This section houses interviews conducted by Biznews, both video and audio, and other interesting inputs sourced from Third Parties.
Facebook’s decision to purchase text messaging service WhatsApp for $19bn has attracted a great deal of attention. While some have hailed it as a masterstroke, many are asking themselves what makes WhatsApp so valuable. As First Avenue’s Nadim Mohamed points out, the price of the deal puts the value of each WhatsApp user at $42, … Read more
When one considers the full scale of the SABC corruption that the Public Prosecutor uncovered, it seems almost impossible that there will be no consequences for disgraced acting chief operations officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng. Yet, as Cynthia Schoeman of the Ethics Monitor points out, so far, nothing has been done despite extensive evidence documenting Motsoeneng’s malfeasance. … Read more
Building residential housing for low-income people may not seem like a path to riches, but the folks at Calgro M3 seem to be doing OK. They recently announced a multi-million dollar deal to build low-cost housing in Namibia, and have seen their share price jump as a consequence. Interestingly, however, Calgro business development director Derek … Read more
It’s been my privilege to attend each Discovery Leadership Summit, the closest South Africans get to the line-ups we see in Davos. From Nassim Taleb and Rudi Giuliani through to Malcolm Gladwell, Richard Branson and the surprise appearance of our own golden boy Chad le Clos, the event is unmissable. One year I even got to participate in … Read more
If you’re wondering whether it is a good time to buy shares like Shoprite and Aveng, which released results this week, or Naspers – which announced that CEO Koos Bekker was stepping away from the helm for a sabbatical – you can’t go wrong listening to the views of Jan van Niekerk. The Chief Executive … Read more
If you read the news, you’ve probably heard about the alleged corruption and mismanagement at CAMAC Energy, which recently received a substantial investment from the PIC and is newly listed on the JSE. With revelations of CAMAC’s contributions to Zuma’s Education Fund, and the allegedly precarious financial state of CAMAC, the story has plenty of … Read more
The aluminium industry isn’t the sexiest business in the world. Although we use the material pretty much every day – it’s in our beverage cans, cars, and appliances – there’s not a lot of excitement in mining aluminum ore, smelting it, and making it into stuff. Nevertheless, as Hulamin’s year-end results, released on Monday, … Read more
As happens when you’re in this field for long enough, it’s been my privilege to watch Mike Brown develop from Nedbank’s eager new financial director to the confident, assured and very competent CEO of the smallest of the country’s Big Banks. In his four years in charge Brown has delivered earnings growth superior to that … Read more
Despite news over the weekend that its guiding light Koos Bekker would be leaving the corner office at the end of March, the Naspers share price put on a few extra rand today.  That has as much to do with approval at Bekker’s anointed successor as with his decision to take a second sabbatical – and return … Read more
We journalists all have favourite stories about the CEOs we engage with. My Mark Lamberti tale happened a few years ago when we spent a long weekend in Mozambique as part of a Mentors/Mentees initiative. One of Lamberti’s passions is flying, a luxury his entrepreneurial success has afforded him. So he flew himself and his … Read more