Star 2026-01-21

SA Vehicle Retail, a division with JSE-listed Motus Holdings, said a restructuring process had resulted in the retrenchment of 67 staff, while senior management took salary cuts of up to 30%. Motus announced last year that a restructuring process had started in July 2025 following a re-evaluation of the SA Vehicle Retail division's operational performance and requirements. The division, which employs 4 000 people across its dealership network, needed to re-align the business in response to the competitive South African automotive retail landscape, SA Retail CEO Gideon Jansen van Rensburg said in a statement Tuesday. At the time, the restructuring plans had caused much concern among stakeholder bodies, such as the Motor Industry Staff Association, the Numsa trade union and non-unionised members, as the restructuring plans had identified up to…

South Africa is positioning itself at the centre of the global energy and technology transition, leveraging its vast mineral wealth to drive industrialisation, investment and deeper trade partnerships, as the country recalibrates its economic strategy for a decarbonising world. Speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, underscored that South Africa’s mineral endowment extends well beyond the legacy resources of the past. Tau said while coal and abundant sunshine remain central to the current energy mix, the country is increasingly focused on the critical and rare earth minerals that underpin clean energy systems, digital technologies and advanced manufacturing. "So we are sitting pretty much at the crossroads as a country where we are transitioning not…

TeamSA brushes aside concerns over South Africa’s on-going trade tensions with the United States of America TeamSA in Davos has brushed aside concerns that the country's ongoing trade tension with the United States could potentially cloud the investment climate and thwart the country's mandate at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting. This comes as the US President Donald Trump is set to deliver a special address at the WEF on Wednesday, his first time in Davos since his 2018 landmark speech, during which he openly rejected the WEF’s climate agenda as a tool for control. Diplomatic and trade relations have deteriorated between the two countries since Trump retook the White House a year ago, with his administration accusing South Africa of implementing racist laws, persecuting the minority Afrikaner community…

Merafe Resources' attributable ferrochrome production decreased by a substantial 63% in the year to December 31, 2025 due to the closure of smelters. Merafe's attributable ferrochrome production from the Glencore Merafe Chrome Venture for the fourth quarter to December 31, 2025 was 147 tons, resulting in a decrease of about 63% in production for the year, compared to the year before, the company said in an update Tuesday. Merafe holds a 20.15% stake in the Glencore Merafe Chrome Venture. The company's attributable chrome ore production from the Venture in the fourth quarter was 222kt, resulting in a decrease of about 2% in production compared to the prior comparative period. This decrease in production was mainly due to temporary equipment breakdowns, the company said. Most of South Africa's ferrochrome smelters have…

JSE-listed Metair Investments' Romanian battery subsidiary Rombat has been fined R389.7 million by the European Commission, which is likely to have serious financial implications on Rombat's business. This was according to Metair, which on Tuesday updated shareholders on the outcome of a Commission investigation launched in 2018, into several automotive battery manufacturers in Europe. Metair and Rombat's boards said they were considering the Commission's findings, including "an assessment of all legal options, including the extent to which the fine may be enforceable against Metair." The impact of the obligations of the South African obligor debt package concluded by Metair, would also be assessed. The investigation by the Commission, which covered a period from 2004 to 2017, involved allegations that the manufacturers exchanged commercially sensitive information to determine the surcharge price…

BHP Group is showing strong operating momentum, with investment being made for growth plans decades ahead, CEO Mike Henry said Tuesday. The investment plans for the diversified mining and resources group include a "significant copper growth pipeline" and a pathway to 2 million tons of attributable copper production in the 2030s, he said. Global miners are focusing on copper because it has become the critical metal for the energy transition, electrification, and digital infrastructure. "BHP delivered another half of very strong performance with operational records at our copper and iron ore assets. This was… in a positive commodity price environment, with copper prices up 32% and iron ore prices 4% higher year-on-year," he said. Copper production guidance for the full 2026 financial year had been increased to between 1 200kt…