Latest news with #DuncanPieterse
IOL News
20-07-2025
- Business
- IOL News
G20 Finance Track meetings highlight global economic challenges
Key note addresses from Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, Dr Duncan Pieterse, Director-General of the National Treasury, and Lesetja Kganyago, the governor of the South African Reserve Bank highlighted the global uncertainty and challenges faced by developing and African countries. Image: Yogashen Pillay The G20 Finance Track meetings that took place in Zimbali North of Durban entered its final day on Friday. Key note addresses from Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, Dr Duncan Pieterse, Director-General of the National Treasury, and Lesetja Kganyago, the governor of the South African Reserve Bank highlighted the global uncertainty and challenges faced by developing and African countries. Pieterse on the opening day of the G20 Finance Track meetings said that we are meeting at a moment of ongoing uncertainty in the global economy. 'While there are signs of resilience in some areas, various challenges remain: uneven growth trajectories, elevated debt levels, persistent inflationary pressures, and the complex implications of tightening financial conditions.' Pieterse added that at the same time, various long-term transitions including digitalisation, climate finance and demographic shifts are reshaping the foundations of our economies. 'The multilateral system is being tested, and our collective ability to respond, will shape the pace of our recovery, but also the prospects for inclusive and sustainable development." Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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Next Stay Close ✕ ''As the G20, we have the responsibility to demonstrate leadership, and our Presidency places a very strong emphasis on strengthening the role of the G20 in delivering concrete solutions, fostering a more stable and effective and resilient international financial architecture, enhancing debt sustainability, addressing liquidity challenges, as well as strengthening multilateral development banks, and ensuring financing for development,' added Pieterse. Godongwana in his opening remarks at the Finance Ministers & Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) Meeting said that we meet at a time of fragile global economic growth. 'While inflation is gradually moderating and financial conditions have started to stabilise in some regions, uncertainty continues to weigh heavily on global growth prospects. Rising trade barriers, persistent global imbalances and new geopolitical risks are significant concerns.' Godongwana added that many developing countries, especially in Africa, remain burdened by high and rising debt vulnerabilities, constrained fiscal space, and a high cost of capital that limits their ability to invest in their people and their futures. 'Technological shifts—especially in artificial intelligence and digital finance—offer tremendous potential but also demand robust governance and coordinated action to harness the opportunities, mitigate risks such as job displacement, and bridge the digital divide towards inclusive growth. At the same time, climate-related shocks and extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and severity worldwide, impacting lives, livelihoods, and macroeconomic stability,' said Godongwana. Godongwana added that in the face of these complex challenges, the G20 must remain a source of strategic global leadership, cooperation, and action. 'We must extend our efforts, if we are to reach our true potential as a collective, to enable us to deal decisively with the economic, environmental, developmental and social challenges that plague especially Africa, low-income countries in other regions and small developing states.' Kganyago warned of the headwinds for the global economy as forecasts have been revised lower. 'Risks to the outlook have been tilted to the downside, while inflation has eased across countries, it remains higher than desired. Central banks have to skillfully navigate what uncertainty means for their financial stability mandates,' Kganyago said. 'These developments are unfolding under the backdrop of elevated debt and emerging risks on financial sustainability. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the world has shifted to a new debt paradigm. Governments and companies are borrowing more than $10 trillion (R179 trillion) compared to the pre-COVID-19 period.' Meanwhile, Greenpeace Africa has called on G20 host and South African President Ramaphosa to push ahead on accelerating efforts to impose a wealth tax on the world's billionaires and to support the UN Tax Convention for new and fair global tax rules. Cynthia Moyo, Lead Campaigner, Greenpeace Africa, said that it's outrageous that billionaires keep getting richer from a broken global tax system while millions across Africa and the world are driven deeper into poverty and climate chaos. BUSINESS REPORT
Straits Times
18-07-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
G-20 communique delivers rare show of unity amid Trump trade war
Find out what's new on ST website and app. (From left) South African Treasury Director-General Duncan Pieterse, South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil, World Bank president Ajay Banga and Egypt Vice-Minister of Finance Yasser Sobhi at a G-20 meeting. DURBAN - The Group of 20 (G-20) finance ministers and central bank chiefs committed to international policy cooperation in a communique adopted on July 18, finding rare consensus amid escalating tensions over the US trade war. 'The global economy is facing heightened uncertainty and complex challenges, including ongoing wars and conflicts, geopolitical and trade tension,' the communique said. 'We emphasise the importance of strengthening multilateral cooperation to address existing and emerging risks to the global economy.' The agreement, forged during the G-20 summit in South Africa's eastern KwaZulu-Natal province, was reached despite simmering tensions over US President Donald Trump's trade war, which is set to intensify when higher tariffs take effect on Aug 1 . They have strained the G-20's multilateral foundations and complicated South Africa's efforts – as this year's rotating president – to keep the group's agenda on course. 'The fact that all members consented to language covering debt relief, climate finance, tax cooperation, and financial stability during such a period demonstrates the success of the approach that we have adopted,' said South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana. It was the first G-20 communique in 2025. Tariffs were not explicitly mentioned in the five-page document. But Mr Godongwana played that down, noting it was a relatively recent issue 'and in any case I feel that our discussion on the broad number issues affecting global growth have included the range of risk to economic growth, without singling out tariffs.' The G-20 communique did note the importance of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to advance trade issues, while adding that it recognised 'the WTO has challenges and needs meaningful, necessary, and comprehensive reform to improve all its functions.' 'Central bank independence' Officials also sided with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who Mr Trump has excoriated for opposing him by not lowering interest rates, out of concern the levies could spur inflation. 'Central banks are strongly committed to ensuring price stability, consistent with their respective mandates, and will continue to adjust their policies in a data-dependent manner,' the communique said. 