KwaZulu-Natal welcomes resumption of SAA and Qatar flights

Kwazulu-Natal Government welcomes the resumption of SAA and Qatar flights as a sign of sustained economic recovery and great things to come
Premier of KwaZulu-Natal Sihle Zikalala says the tourism sector will benefit significantly from the recent return to Durban’s King Shaka International Airport of both SAA and Qatar Airways and help lift KwaZulu-Natal’s economic recovery.
This follows SAA’s announcement that its first scheduled flight will take off from OR Tambo International to King Shaka International on 04 March 2022.

This will be the first time in almost two years since the airline exited the route. SAA said it will fly the route 7 days per week at least 3 times a day on a return service between the two cities.
SAA’s return to King Shaka Airport follows close on the heels of the resumption by Qatar Airways, of flights out of Durban. Qatar, the Gulf airline headquartered in Doha, resumed flying from KwaZulu-Natal on 14January with an initial frequency of four flights a week.
“The resumption of SAA and Qatar Air flights between Durban and Johannesburg, Durban and DOHA respectively will benefit the tourism sector which remains one of the greatest creators of employment in the economy of KwaZulu-Natal.

Through our Economic Recovery, Reconstruction and Transformation Plan we have stated our commitment to increasing trade, tourism and beneficial collaboration with the rest of the world.

Efficient and regular aviation services are necessary if we are to increase visits to our province, to grow tourism numbers and to create jobs up and down the value-chain,” said Premier Zikalala.
“We wish to welcome the return of Qatar Airways to Durban following its withdrawal ahead of the festive season over Covid-19 related health and safety concerns. Direct links to mid-hemisphere hubs such as Doha in the Gulf region bring the world closer by providing easy access to the global capitals of the world.

The uptick in tourism numbers which is directly related to aviation links can only mean that KZN is truly on the rise, and that better things will come in 2022,” added Premier Zikalala.
“SAA is a major global brand in the aviation, travel and tourism industry, and it remains recognizable to tourists and visitors wanting to visit our country from all corners of the globe. By returning to KwaZulu-Natal SAA will increase air links to the province by adding the number of airlines choosing to connect to destinations in KwaZulu-Natal”.
MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs Ravi Pillay says air transport is key to advancing economic growth of KwaZulu-Natal.
“We welcome the reintroduction of SAA flights between Durban and Johannesburg. This is crucial in growing our economy and domestic capacity on the essential Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal route.

This announcement comes straight after positive tourism numbers during the festive season which were anchored on high occupancy rate of around 80% during the Christmas week”.
MEC Pillay added that provincial government had worked hard to address the negative impact on the KwaZulu-Natal economy caused by disruption in connectivity resulting from the grounding of many airlines including SAA.
“The past 20 months since SAA terminated the Durban route have been particularly difficult. However, as government we never stopped engaging SAA even as the airline was repackaging its business model.

This is a fresh start, and a timely boost to our economic recovery efforts. It strengthens our argument that the Durban route is a significant cog in the revival of the aviation industry in South Africa,” said MEC Pillay.
MEC Pillay also said that Qatar Airways provides KwaZulu-Natal with connectivity to over 150 markets around the world: “With our vaccination programme well underway, the reintroduction of Qatar Airways allows us to revive our connectivity to strategic global markets, while rebuilding our relationships with both business and leisure travelers as well as service the demands of our airfreight market directly from Durban,” concluded MEC Pillay.
Mayor of eThekwini Municipality, Cllr. Mxolisi Kaunda added his voice saying the municipality will provide support to all international and regional airlines flying into the city ensuring these flights deliver value to the people and the economy of Durban,” said Cllr Kaunda.
Welcoming the reintroduction of Qatar Airways flights into the city, Cllr. Kaunda said: “International air connectivity continues to be an important lifeblood for Durban, opening our city to significant tourism markets, while cementing our position as a trade gateway into the rest of the Sub-Saharan African region.

We welcome back both Qatar and South African Airways which through their vast network will be instrumental in providing Durban with international connectivity,” concluded Mayor Kaunda.

Source: Government of South Africa

Water and Sanitation on Vaal Dam sluice gates

Vaal Dam sluice gates to remain open
The Vaal and Bloemhof Dam sluice gates are to remain open as the outflow of water remains high.

Vaal dam storage capacity currently stands at 111.1%, indicating an increase of 0.6% from a day before, while Bloemhof stands at 111,0%, with a decrease of 1% overnight.

The decrease in river flow levels upstream of the dams and predictions of a low likelihood of heavy rains next week have at this stage nullified the need to increase the outflow from Bloemhof Dam.

The outflows from both catchments feeding the Vaal-Orange River System and the Integrated Vaal River System have been kept the same.
However, the Department of Water and Sanitation’s spokesperson, Sputnik Ratau cautions the public that the outflows from Bloemhof, although unchanged, are still relatively high.
“We ask the downstream communities to remain vigilant.
“Communities living near the Lower Orange should also keep a watchful eye as flows are forecast to increase significantly starting over the weekend,” Ratau explained.

