BizNews Radio (OLD)
Welcome to BizNews Radio where we interview top thought leaders and business people from South Africa and across the globe.
SA active fund managers world's second-worst performers — S&P
JOHANNESBURG — If you invest in actively managed funds, this interview with Zack Bezuidenhout of S&P Dow Jones Indices is sure to make you sit up and take notice. According to the latest SPIVA South Africa Scorecard Mid-Year 2018 report, over a one-year period, 51% of actively managed South African…
The Editor's Desk: KPMG and VBS - another day, another scandal
The folks at KPMG complain, sometimes, that their critics (including Biznews) are unfair and too quick to pass judgement. But evidence has emerged that KPMG played a role in facilitating the VBS bank heist. Add this to the auditing firm's role in a laundry list of scandals around the world,…
R6.5bn renewables boost as construction starts at Biotherm plants
South Africa’s internationally admired renewable energy programme was jumpstarted by the Ramaphosa administration, with the new president’s immediate deployment of a new Minister helping to accelerate the latest agreement with the private sector. Biotherm Energy, a participant in the very first Renewables round back in 2011, returned to the fray…
Fighting pests with drones, SA startup revolutionises farming
JOHANNESBURG — Cape-based startup Aerobotics is seriously making headway in improving the way farmers farm. The company specialises in using drone and software technology to help farmers identify possible problem pests and diseases on their crops. The company does this by using incredible image capturing technology that can go down…
Sub Saharan borrowers unfazed by Emerging Markets turbulence
There are advantages to coming off a low base. As their financial sectors start catching up to the world’s more sophisticated markets, Sub Saharan African countries have been growing their global borrowing presence. So how have they been impacted by recent rocking of the Emerging Market boat through the well…
Here's how CEOs and school principals can fix SA education
JOHANNESBURG — Over the last few weeks, I've been interviewing business leaders and school principals involved in something called 'Partners for Possibility' (PfP). It's a programme that is helping to empower schools by focusing on something that is often overlooked in this vital sector: leadership. By getting business owners and…
The Editor's Desk: The VBS scandal, Zuma, and the Limpopo ANC
The VBS Bank scandal dominated news headlines this week and in today's episode, Alec Hogg and Felicity Duncan break down the latest we've learned. We look at the role ANC leaders in Limpopo played in facilitating the scheme and explore the possible links between VBS and the Zuma family. As…
Meet Bulelani Balabala: The man inspiring township entrepreneurs
JOHANNESBURG — There are two things that will solve South Africa's economic woes over the long-term. The first is improved education standards, particularly at primary and secondary school levels. Our feeder systems into tertiary level need to be of the very highest standard, but right now they're a complete mess…
Stephen van Coller on his plans for fixing up EOH, driving 4IR
JOHANNESBURG — Financial services veteran Stephen van Coller left a top job at MTN to join EOH Holdings in September this year. As EOH's new group CEO, a lot is riding on van Coller to turn around the IT company, which has faced several scandals, a falling share price and…
The Editor's Desk: A look behind the latest events at Steinhoff
Steinhoff shareholders seemed to breath a sigh of relief this week when Steinhoff-owned retailer Mattress Firm managed to secure an eleventh-hour bank bailout. But is this really the good news it seems, and what may be behind the deal? Alec Hogg and Felicity Duncan dig into events at Steinhoff as…
Burger King's years of losses in SA pile pressure on Grand Parade
JOHANNESBURG — JSE-listed Grand Parade Investments is a food and gaming company that boasts brands such as Burger King, Dunkin Donuts, and SunWest International, but it has gone through a rough time of late. Just last week it reported a net loss of R106m, while its share price has fallen…
Futuregrowth invests in SA’s first-ever ECD social impact bond
JOHANNESBURG — Futuregrowth Asset Management, acting on behalf of client funds, recently concluded an investment in the Impact Bond Innovation Fund (IBIF), a South African outcome-based financing mechanism that seeks to improve early childhood learning and development (ECD) outcomes in the Western Cape. The IBIF, a social impact bond, is…
Why smoking could be banned inside your own home in SA
JOHANNESBURG — The tobacco industry and smoking are controversial topics in South Africa. But a newly proposed bill appears - on the surface - to risk basic civil liberties and entrench what could be interpreted as a nanny state. The Draft Tobacco Bill intends banning smoking in your own home and…
The Editor’s Desk: Why did Ramaphosa say what he said in NYC?
Cyril Ramaphosa spent some time in New York last week, and while he was there, managed to insert his foot firmly in his mouth by denying that South Africa has a land grab crisis or any farm murders. It was a strange lapse for a careful politician and in this episode, Alec Hogg and…
The Editor's Desk: Stimulus plan – Ramarecovery or Ramafailure?
In this episode, Alec Hogg and Felicity Duncan discuss the proposed SA stimulus package, asking whether it's going to spell Ramarecovery or Ramafailure. Cyril Ramaphosa has outlined a plan to boost investment in the hopes of reigniting growth and launching South Africa out of recession. Many questions, however, remain. Much…
How PfP totally transformed Tembisa's Khula Sizwe Primary School
JOHANNESBURG — In this podcast, Louisa Mvelo - who is the school principal of Khula Sizwe Primary School in Tembisa - tells us how the Partners for Possibility programme has helped completely transform and improve her school. It's an example of what can be done to vastly improve South Africa's…
Imtiaz Patel: 'We anticipate MultiChoice will be a Top 40 JSE-listed company'
JOHANNESBURG — Naspers' announcement that it intends to separately list and unbundle its video entertainment business as MultiChoice Group on the JSE has been seen as Naspers' first step in unlocking its stock discount in relation to its 31% Tencent stake. While Netflix and Amazon are starting to eat MultiChoice's…
We won't see a repeat of Bell Pottinger - PRCA's Francis Ingham
JOHANNESBURG — It was just over a year ago, on 5 September 2017, that I interviewed Francis Ingham, the Director General of the PRCA. At that time, the PRCA had made the extraordinary decision to expel Bell Pottinger from the organisation amid the dodgy work it did for the Guptas…
The Editor's Desk: Digging inside the Investec banking/AM split
Investec is splitting up into a London-based asset management business and a South Africa-based bank. It's an unusual move in a sector that prizes size and synergy, yet the share price has reacted favourably to the news. In this episode, Alec Hogg and Felicity Duncan dig into the Investec announcement…
Hard times in SA: How to start moving your wealth offshore
JOHANNESBURG — Sable International has become known as the experts when it comes to moving your wealth (or yourself) offshore and taking advantage of the likes of Portugal's Golden Visa programme. But there's a statistic in this interview with Sable International's Andrew Rissik that stood out for me. Amid recent…