1975: Junko Tabei from Japan becomes the first woman to conquer Mount Everest, 22 years after Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first to reach the summit.
Not be confused with Arbour Day, today is Love a Tree Day.

INDUSTRY NETWORKING REMINDER ABOUT SAFETY WEAR

Guests attending tomorrow afternoon’s Industry Networking function at PDC are reminded of the company’s safety requirements. These specifically relate to wearing closed shoes and long pants in order to visit the factory. For any queries, please contact the PCB on (033) 342747.

EUROBOND SALE TO GAUGE RAMAPHOSA IMPACT

South Africa is hoping to ride a wave of improved investor sentiment by tapping the Eurobond market for the first time under new president Cyril Ramaphosa, as his administration tackles mismanagement and corruption. The country reportedly is marketing Dollar securities maturing in 2030 and 2048, with initial price talk of about 6% and 6.375% respectively. South Africa had budgeted to sell US$3 billion (about ZAR37 billion) of international debt this fiscal year, according to Treasury documents. South African assets have outperformed emerging markets overall since late last year. The Rand has strengthened 16% against the Dollar since mid-November, the most globally, as the government strives to curb the budget deficit, cut debt and stimulate growth. South Africa’s foreign debt is less than 10% of total borrowing. Deutsche Bank, Nedbank, JPMorgan Chase & Co, FirstRand’s Rand Merchant Bank and Standard Bank are managing yesterday’s deal. (Fin24)

CIVIL SERVANTS THREATEN STRIKE OVER NOT ENOUGH GRAVY

The Public Servants Associations (PSA) is considering striking alone, following yet another postponement yesterday in the protracted wage negotiations with government. According to the union and the seven public sector Congress of South African Trade Union Affiliates (Cosatu), government negotiators requested an adjournment until tomorrow to consider labour’s demands within their fiscal envelope. PSA’s deputy general manager Tahir Moepa said they are balloting their members to decide whether to strike and the process will be completed on Friday. At the heart of the union’s unhappiness is a dispute over the Consumer Price Index (CPI) projections which are used to determine the final salary packages civil servants will take home over the next three years. The PSA is demanding 10% raises across the board, for all employees and believes their case is even stronger now with the 1 percentage point increase in the value added tax (VAT) from April. (Fin24)

SAA NEEDS ZAR21.7 BILLION OVER NEXT THREE YEARS

SAA needed to raise ZAR21.7 billion over the next three years to turn the company around and make it profitable, CEO Vuyani Jarana said. The funding requirement arises from SAA’s turnaround plan, which was to be presented to parliament’s finance committee today. However, after a dispute in the committee in which the ANC tried to close the meeting to the media and public, the presentation of the plan was deferred. Jarana said the ZAR21.7 billion would comprise partly of a capital injection from the Treasury and partly of debt raised from commercial lenders and guaranteed by the government. The size of the capital injection would depend on the government’s assessment of how much debt SAA is able to carry and was under consideration by an oversight committee chaired by deputy finance minister Mondli Gungubele. (BDLive)

MANTASHE BEATS THE FRACKING DRUM

Government intends to fast-track the exploration and exploitation of shale gas, says mineral resources minister Gwede Mantashe. He said the development of shale gas as a resource was necessary to transform the country's energy economy when he tabled his budget. “The southern Main Karoo Basin is considered the most prospective area for shale gas, with a possible estimation of 205 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas technically recoverable, as reported by Petroleum Agency SA,” he said. Mantashe will publish a notice in terms of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, for the public to submit comment on the decision. During a media briefing following the tabling, Mantashe told journalists that there were “massive” shale deposits. He said people who have problems should raise them, as they need to be heard so that processes can proceed. In September 2017, Reuters reported that a new study in the Journal of Science by geologists from the University of Johannesburg and three other institutions suggested there were closer to 13 tcf of gas, at the bottom of the range of estimates. Estimates of the available deposits have ranged from around 13 tcf to 390 tcf. (Fin24)

INCENTIVES MOOTED TO SOAK UP STEEL GLUT

The department of trade and industry (dti) is dealing with the steel glut by providing a ZAR500 million incentive scheme for metal and engineering, parliament has heard. Trade and industry minister Rob Davies yesterday tabled the budget vote in parliament where he shared some of the department’s key priority areas. These include providing support for the metal and engineering value-chain which has been troubled by electricity price hikes and slowing demand from the mining sector. The “use of incentives and other industrial policy tools” could stabilise sectors in distress, as was seen in the clothing and textiles industry, Davies said. Speaking ahead of the budget vote, Davies said the global steel glut was damaging steel production sectors across the world. “In that context there have been no easy choices. It has not been angels or devils in terms of making decisions.” This involved taking decisions on tariffs to defend the largest steel manufacturer in South Africa, ArcelorMittal. (Fin24)

