SA lands major soybean export deal with China
South Africa is set to export about 200 000 tons of soybeans to China in November 2026, marking only its second soybean export deal with the country.
South Africa loses top spot in Africa
South Africa has lost the top spot in Standard Bank’s Africa Trade Barometer to Mozambique, with the country no longer enjoying a clear edge over its African peers.
245 more companies shut down in South Africa
South Africa has seen 245 more liquidations in 2026, with June figures accelerating from May. Year-to-date, 1,361 businesses have been shuttered.
South African businesses reel from foreign worker exodus
Many Zimbabweans, which accounted for the largest share of those returning, worked in South Africa’s farming, domestic work and construction sectors.
Africa’s biggest bank warns South Africa against restricting migration, citing Brexit’s economic damage
Standard Bank Group CEO Sim Tshabalala said migrants support South Africa’s economy as workers, consumers, taxpayers and entrepreneurs.
Absa nears Tanzania deal to combine R49.2bn of banking assets
Absa Group is nearing a deal to combine its banking interests in Tanzania as the lender looks to increase the scale of its East African businesses, according to people familiar with the matter.
South Africa officially rolls out ‘locals first’ hiring
South Africa has formally embraced a “locals first” approach to employment, introducing new rules that require participating employers to prioritise South African citizens and permanent residents while offering faster visa processing to businesses that meet strict government criteria for recruiting foreign talent.
South Africans drowning in debt as cost-of-living crisis deepens
South Africans are using an increasingly larger share of their take-home pay to service debt, and a growing portion have debt obligations that are considered “unsustainable”.
SA secures R24.76bn World Bank loan to boost infrastructure
South Africa has secured a $1.5 billion (R24.76 billion) World Bank loan to help modernise the country’s infrastructure and create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the continent’s largest economy.
Migrant exodus leaves gap South Africa may battle to close
A South African app that links households with domestic workers is reeling, delivery drivers are fleeing, and a key textile hub has lost workers as anti-migrant protests push tens of thousands of people to leave the country, sending tremors through a strained economy.