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Welcome to the September 2026 edition of the Sassda GPS eNewsletter. This month’s aggregated market intelligence news shows concerted efforts to make the big systems in our economy work better: rail is opening to private participation, Johannesburg is facing a long-overdue recovery plan, Eskom’s grid reform is moving ahead, and a new LNG terminal opportunity is entering the market. We also look at the pressure on local automotive manufacturing, the physical infrastructure behind AI, and the financing developments that could shape investment decisions. Together, these are the market signals worth watching for anyone doing business in South Africa’s ‘real economy’
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Enjoy the read!
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Private trains prepare for Transnet rail
Network as monopoly nears end
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South Africa’s rail reform is moving from policy to practical preparation, with private operators readying to use the Transnet network as the long-standing monopoly gives way to greater third-party access. The shift matters well beyond rail operators: more reliable freight capacity can lower logistics costs, improve export competitiveness and unlock investment in rolling stock and rail-support infrastructure. For stainless steel businesses, the opportunity sits in specialised components, corrosion-resistant equipment and the wider industrial supply chain…
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Three year plan to try and save Joburg
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National Treasury will undertake a three-year intervention to stabilise Johannesburg, working with the Development Bank of Southern Africa and other institutions despite the uncertainty around the November municipal elections. Johannesburg accounts for about 15% of South Africa’s economic output, but governance failures, weak finances and unreliable services have left the city unable to meet basic obligations. A credible turnaround would matter to industry because municipal recovery underpins the repair and renewal of water, sanitation, electricity and other essential urban infrastructure…
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State development finance institutions
push for a bright post austerity future
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South Africa’s development finance institutions are being positioned as an important part of the country’s post-austerity growth story, with the potential to back projects that conventional finance may be slow to support. Their role is especially relevant to infrastructure, industrial development and businesses needing patient capital to expand. For the stainless steel sector, the practical question is whether this funding can turn priority projects into bankable procurement opportunities?… |
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Eskom unbundling to be carefully sequenced
Over the next 18 months
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National Treasury director-general Duncan Pieterse says the planned transfer of Eskom’s grid assets to an independent Transmission System Operator over the next 18 months is a prerequisite for a more competitive electricity market. The process will be carefully sequenced and managed, but its direction is important: a stronger, independently run transmission system is central to connecting new generation and crowding in private capital. It is a market signal for suppliers involved in substations, generation, storage and grid-support infrastructure… |
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Port of East London seeks bids for LNG
terminaL
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Transnet National Ports Authority has called for proposals for an operator to design, finance, develop, construct, operate and maintain an LNG terminal at the Port of East London. The project puts a significant new energy and maritime-infrastructure opportunity into the market. LNG terminals require complex, safety-critical systems, from storage and handling infrastructure to piping, marine interfaces and ancillary plant… |
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Real AI opportunities lie in execution
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The real economic opportunity in artificial intelligence (AI) is not simply in using powerful new models, but in building the physical and operational capacity to apply them. This includes reliable power, computing capacity, connectivity, cooling, data infrastructure, engineering and systems that can act on insight. South Africa already has a meaningful data-centre base and Microsoft has announced a further R5.4-billion investment in local cloud and AI infrastructure by the end of 2027…
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SA automakers put more pressure on
government to address imports
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South Africa’s automotive industry is pressing government to tackle the growing pressure from imported vehicles. The concern is not only about vehicle sales: a stronger local production base supports the component suppliers, engineering capabilities and jobs that support it. The debate is therefore a useful market signal for manufacturers across the industrial value chain…
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Taxpayers score a major win against SARS
Over tax deductions
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The Supreme Court of Appeal has ruled that certain raising, arrangement or facility fees can qualify as deductible finance charges under section 24J of the Income Tax Act. The case matters to businesses that rely on debt funding for expansion, refinancing and capital projects, including infrastructure developers and renewable-energy investors. The judgment does not make every transaction cost deductible: taxpayers must still show that the fee forms part of the cost of obtaining credit. But it could improve the after-tax economics of qualifying debt-funded investment…
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African Union to launch African credit rating agency in October
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The African Union-backed African Peer Review Mechanism plans to launch a continent-wide credit ratings agency in Mauritius on 5 October 2026. The initiative aims to address concerns that African borrowers are unfairly assessed by the dominant global rating agencies, contributing to high borrowing costs. While its impact will take time to judge, the development is significant for businesses watching the cost and availability of capital across the continent…
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The wrong funding can cost a business
more than no FUNDING AT ALL
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Access to finance remains one of the biggest barriers facing South African SMEs. Finfind estimates the SME funding gap at R350-billion, driven by limited collateral, weak business-credit data, burdensome requirements and a shortage of funding-ready businesses. For smaller manufacturers and fabricators, matching the right finance to working capital, equipment or expansion needs can be as important as securing finance at all…
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