Business Briefs

Demand for credit by SMES subdued - FNB

FNB yesterday said it had to basically “knock on the doors” of small and medium enterprises in a bid to offer credit to them. These efforts saw the bank lend more than R1bn to SMEs in the past 8 months. FNB said SMEs had fears of uncertainty and preferred paying up debt first rather than taking on more credit.

FNB Commercial CEO Willie Miller said the group was confident that in would lend more than the estimated R1.3bn for the six months to end-December in the coming six months to end-June. The bank was focusing on lending to agricultural businesses, new franchises and the medical sector. In a bid to help SMEs create more jobs, FNB would also build its presence in rural areas, and do more lending in those areas.

- Phakamisa Ndzamela - Moneyweb.co.za

Pick n Pay takes first mover advantage

Pick ‘n Pay yesterday launched a customer loyalty scheme in an effort to win back market share and boost slow turnover growth. The scheme has cost the company R140m to develop. Annual liabilities, in the form of cash back rewards, could amount to around R26m, but the potential returns will outweigh this. P‘nP is hoping the scheme will help it generate an additional 5% in turnover.

The company will also be able to exploit the data it gathers on consumer shopping behaviour in the country. Customers will earn one loyalty point for every R1 spent at P‘nP, and 1 000 points will equate to R10. The rewards will apply to almost all products the group sells, with the exception of tobacco, petrol and pharmaceuticals. Initially, only six suppliers will be able to offer top up points - Unilever, Nestle, Coca Cola, Kimberly-Clark, Tiger Brands and Vodacom. These suppliers will be liable for the cost of the top up points, while P‘nP will incur the cost of the base points.

- Sasha Planting - Moneyweb.co.za

Mweb uncapped hosting for R19 a month

Mweb yesterday unveiled its uncapped hosting offering at R19/month, thereby undercutting other local hosting providers and many international hosting offerings. Mweb Connect GM Carolyn Holgate said the offering would enable SA businesses to kick-start their business websites without the cost-related and admin intensive concerns usually associated with such an endeavour.

Mweb’s fixed rate hosting bundle puts no limit to the amount of traffic to a business’s website, thus cutting out additional charges, and uncapped storage space. The package also includes a free .co.za domain name and a personalised email address. –

Moneyweb.co.za

Bad roads affect barley project,

SAB says South African Breweries says the bad state of roads in the North West is proving a major obstacle for farmers there. SAB will soon meet with representatives of the province’s rural development department to discuss the problem. SAB uses emerging farmers in the Taung district of North West to produce barley for its operations.

Access roads to the farms are in a poor condition, developing problems for the farmers as the barley can suffer damage if left uncollected on the farms. The farmers are cultivating the barley on stateowned land.

- James-Brent Styan - Fin24.com

Pick ‘n Pay raises R500m

Pick ‘n Pay Stores on Friday said it had listed a domestic medium-term note programme on the JSE, under which it managed to raise an initial R500m. The notes issued mature in 3 months from the date of issue. The notes bear interest at the 3-month Johannesburg interbank acceptance rate plus a margin of 0.24%. PNP said the programme would help it access short- and long-term funding, diversify funding sources and provide funding flexibility.

The note would also be used to fund capex and working capital as needed. The maximum aggregate amount that can be in issue under the programme is limited to R2bn. This news brief represents a summary of the original article.