Finance South Africa weekly newsletter - 25 Jun 2013

Madiba critical but comfortable

The news is topped right now, quite rightly, by reports around Nelson Mandela's health status, which is reported to be critical, but his medical team is ensuring he is as comfortable as possible.

If you're cohabiting, you may need to cough up in the event of an insurance claim... apparently, unmarried couples who live together or keep their possessions at their partner's residence face an increased risk of insurance claim rejections for personal belongings if they fail to fully disclose their living situation to their insurers.

Ouch! The Competition Commission has reached a settlement with 15 construction firms, who have agreed to pay fines to the tune of R1.46bn for collusive tendering. When will these people learn?

Some good news at last! A South African team has won a top supercomputing award, scooping overall top honours at the International Student Cluster Challenge held in Leipzig, Germany, recently.

Finally... look! Have you created or updated your MyBiz Profile on Bizcommunity yet. If not, what are you waiting for... It's so simple and you will put yourself in the running to win a fantastic GoPro camera and accessories worth over R6,000! Go on... get to it!

Rod Baker, Content Director

Submit your company news to financenews@bizcommunity.com. Exclusive contributions may be sent to contributors-finance@bizcommunity.com.

Crowdfunding launched in SA

Based on the phenomenally successful crowdfunding model that has experienced extraordinary uptake in the Americas and Europe, Thundafund - The Online Crowdfunding Café for Creatives & Innovators - has recently launched in Cape Town. Read more >>

GoPro reader competition: don't forget to create/update your MyBiz Profile!
[Issued by Bizcommunity.com]

Insurance implications for cohabiting couples

GoPro reader competition: don't forget to create/update your MyBiz Profile!

[Issued by Bizcommunity.com] There's only one week left to create or update your MyBiz Profile on Bizcommunity and stand a chance to WIN an awesome GoPro camera and accessories worth over R6000! Entries close 30 June 2013, and the winner will be picked via a lucky draw and announced on 1 July on Biz, Facebook and Twitter. Read more >> visit press office >>

Insurance implications for cohabiting couples

Unmarried couples who live together or keep their possessions at their partner's residence face an increased risk of insurance claim rejections for personal belongings if they fail to fully disclose their living situation to their insurers. Read more >>

Strong growth of African banking sector

Banking systems across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have grown and strengthened significantly over the past decade and favourable macroeconomic‚ regulatory and financial trends indicate that further improvements lie ahead‚ Moody's Investors Service says in a new special comment published on Wednesday (19 June). Read more >>

Students limited by poor credit records

Every year thousands of students join tertiary institutions and take the first step towards shaping their future. With this, comes their entry into the credit world, enabled by a student card and proof of registration at a tertiary institution. Read more >>

Members' fund contributions should not be set off against employers' fund arrears - Lukhaimane

In the event that a member's monthly contribution is used to offset the employer's fund arrears instead of being paid to the provident fund, the member must not be prejudiced. Read more >>

Financial literacy as a cornerstone of youth empowerment

Financial literacy plays a huge role in empowering youth to become meaningful participants in South Africa's socio-economic activities. This is particularly relevant this month, with Youth Day shifting the focus to what interventions are necessary to foster youth empowerment. Read more >>

Toll money will stay in SA says Mona

After a 64% fall in earnings before interest and tax to €15,3m, shareholders in Austrian company Kapsch TrafficCom were given some relief when executive director Andre Laux told them on 11 June that the company expected a €50m (R660m) revenue boost from its SA joint venture. Read more >>

Takeaways busy but centre struggles

[Dave Marr] Unlike their unlucky cousins in the retail sector, which are feeling the disposable income squeeze, quick-service restaurant groups are sitting pretty. Time-poor consumers, no matter how hard-pressed they may be, are paying for fast food. Read more >>

ChemSpec doubles its losses

[Alistair Anderson] Listed paint and coatings manufacturer Chemical Specialities (ChemSpec) on Thursday (20 June) reported that its loss widened to R31m in the year to March from R14m in the previous financial year despite a 24% rise in revenue to R471m. Read more >>

Bombela got R831m from Gauteng

[Linda Ensor] The Gauteng provincial government had paid R831m to the Bombela consortium up to the end of March in terms of 10 ridership guarantees for the Gautrain‚ Transport Minister Ben Martins said in Parliament on Tuesday (18 June). Read more >>

Food, beverage sales rise by 3.6%

Measured in nominal terms - or at current prices - total income generated by the food and beverages industry in South Africa increased by 3.6% in April compared with the previous year‚ data released by Statistics South Africa on Tuesday (18 June) showed. Read more >>

More deals signed to stop tax evasion

[Linda Ensor] The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is engaging the tax administrations of Australia‚ the UK and the US to gain access to information on tax evasion through complex offshore structures‚ Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Thursday (20 June). Read more >>

Some relief for tax practitioners as registration deadline looms

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) announced in May that all South African tax practitioners must register with one of five selected controlling bodies by 1 July 2013. This has caused some concern in that the sudden rush to register could result in a bottleneck in registrations. Practitioners who do not register in time but continue to provide tax advice or services could face serious censure in the form of fines or imprisonment for a period of up to two years. Read more >>