The South African rand firmed on Thursday as the government began selling dollar-denominated eurobonds for the first time since 2024 when it raised $3.5 billion.

The South African rand strengthened in early trade on Friday, continuing its break below the 17.0000 handle as the smaller-than-expected current account deficit eased pressure on the rand and the government issued dollar-denominated eurobonds for the first time since 2024.

Johannesburg, South Africa, January 27th, 2025, Chainwire VALR, South Africa’s premier crypto exchange, today announced the launch of an innovative lending product. This new feature allows users to earn hourly interest on their Bitcoin, stablecoins, and other cryptocurrency assets. As the crypto platform with the largest ZAR-denominated markets globally, VALR’s product also offers competitive yields on South African Rand (ZAR) balances, making it appealing to both seasoned investors and newcomers to crypto.

Spark Energy Services closed a ZAR 80 million (about US$5 million) debt facility denominated in rand, not dollars, to fund commercial solar projects across Africa. The structure solves a hidden financing wall that keeps clean energy expensive in emerging markets: developers caught between local revenues and foreign-currency debt.

Star Entertainment’s **A$240m (R2.8bn) loss** signals deeper troubles for South Africa’s debt-fuelled entertainment sector, mirroring past downturns like the 2000s Macau crisis. With **A$6.2bn debt (60% USD-denominated)** and rand depreciation,...

Vukile Property Fund has reported a South African Rand (ZAR)-denominated asset base of N$22.85 billion, supported by property assets, cash holdings and co-investment assets including those in Namibia. 

CHAMWE KAIRA Vukile Property Fund has reported a South African Rand (ZAR)-denominated asset base of N$22.85 billion, supported by property assets, cash holdings and co-investment assets including those in Namibia.  According to financial asset data released by the company, the Namibia, Reimagine (South Africa) and Pradera (Europe) co-investment assets were valued at N$438 million, forming part of Vukile’s broader rand portfolio. The ZAR (rand) portfolio comprises N$20.02 billion in property assets, N$2.39 billion in cash and the N$438 million co-investment portfolio. Against debt of N$7.28 billion, the portfolio maintains an asset-to-debt ratio of 3.1 times. At a consolidated group level, Vukile reported total assets of N$44.78 billion compared with total debt of N$12.32 billion, resulting in an overall asset-to-debt ratio of 3.6 times. The company’s euro-denominated portfolio recorded assets of N$21.928 billion against debt of N$5 billion, translating into an asset-to-debt ratio of 4.4 times. The financial data also highlighted the performance of Castellana, Vukile’s Spanish retail property platform, which operates with debt that is non-recourse to Vukile. Castellana’s total assets were valued at EUR39.387 billion, comprising N$36.351 billion in property assets and N$1.343 billion in cash. Against debt of N$13.9 billion, the platform recorded an independent asset-to-debt ratio of 2.8 times. The non-recourse debt structure means that Castellana’s borrowings are secured against its own assets and do not represent direct obligations for Vukile at group level. Vukile said the asset-backed balance sheet position reflects the strength of its diversified property portfolio across Southern Africa and Europe, supported by disciplined capital management and geographic diversification. Vukile Property Fund is a specialist retail real estate investment trust (REIT) listed on the Namibian Stock Exchange. Vukileretains a 36% stake in MICC Properties, with its Namibian assets valued at about N$1 billion. Its remaining portfolio properties are managed by Gensec Namibia. In 2022, the majority of its Namibian subsidiary (MICC Properties) was acquired by the Tunga Real Estate Fund, which is capitalised by the Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) and managed by Old Mutual Investment Group Namibia. The commercial assets include 269 Independence Avenue (Windhoek), Katutura Shopping Centre (Windhoek), Ondangwa Shopping Centre, Oshakati Shopping Centre, Oshikango Retail Centre and the Rehoboth Shopping Centre.

Zaru is an institutional-grade stablecoin backed by rand-denominated assets, linking South Africa to global digital finance with onshore reserves and monthly audits.

In today's edition: SA's biggest banks are going cashless || Onafriq and PAPSS pilot Naira wallet transfers || South Africa just got a new rand-denominated stablecoin

Staff Writer  Namibia is likely to feel the full impact of a global oil price shock because of its fixed exchange rate with South Africa and its reliance on imported fuel, according to a report by Simonis Storm. The Namibian dollar is pegged one-to-one to the South African rand under the Common Monetary Area. When the rand weakens against the US dollar, the Namibian dollar weakens by the same amount. Any rise in rand-denominated oil prices in South Africa is also reflected in Namibia. Namibia therefore has no independent exchange rate mechanism to soften external shocks. The Bank of Namibia aligns its monetary policy with the South African Reserve Bank. When the South African Reserve Bank pauses or reverses its easing cycle, Namibia usually follows, which limits local policy flexibility. Higher fuel prices in South Africa are passed on to Namibia through a pricing system that follows South Africa’s import parity pricing model. The Fuel Equalisation Fund can smooth short-term price changes, but it cannot absorb a long period of high oil prices without fiscal support or price increases for consumers. Namibia remains a net importer of refined fuel products. A sustained increase of US$10 per barrel in Brent crude oil would raise the country’s fuel import bill, increase demand for foreign currency and widen the trade deficit. “Should Brent crude stabilise in the US$90 to 100 per barrel range, Namibia’s external balance would deteriorate due to higher import costs, particularly as export earnings remain heavily commodity-dependent and subject to global price volatility,” the report said. Higher oil prices would also push inflation higher. Transport and fuel costs constitute a large part of Namibia’s consumer price index. When pump prices increase, their effects usually spread to food prices, utilities and distribution costs within one to three months. Under a base scenario where Brent crude trades between US$80 and US$90 per barrel and the rand stays between R16.50 and R17.50 against the US dollar, Namibia’s inflation could rise to between 4.0% and 5.0%. This would still fall within the country’s target range of 3% to 6%, but it would be higher than current levels. In a more severe case where oil prices stay above US$100 per barrel for a long period, inflation risks would move closer to the upper end of the target range as higher transport and food costs appear in official data.