Top5 on Fin24: SARB keeps rates unchanged, Gordhan vs Brown, and #BlackFriday

ICYMI: A roundup of Thursday's must-read news on Fin24

SARB leaves repo rate unchanged

The monetary policy committee (MPC) of the SA Reserve Bank has decided to leave the repo rate unchanged at 6.75%.

The prime lending rate, therefore, stays at 10.25%. The repo rate is the interest rate at which the SARB lends money to commercial banks.

SARB governor Lesetja Kganyago said the upcoming ANC leadership election meeting in December is likely to weigh on the rand.

Kganyago said of particular concern is the decline in the FNB/BER civil construction index. The employment outlook also remains worrisome. He also pointed to weak consumer confidence. International oil prices pose an upside risk. A petrol price increase is likely in December.

READ: SARB leaves repo rate unchanged

Sasol signs $3.9bn credit facility

Energy and chemicals group Sasol has signed a $3.9bn five-year credit facility.

According to a note to shareholders issued on Thursday, the initial target was $3bn but due to oversubscription, it increased to $3.9bn. The revolving credit facility includes two further extension options of one year each.

Chief financial officer Paul Victor, who was speaking at Sasol’s Capital Markets Day in Sandton on Thursday, said the credit facility would help with liquidity and refining the group's debt.

Citi and Mizuho Bank were mandated by Sasol to launch the transaction to a targeted group of banks earlier in November. The transaction was oversubscribed by 17 banks, which led Sasol to increase the facility.

The banks included Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas South Africa, JP Morgan Securities, Barclays Bank, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Societe Generale and Standard Chartered Bank.

READ: Sasol signs $3.9bn credit facility

Brown’s only answer to state capture is denial, Gordhan tells Eskom inquiry

Former Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has said his former Cabinet colleague Minister of Public Enterprises Lynne Brown's only answer to state capture allegations is "denial, denial, denial", as Parliament’s Eskom inquiry again continued late into the night.   

Gordhan, an ANC MP and a member of the public enterprises oversight committee, was questioning Brown on allegations of state capture and Gupta influence at state power utility Eskom, which falls under her watch. 

Brown had earlier denied that members of the Gupta family - or anyone else - influenced her decision-making as minister of public enterprises. She had also told the committee that firms connected with the Gupta family had not been blacklisted by the state. 

READ: Brown’s only answer to state capture is denial, Gordhan tells Eskom inquiry

#BlackFriday - Tips, advice and more

On Friday, from the stroke of midnight in some cases, South Africans will be scouring the internet for heavily discounted deals in what has become one of the most important shopping days on the SA calendar.

Vincent Hoogduijn, the CEO of e-commerce at Media 24, says that that while #BlackFriday discounts are real, consumers must spend wisely.

Grant Brown the managing director of online fashion retailer Zando, notes that by shopping online, South Africans can avoid the "chaos that was happening at some of the in-stores" last year. 

Meanwhile, for those hoping to dodge the bustle of the pre-Christmas rush on Friday, Fin24 has scoured the web in search of South Africa’s best online sales at over 50 stores. 

READ: #BlackFriday2017 - Your ultimate online shopping guide

MTN restores network after technical glitch

A technical glitch which plagued service provider MTN on Thursday should have been resolved by 11:30, according to the network. 

MTN told Fin24 that it had experienced downtime as a result of network upgrades. 

MTN SA corporate affairs executive Jacqui O’Sullivan said in a statement that MTN undertook an upgrade on a section of its network on Wednesday night.

A fault developed during the upgrade, which resulted in an interruption in data services on the network node in Randburg and Newlands, Cape Town, she said. 

READ: MTN restores network after technical glitch