'Central bank independence is crucial to achieving this goal.' South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago told reporters at a closing press conference that the issue of independence 'came out strongly in the conversation.' Mr Powell did not attend this G-20, with the Fed being represented by Vice-Chair Philip Jefferson. The communique also included a prominent reference to 'frequent extreme weather events and natural disasters' which impact economic growth, financial and price stability.' Climate-change language has been a sticking point with the Trump administration in the past. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent skipped the event in favour of a trip to Japan, but Washington still sent a delegation to represent its interests. 'Major achievement' By imposing trade levies, scorning South Africa's G-20 motto of 'solidarity, equality and sustainability' and pulling billions of dollars in funding for climate finance and international aid, the US is testing a world order that has dominated since the end of World War II. That makes achieving a communique all the more impressive, said German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil prior to its adoption. 'This is a major achievement for the G-20 presidency, which has conducted these negotiations with prudence and skill,' he told reporters at the gathering, at a lush resort on the Indian Ocean near the port city of Durban. Issuing the communique sends 'a strong signal in favor of multilateralism,' he said. Still, tariff uncertainty has dented global economic growth. The International Monetary Fund in April cut its projection for 2025 to 2.8 per cent from a January forecast of 3.3 per cent and IMF First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath, who attended the G-20, said that while financial conditions have improved, vigilance was important. 'While we will update our global forecast at the end of July, downside risks continue to dominate the outlook and uncertainty remains high,' she said in a statement as the gathering concluded. BLOOMBERG
Business Recorder
18-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
South Africa's rand and stocks gain as G20 finance meeting nears conclusion
JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's rand and stocks gained on Friday as investors turned their attention to the final day of the two-day Group of 20 finance meeting, which South Africa, the first African host nation, hopes to conclude with a formal communique. A communique would indicate that the G20 finance leaders have reached consensus on at least some key issues. At 1105 GMT, the rand traded at 17.7050 against the U.S. dollar, up roughly 0.6% on Thursday's close. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange's Top-40 index was last up 1.4%. The meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors will continue on Friday, with tariffs, debt relief and climate resilience being the core topics debated so far. On the broader agenda, South Africa's Treasury Director General Duncan Pieterse said the G20 hoped to issue the first communique under the country's presidency by the end of the meetings. South African rand steady before retail sales data Canada's finance minister Francois-Philippe Champagne also told Reuters he was cautiously optimistic that a final communique would be agreed, but that the G20 of large developed and developing countries needed to send a clear message. Domestic investor focus next week will be on the country's May business cycle leading indicator and June consumer inflation data for clues about the health of Africa's most industrialised economy. '(Inflation data) is unlikely to do much for the performance of the ZAR, given that the rates markets have already moved to price out the prospect of more than one more rate cut,' ETM Analytics said in a research note. South Africa's benchmark 2035 government bond was weaker, as the yield rose 2.5 basis points to 9.985%.
Eyewitness News
17-07-2025
- Business
- Eyewitness News
G20: Treasury's Pieterse confident finmins & central bank governors can reach consensus on number of issues
JOHANNESBURG - National Treasury said that finance ministers and central bank governors were on the brink of reaching consensus as fiscal and monetary policy leaders meet for a third time under South Africa's G20 presidency. The diplomatic bloc failed to agree on a formal communique at the February meeting in Cape Town, with some pushback from the US on climate financing. In the chair's summary, member states agreed on efforts to strengthen multilateral development banks, reforming global governance institutions, enhancing debt sustainability and addressing liquidity challenges. READ: Slow responses to global headwinds could defer 2030 Sustainable Development Goals deadline - Godongwana At the finance track meeting underway in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), the wording on sustainable financing coming from the US delegation was the cause for a difference of opinion. But Director-General at Treasury, Duncan Pieterse, said the first communique in two years could be finalised when the meeting wraps up on Friday. "We are quietly confident that we will be able to get there, and it would be a significant achievement because a communique means that there is consensus among the members of G20 on a range of issues and at a time like now, I think that kind of achievement is quite remarkable."
Mint
15-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
G20 has responsibility to address issues of multilateralism: Senior SAfrican official
Johannesburg, Jul 15 (PTI) The G20 members have a responsibility to address the challenges of the multilateral system for ensuring global recovery and advancing inclusive and sustainable development, a senior South African official has said. Director-General of the National Treasury of South Africa Dr Duncan Pieterse made the comments on Monday while addressing a gathering of senior finance heads of the G20 at the bloc's Finance Track meetings. 'The multilateral system is being tested, and our collective ability to respond will shape the pace of our recovery, but also the prospects for inclusive and sustainable development. As the G20, we have the responsibility to demonstrate leadership," he said. The meeting, held in the KwaZulu-Natal province, is one of many organised by South Africa, which holds the Presidency of the G20 for this year, in the run-up to the G20 Summit of Heads of State in November. 'We are meeting at a moment of ongoing uncertainty in the global economy. While there are signs of resilience in some areas, various challenges remain: uneven growth trajectories, elevated debt levels, persistent inflationary pressures, and the complex implications of tightening financial conditions,' Pieterse said. He added that with these challenges, various long-term transitions including digitalisation, climate finance and demographic shifts are reshaping the foundations of global economies. He reiterated President Cyril Ramaphosa's strong emphasis on strengthening the role of the G20 in delivering concrete solutions. These solutions are aimed at fostering a more stable, effective and resilient international financial architecture, enhancing debt sustainability, addressing liquidity challenges, as well as strengthening multilateral development banks, and ensuring financing for development. Pieterse said that the sessions at the three-day meet are expected to lead to discussions which are instrumental in shaping the outcomes of the Finance Track.
