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1,540 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 4 years ago -Welcome to BizNews Radio where we interview top thought leaders and businesspeople from South Africa and across the globe.
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SA recession risk rises; SAA close to collapse; Zimbabwe starvation crisis; PIC demands Steinhoff reports
December 03, 2019 16:53 - 5 minutes - 4.79 MBIn today's headlines: SA is staring down a recession, says Bloomberg. South Africa’s economy contracted for a second quarter this year economy hasn’t expanded at more than 2% annually since 2013. SAA is on the brink of collapse. Its bosses are trying to buy more time by asking all the big lenders to help it with a cash crunch, while unions representing staff members are threatening to take action to push the airline into business rescue, a form of bankruptcy protection. Zimbabwe is deep i...
Chris Logan: Where Tongaat has gone, Hulamin, Nampak are following.
December 02, 2019 20:20 - 11 minutes - 10.6 MBBack in 2014, independent money manager Chris Logan spoke out publicly against the strategy being followed by KZN's leading company, Tongaat Hulett. He urged the board and executives to drop their approach of selling off prime commercial real estate to pump the cash into the sugar sector - an area Logan reckoned was the worst commodity to bet on. In this episode of Rational Radio he describes what happened as a tragedy; had those controlling the purse strings pursued a different strategy, To...
David Shapiro: Making sense of Adrian Gore's R1.4bn share transaction
December 02, 2019 20:09 - 13 minutes - 12.3 MBIn the latest episode of Rational Radio, South Africa's favourite market commentator David Shapiro unpacked the massive (and complex) put and call options entered into this week by Discovery founder and CEO Adrian Gore. The trades reported on the Stock Exchange News Service relate to Gore's decision to borrow money to contribute his share of Discovery's R5bn right issue that was conducted in 2015. The biggest individual shareholder with ownership of over 7% in the R73bn business, to retain t...
MTN, Vodacom ordered to slash data prices; Worse than Eskom: SA water crisis looms; manufacturing slumps
December 02, 2019 15:44 - 4 minutes - 4.04 MBIn the headlines today: President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned that South Africa faces a grave water crisis. In his weekly letter to citizens, he says: “Unless we take drastic measures to conserve water sources and promote efficient use, water insecurity will become the biggest developmental and economic challenge facing this country. Our current energy challenges will seem small by comparison. South Africa’s two biggest mobile-phone companies have been ordered to step up efforts to lower da...
Azar Jammine: IMF's shout out to Ramaphosa - bring Alliance onside. Quick.
December 02, 2019 13:04 - 9 minutes - 8.49 MBA bit like a multinational Stokvel, the Washington-based International Monetary Fund acts as the banker of last resort for member countries which get themselves into difficulties. To prepare itself, the IMF has a regular programme of sending surveillance teams to assess its potential exposure - and where it finds problems, to encourage members to act before it's too late. The surveillance team, which visits South Africa twice a year, spent the fortnight to November 21 in the country, meeting...
Companies losing faith in SAA; Inflated Tongaat Hulett profits; Zuma’s date with justice; tweeting for Africa
December 01, 2019 17:38 - 4 minutes - 4.05 MBIn today's business headlines: Companies are starting to lose faith that South African Airways can and will be saved. Sanlam Travel Insurance Consultants said it would exclude SAA from its insolvency cover and Flight Centre has stopped selling SAA tickets. An investigation into alleged wrongdoing at Tongaat Hulett found that a group of at least 10 senior executives at the sugar maker used accounting methods that led to profits and certain assets being overstated. Former Chief Executive Of...