ESKOM PUTS FAITH IN NEW HAND AT THE HELM

Eskom’s new captains maintained yesterday that they do not envisage mass downsizing, government bailouts or a massive shortfall of ZAR8 billion in the troubled power utility’s immediate future. They were responding to questions from reporters during minister of public enterprises Pravin Gordhan’s briefing ahead of his budget vote in parliament. Eskom chair Jabu Mabuza and interim CEO Phakamani Hadebe maintained that they would steer the battered ship responsibly. Gordhan said Eskom had come a long way since the days when it was at the centre of state capture. He said the department of public enterprises was preoccupied with ensuring that the utility had the right capacity to lead it out of its quagmire. Mabuza insisted that in reviewing the operations and structure of Eskom, the leadership was not prepared to sacrifice jobs to pay for the misdeeds of past leadership. (Fin24)

SHAREHOLDERS IN REVOLT OVER BARCLAYS AFRICA PAY POLICY

Disgruntled shareholders, including Old Mutual and Allan Gray, voted overwhelmingly against Barclays Africa’s pay policy yesterday. The asset managers say the policy is opaque and does not clearly link executive pay with shareholder value-creation. At the bank’s first annual general meeting since the Barclays plc sell-down, investors holding nearly half of the shares represented voted against the way in which the bank implements its remuneration policy. In terms of the King IV code on corporate governance and JSE listings requirements, companies must subject their remuneration policies, as well as reports detailing the implementation of those policies, to two separate shareholder votes. Yesterday’s vote, although non-binding, is the first clear indication of how Barclays Africa’s minority shareholders feel about the way the group rewards its executives. Of the 76.3% of share capital represented at the meeting, shareholders holding 47.4% voted against the remuneration implementation report. Nearly a quarter (23.5%) voted against the remuneration policy. (BDLive)

DATATEC SETS SIGHTS ON CHILEAN OPERATOR

Multinational ICT group Datatec’s Logicalis plans to acquire Chilean ICT services and solutions provider, Coasin Chile SA, for up to US$20.8 million (about ZAR260 million) in cash. Yesterday, Datatec announced that a subsidiary of Logicalis Group had signed an agreement to acquire 100% of Coasin Chile, which also has operations in Peru. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018. It is, however, subject to certain third party consents, as well as approval by the Chilean Competition Authorities. (Fin24)

AIR CONDITIONING DEMAND HIGHLIGHTS EFFICIENCY CONCERNS

The worldwide demand for air conditioning is expected to triple over the next 30 years, making the pursuit of energy-efficient cooling systems a top priority, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said yesterday. About 1.6 billion buildings worldwide have AC at present today, a number that will grow to 5.6 billion by 2050, "which amounts to 10 new ACs sold every second for the next 30 years", according to the IEA report. The amount of power needed to meet this anticipated surge in indoor cooling will equal the combined electricity capacity of the United States, the European Union and Japan today, it said. The problem is that energy efficiency among AC units varies widely. Those sold in Europe and Japan tend to be at least 25% more efficient than units sold in the United States and China. (Fin24)

MORE NEWS, NOTICES AND APPEALS

MSUNDUZI HOSPICE AGM REMINDER

The annual general meeting for Msunduzi Hospice will take place on Thursday, May 24 at the Msunduzi Hospice Conference Centre,  200 Zwartkop Road, Prestbury. Attendees are reminded that in order to speak or vote, they would need to have paid their membership fees at reception prior to the meeting. Proceedings get underway at 3 pm. For more information, contact Shiloh on (033) 344-1560.

Working Together - Striving for Excellence - Workplace Communication

At the Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Business

Date:  Thursday 14 June

Time:  8:30 am - 1 pm 

Cost:  R720 pp, R695 pp for 3+ delegates, NGO’s R550 pp

Presenter:  Ian Webster

Bookings: 031 563 4302, 082 820 2412, Maureen@trainsmart.co.za

We work on  building good relationships between staff and team leaders.
•    Attitude  in the workplace.
•    How to get on with each other.
•    How do we tolerate the “grumpy faced” guy each day?
•    Business Etiquette, dress sense, talking to colleagues.
•    Why was Peter promoted to Supervisor and not me?
•    “It’s not my job”. 
•    Why do smokers get more “breaks”?
•    Timekeeping-absenteeism- workforce change.
•    Use of bad language; body language.  Acceptance and tolerance is the key!

All this ... and much more in this unique workshop which will ensure that your workplace has more smiles and laughter than ... frowns.