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Although young people often focus on obtaining higher education and choosing their first career, saving for old age may not be their top priority. However, the decisions made by young South Africans today determine their future financial security. It is crucial that they possess the necessary skills and tools for retirement savings.

According to recent academic studies, only 24% of South Africans actively save for retirement, and the National Treasury has long indicated that only 6% will be able to retire with sufficient resources for financial stability. Considering the increased life expectancy due to medical advancements and the rising cost of living, three powerful tools for youth are financial literacy, disciplined saving, and the power of compound interest.

Financial literacy is the most valuable asset for a young person

Many fear that traditional pension systems may collapse under demographic pressure, and that retirement could become unaffordable due to rising expenses. Some countries are reducing state pension levels for future retirees, forcing the younger generation to fill this gap through private savings. This raises the question: how can young people secure enough funds, and how much is considered sufficient?

Financial literacy represents the greatest resource for a young person aiming to achieve adequate and reliable savings by retirement. Understanding the principles of financial and pension products, as well as being aware of the costs associated with participating in these products, are fundamental requirements for successful investing and saving. Without this knowledge, many young people avoid investing simply because they do not know where to start.

Disciplined saving is a habit, not a one-time decision

You do not need a large sum to start saving; the most important thing is to start with what you have. Saving from the moment you earn your first income forms healthy lifelong saving habits and is one of the most significant financial decisions. Various studies show that financial constraints are the main barrier preventing youth from participating in formal pension funds. If one learns to live on 95% of their income from the start, saving the remaining 5%, then setting aside money for emergencies or retirement becomes routine and significantly reduces concerns about financial security.

Your future self values compound interest

Albert Einstein is known for calling compound interest (interest on interest) the 'eighth wonder of the world.' He explained its enormous financial impact with the following quote: 'He who understands it earns it; he who does not understand it pays it.'

Consider a simple example. If you start regularly contributing 7.5% of your salary to a pension annuity at age 25, assuming an average net return of 10%, investments could grow to an amount providing approximately 75% of your income upon retirement at age 65. Under similar assumptions, if you delay starting savings until age 40, you would need to contribute 19% to achieve a comparable result. This percentage is almost 2.5 times higher, highlighting how much future outcomes depend on today's choices and the high cost of delaying the start of savings.

Generation Z is leading the way

Global studies demonstrate that Generation Z is increasing its savings through micro-savings and AI-managed applications that automatically round up expenses for saving. These small, regular contributions can have a significant impact over time. Unlike older generations, Generation Z prefers non-linear careers with multiple jobs and places more emphasis on private savings than corporate plans.

Although initially accessing a personal financial advisor may seem unattainable, there are significant advances in online access to financial pension products with managed investment paths. Thanks to investment research information available through these online platforms, financially literate youth can confidently move towards financial security in retirement. Kleinscheldt is the Head of Actuarial Calculations and Products at PSG Wealth.

Yandex Uzbekistan has announced a technological partnership with Li Auto. As part of this collaboration, the Yandex Auto platform will be integrated into the standard multimedia system of the new premium family crossover, the Li L9, which has officially entered the Uzbek market.

Thanks to the deep integration of the platform, car owners will be able to use built-in services such as Yandex Maps, Yandex Fuel, Yandex Music, Yandex Books, and Yandex Video directly on the vehicle's native displays, without needing to connect a smartphone.

The Yandex Maps service allows users to plan routes considering current traffic conditions, use offline maps, and receive notifications about roadworks and cameras. The Yandex Fuel function enables drivers to find gas stations along their route and pay for fuel online without leaving the car.

The entertainment ecosystem includes Yandex Music with millions of tracks and personalized recommendations; Yandex Books, offering audiobooks for adults and children; and Yandex Video, where passengers can watch movies, series, and cartoons directly on the car's screens.

All these services are synchronized via Yandex ID, providing access to saved addresses, favorite places, playlists, and music preferences, as well as the ability to resume watching a movie or listening to an audiobook from where the user stopped.

Idzat Shukurov, Head of Yandex Uzbekistan, noted that today's users expect familiar digital solutions to be seamlessly integrated into the car and available from the first minutes of the trip. He emphasized that Yandex Auto combines navigation and entertainment into a single environment that does not require a smartphone connection and retains the user's personal settings. The partnership with Li Auto will allow this experience to be offered to Li L9 owners and continue the development of automotive technologies from Yandex Uzbekistan.

The new Li L9 is equipped with a third-generation extended range system, providing a range of up to 420 kilometers in the WLTC cycle and a total range of up to 1650 kilometers. Key technical features of the model include an 800-volt architecture, active suspension, a wired steering wheel control system, rear-wheel steering, a new intelligent cockpit with a 29-inch panoramic display, and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8797 computing platform.

Julia Wu, General Manager of Li Auto in Central Asia, noted that Uzbekistan became Li Auto's first foreign market in the past year, and the launch of the new Li L9 model marks another important milestone in the company's development in the region. She added that it is important for the company that advanced automotive technologies are combined with a convenient digital environment adapted to the daily needs of local users. The collaboration with Yandex Auto makes it possible to integrate in-demand services directly into the vehicle's native system without additional devices or connections.

In Uzbekistan, the new Li L9 will be available through the official dealer network of Control Auto, Vector, Aster, and Sultanov Motors. The price is 1,299,900,000 soms for the Livis configuration and 1,099,900,000 soms for the Ultra configuration. Buyers purchasing the car from official dealers will receive a factory warranty, certified maintenance, access to original spare parts, technical support from the Li Auto engineering team, and official over-the-air (OTA) software updates.

