> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.businessbagel.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The Roundup — Thursday, 5 November 2026 - URL: https://www.businessbagel.com/the-roundup-thursday-5-november-2026/ - Published: 2026-11-05T04:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-05T03:59:59.000Z - Author: Christian Maidman Today’s edition Duty Calls Presented by[![All Weather](https://storage.ghost.io/c/97/24/9724ffa3-48e9-48a7-a5f7-e38b7d2c9b36/content/images/2026/09/allweather-logo.png)](https://allweather.co.za/?ref=businessbagel.com) Good morning, it’s Thursday the 5th of November. Just how much trouble are we in with America? Washington plans to scrap South Africa’s duty-free trade benefits, so we’re going to look at what that means for the country, from businesses to jobs. Also today, GoTyme takes aim at the bigger banks, and South Africans keep buying new cars despite soaring fuel prices. Let's get into it. --- MARKETS ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/97/24/9724ffa3-48e9-48a7-a5f7-e38b7d2c9b36/content/images/2026/11/markets--77-.png) --- CUSTOMS CHANGE ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/97/24/9724ffa3-48e9-48a7-a5f7-e38b7d2c9b36/content/images/2026/11/AGOA-1.png) ## South Africa is losing duty-free access to America, and only 10% of exports there still used it Since 2000, a US law called the African Growth and Opportunity Act, or Agoa, has let more than 1,800 types of goods from eligible African countries into America without import duty. South Africa has reportedly been its biggest beneficiary, with 54% of all exports under the programme over 25 years. On Monday, Washington said it plans to remove us from 1 January 2027, pointing to barriers to American trade and investment, corruption and threats to US security interests. Pretoria says the Americans raised issues that were never part of the negotiations. For businesses here, the real question is what losing it will actually cost. **What it actually costs:** - **Less than the headline:** Separate US tariffs, including 25% on cars, had already eroded the benefit. Only 10% of our exports to America used Agoa in 2025, down from 28% in 2024 - roughly 1% of everything South Africa exports. - **Little comfort for some:** Exporters still relying on it can keep selling to America, but without the duty advantage, competing there gets harder. - **Citrus feels it most:** Growers in the Western and Northern Cape planted orchards for American customers, and lemon, mandarin and grapefruit exporters will now pay ordinary duty on top of a 12.5% tariff. Switching markets isn’t simple, because each has its own plant-health rules and tastes. Reported job-loss estimates run from around 3,000 to nearly 10,000\. Pretoria has until 1 January to negotiate, though trade minister Parks Tau says “some principles are not up for negotiation”. [**Read the full story →**](https://www.businessbagel.com/south-africa-is-losing-duty-free-access-to-america-and-only-10-of-exports-there-still-used-it/) --- TYME TO LEND ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/97/24/9724ffa3-48e9-48a7-a5f7-e38b7d2c9b36/content/images/2026/11/GoTyme-1.png) ## GoTyme expects to be the third-biggest bank by active users next year, and now it wants you borrowing GoTyme says it expects to become South Africa’s third-biggest bank by monthly active users early next year. The bank, which launched as TymeBank in 2019 and is majority-owned by Patrice Motsepe’s African Rainbow Capital, now has 13 million registered South African customers. At a briefing last Thursday, it laid out how it wants them doing more through their accounts, from free instant payments to a wider range of loans. These free instant payments formed a big part of the pitch. Almost 70% of its customers’ payments are instant and free, and about a quarter of South Africa’s PayShap cellphone payments come from its accounts. The business is growing with them: income rose by a quarter to R2.72 billion, deposits grew 27%, and loans more than doubled to R5.08 billion. Next year brings a credit card, an upgraded buy-now-pay-later offering and more personal loans through Sanlam. But chief executive Cheslyn Jacobs says the number of creditworthy South Africans has barely changed in 15 years, so much of that lending growth would have to come from winning borrowers from competitors. [**Read the full story →**](https://www.businessbagel.com/gotyme-expects-to-be-the-third-biggest-bank-by-active-users-next-year-and-now-it-wants-you-borrowing/) --- BAGEL BITE **Which city lies in both Europe and Asia?