Rational Perspective

In the Cape property development scene they don't come bigger than Jonny Rabie. From humble beginnings, his Rabie Property has become an institution in the Mother City. Among its achievements has been the mixed use development of a staggering one million square metres at Century City, which after a slow start has become one of the most successful property developments in South African history. Now Rabie is heading into a new geography, inviting fellow investors to join him in Lisbon. With Portugal's Golden Visa - which transforms into an EU passport five years on - an optional extra. Appropriately, the offshore development arm is called New World. I caught up with Rabie and fellow director Malcolm Lobban ahead of next week's presentations to potential investors in Johannesburg and Cape Town. - Alec Hogg See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Energy group Anadarko Petroleum, which owns huge tracts of gas reserves in Mozambique, has become the subject of a massive bidding war. The Jannie Mouton created investment company PSG announced solid financial results for the year to end February, disclosing recurring earnings per share up 9% and a 10% increase in the year’s dividend, to R4.56 per share. Life Healthcare shares were one of the biggest losers on the JSE yesterday after the group released a trading update for the half year to end March disclosing that profit margins have fallen from 23.6% to 22% knocking headline earnings per share by around 50%. The South African Rand took a pasting yesterday, influenced by a continuing slide for emerging market currencies worldwide. It lost 18c against the US Dollar and 21c against the Pound to R14.43 and R18.65 respectively. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LONDON — Trade union movement, Cosatu has never been a fan of Finance Minister Tito Mboweni. When he set his sights on the position in 2014, powerful allies on the left flank of the ANC prevented him being considered. His name was withdrawn from the ANC ‘s 2014 Parliamentary list after it was made clear to Mboweni that he would not be considered for the position as Finance Minister. With a new President in Tuinhuys, Mboweni did become Finance Minister and the battle between him and Cosatu was reignited. Cosatu has openly condemned some of Mboweni’s statements on e-tolls, South African Airways and state owned enterprises. When he told investors that South African Airways was worthless junk, Cosatu issued a statement describing him “a raving street corner derelict…a potty mouth without any impulse controls…someone, who is looking for easy applause and nods of approval from his neoliberal overlords.” They also called on the ANC to reign in Mboweni. The latest salvo from Cosatu is that Mboweni who has previously

America’s S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes reached new all-time highs yesterday. South Africa’s state-owned power utility Eskom “isn’t on the brink of financial collapse” and the government has the problem “well under control,” according to Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan. The founder of Japan’s massive new-age focused venture capital fund Softbank lost more than $130m on a personal bitcoin bet he took when the cyber currency’s price peaked at $19 000 in December 2017. South African share prices followed global markets higher yesterday, gaining half a percent overall with winning shares beating losers two to one. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

JOHANNESBURG — When Nick Dreyer and two of his mates from school decided to start an online business selling veldskoens about two-and-a-half years ago, they were mainly looking for a clever way to enter the burgeoning e-commerce retail market. They launched their business, aptly named 'Veldskoen', as an e-commerce store first and focused on jazzing up the traditional South African attire with brightly coloured shoelaces and soles together with an appealing story. Since then, the business has taken on a life of its own, surging in success and grabbing the attention of top local and global investors. Apart from the likes of Brian Joffe's Long4Life having invested in Veldskoen, the business this year received an investment from actor Ashton Kutcher and celebrity investor Mark Cuban. The famous pair now effectively have a 50% stake in Veldskoen. In this interview, co-founder Nick Dreyer gives us the backstory to the success and future plans of Veldskoen. - Gareth van Zyl See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i

JOHANNESBURG — Over the last few decades, the world has changed dramatically with the advent of internet technologies together with handheld smart devices. Today, most of us walk around with devices in our pockets that can provide us with any information we desire almost instantly at the press of a button. While this has become normal for many of us, the reality is that the benefits of this tech are still difficult to attain for many a South African, especially in the country's poverty-stricken areas. But an organisation called Closed Loop Learner Network is trying to change this state of affairs by implementing a viable way of allowing thousands of our country's high school learners gain access to specially designed tablet devices that will help them improve the way they learn. In this interview, a director of Closed Loop Learner Network, Michelle Rocke, explains how the initiative works. - Gareth van Zyl See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The United States yesterday ratcheted up its fight against Iran.  Tributes continue pouring in for the 76 year old inventor of mind mapping, Tony Buzan, who passed away earlier this month after heart attack. The Capitalist Party of South Africa, ZACP, last night tabled a plan to hand over direct ownership of the country’s 715 state owned enterprises to citizens.  Brazilian investment company 3G Capital, has moved one of its more favoured executives into the CEO post at food giant Kraft Heinz.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LONDON — When you think of the company Apple, the first person that most of us associate the brand with is Steve Jobs. Jobs was unparalleled at developing new technology that looked so sleek, minimalistic and beautiful, ok I am an Apple fan, compared to other clunky products that competitors turned out. Some commentators however believe that Jobs was not that great as CEO and that Tim Cook, who has turned Apple into the world’s first trillion-dollar company is shaping up to be the better CEO. One of them is the Editor of the Cult of Mac.com, Leander Kahney who has written a book, ‘Tim Cook: The Genius who took Apple to the Next level’. This is Kahney's fourth book on Apple; he also published the title, ‘Inside Steve’s Brain’. Cook did not make himself available to be interviewed by Kahney. The author told Bloomberg’s Carol Massar and Jason Kelly that the narrative when Jobs died, was that Apple is doomed under the leadership of Tim Cook. - Linda van Tilburg See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information

