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/ 28 November 2006
After enjoying standing ovations in Oxford, the Afrocentric incarnation of Julius Caesar is now playing in Johannesburg, writes Thebe Mabanga.
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/ 19 September 2006
The Comedy Blackout festival at the Market Theatre is a combination of the brilliant and the promising, the hilarious and the mildly funny, writes Thebe Mabanga.
Thebe Mabanga reflects on the state and status of gospel in South Africa.
Bear Khumalo adopts what can only be called an inverted pyramid approach to empowerment and a maverick, high-risk approach to investments. His modus operandi is to focus on sectors that are out of favour with investors and thus "do not attract the usual [empowerment] suspects", consolidate assets in these sectors.
The current world economic volatility should be no cause for concern for emerging markets investors. That is according to Rejane Woodroffe, an economist at Metropolitan Asset Managers. Woodroffe spoke to the <i>Mail & Guardian</i> as markets endured their second rough week.
With the recent announcement that MTN Group CEO Phuthuma Nhleko is to purchase R266-million-worth of his company’s shares, he has — as an analyst who declined to be named put it — told the market that not only does he believe the company will do well in the next three to five years, but "he intends to lead the company through that phase".
The South African economy has shown resilience by withstanding a 144c petrol price increase over the past two years, but production costs threaten a benign outlook, figures released recentl show. Statistics South Africa reported that inflation excluding mortgage rates rose 3,7% in April. This was slightly below forecast.
Vusi Khanyile is one of the most unflappable defenders of an unorthodox empowerment strategy you are likely to encounter. The 55-year-old founding MD, now chairperson and CEO of Thebe Investments displays single-mindedness about the course his company has pursued, not just over the past five years, but over the course of about 14 years.
Over the past decade, Gold Fields and AngloGold have entered Ghana respectively through the purchase of mines in Tarkwa, a town about 45 minutes by plane north-west of the capital Accra, and the merger with Ashanti Gold Fields. The ventures present more than geological and mining challenges; there are social challenges that at times seem insurmountable.
It is, to be sure, a time like no other. On Wednesday the JSE touched a record high of 21 000, at one point trading at 21 150. When the JSE started its current rally two Octobers ago, it did so in defiance of a strengthening rand. That trend continued this week as the record was touched, just as our currency broke through the R6 to the dollar level.
Steel giant Mittal came under pressure from academia and the government recently in its continuing battle over steel prices. Mittal reacted with legal and tactical aggression in the case of the former and with a mild but expected sulk to the latter. The battle is with Harmony and Durban Roodepoort Deep, purporting to be acting on behalf of a large portion of the South African economy, at the Competition Tribunal.
The events of the past month serve to remind us that the path to economic prosperity is a precarious one, filled with all manner of shocks and disruptions. The events also show, according to Merrill Lynch economist Nazmeera Moolla, how a strong rand contributes to unbalanced growth.
After 120 years of convincing companies of the merits of listing and being publicly traded, the JSE will on June 5 list on its own main board, joining peers including the London Stock Exchange. The move is the culmination of about five years of restructuring the bourse.
One of the more eyebrow-raising, intriguing executive moves of recent times has been that of Peter Moyo, who last November gave up his position as deputy MD of Old Mutual South Africa to become Alexander Forbes’s Africa MD, in charge of 14 countries. The move was intriguing because many saw it as Moyo turning his back on an opportunity to head OM, a brand-name monolith.
First National Bank (FNB), the country’s largest vehicle and one of the four largest retail banks, is being sued for R145-million over one of banking’s most innovative products. Leon Parkin, a Rustenburg-based businessman, claims that FNB stole his idea for InContact, a free SMS service that informs cheque account, credit and debit card customers of all transactions as they happen.
South Africa’s latest skills recruitment drive is an initiative infused with a sense of urgency by its driver, Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. Set to be launched later this month, the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisitionis seen by the government as a key component of its recently unveiled economic growth plan.
The South African business and mining landscape has just witnessed a low-key move by a giant in continental, or rather, global business. Sam Jonah, former executive president of AngloGold Ashanti, announced his biggest personal investment in South Africa. This marks a further entrenchment of roots in a new country by this Ghanaian native.
