This section houses interviews conducted by Biznews, both video and audio, and other interesting inputs sourced from Third Parties.
One of South Africa’s more neglected natural resources is its people. Unemployment is high, and the education system, burdened by the legacy of apartheid, is still struggling to improve standards. This puts ADvTECH in a unique position. As a private education and recruitment company, ADvTECH is wholly focused on nurturing young talent, and finding and … Read more
Investing in small caps is a rather delicate business. When you’re buying the JSE Top 40, you can pretty much pick a good ETF, set up a debit order, and forget about the whole thing. The JSE’s big companies are blue chips, and they tend to rise and fall on similar rhythms, taking the market … Read more
The South African savings industry is interesting. On the one hand, South Africans are under-savers – they don’t save nearly enough for retirement or emergencies. On the other hand, South Africa’s financial services products typically come with pretty steep fees, and the industry has a reputation for incentivising aggressive selling of sometimes inappropriate products. On … Read more
John Loos is the embedded economist at banking group FirstRand’s Home Loans division. His position gives him a unique insight into South Africa’s housing market, one of the key constituents of its economic growth. He was my guest in the CNBC Africa Power Lunch studio today with an update on the bank’s Building Confidence Index … Read more
 Value-style investors are known for picking up stock market gems when the investment herd is unsettled and looking away. It is worth listening to what they say, if you are on the hunt for stock market bargains. Wilhelm Hertzog of Regarding Capital Management, a value-oriented asset management company, shares his views on whether a range … Read more
You often read stories about how new technologies mean that less-developed countries in Africa can “leapfrog” ahead, skipping over older generations of tech and embracing the latest stuff to create innovative new businesses and tools. Most of the time, however, you don’t really see this actually happening. But, listening to what MTN has to say … Read more
With all the grumbling that goes on about South Africa’s creaky infrastructure, it’s refreshing to have some positive news on the topic for a change. Transnet has awarded R55bn-worth of contracts to get 1064 new locomotives onto South Africa’s railroads. This is actually really exciting. First of all, it underscores how serious Transnet is about … Read more
Nothing gets investors as riled up as gold – love it or hate it, everyone has an opinion about the yellow metal. Very often, the story you hear about gold in the media is news cycle driven. When there is some kind of important geopolitical event – say, the tension in the Ukraine – then … Read more
Back in 2010 Clover, then newly listed and ready to expand, implemented a major capital expansion and repositioning strategy it called Cielo Blu. The idea, basically, was to fix up an inefficient supply chain by bringing its production facilities closer to suppliers in the Eastern Cape, and bringing those facilities up to date with the … Read more
Naspers is by far the best-performing media company in South Africa, thanks in large part to its willingness to embrace technologies as they develop. Whether it’s satellite TV or the internet, Naspers is quick to spot the Next Big Thing, and to roll up its sleeves and get involved. However, even for Naspers, things aren’t … Read more