Hits&Misses

MTN launches 5G grid as SA enters third quarter of recession

THE

seasonally adjusted Absa purchasing managers’ index expanded in June as an easing of coronavirus restrictions lifted business activity and sales. The index, which gauges manufacturing activity, rose to 53.9 points from 50.2 in May.

MOBILE

operator MTN Group launched its 5G network across major cities in SA, joining Vodacom Group and Rain in the race to expand fifth-generation technology in the country. MTN said it used additional temporary spectrum, assigned by the telecoms regulator in April, to tackle high demand for data during the lockdown.

NISSAN

SA expects to begin commercial production of the new Navara bakkie in January 2021, it said.

Former MD Mike Whitfield, who is now MD of Nissan Egypt but remains chair of the Nissan group’s Southern Africa operations, said plans to launch the vehicle later this year had been delayed by the Covid-19 outbreak.

SA’S

economy contracted for a third successive quarter, but the decline was less than expected. GDP shrank an annualised 2% in the three months through March, compared with a 1.4% decline in the final quarter of 2019, Stats SA said. This is the first time since 2009 that a recession has lasted longer than two quarters.

DIVERSIFIED

industrial group Barloworld said it could cut up to a quarter of its staff and sell its automotive interests as it seeks to cut costs and adapt to tougher business conditions. The group will cut staff numbers by 20%-25% as it seeks to reduce overhead costs by about R400m.

THE

Unemployment Insurance Fund, the government’s main instrument to cushion workers left without an income due to the pandemic, was still struggling to deal with technical problems, leaving millions of potential recipients without June payments.