🗞️ Mzansi Market Memo – Thursday, 10 July 2025

Molweni gents and gentleladies,
With rand sentiment tight and GDP warnings flashing across provinces, investors are sniffing for safety. The big moves today? Trade mood sours, a looming recession for 3 provinces, and a tidal wave of foreign exits on the JSE.

We’ve got a full Memo for you today folks! If you enjoy it, do me a favour and forward this to 5 friends to join the journey.

Let’s get into it — sharpen your screens and your spreadsheets.

⚡ Before the Bell

• 🏦 Earnings REBOSIS, TONGAAT due today, the latter remains suspended awaiting a delisting - a theme of the year for the JSE

• 💱 USD/ZAR: Holding steady R17.78

• 📊 Stats SA: today, expect the Residential Property Price Index Report (Feb, 2025), and Manufacturing: Production and sales (May, 2025) (source)

📢 JSE SENS Roundup – Wednesday, 9 July 2025

1. MAS P.L.C. – Activist shareholders demand board shake-up

   • A group holding over 15% of MAS shares has called an EGM, proposing to remove 2 directors, appoint 4 independents, and establish an oversight committee.

   • Root issue: growing shareholder frustration over lack of transparency in dealings with Prime Kapital.

   • TLDR: A major corporate governance test in SA-listed Europe-focused property play.

2. Tharisa – Q3 Operational Update

   • PGM production +6%, chrome +4%, but full-year guidance revised down by ~5%.

   • Cash reserves dipped to $29.4m as capital spending on Karo project continued.

   • TLDR: Resource sector closely watching Karo timelines & funding.

3. Capitec – Pillar III Capital & Liquidity Update

   • Highlights: CET1 ratio at 37.2%, LCR at 2800+%, and NSFR at 225%.

   • Liquidity and solvency remain strong despite macro headwinds.

   • TLDR: Rock-solid financials for SA's most trusted retail bank.

4. Nedbank – Appointment of Andiswa Bata as Head of Business & Commercial Banking

   • Senior leadership change as Bata steps in to lead the mid-market growth strategy.

   • TLDR: Signals renewed focus on SME & business banking.

5. Metrofile – Withdrawal of CFO Appointment

   • Bradley Swanepoel will no longer assume the CFO role as planned.

   • No detailed reason given; current CFO to continue.

   • TLDR: What is going on with Metrofile leadership?

6. Bytes Technology – Coronation ups stake to 12.11%

   • Institutional investor positioning from ~10% to over 12%.

   • TLDR: Bytes gets the institutional vote of confidence.

😂 Meme of the Day

🧠 Exec Picks

• JSE Exodus: Why Foreigners Are Selling SA Stocks

  Outflows from the JSE have hit R47.5 billion YTD, as international investors reduce their exposure to SA equities amid local uncertainty and global rate shifts.
  📖 Read: Daily Investor

• Recession Watch: Which Provinces Are on the Brink?

  The North West, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga all recorded negative GDP growth in Q1. If Q2 doesn’t improve, they’re entering technical recession territory.

  📖 Read: Business Tech

• JSE Delistings Set to Accelerate

  Another wave of delistings is coming, driven by low liquidity, red tape, and delisting incentives for small/mid caps.

  📖 Read: MoneyWeb

• SA’s Trade Mood Sours

  The latest SACCI Trade Conditions Survey shows trade sentiment turning negative for the first time in months. Domestic pressures (high rates, weak growth) and global tariff fears are tightening the outlook.
  📖 Read: SACCI trade survey breakdown

🧾 Final Word

Market mood is edgy. Between JSE outflows, profit alerts, and recession risks at a provincial level, the runway looks rough. But in every tightening cycle, someone’s preparing to buy cheap and smile later. Don’t miss the signs — just don’t chase ghosts either.

—

Mzansi Market Memo is compiled daily by Rayhaan @ the Memo for investors and operators who trade before the sun rises.
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This memo is for informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Still, we’d buy low and read high.