Tag: exchange rate

MultiChoice Group (MCG), Africa’s leading entertainment company, returned its Rest of Africa business to profitability and further expanded its consumer services ecosystem during the year ended 31 March 2023 (FY23).

For banks, disruption has become business as usual. Besides the ever-changing customer expectations, banks are under pressure to defend their market share against increased competition and the digitisation of the financial services landscape by neo-banks and FinTechs.

The notion of a polycrisis – various systemic crisis occurring simultaneously and interacting with one another – has been around for a while but has gained renewed traction for obvious reasons.

MultiChoice Group (MCG, or the group), Africa’s leading entertainment company, delivered steady margins for the year ended 31 March 2022 (FY22). Reduced losses in the Rest of Africa (RoA), a rebound in advertising revenues and a continued focus on cost containment enabled us to absorb the R1.1 billion impact of a normalisation in content costs as live sport returned and we resumed our local content production post the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Standard Bank, Africa’s largest bank by assets, has introduced Inward Telegraphic Transfers (ITTs) to its internet banking platform, offering a convenient, simple and fast way to process incoming funds from beyond South Africa’s borders.

The trouble with forex controls is that they are far more effective at keeping money 'out' than at keeping it 'in'. Almost every historical case shows that forex controls were conceived in shamed and weakened circumstances. In every case they have ultimately proven to be unalloyed failures.

Foreign exchange fluctuations can have a material impact on investment portfolio returns measured in terms of a base currency. We dedicate significant resources into understanding currencies through a range of models, backed by observations from our local teams.

South African fuel prices increased again on 3 November and petrol price is now at 33.9% this year with the Automobile Association of South Africa (AA) warning that R20 per litre could still be on the cards for by year end. The main reason for the pressure on local fuel prices has been a sharp increase in the brent crude oil price over the past few months.

South Africa, though not the largest economy among emerging markets, enjoys a prominent position among its peers, and the highly liquid nature of the South African rand has encouraged global investors to use it as a proxy for global growth, commodities, and emerging markets.

As digitalisation fast forwards and people reach out for convenient digital experiences, Standard Bank has focused on delivering solutions that meet client needs and improve their client experience. Their digital International Payment Solutions are an example of how they provide convenience and give clients control over their International Payments.