The JSE remains to be on a downward trend. The all share index closed 0.12% lower today. The major looser today were the banks, which shed 1.28%. Banks continue to be under pressure due to the interest rate worries being imposed by the rising inflation in South Africa. There is a possibility that interest rates in South Africa could be increased by as much as 200 basis points when the MPC meets on June 12 to make a decision on interest rates. Financials also lost 0.44% today so to did resources which closed 0.10% in the red.

Looking at the rand today, at 18:00 the rand was bid at R7.7053/$ from a previous close of R7.7197 having reached the R7.7845 mark during the day. Against the other currencies, the rand was bid at R11.9116/€ from a previous level of R12.0028 and at R15.1190/£ from R15.1517 before.

Many people in South Africa today rely heavily on internet banking. Internet banking came as a life line to many people as it meant that their trips to the bank became fewer and fewer and a lot of transactions they would do at the banking hall could now be done whilst on the internet. It took some time for people to get to grips with internet banking but credit must go to the banks that developed relatively reliable and simple to use interfaces for the online banking portal. Read the rest of this entry »

The R36.7bn deal between South Africa’s Standard Bank and China’s Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) was confirmed today and all regulatory and shareholder requirements had been fulfilled. The deal will result in ICBC purchasing 20% of Standard Bank. For more information about the deal, have a look at ‘Standard Bank confirm China deal‘.

For the investors and shareholders in Standard Bank, the last day to trade in Standard Bank shares to be considered for this scheme is February 22 2008. Under the scheme, ICBC will acquire 11.11% of the Standard Bank Group’s issued ordinary share capital from existing ordinary shareholders. The shareholders will be offered R136 per share. Standard Bank shares closed at R93.25 today.

What do you think of this….

Research shows that guys no longer date girls from ABSA because they are always thinking of “…today, tomorrow and being together forever” OR girls from FNB because they are always thinking “…how can they help you (to become something better)…” OR girls from Nedbank because they ”… are serious about your money”. They are now dating girls from Standard Bank because they are “simpler, better and faster.”

One of the most important aspects of E-commerce today is the ability to receive and make payments online, after all that is what e-commerce is about. But today in South Africa we find ourselves facing challenges in setting up an online business. One of the key challenges is the ability to receive payments from clients or customers outside South Africa online. Read the rest of this entry »

I had an experience this weekend I thought I would share with you. I was out for dinner over the weekend and decided to settle my bill using my debit card. So the waitress kindly swipes my card, asks me to enter my pin number and I do so, only for their ‘machine’ to decline my card. I was in shock as I knew there was sufficient funds in that account. So the waitress asks me if she should try again and I say yes, thinking that maybe there was a technical problem. We tried again and same result. Luckily I had another card from a different bank which I then used and that went through with no problems. Read the rest of this entry »

Today saw the largest foreign investment in Africa when it was announced that The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) was to buy 20% of Standard Bank for R36,7bn in cash. This would be the largest foreign acquisition by a Chinese commercial bank. Many questions are already being thrown around such as, “Is this a good move for Standard Bank?”, “Who is going to benefit the most from this deal?” and “Are South African banks following the same suite of English Football teams by being taken over by foreigners?” Read the rest of this entry »