Wealth Advisory Newsletter

Carbon credits markets offer lucrative business opportunities

The JSE biggest securities exchange in Africa recently launched the first of its kind a voluntary carbon market trading platform formed in a joint venture between the JSE and Xpansiv, a trading platform systems developer. The JSE said in a statement that customers would be able to advance their sustainability goals as they would have full access to the functionality of the global Xpansiv platform for spot trading, auctions or requests for quotes for carbon offsets and/or renewable energy certificates, reports Business Report.

La Petite Ferme on a winning streak

Franschhoek’s La Petite Ferme is on a winning streak after receiving three awards at the 17th annual World Luxury Hotel Awards 2023. This follows on the four awards it received at the Haute Grandeur Global Hotel Awards 2023. La Petite Ferme general manager Riaan Kruger says that in addition to the award of Best Luxury Boutique Hotel in South Africa, La Petite Ferme’s restaurant also received recognition for Best Luxury Boutique Hotel Restaurant in Africa and Best Panoramic Views in Africa, reports the Sunday Tribune.

Former Nedbank investment banker launches new digital investment platform

A former Nedbank CIB investment banker, Miller has launched Utshalo in partnership with Ince, the South African investor marketing agency. This comes as changes in South Africa’s financial services industry have coincided with a decline in public markets, with a pronounced impact on companies of all sizes. Companies outside the JSE top 100 are having hindered ability “to access essential capital” for growth, reports Business Report.

Major step towards more taxpayer certainty in cross-border trade

Tweaks to draft legislation introducing an advance pricing agreement programme for South Africa have been widely welcomed. The legislation is in line with international trends and gives effect to recommendations made by the Davis Tax Committee. The legislation will create more certainty around large-scale international transactions that have transfer pricing implications. Lack of clarity in this complex area has been a major contributor to tax disputes, double taxation or additional assessments, reports MoneyWeb

Eskom unveils new battery storage project

Eskom has unveiled a utility-scale battery energy storage project, a first of its kind for the African continent. The 20MW plant in Worcester, Western Cape, known as the Hex Battery Energy Storage System, can store 100 megawatt hours of energy or enough to power Mossel Bay for up to five hours, according to Eskom Chair Mteto Nyati. Eskom’s BESS started making headway in July 2022 after the power utility awarded contracts to two service providers. These are Chinese company Pinggao Group and South Korean Hyosung Heavy Industries, reports News24.