Rational Perspective

JOHANNESBURG — With a background in sales and mar… See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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JOHANNESBURG — CEO of BrightRock Schalk Malan has… See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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JOHANNESBURG — Despite concerns over a crippling … See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On December 18th when 4 700 delegates from South Africa’s ruling African National Congress voted for a progressive and economics savvy president, they triggered the unravelling of what had become a criminal state. Among the leaders of this flotilla of activists which achieved this unlikely victory are South African-raised British politician Lord Peter Hain; and Irish-raised forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan. They got together in London this week to share notes on their latest crusade – a concerted attack on global law firm Hogan Lovells. The say that just like accountants KPMG, management consultants McKinsey and software multinational SAP, the law firm is deeply implicated in the network of institutionalised corruption, popularly referred to as state capture. Since the new president Cyril Ramaphosa’s appointment in January, the pressure has been cranked up on those implicated in the industrial scale pillaging of at least R100bn worth of South African publicly owned assets. See omnystudio.com/listene

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Crime and corruption are two of the biggest challenges facing South Africa today, and no one knows them like investigative journalist Mandy Wiener. Her books and investigations have exposed the web of interconnections that link South Africa’s top cops with its top crime bosses. But despite her experience of the seamier side of life in South Africa, Wiener is refreshingly optimistic. She believes that South Africa’s citizens and leadership have the power to untangle the knot of corruption in law enforcement. It will just take a lot of work and dedication. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Those who have enjoyed the amazing three and a half year ride on the Biznews Global Share portfolio which has delivered compounded annual growth of 28%, often wonder whether our tech-stock heavy focus needs to be adjusted. I don’t think so. And certainly not after absorbing this US investment insider’s rational approach. An accounting and economics graduate of Wharton Business School who also holds a CFA qualification, Jonathan Golub's reading of the tech bull market has been superb. Perhaps he has worked out the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Or, more specifically, the Amazon effect. We’ve done well by sticking with the Bezos Bulldozer. And given that its traditional rival Walmart isn’t engendering much confidence, there is no reason to change. Last week Walmart struck a record deal when acquiring 77% of Indian ecommerce leader Flipkart for $16bn. South African group Naspers banked a handsome $1,6bn profit. It was one of only two shareholders to sell out to Walmart, but is in very good compa

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In the late 1990s, Naspers’s then CEO Koos Bekker and his right hand man, the late Antonie Roux, applied what they termed a “mud on the wall” strategy. Based on the belief that their core print publishing business was dying, using largely borrowed money they took bets on many fledgling internet companies in emerging markets. Among them was a small Hong Kong business called Tencent which they bought half of for just over $30m. That has turned into the best private equity investment in history. Until last month, Naspers never sold a single Tencent share. When it did finally sell, for $9.8bn, a modest two percentage points of its ownership – dropping its stake in Tencent from 33% to 31% - the company realised an astonishing 326 times on its total investment. But such an amazing creation of value brings its own challenges. In its native South Africa, Naspers now has a weighting of over 20% of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s all share index, raising concerns the entire nation’s savings are too heavily dependen

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The world is getting ever-more complex and fast-paced, and every day seems to bring new investment options - cryptocurrencies, CDOs, contracts for difference, hybrid notes. But sometimes, the best investment advice is the simplest, as this tale by Warren Buffett illustrates. It's easy for individual investors to feel overwhelmed, and to feel like they don't stand a chance against highly-trained analysts. But as Buffett explained, all investors really need to do is harness the productive power of businesses to work for them. It's an inspiring perspective. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Plenty of people love Elon Musk for iconoclastic style and his refusal to play by the rules in business. But sometimes, sense is more important than style. Lately, perhaps feeling the pressure of Tesla's growing pains, Musk's behaviour has been a little more wacky than usual. As Tesla groans under the weight of growing debts, Musk's jokes about bankruptcy fell flat, and his strange behaviour on Tesla's recent earnings call (combined with some weak numbers) saw the share price plunge. Now, Musk seems to have stumbled into a mini-feud with the investing giants Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett. For a CEO who desperately needs to raise capital, Musk sure is being rude to investors this week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the fallout from the collapse of Steinhoff continues, many of us are left looking for someone or something to blame. Some have focused on disgraced former CEO Markus Jooste, casting him as the villainous mastermind behind the disaster. But we may need to look further. While Jooste is certainly culpable, there is plenty of blame to go around. Audit firms, the board, asset managers, analysts, and regulators must surely all come in for their share of the blame. In this interview, former PPS Group CEO Mike Jackson talks about the web of conflicts of interest that help drive failures like the Steinhoff collapse. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

JOHANNESBURG — Recent changes to South Africa's c… See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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