Johannesburg – South African bonds
were weaker in afternoon trade on Friday after US institutions sold
SA assets on concerns that the crisis at Marikana could escalate.
“We were trading steady in the
morning‚ but when the US entered trading this afternoon‚ the rand
gapped and our bonds followed‚” a local trader said.
At 15:42‚ the benchmark R157 bond was
trading at 5.705% from 5.660% at 11.35am‚ Thursday’s close of
5.655% and Wednesday’s close of 5.670%‚ the R207 was bid at
6.790% and offered at 6.760% from its previous close of 6.725% and
the R186 was trading at 7.650% from its previous close of 7.575%.
The rand was bid at R8.3328 per dollar
from R8.2678 at 11.35 and Thursday’s close of R8.2198.
SA’s business sector is calling for
an investigation into why industrial action in the country is
becoming increasingly violent.
The call from business leaders follows
the violence at Lonmin’s Marikana mine in which more than 40 people
have died.
The Black Business Council (BBC) called
for an all-encompassing judicial commission of inquiry to investigate
the general conduct of industrial action in “a democratic SA”‚
and in particular to look at the underlying causes of the crisis at
Lonmin [JSE:LON].
“In particular the judicial
commission of inquiry should answer the fundamental question: why is
industrial action‚ be it legal or unprotected‚ becoming
increasingly violent?” BBC secretary Sandile Zungu said.
“We condemn‚ in the strongest terms
possible‚ the violence and deaths that occurred in the area around
the Lonmin-owned Marikana mine. We express our deepest condolences to
the families of the workers and the policemen who lost their lives‚”
Zungu said.
South African Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (Sacci) CEO Neren Rau said Sacci was disturbed by the loss
of life and ongoing violence at the mine.
Sacci called on the leadership of the
labour unions to engage in peaceful talks to prevent any further loss
of life and injuries.
“The tragic events of the past week
cast a negative light over SA and the willingness of stakeholders to
enter robust debate‚” Rau said.
Sacci expressed concern that industrial
action in the country was increasingly becoming synonymous with
violence and intimidation.
“The rights and obligations of
workers during industrial action are an important element of SA’s
regulatory regime and have far-reaching consequences on the long-term
economic growth of the country‚” Rau noted.
Foreigners were net sellers of R1.338bn
of South African bonds including repo transactions on Thursday after
net sales of R1.857bn of local bonds on Wednesday‚ data released by
the JSE show.
Nominal cumulative volume was R86.888bn
on Thursday from R72.547bn on Wednesday.
Foreigners were net sellers of
R665.289m of local bonds excluding repo transactions on Thursday
after net sales of R474.020m of local bonds on Wednesday.
For the year to date foreigners have
been net buyers of R65.230bn of local bonds‚ excluding repo
transactions. In 2011 they were net buyers of R47.359bn worth of
local bonds‚ excluding repo transactions.
In the year to date foreigners have
been net buyers of R64.551bn of local bonds including repo
transactions. In 2011 they bought R37.501bn worth of local bonds.
