News 13:00

BULLETIN 31 March 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Tau says South Africa is open and ready for global investment
# SANTACO says taxi fare increases have become necessary in these economic conditions
# And cricket: Lehmann says England’s selectors are overlooking county talent

# Trade and Industry minister Parks Tau says South Africa remains an attractive investment destination despite global uncertainty. Speaking at the sixth South Africa investment conference in Johannesburg, Tau highlighted resilience following trade disruptions in key sectors. He says government responded by expanding trade into new markets across Africa, Asia and the Middle East. He also confirmed a China-Africa agreement will grant South African exports duty-free access from May:

# Taxi council SANTACO says reports of fuel shortages, limitations on refuelling volumes, and escalating diesel prices are already placing strain on taxi associations and operators across the country. Fuel prices are expected to hugely increase tomorrow as a result of the ongoing war in the Middle East. SANTACO’s Rebecca Phala says given the current urgency and prevailing economic conditions, taxi fare increases have become necessary for associations to sustain their operations:

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund says the Middle Eastern conflict is dimming the outlook for many economies that have only just shown signs of a sustained recovery from previous crises. Large energy importers in Asia and Europe are bearing the brunt of higher fuel and input costs due to the closure of the strategically-important Strait of Hormuz. The IMF says a short conflict might send oil and gas prices soaring before markets adjust, while a long one could keep energy expensive and strain countries that rely on imports.

# Cricket: The head coach of English club Northamptonshire, Darren Lehmann, believes the country’s internationals don’t play enough country cricket while selectors are overlooking domestic talent. The former Australian international reacted to England’s woes in the most recent Ashes Test series against his homeland. Lehmann told England’s managing director, Rob Key, and Test captain Ben Stokes, he hadn’t seen an English selector during his first year in charge. Northamptonshire’s batter, Saif Zaib, was overlooked for the England Lions’ tour despite scoring one-thousand-425 runs in the last season.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-9-cents and the euro at 19-rand-61-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-58-cents and Bitcoin trades at 66-thousand-353-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-558-dollars-12-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 105-dollars-65-cents a barrel.

# And finally: FNB expects stronger customer spend over Easter this year, as families take advantage of an early-month long weekend that coincides with the school holidays. FNB credit card CEO Senzo Nsibande says looking back at spending behaviour in the three weeks leading up to Easter last year, they observed encouraging signs of resilience. Total credit card spending reached 5.7-billion-rand, representing a five-percent year-on-year increase. Nsibande says groceries, general shopping, and fuel remained the top spending categories.

Stay tuned for more news………….