BizNews Radio (OLD)
Welcome to BizNews Radio where we interview top thought leaders and business people from South Africa and across the globe.
Hennie Bezuidenhoudt: How Orbvest hedges risk when investing in US medical properties
There's no business on earth which doesn't carry risk, says Orbvest chairman and co-founder Hennie Bezuidenhoudt. But after scouring the global property landscape for suitable offshore investment opportunities, Bezuidenhoudt and his Orbvest colleagues specialised in the US medical property market for good reason. In this insightful interview he explains why…
Eskom’s surprising profit; Govt finances will worsen; Ramaphosa pulls Chairman's convo plug; KPMG, Steinhoff
In today's business headlines: Eskom has posted a surprising R1.3bn profit in the six months through September, which is almost double that of the previous year thanks to higher tariffs. The Reserve Bank says there's a high likelihood that the South African government’s finances would deteriorate further posing a risk…
Piet Viljoen: Investors AWOL so many managers run companies for themselves
Piet Viljoen, top money manager and founder of RECM, linked up with old pal Alec Hogg in this week's episode of Rational Radio to talk about his alma maters Allan Gray and the recently renamed Ninety One (Investec Asset Management). He offers some scathing opinions on Tiger Brands - a…
Business confidence uptick; SAA sends red flare; Junk could see $8bn bond sell-off; Zuma tax returns; Brait overhauls New Look
In today's business headlines: South African business confidence improved in the fourth quarter for the first time in almost two years owing to a recovery in residential activity and expectations of a good Christmas shopping season. The Rand Merchant Bank business confidence Index rose to 26 for the fourth quarter…
SA wealth report; SA female board representation up; survival secrets of dogs, humans; JSE, Rand
In today's headlines: How many wealthy people are there in South Africa? A new report suggests that there are just over 2,000 individuals with net assets of $10m (R150m) and more and just under 40,000 South Africans with net assets of about $1m (R15m) or more. In his weekly newsletter…
Determined Kayamandi student, Aphelele Mvamva scoops fast track wine career opportunity.
21 year old Aphelele Mvamva lives with her sister in the Kayamandi township just outside Stellenbosch. It means “nice place” in iXhosa but the hostel that she lives in, is anything but. As a little girl, she was shuttled between the Eastern Cape and Stellenbosch where her mother Nokalothi was…
The astonishing tale of how Absa helped Eskom man steal R66m: Paul O'Sullivan joins the dots
Absa, one of South Africa's biggest banks, turned a blind eye to money laundering. That's abundantly clear from the evidence Forensics for Justice founder Paul O'Sullivan has pieced together. Absa is hiding behind technicalities to avoid explaining its role in state capture and corruption at Eskom, which is the state…
Shareholder activist Tracey Davies targets this week's Sasol, FirstRand AGMs
Fireworks are likely when two of South Africa's top companies host shareholders at their annual general meetings this week. Tracey Davies, an environmental lawyer turned shareholder activist (LLB at UCT, LLM at NYU), intends peppering questions at the directors of Sasol (Wednesday) and FirstRand (Thursday). In the latest episode of…
David Shapiro: Why ESG is hot - and managers need to pay attention
After getting a blast last week over his Sasol comments from an environmental activist, David Shapiro spent time investigating the hot new trend among investors called ESG - Environmental, Social, Governance. He concludes that the business of business is no longer just business. This has significant implications for investible assets…
IMF warning for SA growth; Ramaphosa race row twist; Eskom pollution slammed; Zesa turns off its own lights; Uber
The International Monetary Fund, which has slashed its growth forecast to just above zero for South Africa, warns that only radical reform will turbo-charge the country's economy. President Cyril Ramaphosa is at the centre of a race row. First he appointed a white man to head Eskom, and in the…
Azar Jammine: S&P switch to "negative" a red flag for SA interest rates
Friday's report from ratings agency S&P switched its outlook on South Africa from "neutral" to "negative" - signalling another credit downgrade is on that cards. That would take the country's sovereign debt rating to three notches below the all-important Investment Grade level. Most analysts are focusing on another of the…
Chair Bongumusa Makhatini on SABC board's approach to State Security Agency
A storm has erupted around around a front page Sunday Times report that SABC's directors resolved to approach the State Security Agency to help address "leaking" of board minutes. Harvard-educated SABC chairman Bongumusa Makhatini reacted aggressively, accusing the newspaper of pursuing a commercial agenda and using fake news to attack…
Deeper into junk; SAA strike over; ME arms exports blocked; Zuma must get his day in court
In today's business headlines: South Africa could fall deeper into junk territory after Standard & Poor's Global Ratings agency cut the outlook on its assessment of the nation’s debt to negative, citing slow growth, the upwardly revised fiscal deficit and a growing debt burden. South African Airways restored a full…
Bongo arrest signals action; Repo rate unchanged; no Bosasa auction; Corpse delivered at OM; FirstRand, MrP, Telkom
In today's business headlines: Former State security minister Bongani Bongo has been arrested in a case related to bribery at state owned companies in what is seen as Cyril Ramaphosa’s first action to end corruption. Bosasa assets cannot be put up for sale. That is according to Jared Watson, the…
Perry Feldman on FMF's Khaya Lam: 8,500 new homeowners - 6m to go
There is a strong school that believes those who have accumulated wealth make great philanthropists because they understand how to leverage their resources for maximum impact. In this fascinating interview, Perry Feldman shares a practical example of this by unpacking an innovative homeowner focused project championed by the South Africa's…
Gordhan won't interfere; Bosasa goods under hammer, Prasa's Lucky Montana asset seizure; Inflation, Remgro
In today's business headlines: The government has ruled out intervention in the ongoing battle between South African Airways and unions leading the strike. Assets belonging to several entities of Bosasa, which include the company's former headquarters and a copper plant will be auctioned off over three days in December. Former…
David Melvill's story: Independent financial advisor v Sanlam bureaucracy.
After a short break, my weekly Rational Radio returned to a new Monday lunchtime slot with a bonus added to the usual hour. The extra time was to ensure space for this interview with the independent financial advisor being threatened with an unyielding “rules-are-rules” edict by an unbending Sanlam bureaucracy…
Magnus Heystek explains his assault on SA's post-RWC euphoria
Many in the financial services sector would prefer that independent advisor Magnus Heystek had never been born. The former financial editor and founder of Brenthurst Wealth enjoys ruffling powerful feathers, using facts to puncture the facade created by billions spent on carefully crafted marketing campaigns. He's at it again this…
The Reel Gardening story: A conversation with founder Claire Reid
A budding entrepreneur won a gold medal for her invention of a seeded paper tape that took the guess work out of gardening. This idea, born out of frustration when planting a vegetable garden, was put on the back burner while she completed her qualification in architecture. Once qualified, the…
Investors don't like new Eskom CEO; SAA scabs; DA will help Cyril - Steenhuisen; Zim inflation 440%; Investec AM rebrands
Yields on Eskom’s 2021 dollar bonds jumped the most in more than three months after the appointment of Andre de Ruyter as chief executive officer, showing that bond investors aren’t showing much faith in the utility’s new boss, reports Bloomberg. Many SAA workers have ignored the call by unions to…