For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Lumkile Nkomfe.

Making headlines: SA ready to discuss G20 agenda with US despite no-show; AMSA postpones longs wind down by month amid intense rescue talks with government; And, Uganda keeps key rate unchanged but flags uncertain outlook

SA ready to discuss G20 agenda with US despite no-show

Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola said that South Africa’s G20 Presidency will not be confined to climate change but also to the equitable treatment of nations of the Global South.

He said these are important principles that the country remains open to pursuing and engaging the United States on.

This followed a social media post by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying he won’t attend an upcoming meeting of foreign ministers of the G20 group of countries from on February 20 and 21 in Johannesburg, citing concerns with polices, including land reform.

On Sunday US President Donald Trump accused South Africa of "confiscating" land and "treating certain classes of people very badly," threatening to cut off all future funding to the country pending an investigation.

Lamola stressed South Africa’s sovereignty and democracy, which he said entailed a commitment to human dignity, equality, and rights, championing non-racialism and non-sexism, while placing the country’s Constitution and the rule of law at the forefront.

AMSA postpones longs wind down by month amid intense rescue talks with government

Steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa has postponed the wind down of its longs business by a month to allow talks with government on possible ways to prevent the closure to progress, as well as to ensure ongoing supply to downstream customers that have no immediate alternatives.

The delay has been facilitated by a R380-million loan from the State-owned Industrial Development Corporation, which is a shareholder in the group, and which has also extended the deadline for the repayment of an older R950-million loan from June 2025 to September 2026.

The new loan was approved after AMSA indicated that it was unwilling to continue to absorb losses in the absence of a long-term solution to the structural problems afflicting its longs business.

On January 6, the JSE-listed company announced that it would wind down its longs business by the end of the same month after protracted negotiations with government failed to yield results that were considered satisfactory by AMSA.

Talks under the aegis of an inter-Ministerial task team had since intensified, alongside discussions with the IDC on a possible funding structure to cushion AMSA from the financial drain associated with ongoing losses from the longs unit.

And, Uganda keeps key rate unchanged but flags uncertain outlook

Uganda's central bank held its key lending rate for the second meeting in a row, saying near-term inflation appeared well-contained but that the outlook was more uncertain than normal given external risks.

The Central Bank Rate was kept at 9.75%.

Annual core inflation, which the Bank of Uganda aims to keep at about 5%, rose to 4.2% in January, up from 3.9% the previous month.

Bank of Uganda deputy governor Michael Atingi-Ego said the bank forecasts core inflation of between 4% and 5% this year, though there are risks from geopolitics, extreme weather and a strong US dollar.

He said the bank's projections for economic growth remained unchanged from its December policy meeting, at between 6% and 6.5% in the financial year to June 2025, and 7% for the following years, supported by a stable macro-economic environment and foreign direct investment towards the extractive industries.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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