OPTIMISM FOR 2022

In 2019, international return trips recorded at Cape Town International Airport totalled nearly 2.6 million. In 2020, this declined to 810,811 and in 2021, it fell to 525,411, reports Cape Town Air Access. In 2019, there were

8.4 million domestic return trips, falling to 3.2 million in 2020. In 2021, it stood at 4.2 million. Between

November and December

2021, international trips fell from 96,323 to 76,522 owing to Omicron and the cancellation of flights.

CEOs interviewed for PwC’s

25th Annual Global CEO

Survey are the most optimistic they have been in 10 years about the prospects for a stronger economy in 2022 and 77% predict the economy will improve, whereas only 15% expect worsening conditions. It polled 4,446 CEOs in 89 countries and territories between October and November 2021. Of potential threats to their companies, cyber and health risks were the leading global threats, identified by 49% and 48% of CEOs, respectively.

The International Labour Organization has projected a deficit in hours worked globally equivalent to 52 million full-time jobs, relative to the fourth quarter of 2019 in its World Employment and Social Outlook – Trends 2022. Global unemployment is expected to remain above pre-Covid-19 levels until at least 2023. The 2022 level is estimated at 207 million, compared with 186 million in 2019. The report also warns about the differences in the impact of the pandemic on deepening inequalities across the world.

The German government has offered €12.5-million to jointly implement the project to develop a green hydrogen economy in South Africa, known as H2.SA. Deutsche Gesellschaft für

Internationale

Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), its development agency, will be the German partner. The project will examine the potential to produce green hydrogen in SA. Global green H2 demand could reach 530 million tonnes by 2050 and the export market could be worth $300-billion a year by 2050.

Diamond company De Beers hiked its prices by about 8% at its first sale of the year,

Bloomberg reports. In one of its most aggressive price increases in recent years, the company raised the price of smaller, cheaper rough diamonds by 20%; larger stones had an increase of about 5%. This comes after price increases throughout 2021, driven by the need to recover from the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. Consumer demand for jewellery is expected to have grown strongly during the year.