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In a week capped by a State of the Nation Address that encompassed measures to combat load shedding, including having a new electricity minister, the business world once again continued to face the brunt of the disaster.
Court battles were won and lost, rail dysfunction and the energy crisis weighed on companies' performances, boards were shaken up, executives were appointed and some defended the need for price hikes.
Here are the top 10 business stories of the week:
Surprise! Transnet stuns by launching biggest privatisation since 1997 after bailout fails
When Transnet announced a week or two ago that it would concession out the country's busiest and most important rail corridor for 20 years to a private company, markets, politicians, the ANC, business, labour, the Presidency, and even the deputy minister of public enterprises was stunned.
The call to the market for a 20-year lease on the Durban-Johannesburg container line published on the last Friday of January surprised everyone. Questioned by annoyed ANC MPs at a parliamentary committee meeting last week, Deputy Minister Phumulo Masualle said the ministry knew nothing about it and "had asked Transnet for a thorough explanation".
ConCourt shoots down govt appeal over BEE in Covid-19 tourism funds case
SA's highest court has declined to hear an application for leave to appeal a lower court's ruling that found the state was wrong to include Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) as a criterion to access Covid-19 relief grants in the tourism sector.
In April 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic caused local and international tourism to grind to a halt, then-tourism minister Mmamoloko Kubayi set up a Tourism Relief Fund.
Some R200 million was to be allocated for once-off payments of up to R50 000 for struggling small businesses. The minister included the B-BBEE status level of applicants as one of the criteria for funding.
Why Coronation may take its tax fight to the Constitutional Court
Coronation is considering taking its fight against the South African Revenue Service (SARS) to the country's apex court.
Two courts have given different rulings on the company's dispute with the tax agency.
This week, the Supreme Court of Appeal ordered the investment giant to pay, with interest, an undisclosed tax bill that has been in dispute since 2017.
Steel giant ArcelorMittal pushes plans for its own energy, rail access after R2.3bn earnings hit
SA's largest steel producer ArcelorMittal says a combination of load shedding, rail dysfunction, and strikes shaved off R2.3 billion in earnings in its 2022 year, and it's now pushing ahead with plans to put its rail transport and energy production at least partially under its control, at the expense of some of its other priorities.
The company, which dates back to 1928 and accounts for more than half of SA's crude steel production, plans to begin initial construction work on a R4-billion 200MW solar plant in Vanderbijlpark by the end of the year, while it is also looking for third-party access to Transnet's network.
'Shot on the nose' - Pick n Pay's shares slide with signs Shoprite is eating its lunch
Pick n Pay’s shares plunged more than 6% on Wednesday, after it released an update indicating that sales in real terms are sliding backwards as a tough trading environment squeezes profits, while load shedding is costing it about R60 million a month.
While some bright spots were on offer in its update, including strong growth of the retailer’s Boxer chain and its clothing division, this was not enough to quell market jitters. Its shares fell 6.49% in afternoon trade to R48.90, putting them at an almost one-year low.
The group said it had recently had to deal with a "significantly more difficult trading environment with unprecedented load shedding and a further downturn in the economy".
Former Eskom exec takes hot seat at Tongaat, as analysts fear collapse
Former Eskom executive Dan Marokane has been appointed interim CEO of Tongaat Hulett, a company whose future is still in severe doubt after its crippling debt pile pushed it into business rescue last year.
Just how much power Marokane will actually wield is debatable, analysts said. SA's biggest sugar producer has been under the control of its business practitioners Metis Strategic Advisors since October last year, when its lenders refused to green-light its restructuring plan.
The potential failure of Tongaat's rescue process would put 500 000 jobs across southern Africa at risk, but would have a particularly devastating effect on KwaZulu-Natal, where the company owns vast swathes of land and its SA operations are located.
Engen to get new international owner
Malaysia's national oil company Petronas has agreed to sell its 74% stake in Engen to Vivo Energy, a move that will create one of the continent's largest distributors of fuel and lubricants.
Vivo Energy, owned by Dutch-Swiss commodities group Vitol Energy, owns 2 600 service stations across 23 African countries. It doesn't operate in South Africa, but elsewhere on the continent it owns service stations under the Engen and Shell brand. Four years ago, Vivo bought the Engen business in nine African markets.
Engen is the largest petrol station group in South Africa and has around 1 300 service stations across seven African countries.
Power crisis: Shoprite, Coca-Cola, Burger King and others urge Ramaphosa to halt fuel taxes
The Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) on Tuesday urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to scrap the sugar tax, as well as suspend the fuel duty and road accident fund levies for the industry amid record levels of load shedding.
In an open letter to Ramaphosa - sent on behalf of the CEOs of Shoprite, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Tiger Brands, Burger King, British American Tobacco, Walmart-owned Massmart, Steers-owner Famous Brands and others - the CGCSA says that load shedding has "escalated catastrophically" and was crippling businesses.
The CGCSA represents 12 000 businesses, including top manufacturers, retailers and wholesalers.
'The time has come.' Renergen shakes up its board
Helium and natural gas group Renergen has announced the departure of three non-executive directors on Monday. The company says this is part of gearing up for a new production phase after its start as an exploration company.
Alex Pickard and Francois Olivier will step down with immediate effect, while the company said Bane Maleke, 72, is retiring, the firm said.
The miner appointed two new non-executive directors: Thembisa Skweyiya, currently on the boards of Woolworths and Sanlam, and Dumisa Hlatshwayo, formerly a director of Alexander Forbes and Aveng.
Gas is not beer, it's a limited commodity – Sasol Gas lawyer defends price hikes
Legal counsel arguing on behalf of Sasol Gas in competition proceedings over proposed price hikes in 2023 say what the company wants to charge is well within the formula provided by regulators, and there is no reason why the energy firm shouldn't earn margins similar to traders in other countries.
The National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) has not approved gas prices for 2023, and the R133 per gigajoule (GJ) that Sasol Gas wanted to charge from August last year now hangs in the balance.