Hennie Bezuidenhoudt: How Orbvest hedges risk when investing in US medical properties
November 29, 2019 06:19 - 21 minutes - 19.4 MBThere'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 - and steps he takes to reduce the risk of an unexpected broadside in this ever changing world. - Alec Hogg
Eskom’s profit surprise; Govt finances will worsen; Ramaphosa pulls Chairman's convo plug; KPMG, Steinhoff
November 28, 2019 18:52 - 5 minutes - 4.67 MBIn today's business headlines: Eskom has posted a surprising R1.3 billion rand 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 is a high likelihood that the South African government’s finances would deteriorate further posing a risk to the stability of the country’s financial system. President Cyril Ramaphosa withdrew from the Chairman’s Conversation, a signature annual event hosted by P...
Piet Viljoen: Investors AWOL so many managers run companies for themselves
November 28, 2019 09:18 - 11 minutes - 10.2 MBPiet 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 company whose shares he has avoided for years - and puts it down to the way corporations are "gaming" the oversight-implications of indexation of investing. Fascinating insights as ever from the forthright valu...
Business confidence uptick; SAA sends red flare; Junk could see $8bn bond sell-off; Zuma tax returns; Brait overhauls New Look
November 27, 2019 17:29 - 4 minutes - 4.29 MBIn 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 from a decade low of 21 in the previous quarter. South African Airways says the strike at the airline led to a sudden deterioration in its financial position. In a statement issu...
SA wealth report; SA female board representation up; survival secrets of dogs, humans; JSE, Rand
November 26, 2019 17:52 - 4 minutes - 4.31 MBIn 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 to citizens President Cyril Ramaphosa lambasted business for failing to hire enough senior black executives, but when it comes to improving female board representation, South Africa is right up there with cou...
Determined Kayamandi student Aphelele Mvamva scoops fast track wine career opportunity
November 26, 2019 13:53 - 6 minutes - 5.69 MB21 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 a vineyard worker. This lifestyle meant she was forced to adapt to many different places and schools. She landed in the Red Cross Children’s Hospital after she contracted TB and was suffering from malnu...
The astonishing tale of how Absa helped Eskom man steal R66m: Paul O'Sullivan joins the dots
November 26, 2019 11:15 - 11 minutes - 10.5 MBAbsa, 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 entity that is the most troublesome for South Africa and the one which is arguably the biggest obstacle to improving economic growth. Absa has been relatively unaffected by stat...
Shareholder activist Tracey Davies targets this week's Sasol, FirstRand AGMs
November 26, 2019 06:06 - 7 minutes - 7.02 MBFireworks 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 Rational Radio the executive director of JustShare explains what she'll be asking the companies about, and why their responses thus far have been inadequate. Part...
David Shapiro: Why ESG is hot - and managers need to pay attention
November 26, 2019 06:04 - 9 minutes - 9.09 MBAfter 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 as Shapiro explains in this fascinating contribution to the latest episode of Rational Radio. - Alec Hogg
IMF warning for SA growth; Ramaphosa race row twist; Eskom pollution slammed; Zesa turns off its own lights; Uber
November 25, 2019 19:15 - 4 minutes - 3.89 MBThe 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 next breath he slammed the business sector for not doing more to hire senior black executives. Eskom has been slammed for its appalling pollution record. Zesa, Zimbabwe's 'Eskom', has given up on e...
Azar Jammine: S&P switch to "negative" a red flag for SA interest rates
November 25, 2019 14:53 - 9 minutes - 9.17 MBFriday'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 Big Three ratings agencies Moody's whose analysts still have SA debt at Investment Grade. But that's a mistake, says respected economist Azar Jammine, who in an interview o...
Chair Bongumusa Makhatini on SABC board's approach to State Security Agency
November 25, 2019 12:10 - 11 minutes - 10.8 MBA 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 the national broadcaster's credibility. On Rational Radio, we approached the issue from a different perspective - probing why the organ charged with protectin...
Deeper into junk; SAA strike over; ME arms exports blocked; Zuma must get his day in court
November 24, 2019 17:42 - 5 minutes - 4.68 MBIn 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 flight service yesterday. It follows after agreement was reached in the industrial dispute between the airline and three of its largest unions ending an eight day strike. South...
