Despite high interest rates and difficult operating conditions, JSE-listed Emira Property Fund reported strong operational results, strategic delivery and capacity-enhancing active capital recycling for its financial year ended March 31. The company declared a full-year dividend a share of 117.02c, and its net asset value a share increased by 2.2% to R17.33 ..read more

The Coega Development Corporation’s (CDC’s) Small, Medium-Sized and Microenterprises (SMME) Development Programme has achieved procurement spend of over R1-billion for the 2023/24 financial year. This achievement equates to 69.42% of the total spend for the year and relates to the overall spend allocated to SMMEs across the organisation’s infrastructure development portfolio, which includes the Department of Health, Department of Education and the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, among others ..read more

The Construction Industry Development Board (cidb) has introduced three new categories in the 2024 Empowerment and Recognition of Women in Construction (Erwic) Awards. Entries for the awards opened on May 30 and will close on June 28 ..read more

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has confirmed another extension to the bid submission deadlines for the current renewables procurement round, as well as the second battery storage bidding round. The deadline for Bid Window Seven (BW7) of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) which had already been moved from April 30 to May 30, has been extended to August 15 ..read more

Infrastructure financier the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and sustainable mobility company Alstom have signed a memorandum of understanding to propel the development of the Kinshasa MetroKin rail project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The partnership was announced alongside the recent State visit of DRC President Félix Tshisekedi to France ..read more

Stable demand remains a prerequisite if South Africa has any prospect of stimulating industrialisation in the renewable-energy and battery storage value chains, Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS) senior economist Gaylor Montmasson-Clair has reiterated. But absent complementary supply-side measures – including tax and financial incentives, as well as an active trade policy – the country will struggle to attract green manufacturing investment in what is now a highly competitive global environment. In fact, Montmasson-Clair, who is also facilitator of the yet-to-be-launched South Afr ..read more

The yearly $1.9-trillion being invested currently on clean energy would have to more than double and be more evenly distributed to place the world on track to meet net-zero emissions by 2050, a new International Energy Agency (IEA) report confirms. However, it also stresses that such investments could reduce the operating costs of the global energy system by more than half over the next decade, resulting in greater affordability for consumers ..read more

The Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) is currently assessing the impact of South Africa’s decision to delay the decommissioning of the Hendrina, Grootvlei and Camden coal-fired power stations on the country’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), which outlines the country’s decarbonisation goals. Eskom confirmed recently that Cabinet and board permission had been granted for the continued operation of the three power stations beyond their original decommissioning dates, owing to the ongoing shortage of supply and delays in adding new generation ..read more

Barloworld’s South African businesses continued to face a myriad of challenging trading conditions, says CEO Dominic Sewela. Announcing the group’s financial results for the six months ended March 31, Sewela said on Monday that Barloworld’s domestic operations had had to contend with a constrained local macroeconomic environment, inflationary cost pressures, as well as relatively higher borrowing costs affecting both businesses and households ..read more

Financial services provider Standard Bank has partnered with global advisory firm MiDA Advisors and real estate developer Acorn Holdings to mobilise long-term blended finance commitments for green and affordable student housing in Kenya. The transaction will comprise up to $180-million in financing from the US Development Finance Corporation, which should help to secure $380-million more financing arranged jointly by Stanbic Bank Kenya – a member of Standard Bank Group – and MiDA ..read more