South Africa

Around the world, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) tend to be more resilient to economic volatility than other manufactured products. This category of low-cost goods, sold quickly, includes a range of consumables like processed and perishable foods, soft drinks, basic toiletries, beer and basic pharmaceuticals. FMCGs are less discretionary...

The retail sector in South Africa has seen mixed fortunes in recent months, with a slowdown in vehicle sales, but encouraging news in luxury goods. New passenger vehicle sales, which constitute just under two-thirds of overall automotive sales, fell 9% yearon-year (y-o-y) in September 2015, on top of a 8.2% y-o-y decline in August, according...

Among the manufacturing powerhouses of the continent, South Africa has a strong industrial tradition dating back 150 years. The past few decades have been difficult, with external and domestic factors weighing on the sector, but the government and industry leaders have been working to stoke growth and develop value-added industries. In doing...

The development of key mining value chains, known as beneficiation, is a major objective for the government. While mining operators support the concept in theory, the practical application has proven more difficult and made the related policies in the pending Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) amendment and the Department...

The country boasts an estimated $2.5trn worth of proven mineral reserves, while the mineral resources sector contributes 8% to South Africa’s GDP directly, 17% indirectly and is the country’s second-largest employer with an estimated 14% of total employment.

Insufficient generation capacity in South Africa led to 99 days of load shedding between January and August 2015, with the impact on the country’s energy-intensive mining industry of particular concern.