Source: Government of South Africa

Water and Sanitation on possible liquid gas chlorine shortages

DWS is concerned about possible liquid gas chlorine shortages that could affect water supply
The National Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is aware of the incident related to possible liquid gas chlorine supply shortages from the supplier based in Kempton Park, Gauteng. If this was to happen, the liquid gas chlorine shortages would have a possibility of affecting the treatment of potable water and effluent water managed by Water Service Authorities (WSA’s), Metros and Water boards.
DWS’s National Spokesperson, Sputnik Ratau, says while DWS has no intention of speaking on behalf of the chlorine gas supplier, it believes the supplier will do everything in its power to ensure that water supply and effluent water treatment are not negatively impacted by the shortages.
Ratau further states that to date, DWS has not received any reports that water boards are experiencing shortages of chlorine in their operations.
“As the department we hope that Waterboards, Metros and WSA’s have spare supplies that will last them until shortages subside” says Ratau. The latest report from the supply company indicates that production is stable at 80%. As of yesterday, 19 January 2021, the supply company was packaging chlorine for the City of Cape Town in accordance with the existing agreement.
DWS through its Provincial offices will continue to track daily reports across the country to determine how the shortages are affecting the WSAs, Metros and Waterboards if at all.
The department will monitor the developments and work with all affected parties, including the supply company, WSA’s, Water boards, and water specialists, to ensure the quality of the water supplied to water users and the receiving environment are not compromised.

“Water is Life, Sanitation is Dignity”

Source: Government of South Africa

FXCM December Single Share & Stock Baskets Report

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Jan. 19, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FXCM Group, LLC (“FXCM Group’ or ‘FXCM’), the leading international provider of online foreign exchange trading, CFD trading, cryptocurrencies and related services, is today releasing its data of most popular instruments for the month of December in its Single Share CFD and proprietary Stock Basket product lines.

FXCM offers fractional single share trading with no commission fees* on leading companies from the US, UK, France, Germany, Hong Kong and Australia. FXCM’s stock basket products combine the shares of multiple companies from one sector into a single tradeable instrument. The company currently boasts a portfolio of 16 stock baskets. The list of companies and weightings is available on FXCM’s stock basket website (https://www.fxcm.com/za/stock-baskets/).

Tesla and Facebook maintained the top two spots in December, however there was a significant shuffle below as Chinese ADRs drew a lot of attention. Alibaba’s US listed ADR almost tripled in volume last month, helping it climb to the third most popularly traded instrument, while its Hong Kong listed counterpart also drew attention as it surged into the top ten for the first time. Additionally Chinese EV company XPeng, and KE Holdings, the Chinese real estate agent, also made their first appearances in the rankings.

While there was little change to FXCM’s top ten stock baskets rankings during December, both the top two, FAANG and China Tech, doubled trading volume compared to November. Similar to the trend seen in the single shares, Chinese related tech baskets caught FXCM clients’ attention in December, as both the ATMX (Big China Tech HKD Basket) and its USD counterpart saw significant increases. Also of note was Uranium, FXCM’s newest basket launched only last month, which joined the top ten in only its first full month of trading.

Volume Rank Monthly Rank Change Company Symbol
1 Tesla Inc TSLA.us
2 Facebook (Meta Platforms Inc) FB.us
3 ↑5 Alibaba Group Holding Ltd ADR BABA.us
4 ↓1 Apple Inc AAPL.us
5 ↑1 Amazon.com Inc AMZN.us
6 ↑3 NVIDIA Corporation NVDA.us
7 New to top 10 Alibaba Group (HK) BABA.hk
8 New to top 10 XPeng Inc. ADR XPEV.us
9 New to top 10 Moderna Inc MRNA.us
10 New to top 10 KE Holdings Inc. ADR BEKE.us
Volume Rank Monthly Rank Change Sector Symbol
1 Big US Tech FAANG
2 ↑3 China Tech CHN.TECH
3 Airlines AIRLINES
4 ↑3 Big China Tech (HKD Basket) ATMX
5 ↓1 China Ecommerce CHN.ECOMM
6 ESports & Gaming ESPORTS
7 ↑2 Biotechnology BIOTECH
8 Cannabis CANNABIS
9 ↑7 Uranium URANIUM
10 US Banks US.BANKS

Past Performance and popularity is not an indicator of future results.
Rank is derived from FXCM Client Volume

*FXCM can be compensated in several ways, which includes but are not limited to adding a mark-up to the spreads it receives from its liquidity providers, adding a mark-up to rollover, etc. Commission-based pricing is applicable to Active Trader account types.

About FXCM:

FXCM is a leading provider of online foreign exchange (FX) trading, CFD trading, and related services. Founded in 1999, the company’s mission is to provide global traders with access to the world’s largest and most liquid market by offering innovative trading tools, hiring excellent trading educators, meeting strict financial standards and striving for the best online trading experience in the market. Clients have the advantage of mobile trading, one-click order execution and trading from real-time charts. In addition, FXCM offers educational courses on FX trading and provides trading tools, proprietary data and premium resources. FXCM Pro provides retail brokers, small hedge funds and emerging market banks access to wholesale execution and liquidity, while providing high and medium frequency funds access to prime brokerage services via FXCM Prime. FXCM is a Leucadia Company.

Forex Capital Markets Limited: FCA registration number 217689 (www.fxcm.com/uk)

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.

67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

FXCM EU LTD: CySEC license number 392/20 (www.fxcm.com/eu)

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.

Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs.

You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

FXCM Australia Pty. Limited: AFSL 309763. Losses can exceed your deposited funds. The products may not be suitable for all investors. Please ensure that you fully understand the risks involved. If you decide to trade products offered by FXCM AU, you must read and understand the Financial Services Guide, Product Disclosure Statement, Target Market Determination and Terms of Business on www.fxcm.com/au.

FXCM South Africa (PTY) Ltd: FSP No 46534 (www.fxcm.com/za). Our service includes products that are traded on margin and carry a risk of losses in excess of your deposited funds. The products may not be suitable for all investors. Please ensure that you fully understand the risks involved.

FXCM Markets Limited: Losses can exceed deposited funds. (www.fxcm.com/markets).

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Chatsworth Communications
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