Bongo arrest signals action; Repo rate unchanged; no Bosasa auction; Corpse delivered at OM; FirstRand, MrP, Telkom
November 21, 2019 18:45 - 5 minutes - 4.89 MBIn 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 nephew of company CEO Gavin Watson after liquidators, Sechaba Trust advertised an auction from 4-6 December of Bosasa assets. The Reserve Bank has held its benchmark interest rate at 6.5% and sign...
Perry Feldman on FMF's Khaya Lam: 8,500 new homeowners - 6m to go
November 20, 2019 19:36 - 8 minutes - 7.7 MBThere 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 Free Market Foundation. By applying grants from supporters - Richemont chairman Johann Rupert among the most prominent - the FMF's Khaya Lam project has b...
Gordhan won't interfere; Bosasa goods not on auction; Lucky Montana's asset seizure; Inflation, Remgro
November 20, 2019 19:23 - 4 minutes - 4.09 MBIn 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 Prasa head, Lucky Montana says the seizure of assets at his home including two luxury cars was a “vindictive” action by SARS and that it was “unethical.” South Af...
Gordhan won't interfere; Bosasa goods under hammer; Lucky Montana's asset seizure; Inflation, Remgro
November 20, 2019 19:23 - 4 minutes - 4.09 MBIn 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 Prasa head, Lucky Montana says the seizure of assets at his home including two luxury cars was a “vindictive” action by SARS and that it was “unethical.” South Afr...
David Melvill's story: Independent financial advisor v Sanlam bureaucracy
November 20, 2019 17:42 - 17 minutes - 16.2 MBAfter 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. I’ve known Capetonian David Melvill for some years. He is a regular at Biznews investment roadshows and although our views on gold usually differ (he just loves the yellow metal), for...
Magnus Heystek explains his assault on SA's post-RWC euphoria
November 20, 2019 06:32 - 10 minutes - 9.32 MBMany 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 week, warning that the Springbok Rugby World Cup euphoria - which he fully participated in - should not distract the national attention away from serious financial...
The Reel Gardening story: A conversation with founder Claire Reid
November 19, 2019 17:26 - 8 minutes - 8.08 MBA 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 temptation to follow a paid job was there, but Claire Reid, founder and CEO of Reel Gardening believed in her concept. Armed with a loan from the Anglo-Zimela Small Business Fund, and a steely determin...
Investors don't like new Eskom CEO; SAA scabs; DA will help Cyril - Steenhuisen; Zim inflation 440%; Investec AM rebrands
November 19, 2019 17:18 - 4 minutes - 4.25 MBYields 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 go on strike to demand higher wages, says Reuters. A few hundred South African Airways employees have returned to work despite a strike, allowing the airline to resume some regional flights, acti...
Jared Watson: How Agrizzi and Van Tonder stole from Bosasa
November 19, 2019 12:15 - 11 minutes - 11 MBThe wrapping continues to come off the Bosasa story, a dramatic tale of bribery corruption and intrigue which has kept the chattering classes entertained throughout 2019. The late Gavin Watson was tried and convicted in the court of public opinion on the say-so of his former COO Angelo Agrizzi, star witness at the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture. But as we keep discovering, there is far more to this story than the simplistic story that's been sold. Jared Watson, a CA, has been...
Nampak CEO to rescue Eskom; foreign ownership blow for SAA; Hain's explosive testimony; SA equities could soar in 2020
November 18, 2019 19:02 - 4 minutes - 4.12 MBSouth Africa appointed Andre de Ruyter as chief executive officer of Eskom, the debt-strapped utility that provides about 95% of the nation’s electricity and poses the biggest threat to its economy. De Ruyter, currently CEO of packaging firm Nampak, will take up the post on Jan. 15, the Department of Public Enterprises said in a statement. South African Airways officials will be summoned to a meeting with regulators next month to disclose details about talks with potential equity partners ...
