/19 edition of KwaZulu-Natal Business is the 10th issue of this highly successful publication that, since its launch in 2008, has established itself as the premier business and investment guide for the KwaZulu-Natal Province. In addition to the regular articles providing insight into each of the key economic sectors of the province, there are special features on the investment prospects of Durban (eThekwini) and on the specific attractions for investors of other regions throughout the province. We are pleased to include a survey of the province’s economy from Trade & Investment KwaZulu-Natal, the dedicated trade and inward investment promotion agency that promises to be “your knowledge partner in business”. To complement the extensive local, national and international distribution of the print edition, the full content can also be viewed online at www.kwazulunatalbusiness.co.za. Updated information on KwaZulu-Natal is also available through our monthly e-newsletter, which you can subscribe to online at www.gan.co.za, in addition to our complementary business-to-business titles that cover all nine provinces as well as our flagship South African Business title.

OVERVIEW Banking and

OVERVIEW Banking and financial services A local agency aims to become a bank. South Africa’s banking and financial services sector is experiencing a surge of innovation with several new banking licences expected to be granted before the end of 2018. One of these is based in KwaZulu-Natal. Tyme, which stands for Take Your Money Everywhere, was granted a licence in 2017. The name refers to the bank’s digital origins and its plans for the future which do not involve a branch network. Commonweath Bank of Australia bought a controlling share of Tyme when it was a loans company and African Rainbow Capital is the venture’s BEE partner. The banking licence is the first to be issued since Capitec was granted a licence by the South African Reserve Bank in 1999. Capitec has since gone on to become a major player on the South African retail banking scene. It now merits inclusion in a new “Big Five”, with Standard Bank, Absa, FNB and Nedbank. Merchant banking and investment banking are the most competitive sectors with companies such as BoE Private Clients, Rand Merchant Bank and Investec prominent. The other prospective new entities are state-related enterprises: Ithala, Postbank and a Human Settlements Development Bank. The Ithala Development Finance Corporation has functioned for many years in the province as the provider of funds for small enterprises, SECTOR INSIGHT • New banking licences are being approved. • Standard Bank is financing renewable energy projects. especially in areas where infrastructure is poor and access to traditional banking services is not good. The provincial government, which runs Ithala, wants to launch it as a bank as soon as possible. In 2016 Postbank (part of the South African Post Office, SAPO) received a first-level licence. Once a board of directors has been appointed and a company formed, the Reserve Bank is likely to grant the full licence. The current KWAZULU-NATAL BUSINESS 2018/19 78

OVERVIEW Postbank focusses on taking deposits and savings accounts. Postbank has secured a R3.7-billion loan to enable it to open its own loan book. Three state entities are merging to create the new Human Settlements Development Bank: the National Housing Finance Corporation, the Housing Loan Fund and the National Urban Reconstruction and Housing Agency. The focus will be on financing housing for poorer households and for large state-funded housing projects. Part of the drive is to integrate cities better and to combat the legacy of the spatial divide that apartheid left behind. Private-sector investment will be sought. An entirely new economic sector has opened up in South Africa within the last decade – renewable energy. Financing for this investment push has come from South Africa’s sophisticated banking sector. The Power and Infrastructure division of Standard Bank, one of Africa’s biggest companies, was involved in about 40% of the projects approved within the first four rounds of bidding. In KwaZulu-Natal, banks have been vital in getting big infrastructure projects underway, a trend that is set to continue for some time to come, with provincial and national government committed to a continuing infrastructure upgrades. The European Investment Bank extended a €50m long-term loan through Rand Merchant Bank to fund the massive water systems upgrade being undertaken by the eThekwini Municipality. The investment programme encompasses two new aqueducts and the replacement of 1 600km of old asbestos water mains. RMB was also involved in several Tongaat Hulett and Richards Bay Coal Terminal projects, two major players in the provincial economy. Nedbank Capital supported Seacom’s R240-million undersea-cable project, and has signed a three-year funding agreement with healthcare group Netcare to the value of R1-billion. Finscope's 2014 survey of South African banking and financial surveys shows that between 2004 and 2014 a remarkable eight-million people ONLINE RESOURCES Auditor-General South Africa: www.agsa.co.za Association for Savings and Investment South Africa: www.asisa.org.za Chartered Institute of Government Finance, Audit and Risk Officers: www.cigfaro.co.za Financial Services Board: www.fsb.co.za Insurance Institute of South Africa: www.iisa.co.za Postbank: www.postbank.co.za South African Institute for Chartered Accountants: www.saica.co.za South African Reserve Bank: www.resbank.co.za were connected to the financial system. Overall, the financially included reached 31.4-million (up from 17.7-million in 2004). In a category called formally served which includes services other than formal banks with branch networks, the percentage of South Africans grew from 50% to 80%; in the banked category (more traditional but including new devices), the percentage grew from 46% to 75%. This is partly because South Africa's formal banking sector has such excellent infrastructure. Financial services group Old Mutual (a 54% stakeholder in Nedbank) is in the process of creating four stand-alone businesses out of the Old Mutual Group. This will allow the UK-based wealth management business and the New York-based asset managers to be free of linkages to the rand, while the South African businesses, Nedbank and Old Mutual Emerging Markets, can focus on their specialities. The Chartered Institute of Government Finance, Audit and Risk Officers (Cigfaro) advises institutions, trains it members in public finance and promotes the interests of professionals in the public sector. It also develops and assesses qualifications and advises tertiary institutions on the requirements for courses. In December 2017, Cigfaro ran budgeting training for municipal accounting officers who need to comply with all the requirements of the Municipal Finance Management Act. In March 2018, a national Public Sector Audit and Risk Indaba was held. 79 KWAZULU-NATAL BUSINESS 2018/19

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