The South African government announced last week that it will be discontinuing the production of 5 cent coins. The discontinuation of the 5c denomination is to be welcomed because the denomination is useless in every-day purchase transactions. Nothing in the South African retail sector costs 5c and the only role of the coin is as …
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China – SA trade (part 2) 0
Last week’s article was about the nature of the trade relationship between China and South Africa. Whenever this issue is discussed, there is the potential for criticism of Chinese investors because of the way that they market their manufactured goods at lower prices than local producers. This type of price rivalry is blamed for pushing …
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China – SA trade (part 1) 0
In the words of prominent socio-economic commentator Moeletsi Mbeki, “[China] is both a tantalizing opportunity and a terrifying threat to South Africa.” At present, China is South Africa’s largest trading partner. Mainly raw materials are exported to China, and South Africa imports manufactured goods in return. Chinese businesses have also taken an interest in South …
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Coal in South Africa 0
Although the last few articles have been about mined metals in South Africa, this one is about a mined product that is not a metal or even precious but which is nevertheless an integral part of South Africa’s economy. South Africa is one of the five largest coal exporting countries in the world, and has …
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