David Shapiro on why Sasol shares are cheap and why Eskom needs its new CEO
November 18, 2019 13:45 - 15 minutes - 13.8 MBSouth Africa's favourite market commentator David Shapiro reflects on Sasol's disastrous month and finds a silver lining in a share price that he reckons looks incredibly cheap; and encourages the Ramaphosa Administration to make the right call when deciding on the new Eskom CEO - because the person at the top, he reckons, has a critical influence on the success (or otherwise) of any business, especially big ones. - Alec Hogg
David Shapiro on why Sasol shares are cheap and why Eskom needs Calitz
November 18, 2019 13:45 - 15 minutes - 14 MBSouth Africa's favourite market commentator David Shapiro reflects on Sasol's disastrous month and finds a silver lining in a share price that he reckons looks incredibly cheap; and encourages the Ramaphosa Administration to make the right call when deciding on the new Eskom chairman - because the person at the top, he reckons, has a critical influence on the success (or otherwise) of any business, especially big ones. - Alec Hogg
Jean-Pierre Verster: Why Steinhoff shares still suck - Richemont's too
November 18, 2019 13:40 - 12 minutes - 11.4 MBHighly respected and newly independent asset manager Jean-Pierre Verster provides perspective on two of today's major company news releases. The proprietor of Protea Capital Management says the fact that Steinhoff did not disclose the price of two large sales of subsidiaries today - in Australia and the UK - speaks volumes for this money manager. And he's also not enamoured with luxury goods multinational Richemont's recently released interims. Even the joint venture in China with the storie...
Steenhuisen leads DA; SAA intl flights resume; Ex-Denel staff 'stole' missile IP; Platinum wage deal; Wiese
November 17, 2019 18:58 - 4 minutes - 4.27 MBIn today's business headlines: John Steenhuisen has been elected as the interim federal leader of the Democratic Alliance and says race is not being ignored by the party. South African Airways has resumed some of its international flights last night but wage strikes are continuing. A security breach at arms manufacturer Denel may have led to the theft of missile technology according to a report in City Press. Shoprite chairman, Christo Wiese will retire from Africa’s biggest grocer by ne...
John Steenhuisen - new interim leader - DA not ignoring race
November 17, 2019 14:27 - 7 minutes - 6.62 MBThe Democratic Alliance has elected its former Parliamentary chief whip and leader of the party in Parliament, John Steenhuisen as its interim leader. He beat Gauteng MPL Makashule Gana in the vote for the leadership. It follows a period of uncertainty following the resignation of Mmusi Maimane that led the party for four years. Ivan Meyer was elected as the interim federal chairperson in the place of Athol Trollip who resigned on the same day as Maimane. The DA has gone through a turbulent ...
'Indefinite' SAA strike; Mining surprises topside; SA hedge fund landscape changes; Pepkor, Sappi
November 14, 2019 18:18 - 5 minutes - 4.65 MBIn today’s business headlines: The two unions at SAA started strike action after they rejected the latest wage offer of the airline. They plan to strike "indefinitely" and are approaching the Labour Court to seek an urgent interdiction against dismissals. Pepkor has issued a trading statement saying they were expecting higher earnings for the present financial year. Sappi, the world’s biggest producer of pulp halted dividend payments after the impact of the US trade war with China trigge...
Watsons charge Agrizzi for theft; Strike could end SAA; Job losses at SAPO; Tencent pulls down Naspers; Kolisi effect boosts Spar
November 13, 2019 17:46 - 4 minutes - 4.06 MBIn today's business headlines: Jared Watson, the nephew of former Bosasa CEO, Gavin Watson has laid a criminal complaint against whistle blower Angelo Agrizzi for the theft of R35m. South African Airways warn that there may be no recovery if the "mother of all strikes" goes ahead. The Post Office is another state-owned company that has detailed plans to lay off workers as the government looks to slash its wage bill. Naspers shares were pulled down by quarterly Tencent earnings that miss...
