Company Briefs
China’s BYD to nearly triple South Africa dealers’ network by next yearChinese electric-vehicle giant BYD plans to nearly triple its dealership network in South Africa by next year as it looks to grow its market share in the country, a senior executive told Reuters.
BYD’s move comes at a time of growing competition in Africa’s largest automotive market, where sales of new energy vehicles are rising and other Chinese companies - such as GAC, Chery and GWM - are also making inroads.
Launched in 2023, with its BYD battery electric ATTO 3 vehicle, the automaker has about 13 dealerships.
“By the end of the year, we will have about 20 dealerships around the country. The aim is to expand that to about 30, 35 the next year,” Steve Chang, General Manager of BYD Auto South Africa told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.
BYD currently offers six models in the South African market, with its plug-in hybrid Shark pick-up, hybrid SEALION 6, and pure electric SEALION 7 SUV models launched in April, completing its hybrid and electric dual-powertrain strategy.
The dealership expansion will help BYD become a fairly known brand and capture more buyers across a country that is slowly transitioning to electrified vehicles.
– REUTERS
S&P says South Africa needs faster growth to secure rating upgradeSouth Africa needs faster economic growth and credible fiscal consolidation to secure its first credit rating upgrade in two decades, a senior S&P Global Ratings official said on Wednesday.
At its most recent review of South Africa last month, S&P affirmed the sub-investment grade ‘BB-/B’ foreign currency rating and maintained a “positive” outlook.
A “positive” outlook for sub-investment sovereigns is usually settled within a year, said Ravi Bhatia, director and lead analyst at S&P, referring to the timeframe the firm has to decide whether to upgrade the rating or downgrade the outlook.
S&P assigned its positive outlook on Africa’s most industrialized economy in November.
A rating upgrade hinges on three things: faster growth, credible fiscal consolidation and an absence of fresh bailouts for state-owned companies, Bhatia said.
“If the momentum continues - you see slightly better growth, steady fiscal consolidation and no extra bailouts - the pressure is for an upgrade,” Bhatia told delegates at the agency’s annual South Africa conference in Johannesburg. “But if growth deteriorates again and fiscal is not under control, we could vote back to stable,” he said.
Bhatia said external risks were less of a worry for now, “It’s growth and the fiscus,” he said.
– REUTERS
Ayo in hot water: JSE says investors were kept in the darkListed technology group Ayo Technology Solutions is in trouble with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) once again – even as it prepares to go private.
The JSE on Thursday said it has fined Ayo R500 000 over the latest breach of its listing rules, though the fine has been suspended provided it doesn’t repeat the offence.
The fine and public censure come less than two weeks after Ayo announced that shareholder Sekunjalo Investment Holdings, controlled by controversial businessman Iqbal Survé, intended buying out its minority shareholders ahead of a delisting.
Ayo, which has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons for years – including numerous censures from the JSE for failing to comply with listings requirements – received a controversial multibillion-rand investment from the Public Investment Corp (PIC), the entity that makes investments on behalf of civil servants using their pension contributions, ahead of its 2017 listing.
In February 2025, Ayo was suspended from trading on the JSE due to its failure to publish annual financial statements on time. Indeed, the company has faced multiple regulatory sanctions over the years, including fines, censures and trading suspensions, mainly due to financial misstatements and governance failures.– TECHCENTRAL
BYD’s move comes at a time of growing competition in Africa’s largest automotive market, where sales of new energy vehicles are rising and other Chinese companies - such as GAC, Chery and GWM - are also making inroads.
Launched in 2023, with its BYD battery electric ATTO 3 vehicle, the automaker has about 13 dealerships.
“By the end of the year, we will have about 20 dealerships around the country. The aim is to expand that to about 30, 35 the next year,” Steve Chang, General Manager of BYD Auto South Africa told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.
BYD currently offers six models in the South African market, with its plug-in hybrid Shark pick-up, hybrid SEALION 6, and pure electric SEALION 7 SUV models launched in April, completing its hybrid and electric dual-powertrain strategy.
The dealership expansion will help BYD become a fairly known brand and capture more buyers across a country that is slowly transitioning to electrified vehicles.
– REUTERS
S&P says South Africa needs faster growth to secure rating upgradeSouth Africa needs faster economic growth and credible fiscal consolidation to secure its first credit rating upgrade in two decades, a senior S&P Global Ratings official said on Wednesday.
At its most recent review of South Africa last month, S&P affirmed the sub-investment grade ‘BB-/B’ foreign currency rating and maintained a “positive” outlook.
A “positive” outlook for sub-investment sovereigns is usually settled within a year, said Ravi Bhatia, director and lead analyst at S&P, referring to the timeframe the firm has to decide whether to upgrade the rating or downgrade the outlook.
S&P assigned its positive outlook on Africa’s most industrialized economy in November.
A rating upgrade hinges on three things: faster growth, credible fiscal consolidation and an absence of fresh bailouts for state-owned companies, Bhatia said.
“If the momentum continues - you see slightly better growth, steady fiscal consolidation and no extra bailouts - the pressure is for an upgrade,” Bhatia told delegates at the agency’s annual South Africa conference in Johannesburg. “But if growth deteriorates again and fiscal is not under control, we could vote back to stable,” he said.
Bhatia said external risks were less of a worry for now, “It’s growth and the fiscus,” he said.
– REUTERS
Ayo in hot water: JSE says investors were kept in the darkListed technology group Ayo Technology Solutions is in trouble with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) once again – even as it prepares to go private.
The JSE on Thursday said it has fined Ayo R500 000 over the latest breach of its listing rules, though the fine has been suspended provided it doesn’t repeat the offence.
The fine and public censure come less than two weeks after Ayo announced that shareholder Sekunjalo Investment Holdings, controlled by controversial businessman Iqbal Survé, intended buying out its minority shareholders ahead of a delisting.
Ayo, which has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons for years – including numerous censures from the JSE for failing to comply with listings requirements – received a controversial multibillion-rand investment from the Public Investment Corp (PIC), the entity that makes investments on behalf of civil servants using their pension contributions, ahead of its 2017 listing.
In February 2025, Ayo was suspended from trading on the JSE due to its failure to publish annual financial statements on time. Indeed, the company has faced multiple regulatory sanctions over the years, including fines, censures and trading suspensions, mainly due to financial misstatements and governance failures.– TECHCENTRAL