** **A.** Cairo **B.** Athens **C.** Istanbul --- DOING THE ROUNDS ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/97/24/9724ffa3-48e9-48a7-a5f7-e38b7d2c9b36/content/images/2026/11/MTN-1.png) **MTN’s biggest business is picking up speed again.** Service revenue in Nigeria grew almost 20% in the three months to September, helping MTN Group shares close 7% higher on Monday, their best day in over a year. The only snag here is that Nigerian fintech revenue fell 58% compared with the same quarter last year, as its airtime-and-data lending service continued recovering from an April-to-June suspension. The service has restarted under a new partner model, and MTN aims to get it back to expected levels by the end of November. [**Full story →**](https://www.businessbagel.com/mtn-nigeria-shook-off-a-weak-second-quarter-and-mtns-shares-jumped-7-on-monday/) **Aspen is selling the European rights to its menopause treatment Ovestin to Dubai-based Ennogen for €197 million.** It expects a profit of about R2 billion on the sale. But Aspen isn’t walking away completely: it will keep supplying the active ingredient and cream for an initial 10 years, and get paid to help with the handover. So it gets cash upfront while keeping a role in production. For shareholders, Aspen says buying back its own shares remains its preferred way of returning money. [**Full story →**](https://www.businessbagel.com/aspen-expects-a-r2-billion-profit-from-selling-a-drug-it-will-go-on-manufacturing-for-a-decade/) **South Africans kept buying new vehicles in October, even as fuel prices skyrocketed.** Sales rose 10.4% from a year earlier, with passenger cars up 13.6%. Interestingly enough, rental companies bought more than a fifth of those cars, so households weren’t doing all the spending. Among the brands, Toyota stayed comfortably ahead, followed by Suzuki and Volkswagen. Chery’s wider group, including Jetour, Omoda & Jaecoo, sold more than 6,000 vehicles, up 38% from a year earlier. [**Full story →**](https://www.businessbagel.com/petrol-passed-r30-a-litre-in-october-and-south-africans-still-bought-10-more-new-vehicles/) **Standard Bank was lined up to help take payments company OPay public in New York, and buy up to $200 million of its shares.** But on Friday, OPay called off the listing before trading even began, hours after pricing the offer at a valuation of about $4 billion. It said a regulator was making inquiries in one of the countries where it operates, but wouldn’t name the country or explain what was being investigated. As for Standard Bank’s planned investment, well, that all depended on the listing going ahead. [**Full story →**](https://www.businessbagel.com/opay-priced-its-new-york-listing-at-about-4-billion-then-called-it-off-before-a-share-traded/) --- WEATHER ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/97/24/9724ffa3-48e9-48a7-a5f7-e38b7d2c9b36/content/images/2026/11/weather--76-.png) --- BAGEL GAMES ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/97/24/9724ffa3-48e9-48a7-a5f7-e38b7d2c9b36/content/images/2026/11/Wordle--77-.png) Have you got what it takes to win today’s Wordle? [**Play here →**](https://puzzel.org/en/wordle/play?p=-P5WbVSjUDBVYlh6aLBH&ref=businessbagel.com) --- THE ANSWER As for the Bagel Bite, the answer is: **C. Istanbul** A narrow stretch of water called the Bosphorus runs through the city, separating its European and Asian sides. Bridges and ferries link the two halves, so people can cross from one continent to the other on an everyday journey. This position has made Istanbul a meeting point of cultures for thousands of years. It is one of the very few major cities in the world to sit on two continents. --- That’s your Thursday wrapped. Enjoyed it? Forward it on, a friend can subscribe in a click. Written by the Business Bagel crew. Views quoted from All Weather Capital are their own and not financial advice. All Weather Capital is an Authorised Financial Services Provider (FSP 36722). Full disclosures are available at allweathercapital.co.za.