In today's business headlines: The South African Reserve Bank says the damage done by state capture is worse than previously understood. South Africa’s Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union has agreed to end a five-month strike at Sibanye's gold mines. Apple could have a 5G iPhone ready to bring to market as soon as this year. Shares in Juventus fell by 24% after the Italian Club lost the Champion’s League quarter-finals. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s name has appeared on the list of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the World. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LONDON — An e-commerce business has proven that Africa is not only the continent of the Big Five animals, elephants, lions, buffaloes, leopards and rhinos, it is also a continent that can grow unicorns, the $1bn kind. There are now three unicorns in Africa, South Africa’s Promasidor Holdings, Cell C and Jumia in Nigeria, which is regarded as the African Amazon. Jumia listed on the New York Stock exchange at an initial opening price of $18.90 on 12 April and has doubled in value in the first five days of trading. This is good news for the largest shareholder in Jumia, MTN. Jumia co-CEO and co-founder Sacha Poignonnec explained to Bloomberg’s Carol Massar and Jason Kelly the vision they have for the company… - Linda van Tilburg See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LONDON — The devastating fire at the Notre Dame in Paris that has almost destroyed the 800 year old cathedral has attracted donations from all over the world and the total amount of money is expected to reach €1bn. This is more than any disaster in history which thousands and thousands of people have died in. The generosity of people, including many of the super rich of the world has raised the question whether it is appropriate to spend so much money on rebuilding a monument. Many architects weighed in saying it will cost billions to repair the Notre Dame and that perhaps it should not be restored as it was; that it should evolve. The timeline that President Emmanuel Macron set of five years for restoration is also said to be unrealistic and would probably take much longer. In Britain, several commentators were asking where the donations were when the Grenfell tower burnt down killing 233 people to which the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu who is originally from Uganda replied that he did not think you shou

In Washington yesterday, South African Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago re-iterated the argument for an independent central bank, describing it as a shield against bad political leadership. The chief executive of the world’s biggest asset manager predicts global stock markets are poised for what he calls a “melt-up” as signs of economic health in the US and China encourage investors back into the markets. The share price of embattled tech business EOH yesterday surged on heavy trading volumes as investors gave a thumbs up to its decision to shed R1bn of non-core businesses and investments. The recent strength of South African share prices was evident again yesterday with the overall index gaining more than 1% with buying focus shifting this time to telecoms stocks.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week’s ousting of Sudan’s supposed president for life, 75 year old Omar al-Bashir, is ushering in a raft of new democratic freedoms. Despite the controversy that surrounds his erratic actions at electric car maker Tesla, South African born and raised entrepreneur Elon Musk still possesses plenty of money pulling power. After reporting a 21% drop in its latest quarterly profit, the share price of Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs lost 3% yesterday, interrupting its gain of one fifth so far this year. The Rand’s good recent run ended yesterday with the currency losing 7.5c against the US dollar to trade slightly above R14 to the greenback. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Retired hedge fund manager Clive Nates is not your average celebrity. But in the soccer-mad English city of Lincoln there's nobody more loved right now than the introverted hedge fund manager from Johannesburg. Nates, formerly of Peregrine Capital, became involved with the Lincoln City football club three years ago. That was half a dozen years after its relegation from the bottom rank of English professional football and with creditor banks grumbling about their loans, like many other clubs that were long on pedigree but short on cash. The Imps seemed headed for permanent obscurity. But the introduction of Nates and a handful of other Saffer investors was a watershed. Their cash enabled the club to hire a new management team in the gifted Cowley brothers, a detail-obsessed duo who were able to give up their jobs as teachers for full time football management. The result has been astonishing - two promotions in three years and the first non league club in 103 years to reach the quarter finals of the famous FA C

