Hope for Johanna
/ 1 April 2009

Hope for Johanna

The Johannesburg Development Agency goes where private property developers fear to tread — and then make those areas irresistible to investors.

No image available
/ 28 June 2005

MTN to tackle Telkom?

Will MTN buy into the second national operator (SNO), which is due to start competing with Telkom over the next year? History and some pointers say yes. MTN isn’t saying. JSE Securities Exchange analysts think probably not. A minority stake held by MTN would be a boon for consumers, however.

No image available
/ 24 June 2005

Outside the Laager

Under South Africa’s old regime the Afrikaans magazine market was fiercely contested territory. Rich, white, homogenous; the coloured community was ignored and it was an advertiser’s dream. Naspers built a mighty empire out of serving it, and over the years many others shared in the loot.

No image available
/ 17 June 2005

MTN to spend R7bn in Nigeria

MTN’s share price plunged nearly 10% this week, devaluing the company by more than R7,6-billion, as investors punished the company for sitting on their money. MTN released spectacular annual results as expected late last week, much like the results Telkom released days before.

No image available
/ 10 June 2005

Telkom basks in profits

Telkom’s share price hit an all-time record high this week as the company reported massive profits for its last financial year. Shareholders — who will be getting a R9 dividend for shares some bought for less than R30 — were delighted. Politically, the results were more ambiguous, with Telkom customers grumbling about being overcharged and the Democratic Alliance calling the results "embarrassingly good".

No image available
/ 7 June 2005

Whitehouse consortium bags Sasani

A group led by current CEO James Whitehouse has been selected to buy movie company Sasani’s remaining assets for around R130-million. The deal still requires regulatory and shareholder approval but could be concluded shortly. Sasani announced recently that the Whitehouse consortium was the preferred bidder for its assets.

No image available
/ 7 June 2005

SABC shortlist down to two – Rapport

The new SABC chief will be either Sentech head Sebiletso Mokone-Matabane or Altron executive Dali Mpofu, Afrikaans Sunday paper <i>Rapport </i>said on the weekend. Without citing any sources, the newspaper said the shortlist of possible replacements for Peter Matlare had been narrowed to those two names and that the SABC board would have to choose between them.

No image available
/ 1 June 2005

Die Wêreld in dire straits

Staff at Afrikaans Sunday newspaper <i>Die Wêreld</i> have not been paid their salaries for May and unless a white knight is found, the paper will not be published this Sunday. <i>Die Wêreld</i> published its first issue in mid-April and has been moving towards being a fairly traditional tabloid.

No image available
/ 19 May 2005

SAA out to pitch?

The massive South African Airways (SAA) advertising account is likely to come up for tender some time this year and – if rumours hold true – incumbent HerdBuoys McCann-Erickson may find the going tough. The SAA account is one of the largest and most prestigious in the country. Pitching for it has been a close-run thing in the past.

No image available
/ 4 May 2005

Failure’s Lessons

What does the demise of <i>ThisDay</i> tell us about the daily newspaper model in South Africa? Phillip de Wet analyses the reasons behind his former employer’s downfall and asks whether the remaining crop are comparatively healthy.

No image available
/ 4 May 2005

Govt mag: propaganda or public service?

The Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) hopes to appoint an editor for a planned bi-monthly magazine by the end of May and could be distributing around a million magazines by September. The as-yet unnamed magazine will aim to "disseminate information about economic opportunities to those who need to improve their lives".