More Springbok accolades; Moody’s holds back; 5G roll-out; Aramco IPO green light

By Linda van Tilburg

  • South Africa not only won the Rugby World Cup in a convincing way on Saturday by beating England by 32-12; the Springboks also claimed the Team of the Year award in a ceremony in Tokyo last night. Added to that coach Rassie Erasmus claimed the Coaches Award and to rub more salt in the wounds of the defeated nations, South African flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit was named Player of the Year, while Cheslin Kolbe who scored the second try in the match, was also a nominee for Player of the Year. Pictures of the Springboks celebrating in the changing room with Prince Harry and Faf de Klerk in his South African flag underwear is still dominating social media. And to enhance that feeling of déjà vu; there was President Cyril Ramaphosa in a number 6 rugby Springbok jersey reminiscent of the moment when Nelson Mandela decided to appear in the same jersey in 1995. Many South Africans celebrating the World Cup triumph echoed the words of Springbok captain Siya Kolisi that South Africa could achieve anything if all worked together.
  • Today South African will find out whether this renewed feeling of optimism can infuse markets and the economy. South Africa dodged its third junk rating on Friday, something markets had been counting on for months – as Moody’s Investors Service maintained the country’s lowest investment grade score. Instead Moody’s revised its outlook for the nation to negative from stable. Bloomberg reports that traders were already bracing for wild swings in the rand after the scheduled review. The head of emerging-market strategy at TD Securities, Cristian Maggio said the negative outlook is the minimum damage that Moody’s could inflict on South Africa. The founding partner of hedge fund Promeritum Investment Management, Pavel Mamai said the decision helped to create a sense of urgency in South Africa, which he felt had been absent.  The Rand traded at R15.03 to a dollar on at the close of markets on Friday.
  • The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa is going ahead with plans for the roll-out of 5G infrastructure. Fin24 reports that Icasa has issued a spectrum licensing plan for the assignment of international mobile telecommunication including 5G on Friday. Several options are on the table for the release of spectrum for telecommunication operations and mobile network companies. Public comment is invited until the end of January. Although Communications Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams appeared reluctant to approve Icasa’s  5G roll-out, she commended Icasa for its undertaking to expedite the spectrum licensing process.
  • The effort to speed up the roll out of 5G infrastructure in the country, comes as the Government is convening the second South African Investment Conference from Tuesday to Thursday this week in Sandton. The Government says it wants to send out a clear message that South Africa is open for business. President Ramaphosa’s aim is to attract R1.2trn in investment by 2023. An Infrastructure Fund will be announced at the Investment Conference.
  • Saudi Arabia has finally kicked off what could be the world’s biggest initial public offering, revealing potential tax cuts and dividends to lure investors. Oil giant Saudi Aramco announced yesterday that its shares will be listed on the local stock exchange in Riyadh and are likely to start trading in December. A prospectus for the IPO will be released on 9 November. Aramco, which pumps about 10% of the world’s oil generated the most profit of any corporation last year with net income of $111bn – more than Apple, Google’s parent company Alphabet and Exxon Mobil combined. It initially targeted a $ 2trn valuation – more than double that of Apple, but the kingdom said it was now ready to accept a $1.6-$1.8trn valuation to ensure IPO success.
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