The Roundup — Tuesday, 27 October 2026

Today’s edition

Home Office

Good morning, it’s Tuesday the 27th of October. South Africans have trillions of rands invested overseas, and government has a new plan to bring some of the business around that money back home.

Also in today’s show, Treasury is rethinking its crypto rules, Sanlam is making a R21 billion bet on Santam, and gated estates have lost a court battle against local estate agents. Let's get into it.

MARKETS

FEES ON THE PRIZE

South Africa wants to manage trillions in offshore savings from home, and the money never has to move

South Africans have built up a rather impressive piggy bank overseas: an estimated R5 trillion in international shares, bonds and funds, with some reports putting it as high as R10 trillion. It isn’t only wealthy individuals, either. Pension funds and ordinary people saving for retirement own a big chunk of it. The money belongs to South Africans, but much of the business of managing it happens abroad, and that’s where the fees get collected.

Last week the Reserve Bank proposed rules that would let approved local firms manage those offshore investments from South Africa, while the money itself would still stay in its American shares or European bonds.

Bringing the business home:

• The irony: South Africa’s own rules on money leaving the country made it harder for local firms to manage international investments, so some set up in places like Mauritius instead.
• The prize: more management fees earned here, more skilled jobs and more tax. South Africans paid R21.7 billion to overseas financial and insurance firms in 2025, and part of that was fees.
• For savers: more firms competing for your offshore money could mean more choice and lower fees, though there’s no guarantee the savings reach you, and the limits on investing offshore aren’t changing.

This proposal is open for public comment until 30 November.

Read the full story →

COIN FLIP

Treasury wanted every crypto buyer to declare their assets in writing, and now it is rewriting the rules

South Africa’s government has had a change of heart about crypto. Earlier this year, Treasury and the Reserve Bank proposed bringing it under exchange controls, the rules on money crossing the border, and the draft proposal went rather far. Anyone buying crypto would have had to declare when and how they got it and where it was kept. Officials would have been able to seize it, and breaking the rules could have cost up to R1 million and five years in prison.

Then August got stranger. A separate Reserve Bank draft said you could move crypto from a South African exchange into your own digital wallet, but not back again, and companies couldn’t move crypto across the border at all. The Reserve Bank’s worry was that crypto offers a way around exchange controls, letting money leave outside the usual banking channels, and it counted nearly R63 billion moved from local bitcoin wallets to foreign ones since 2019.

But after thousands of comments and months of industry pushback, the Finance Minister told Parliament last week that the rules would be rewritten. Instead of requiring approval before transactions, the government wants to focus on checking whether they’re legitimate and comply with tax laws. A revised draft is coming, although nobody knows exactly what will change or when it will arrive.

Read the full story →

BAGEL BITE

Which organ in the body produces insulin?

A. Liver

B. Pancreas

C. Kidney

DOING THE ROUNDS

Sanlam is spending about R21 billion to buy the remaining 37.3% of Santam, and ratings agency S&P likes what it sees. It believes the deal will strengthen Sanlam’s position in the insurance market, bringing Santam fully into its assessment for the first time. The acquisition will put further pressure on Sanlam’s financial cushion, which has been shrinking since 2018, although S&P expects it to remain within the insurer’s capital targets. Santam’s minority shareholders still need to approve the deal, but S&P believes Sanlam can handle the financial strain. Full story →

Sygnia has received shareholder approval for a plan that could see executives and employees receive shares worth almost R600 million for just 1c each. The investment manager says the scheme will help attract and retain talent, with nearly 87% of votes cast on Friday backing it. But some minority shareholders weren’t happy, especially because the board can reportedly award individuals up to 5 million shares without performance conditions. That’s potentially R165 million without meeting specific targets. The R600 million, however, represents shares available under the scheme, not an immediate payout. Full story →

South African motorists could finally see some relief at the pumps in November, although rising fuel costs are eating into the government’s efforts to help. The latest projections suggest petrol 95 is heading for an increase of R1.20 a litre, but the government’s temporary R1.50 fuel levy reduction could turn that into a 30c decrease instead. On the other hand, diesel prices could fall by around R1.65 a litre after their R3 levy reduction. Full story →

Some gated estates charge estate agents thousands of rands just for the right to sell homes inside their developments. Now, a group representing 181 private estates has lost a court battle over the practice. They wanted the High Court in Johannesburg to confirm that these fees were allowed, but the judge refused. Importantly, the ruling doesn’t make the fees illegal. Instead, the court said each estate must be assessed individually, warning that the charges could restrict which estate agents people can use when selling their homes and drive up costs. Full story →

WEATHER

BAGEL GAMES

Have you got what it takes to win today’s Wordle? Play here →

THE ANSWER

As for the Bagel Bite, the answer is: B. Pancreas

Located behind the stomach, the pancreas contains specialised beta cells that produce insulin. When blood sugar rises, such as after a meal, insulin helps glucose enter cells to be used for energy. Diabetes develops when the body does not make enough insulin or cannot use it effectively. The pancreas also produces digestive enzymes that help break down food. The liver and kidneys help regulate blood sugar, but neither is the body’s source of insulin.

That's your Tuesday sorted. Enjoyed it? Forward it on, a friend can subscribe in a click. Written by the Business Bagel crew.