South Africa

Despite facing fierce competition and slowing revenues in 2014, South Africa’s telecoms operators are well placed to see growth in the near to medium term. The mobile market is approaching saturation and a shift from traditional voice and SMS services to data is expected to drive future growth, particularly in 4G long-term evolution (LTE) services, which are slated to...

Although far from the conditions of the early 2000s, South Africa’s property market has remained resilient, despite challenging macroeconomic conditions. Rising demand for affordable housing and a host of “new city” projects unveiled in the past year have kept the residential market steady, while A-grade commercial space – albeit on the verge...

Although South Africa’s construction industry remains a major economic engine, the industry has struggled to maintain pre-2010 highs, when World Cup-related work kept annual growth in double digits. The years since have been marked by project delays, labour unrest and a subdued macroeconomic environment which saw figures for employment,...

While real estate investment trusts (REITs) are relative newcomers to the South African market, with the regime governing the investment vehicle codified for the first time in 2013, they have outperformed other classes of assets in the first three quarters of 2015. Looking ahead, the residential component of the property market, which has yet...

As South Africa continues to face problems with load-shedding, government and industry stakeholders have turned towards liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a solution to meet demand. The country is also working to generate new capacity from coal-fired and renewable power plants.