Independent Media liquidation looms; unions battle SAA, govt over job cuts; world's richest move into cash
November 12, 2019 19:00 - 5 minutes - 4.79 MBSekunjalo Independent Media on Tuesday received an application for its liquidation from the Public Investment Corporation citing SIM and its executive chairperson Dr Iqbal Survé as respondents. Iqbal Survé's Independent Media group is believed to owe at least R1.5bn to the PIC, which it borrowed to buy the company. SAA is headed for a battle with unions after it was revealed that management plans to chop about 100 jobs. Bloomberg reports that South African Airways has set itself up for a c...
SAA to chop jobs; Allan Gray dies; Impala eyes Zim deal; Saldanha Steel closes; Facebook fake ads; Traders like Rand
November 11, 2019 20:04 - 5 minutes - 5.33 MBSouth African Airways, the beleaguered state-owned airline that’s reliant on government financial support to continue operating, has started a restructuring process that could see its workforce cut by almost a fifth, says Bloomberg. Allan Gray, the billionaire founder of the Cape Town-based asset manager that bears his name and Bermuda-based Orbis Group, died on Sunday. He was 81, says Bloomberg. Impala Platinum is in talks to buy land in Zimbabwe from rival Anglo American Platinum as the...
France mulls Eskom aid; Loadshedding dents rand surge; Branson considers SAA stake
November 10, 2019 17:29 - 5 minutes - 4.79 MBIn today's business headlines: France is considering providing financial support to Eskom according to the Business Times. British billionaire Richard Branson will look at buying a stake in South African Airways if he is approached. Eskom has warned that the power system remains constrained and vulnerable and that any shift could lead to load shedding at short notice. The Rand which has rallied last week to its firmest level in three weeks on the back of renewed hopes of a US-China trade...
Moody's next move: What's next for SA; Shoprite, Dischem, Multichoice, wine markets
November 07, 2019 17:18 - 4 minutes - 4.56 MBMost analysts following South Africa expect it to lose its final investment-grade rating. But they disagree over when that might happen and what the consequences would be, says Bloomberg. Here's what might be next for SA. Shoprite’s lead independent director, Shirley Zinn, resigned abruptly, two days after Christo Wiese’s almost 30-year stint as chairman was extended despite a majority of investors voting against his reappointment to the board, says Bloomberg. Dischem saw its share price ...
SA attracts $16bn; Hurry up and fix Eskom, investors urge govt; 2020 EM outlook; Intu plunges
November 06, 2019 19:10 - 4 minutes - 4.28 MB*President Cyril Ramaphosa says the government is on track to lure $100bn in new investment within five years, with more than $16bn already committed and many more projects in the pipeline. He was speaking to Bloomberg television. Anglo American sees South Africa’s struggling state-owned power utility and regulatory uncertainty posing major risks to its operations in the country, where it’s planning to boost spending to expand output for platinum, manganese and iron ore, says Bloomberg. E...
Wiese wins Shoprite battle; consumer sentiment plunges; Moody's hits Eskom; Dischem, Telkom
November 05, 2019 19:21 - 5 minutes - 5.4 MBChristo Wiese, the retail magnate who saw his billions evaporate as the Steinhoff share price plunged amid a financial scandal that erupted in late 2017, has clung to his position of power at supermarket multinational Shoprite. South Africans are feeling very glum about the economy - and that’s official. The FNB consumer sentiment index slumped deep into negative territory during the third quarter of 2019, the bank’s economists report. In a blow for Eskom, Moody’s pushed the state power f...
SA in last chance saloon - Moody's; debt soars; world funds Congo revival; Zim protests; US equities soar
November 04, 2019 17:50 - 5 minutes - 4.77 MBSouth Africa is fighting to preserve its last remaining investment-grade credit rating and avert a forced selloff of billions of rand of its debt after Moody’s Investors Services gave it just over three months to get its finances in order, says Bloomberg. When Nelson Mandela came to power in 1994, he faced the challenge of uniting a nation divided by apartheid and healing an economy shattered by sanctions and mismanagement. A quarter of a century later, his one-time protege Cyril Ramaphosa...