The integration of the Yandex Auto platform into Li Auto vehicles represents another step in the development of the digital automotive ecosystem in Uzbekistan and the expansion of modern smart services for local residents.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) reported that the physical volume of global merchandise trade, adjusted for seasonality, increased by 1.9% in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the previous quarter and by 3.2% relative to the same period last year. In terms of value, world trade grew by 2% quarterly and by 11% year-on-year.

According to estimates from these organizations, the growth rates in the first quarter were particularly high, considering that trade at the beginning of 2025 was artificially inflated due to accelerated imports into North America ahead of expected tariff increases.

The growth in trade of electronic components related to artificial intelligence compensated for the negative consequences of the Middle East conflict. These consequences included disruptions in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and rising energy prices, which slowed economic growth in net fuel-importing countries. The cost of AI-related goods grew by more than 40% year-on-year.

The WTO's forecast for March, presented in the 'World Trade Outlook and Statistics' report, predicted a 1.9% growth in the volume of global merchandise trade in 2026 under the baseline scenario, which was lower than the actual 3.2% for the first quarter. At the time, the organization's economists assumed that the Middle East conflict could reduce global trade growth by 0.5 percentage points under a high energy price scenario, but ongoing investments in AI could add that same amount.

These assessments were made at the very early stage of the conflict, when information about the scale of shipping disruptions was limited. Given further developments, WTO analysts expect a more significant reduction in trade flows in the Middle East by the end of the year, against a backdrop of stronger growth in Asia and North America. The final impact on world trade will depend on whether the AI boom prevails or the conflict's consequences. An updated forecast will be published in the next report in October.

Regional Trade

The conflict had a noticeable impact on trade turnover in the Middle East: the region's exports and imports decreased by 9.7% and 11.9% year-on-year in the first quarter, respectively, with a more significant decline expected in the second quarter.

The full reflection of the conflict's impact on statistics only appeared towards the end of the first quarter. The Strait of Hormuz has effectively been closed since early March, and statistical data does not yet fully reflect the scale of shipping disruptions, as Gulf countries rarely publish quarterly trade statistics, and regional figures are mainly estimated based on mirror data from partner countries.

According to the WTO Secretariat, the volume of crude oil imports from the Middle East decreased by approximately 45% year-on-year in March, LNG imports fell by 52%, and fertilizer imports declined by 26%. Simultaneously, AI investments stimulated trade volume growth in Asia and to a lesser extent in North America.

Asia's exports and imports, adjusted for seasonality, grew by 12.9% and 14.6% respectively compared to the first quarter of 2025, with quarterly growth reaching 5.5% and 7.2%. Export growth is driven not only by China but also by Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Taiwan, largely due to intra-regional trade in AI components.

North American exports increased by 7.0% year-on-year in the first quarter, while the region's imports decreased by 10.7% compared to the first quarter of 2025, when an import surge was recorded ahead of expected tariff hikes. Quarterly import growth was 3.4%. European exports fell by 2.6% year-on-year, mainly due to earlier shipments of gold and pharmaceuticals to North America the previous year, while imports rose modestly by 0.6%.

In other regions, export dynamics were moderate or negative quarterly: growth of 0.3% in South America, a decline of 2.5% in Africa, and a drop of 7.4% in CIS countries. Cumulative export growth in South America since early 2023 reached 22.5%, trailing Asia's 33.4%, and regional import growth over the same period was 24.5%, behind Africa's 25.0%. Exports from South America, Africa, and CIS countries are expected to recover in the second quarter as oil producers attempt to compensate for reduced production in the Middle East.

Trade in Value Terms

The most noticeable growth in value terms in the first quarter was recorded in the office and telecommunications equipment category, which grew by 44% year-on-year, followed by ores and other minerals with a growth of 27%, and other machinery by 9%. A decline was noted in chemical products by 6%, iron and steel by 5%, and fuel by 3%.

Fuel prices changed slightly, increasing by 3% year-on-year and 16% quarterly, while prices for metals and minerals, excluding gold and silver, rose by 32%. The main contribution to the growth of the office and telecommunications equipment sector came from sustained demand for AI-related technologies, which showed a growth of 42% in this segment.

Asia demonstrated the largest increase in export value in the first quarter, growing by 20% year-on-year due to shipments of precious metals, gold, copper, machinery, and electrical equipment, as well as ores, although exports of iron and steel, pharmaceuticals, and apparel decreased. Africa ranked second with a 14% growth driven by exports of precious metals, gold, copper, fertilizers, and ores, while cocoa and fuel supplies decreased.

South and Central America also grew by 14% thanks to oilseeds, precious metals, and gold, meat, fuel, ores, coffee, and tea, although exports of fruits, electrical equipment, and automobiles decreased. Declines in exports were recorded only in the Middle East and CIS countries, where both regions fell by 1% due to the predominant presence of fuel in their structure.

On the import side, Asia showed significant annual growth at 22%, and Africa at 15%. In Asia, supplies of precious metals, gold, copper, and machinery grew noticeably, with a slight decrease in iron and steel imports, while in Africa, imports of automobiles, machinery, and vessels increased, and supplies of aircraft and organic chemicals decreased.

North America experienced the largest reduction in imports, falling by 7% mainly due to decreased supplies of precious metals, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, and iron and steel products. The value of Middle Eastern imports also decreased by 6% due to a combination of price increases and declines in physical volumes.

Among the five largest exporters globally, all recorded growth in the first quarter: South Korea grew by 38.4%, Hong Kong (China) by 38.3%, the US by 15.2%, China by 14.7%, and the European Union by 9.2%. Among the five largest importers, only the US showed a decline of 13.6%, while imports to other countries grew: Hong Kong (China) by 44.8%, the UK by 28.0%, China by 23.0%, and the European Union by 11.4%.