The government has pledged to increase exploration for gas in the National Development Plan and promulgated a 20-year Integrated Resource Plan to diversify the energy mix by boosting nuclear, natural gas and renewable power generation capacities. With an estimated 3.5% of global coal reserves, South Africa has traditionally benefitted from an ample supply of cheap fuel. It has the fifth-most...
South Africa’s mining industry is the fifth largest in the world and the country has around 80% of global platinum reserves, 11% of gold reserves, and some of the largest supplies of chrome ore and manganese. The sector’s contribution to GDP has, however, been on a steady decline, falling to just under 5% in 2013 from 11% two decades earlier. Reversing this trend is a top government priority,...
Across the African continent, South Africa accounts for 80% of all insurance premiums. The market is heavily tilted towards life products, which make up four-fifths of the industry’s premiums, with earnings in the segment 10 times that of non-life in 2013. At year-end 2013, South Africa’s life insurance industry had $189.4bn in assets under management, with the segment’s top five firms showing...
The trillion-dollar market capitalisation of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) makes the country’s bourse the 19th-largest exchange worldwide. South Africa has one of the highest equity capitalisation-to-GDP ratios globally, a unique phenomenon by international standards. The country’s capital markets have performed exceedingly well in recent years, in contrast to broader macroeconomic...
With both performance and assets outstripping the continent’s other large emerging markets in Egypt, Nigeria and Morocco, South Africa’s banking sector is the biggest and most developed on the continent. The economy has been shaken by the global financial crisis: the rand has seen unusual volatility, and demand from key markets in Europe and Asia has dropped. However, the country’s banks have...
South Africa’s economy has come a long way since apartheid ended 20 years ago, with significant improvements in both productivity and capacity – and a GDP that is now 2.5 times larger – but domestic and exogenous pressures have taken their toll on GDP growth. Headline GDP grew by 1.9% in 2013, although its components fluctuated considerably in synch with labour unrest. Although strong by...
Stay updated on how some of the world’s most promising markets are being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, and what actions governments and private businesses are taking to mitigate challenges and ensure their long-term growth story continues.
Register now and also receive a complimentary 2-month licence to the OBG Research Terminal.
Register Here×