Leaders of the BRICS nations will focus on ways to reduce dependence on the US dollar when they meet starting Tuesday, South Africa said. The rand advanced after the bloc’s bank agreed to lend $1 billion to a state-owned company.
(Bloomberg) — Leaders of the BRICS nations will focus on ways to reduce dependence on the US dollar when they meet starting Tuesday, South Africa said. The rand advanced after the bloc’s bank agreed to lend $1 billion to a state-owned company.
Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will also discuss enlarging the group of major emerging market powers at the three-day leaders’ summit. While the dollar’s demise has been mooted many times in recent years, so far other pretenders have been competing among themselves and there’s no conclusive evidence for a structural dollar decline.
Russian President Vladimir Putin isn’t attending, avoiding an international arrest warrant over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. China, backed by Russia and South Africa, has been pushing for new members to be admitted to the alliance, an expansion that some BRICS countries say will help position it as a counterweight to the Group of Seven.
Premature for South Africa to Stop Using Dollar, Swift, Finance Minister Says (12:26 p.m.)
It’s too early for South Africa to consider withdrawing from the SWIFT global payment system and limit its use of the dollar, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana told reporters in the capital, Pretoria, on Tuesday.
Ramaphosa, Xi Talk About Ukraine, Food Security, Energy (12:05 p.m.)
Chinese President Xi Jinping is paying a state visit to South Africa ahead of the summit. He and his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa spoke about issues including Ukraine, the Middle East, infrastructure development and food and energy security, according to a person familiar with their bi-lateral discussions.
BRICS Shows G-7 Can’t Dictate to the World: Brazil Envoy (11:30. a.m.)
The interest shown by so many countries in joining BRICS illustrates the increasing complexity of the world order, said Celso Amorim, Brazil’s ambassador to BRICS and a longtime aide to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The bloc’s emerging strength also shows the world can no longer be dictated to by the G7, he told reporters.
Dozens of nations, including Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Thailand, have indicated their interest in becoming BRICS members.
“BRICS is not an anti-Western block, we are not here to compete with G7,” South African Deputy President Paul Mashatile said.
Lavrov, Chakwera Arrive for BRICS Gathering (10:30 a.m.)
Leaders from around the developing world have begun arriving in Johannesburg for the 15th annual BRICS summit. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Democratic Republic of Congo Prime Minister Sama Lukonde and Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera were among those to land on Tuesday.
Rand, Rupee Advance Ahead of Summit Kick Off (10:22 a.m.)
The rand leads gains among emerging-market peers Tuesday bolstered by fresh investments into South Africa’s economy, including a $1 billion loan from the BRICS New Development Bank to state-owned rail utility Transnet. Other BRICS currencies were mixed with the rupee showing a slight gain, while China’s yuan and Russia’s ruble were both weakening.
–With assistance from Simone Iglesias, S’thembile Cele, Colleen Goko, Paul Vecchiatto, Ilya Arkhipov and Sudhi Ranjan Sen.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.