Optimism ahead as market starts accommodating stronger currency

RAY SMUTS SOUTH AFRICAN exporters will look back on 2004 as a trading nightmare, but Anglo African Trading’s Dr Hendrik de Waal is nevertheless upbeat about what lies ahead. The head of treasury at the Stellenbosch-based trade finance company, he says given the negativity brought on by a relentlessly strong rand in 2004, indeed a difficult year all round, the currency has adversely affected manufacturers and importers in the Western Cape and elsewhere, resulting in the import sector coming under pressure to drop prices and margins having to be made on smaller turnovers. What is more, manufacturers are competing with cheap imports on the local front while still having to contend with the strong rand from an export perspective. “All this considered, we are optimistic about 2005. The market has started accommodating the strong currency and is positioning itself to be competitive, even in these conditions. The growth that took place during the previous season was real and will be a platform for the year to come.” De Waal believes this year will see further strategic changes in many industries, “and it is our challenge as financiers to offer support for the new market conditions.” Anglo African Trading has been active in and around the Western Cape for the past five years, its services including import and export trade finance, logistic finance and general discounting facilities, all developed from an intimate knowledge of the import and export sector. De Waal says one of the focus points in the development of Anglo African’s products lies in minimising the exchange and and interest rate risks to which clients are exposed in the volatile environment of cross-border trading. “We offer many of the standard trade finance instruments but some of our products, such as our general discounting facilities and import trade finance, are quite unique and we look forward to developing new finance solutions for the ever-changing market place in South Africa.