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Wandile Sihlobo

Visiting Research Fellow, Wits School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand
Wandile Sihlobo is the Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) and the author of "Finding Common Ground: Land, Equity, and Agriculture." He is also a Visiting Research Fellow at the Wits School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Fort Hare and a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from Stellenbosch University. Sihlobo was appointed as a member of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Presidential Economic Advisory Council in 2019 after serving on the Presidential Expert Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture between 2018 and 2019. He is also a member of the Council of Statistics of South Africa (Stats SA). He is a Commissioner at the International Trade Commission of South Africa (ITAC).

Unlocking China: South Africa's Agricultural Trade Opportunities

Sep 16, 2024 08:36 am UTC| Insights & Views Business

South Africas agricultural sector has more than doubled in value and volume terms since 1994. This success has been linked to international trade. Exports now account for roughly half (in value terms) of the annual...

This is how President Ramaphosa got to the 25% figure of progress in land reform in South Africa

Mar 22, 2024 11:50 am UTC| Insights & Views Law Economy

Nearly three decades into democracy, land reform remains central to South Africas transformation policies and agricultural policy. We have over the years pointed out that the progress on land reform has been incorrectly...

South Africa’s farm exports are an economic lifeline – with weak spots

Sep 20, 2022 06:20 am UTC| Economy

International trade has been at the core of South Africas agricultural progress since the early 2000s. Since 1994, the country has excelled in opening up new markets, as evidenced by several free trade agreements with...

The EU's Green Deal: opportunities, threats and risks for South African agriculture

Oct 31, 2021 23:34 pm UTC| Politics Economy

The European Union among a host of other countries is seeking to implement urgent policy measures to combat the effects of climate change. In its 2030 climate target plan, the EU aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions...

Emerging Market Crisis Series

Small towns are collapsing across South Africa. How it's starting to affect farming

Jun 20, 2021 12:13 pm UTC| Economy

Farming and agribusiness play a crucial role in sustaining the economies of small towns and rural areas. There is a lot of evidence of this in the economic literature and in the popular media. This dependency has its...

Economy

U.S. Inflation Surges in March as Iran War and Tariffs Drive Prices Higher

Marchs Consumer Price Index is expected to post its sharpest monthly increase in nearly four years, driven by skyrocketing oil prices tied to the U.S.-Iran conflict and the ongoing ripple effects of import tariffs. The...

Asian Stocks Rally on Ceasefire Hopes and Bargain Buying

Asian equity markets climbed higher on Friday, driven by cautious optimism surrounding ceasefire negotiations between Iran and the United States. Regional benchmarks were also on track to close out the week with strong...

White House Warns Staff Over Insider Trading Amid Suspicious Oil Market Bets

The White House issued an internal warning to staff on March 24, cautioning employees against exploiting their government positions to gain an unfair advantage in financial futures markets. The directive came just one day...

U.S. Futures Slip as Iran Ceasefire Uncertainty and CPI Data Weigh on Markets

U.S. stock index futures edged slightly lower Thursday evening as investors exercised caution ahead of high-stakes ceasefire negotiations between Washington and Tehran, while bracing for a closely watched inflation report....

Trump Slams Iran Over Strait of Hormuz Oil Restrictions Amid Fragile Ceasefire

President Donald Trump publicly criticized Iran on Thursday over its handling of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, escalating tensions just days after a tentative ceasefire agreement between Washington and...

Politics

Global Elections 2026: What Investors and Markets Are Watching

Political uncertainty is sweeping the globe in 2026, with a series of high-stakes elections poised to reshape economic policies and rattle financial markets. From Eastern Europe to South America, investors are keeping a...

Xi Jinping and KMT's Cheng Li-wun Meet in Beijing Amid Cross-Strait Tensions

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Kuomintang (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun in Beijing on Friday, emphasizing that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait share a common Chinese identity and that the future of...

Pilots Fear Retaliation for Refusing Middle East Flights Amid Ongoing Conflict

Airline pilots expressing safety concerns about flying through Middle Eastern airspace are reportedly facing threats of lost wages or termination if they decline assignments, according to Ron Hay, president of the...

Iran Denies Negotiating Team Traveled to Pakistan for U.S. Talks Amid Ceasefire Uncertainty

Iran has firmly rejected reports suggesting that a diplomatic delegation traveled to Islamabad to engage in negotiations with the United States, calling the claims entirely false. The denial was issued through state-linked...

U.S.-Iran Ceasefire Under Pressure Ahead of Pakistan Peace Talks

A fragile two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran is showing serious cracks just one day before scheduled peace negotiations in Pakistan. Washington has accused Tehran of violating commitments related to the...

Science

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

NASA Artemis II: First Crewed Moon Mission Since Apollo Takes Four Astronauts on 10-Day Lunar Journey

NASAs Artemis II mission launched Wednesday, marking humanitys return to crewed lunar exploration for the first time since the Apollo era. Carrying four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft, this historic 10-day mission...

NASA's Artemis II Mission: First Crewed Lunar Journey Since Apollo

NASA's Artemis II Crew Arrives in Florida for Historic Moon Mission

The four astronauts chosen for NASAs Artemis II mission have touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the beginning of final launch preparations for the first crewed lunar journey in over 50 years. NASA...

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

Technology

Anthropic's Mythos AI Model Sparks Emergency Cybersecurity Meeting With Top U.S. Bank CEOs

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell convened an urgent closed-door meeting with the chief executives of Americas largest banks this week, warning them about serious cybersecurity...

Bank of America Identifies Top Asia-Pacific Semiconductor Stocks Poised for AI-Driven Growth

Bank of America has spotlighted a select group of Asia-Pacific semiconductor companies well-positioned to ride the wave of surging artificial intelligence chip demand, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company...

China's AI Stocks Surge as Zhipu and MiniMax Hit Record Highs

Chinese artificial intelligence stocks continued their remarkable rally on Thursday, with Zhipu AI and MiniMax Group posting strong gains in Hong Kong trading as a wave of new model launches and product announcements...

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Posts Strong Q3 Earnings, Announces AI-Driven Job Cuts

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank delivered an impressive financial performance in its third quarter, reporting a 12.8% surge in cash earnings to A$137.9 million for the three months ending March 31. The result came in roughly 12%...

Alibaba Shares Slide as Jefferies Slashes Price Target Over AI Spending and Business Losses

Alibabas Hong Kong-listed shares (HK:9988) dropped 2.9% to HK$122.70 on Thursday, emerging as one of the heaviest drags on the Hang Seng Index, which closed 0.6% lower. The selloff came after investment bank Jefferies...