More Springbok accolades; Moody’s holds back; 5G roll-out; Another investment drive; Aramco IPO green light
November 03, 2019 17:19 - 4 minutes - 4.29 MBIn today's business headlines: The Springboks have claimed more international awards with South Africans echoing the sentiment of captain Siya Kolisi that more could be achieved if they work together. There is hope that the renewed optimism in the country will enthuse markets after Moody's decision on Friday to maintain South Africa's investment grade status. The country's outlook has been changed to negative. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa is going ahead with pl...
Christo Wiese in Shoprite battle; Nigerian bank eyes SA; SA maggots go global; Zim hunger crisis; Sibanye
October 31, 2019 20:34 - 6 minutes - 5.69 MBChristo Wiese faces another corporate battle. The former billionaire, who lost fortunes when the Steinhoff share collapsed and was relegated from the ranks of a billionaire to a millionaire, could lose his grip on power at Shoprite. A major Nigerian financial services provider sees lucrative business opportunities in South Africa. Access Bank, Nigeria's biggest lender, plans to open operations in four additional African countries in the next year, following its takeover of Transnational Ba...
SA’s 29,000 millionaire civil servants; SAA up for sale; rand rattled; Mboweni’s last Tweet; ratings downgrade looms; Brexit latest
October 30, 2019 19:19 - 5 minutes - 4.96 MBSouth Africa’s budget deficit is set to come in at just under 6%, from the previously estimated 4.5% and last year’s 4.3%, it was confirmed when Finance Minister Tito Mboweni released his Medium Term Budget Policy Statement. The budget deficit gives the country similar financial ratios to Pakistan and Argentina. Mboweni has urged Parliament that “Clearly we need to do things differently - there is no status quo option.” A staggering 29,000 public servants earn over R1m a year. To put this ...
Is Mboweni's end of winter speech enough for Moody's?
October 30, 2019 16:08 - 5 minutes - 5.36 MBFinance Minister Tito Mboweni's mid-term budget has been tabled in what he described as the end of winter for South Africa's economy, all eyes would be on Moody's at the end of this week to see whether he had done enough to ensure that the ratings agency does not downgrade South Africa. Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago explained at a news conference in Cape Town what the impact of a downgrade on South Africa would be. - Linda van Tilburg
Tax collection falls short by R53bn; but Caesar is watching
October 30, 2019 15:56 - 3 minutes - 3.55 MBThere has been a R53bn shortfall in tax collection in the 2019/2020 financial year with the largest revision coming from personal income tax of R25.3bn. This was revealed by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni in his mid-term budget. SARS commissioner Edward Kieswetter said it was a function of the performance of the economy and said they were making progress in rebuilding the South African Revenue Service. Mboweni added that taxpayers should ‘render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar or he is goi...
No debt relief for Eskom now or debt-equity swap - Dondo Mogojane
October 30, 2019 14:55 - 5 minutes - 5.45 MBThe government will not take further steps on reducing Eskom's R450bn debt burden until it has showed progress on reforms. Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said in his medium term budget speech that once there is enough progress at Eskom an appropriate size of debt relief will be announced. At a news conference after the budget speech Treasury director-general Dondo Mogajane had harsh words for Eskom and killed rumours of a debt-equity swap. - Linda van Tilburg
SAA bailout; SA Express could be sold - Tito Mboweni
October 30, 2019 14:21 - 3 minutes - 3.46 MBFinance Minister Tito Mboweni announced in his medium term budget speech in Parliament that the government was talking with potential investors for South African Airways in an attempt to ease the burden that the airline is placing on the national budget. Mboweni said the government will repay loss-making SAA’s outstanding government-guaranteed debt of R9.2bn over the next three years. He said there needed to be a serious conversation in the months to the next budget in February and it should...