ECONOMIC GROWTH
Global banks: load-shedding will derail investment drive
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s investment drive, which helped boost foreign direct investment to a five-year high in 2018, could be derailed by power cuts threatening to push the economy into another recession, according to two of the world’s biggest investment banks. "The mood compared to last year is depressed," Michael Jacks, head of equity research at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said on Wednesday, referring to participants at the bank’s annual investor conference held at Sun City. About 40% of the 159 participants were foreign, he said. "No-one is expecting a rapid recovery in the economy whereas the year before, we were wrapped up in Ramaphoria. Load-shedding is a big concern." PODCAST: Listen to expert commentary on the issue. Subscribe: iono.fm | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Player.fm Goldman Sachs said load-shedding could subtract 0.3 percentage points of economic growth in the first quarter, and if it remained as severe as it is now, at stage four, which involv...
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