News 13:00

BULLETIN 20 March 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Foreign investors sell South African bonds amid strained US ties
# The Financial Action Task Force will do site visits to assess the progress ahead of the potential greylist exit
# And the Cape Town Triathlon makes a return after a one-year hiatus

# Foreign investors, including JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Franklin Resources, have sold 16.1-billion-rand in South African bonds this month. The decision is driven by concerns over deteriorating US relations and the potential loss of preferential trade status under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. The sell-off has sparked fears of sanctions, especially with speculation that strained ties could lead to economic penalties. Despite this, domestic investors, including Sanlam and Standard Bank, have stepped in, and some foreign investors, like Allianz and BlackRock, have increased their holdings.

# The Financial Action Task Force is set to conduct site visits in South Africa by June to assess progress on anti-money laundering and countering terror financing. National Treasury says the country has addressed or largely addressed 20 of the 22 action items in its action plan to be considered for delisting from the greylist. During the site visits government must show a sustained increase in investigations and prosecutions of serious and complex money laundering and terror-financing activities. If successful, South Africa could exit the greylist by October.

# The DA says it has asked Parliament’s Security and Justice committee to call minister of Correctional Services Pieter Groenewald to answer urgent questions about drug smuggling in correctional facilities. Nearly one-thousand-500 grams of tik were confiscated in Western Cape prisons in the past 12 months alone, along with 14 glass tik-pipes. The DA’s Nicholas Gotsell says corrupt prison officials are facilitating the black market for drugs:

# The serious drought in Namibia had been broken in most parts following weeks of very good rains. In the south, the level of the Hardap Dam near Mariental improved to 27.6-percent this week after being almost empty at 5.5-percent at the beginning of the year. The level of the Naute Dam near Keetmanshoop improved from 44-percent last week to over 50-percent. The Swakoppoort, Von Bach and Omatako Dams reached levels of 36-percent in comparison to under ten-percent in December.

# On to sports news:The third edition of the Cape Town Triathlon is set to take place on the Atlantic Seaboard on Sunday. The race will take participants on a swim in Granger Bay, a cycle from the Grand Beach Café to Bantry Bay and a run around the Green Point urban park. Mayoral committee member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, says as a result of the race, several roads will be affected in the Green Point precinct, Granger Bay, Mouille Point and Sea Point:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-19-cents and the euro at 19-rand-75-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-58-cents and Bitcoin trades at 86-thousand-93-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-and-44-dollars-29-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 70-dollars-89-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….