JOHANNESBURG — Despite a tough economy and the political uncertainty of land reform hanging over South Africa's agricultural sector, Afgri South Africa, with the help of Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), has managed to get a group of investors together to create a new silo investment unit. In a bold new deal, the new strategic storage platform, dubbed 'Afgri Grain Silo Company', has been created to acquire 100% of Afgri’s South African portfolio of owned grain silo and bunker facilities, representing 25% of South Africa’s grain storage capacity. The deal is expected to dramatically increase the unit's capacity for storage while also boosting food security in the region. In this interview, David Jones, who specialises in infrastructure finance at Rand Merchant Bank, tells us more about his bank's role in the deal and its significance to the local agricultural sector. - Gareth van Zyl See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

* Indian-owned Jet Airways, a discount airline which flies 600 domestic and 380 international routes, cancelled all flights over the weekend stranding thousands of passengers.  Controversial South African entrepreneur Mzi Khumalo’s gold mining company Metallon has halted production at three of its four Zimbabwean mines because of debt that exceeds $200m.  South Africa’s one-time go-go stock EOH, whose share price has lost almost two thirds of its value this year, confirmed the shareholders’ worst fears when announcing a headline earnings per share reverse from positive 319c to a negative 993c for the six months to end January. South African stocks ended the day slightly firmer on Friday with the JSE all share index closing a third of a percent better. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

DUBLIN – Lost Boys of Bird Island co-author Chris Steyn has been under fire since publishing her explosive book. This week, Steyn was driven to take a polygraph test to defend herself from accusations that she fabricated the story. The furor is reminiscent of the anger surrounding Pieter-Louis Myburgh's Gangster State – those named in Myburgh’s book and their supporters have responded with similar anger. But the work of exposing wrongdoing needs to be done, no matter how many feathers are ruffled. In this week’s show, Alec Hogg talks about why he thinks Steyn is getting such pushback. Alec Hogg and Felicity Duncan also talk about tariffs in South Africa and the UK, and how they may be causing a lot of unintended consequences. Alec also shares the uplifting story of Lincoln City, a UK football club on the rise thanks to South African investors. – Felicity Duncan See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LONDON — Cryptocurrency and blockchain is a bit like marmite. People are either utter crypto believers advocating how it is free from government interference or are fiercely against it, calling it a glorified Ponzi scheme used by criminals. It was founded a decade ago by a mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto who published a white paper describing an electronic cash system, free from government interference and shared instantly online. That it has shaken up the banking system, was acknowledged by International Monetary Fund Managing Director, Christine Lagarde who cautioned that digital currencies should be monitored to maintain stability. China announced that it wants to ban cryptocurrencies adding another blow to the technology, which has been tumbling in value. One of the fiercest critics of both cryptocurrencies and blockchain is  Dr. Nicholas Weaver, a Berkeley computer scientist who has been studying the technology and believes that the entire space ought to be burnt down in a fire. He told Bloomberg’s Joe Weise

In today's business headlines:   Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has been subpoenaed by the Public Protector to submit an affidavit related to the so-called SARS rogue unit. Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange is facing extradition to the United States after he was evicted from the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Global Economist at Schroders, Azad Zangana says the extension to the Brexit deadline reduces the incentives for the UK Parliament to compromise on a deal. Sudan’s military has seized power from the country’s long-time dictator, Omar al-Bashir EY has lifted South Africa’s Fintech out as positive development. and two South African scientists were part of the international team that took a picture of a black hole.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LONDON — Tesla had a rocky start to the year with vehicle deliveries down by 31% from 2018’s fourth quarter. But there may be a lifeline for electric vehicle makers including Tesla from American lawmakers. A bi-partisan group plan to introduce a bill to expand federal tax credits for buyers of electric cars. This after an existing $7,500 tax credit which phases out over 15 months was halved for Tesla buyers in the beginning of the year. The bill dubbed the Driving America Forward Act would grant automakers a $7,000 tax credit for an additional 400,000 vehicles. Tesla shares rose by 1.6% on the news. In the meantime, Tesla CEO, Elon Musk is in a legal dispute with the US Security and Exchange Commission after the SEC said Musk violated their 2018 agreement when he tweeted in February 2018 that Tesla will make half a million cars in 2019. On the 4th of April 2019, a federal judge gave him and the SEC two weeks to come to a settlement urging Musk “to put his reasonable pants on.” In a Bloomberg debate on Tesla’s