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/ 16 February 2006
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel understandably celebrated South Africa’s economic fortunes and placed a surprisingly high degree of faith on the global economy. Unveiling his 10th Budget this week, Manuel restated the government’s widely praised sound stewardship of the economy.
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/ 7 February 2006
Recently, one of empowerment’s youngest veterans, if one may call him that, put together a relatively small and simple deal, but one that launches his company to an important platform: the JSE. Sandile Zungu, the executive chairperson of Zungu Investment Company, announced the formation of listed entity Makadebona, a diversified industrial holdings company.
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/ 3 February 2006
Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni kept interest rates unchanged, with the repo rate at 7% and in turn a prime rate of 10,5%. And this week the JSE breached the magical level of 20 000 points, and factories showed signs of bleeding because of the strong rand.
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/ 6 December 2005
The government’s "Reds" revolution to fundamentally alter electricity distribution is being changed again. Instead of six regional electricity distributors (Reds), there will now be seven, as the government admitted recently that there were "weaknesses" in its initial blueprint.
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/ 11 November 2005
Anglo American’s search for a global identity entered a new phase recently when the company announced its strategic review. It is the latest in a series of restructuring exercises the group has undertaken since 1997 and is arguably the most radical since the group listed in London in 1999. It adds a potentially fascinating chapter to the stewardship of Tony Trahar, CEO since July 2000.
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/ 4 November 2005
Claims that South Africa’s economy could be creating 1 000 jobs a day should be met with scepticism, Congress of South African Trade Unions economist Neva Makgetla said on Thursday. Makgetla was reacting to findings by independent economist Mike Schussler in the second South African Employment Report, commissioned by the Union Association of South Africa.
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/ 4 November 2005
Under the stewardship of one of the youngest, if not the youngest, executive teams on the JSE, Makalani Holdings has just concluded what it considers an "active" quarter. It has spent R443-million of R2,5-billion of shareholders’ funds, or 17%, since making its debut on the bourse in May.
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/ 31 October 2005
If Sipho Nkosi, CEO of Eyesizwe Coal, is in the midst of making South African corporate history by being part of the creation of a "black Anglo American", he chooses to leave that judgement to future generations. He is tipped to become CEO of an unnamed and diversified mining company, which will be the largest black-owned outfit of its kind, with an enterprise value of R16-billion.
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/ 31 October 2005
There are two people at Absa who are arguably the most important. One is CE Steve Booysen. He has the job of running the country’s largest retail bank while also keeping staff, customers and shareholders happy. The other is Tokyo Sexwale, the leader of the Batho Bonke consortium, Absa’s empowerment partner.
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/ 21 October 2005
Nolitha Fakude’s career is about to acquire a new dimension of influence. She has served two-thirds of a three-year term as the first female president of the Black Management Forum. At the beginning of this month, she took up her position as executive director for human resources and strategy at chemical giant Sasol.
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/ 14 October 2005
Two empowerment companies linked to slain businessman Brett Kebble’s JCI are determined to continue life without the colourful mining magnate. Masupatsela Investment Holdings (MIH) reached a settlement with JCI while Matodzi Resources prepared for a crucial annual general meeting on November 2 with its empowerment credentials at stake.
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/ 29 September 2005
So, the South African economy has the legs to thrive in difficult times, job creation is cyclical in the short term and a year is a very long time in the lives of monetary policy authorities. These may be key lessons to learn in a week of mixed fortunes for the economy and markets.
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/ 23 September 2005
The party the South African banks have enjoyed over the past three years may have reached heady heights, but looks to be far from over. Figures released by FirstRand last week, and the boundless optimism expressed by the likes of Investec, suggest that good times lie ahead for a while yet.
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/ 20 September 2005
Rapidly growing but still small, the black middle class is steadily spreading its spending influence and finding itself socially, research released over the past year shows. A new report, <i>Lost in Transformation South Africa’s Emerging African Middle Class?</i>,attempts to capture the economic and social nuances of South Africans.
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/ 16 September 2005
Any crusader for small business in South Africa needs to possess missionary zeal, personal experience in running a small enterprise and a belief that the businesses need not stay small for good. Wawa Damane, CEO of the Small Enterprise Development Agency, brings to her job more than 23 years experience in running small businesses, developing support programmes with academic institutions.