Business News Leaders

What will be Telkom’s new CEO’s top priorities

Telkom has announced that Serame Taukobong will be taking over from Sipho Maseko as the company's CEO in July 2022. Alishia Seckam spoke to Taukobong to find out what he’ll be bringing to the leadership role.

4 Aug 2021 2AM 6 min

Weaker dollar and commodity prices boost rand

The local unit has bounced back, recovering from last month's slump where it almost crossed the R15 to the dollar mark. This has mainly been driven by commodity prices and a weaker dollar.​ Business Day TV discussed the activity playing out in the currency scene with RMB's John Cairns. ​

3 Aug 2021 2AM 4 min

Royal Bafokeng Platinum quintuples cash pile

Royal Bafokeng Platinum says its net cash pile rose more than five-fold to R3.6 billion rand during its first half, thanks to higher platinum group metals prices during the period. Alishia Seckam unpacked the performance with CFO Hanré Rossouw.

3 Aug 2021 2AM 7 min

Covid-19 threatens retirement savings - Sanlam

The National Treasury has proposed a ‘two-pot system’ for withdrawals from pension funds, with up to one-third being accessible before retirement. The consideration comes as Sanlam warns that the economic impact of the pandemic poses a threat to retirement savings. Alishia Seckam spoke to Avishal Seeth, Head of Sanlam Umbrella…

3 Aug 2021 2AM 6 min

Absa PMI plunges to weakest level in 14 months

Absa's purchasing managers’ index fell to a 14-month low in July, highlighting the effect of stricter lockdown measures associated with the third wave of Covid-19, as well as the fallout of recent violent protests. Alishia Seckam spoke to Miyelani Maluleke, Senior Economist at Absa for more.

2 Aug 2021 2AM 6 min

Medupi power station completed

The Medupi coal-fired power station is finally complete. Work on the project was supposed to come to an end in 2015 but design defects led to delays and cost overruns. Alishia Seckam spoke to Eskom CEO André de Ruyter about what the completion of the Medupi power project will mean…

2 Aug 2021 2AM 7 min

Construction sector develops industry master plan

South Africa’s construction sector stakeholders are engaging with the Department of Trade and Industry and Competition over the development of master plan for the sector. The plan seeks to resolve structural issues and clarify the role of small and medium-sized enterprises in the industry. Alishia Seckam spoke to PPC Southern…

30 Jul 2021 2AM 8 min

The week in review

Rather than capital, I feel like Chinese regulators never sleep. Over the past nine months, Ant Group's IPO got pulled, Community Group Buying players were fined for price dumping, Alibaba was fined for anti-monopoly violations and Meituan was also fined for anti-monopoly violations. Just like Oprah dishes out cars, every…

30 Jul 2021 2AM 24 min

Imperial Logistics makes good on its 'Gateway to Africa' strategy

Imperial Logistics is growing it's African footprint. The company has acquired J&J Group, an African-based transport firm, for R4.4bb. The deal gives Imperial access to new regions and corridors on the continent. Alishia Seckam spoke to Mohammed Akoojee, CEO of Imperial for more detail.

29 Jul 2021 2AM 7 min

Sustainable Finance Instruments

On this special edition of Future of Business with Nedbank CIB - BusinessDay TV speaks to the Head of Sustainable Finance Solutions at Nedbank CIB, Arvana Singh, about sustainable finance instruments. These issues are particularly relevant in a world in which the fundamentals remain weak in the wake of continued…

29 Jul 2021 2AM 5 min

Manufacturing - a gangster’s paradise

Manufacturing was starting to show tentative signs of recovery before the riots. Let’s not forget that the sector was on its knees before Covid struck due to a range of factors from loadshedding to steel input costs, disagreements on how to pursue localisation, issues around competitiveness and dealing with leaky…

29 Jul 2021 2AM 24 min

ArcelorMittal SA returns to profit

ArcelorMittal SA is back in the black after steel prices surged during its half-year period. Alishia Seckam unpacked the performance in detail with the group’s CEO, Kobus Verster.

29 Jul 2021 2AM 8 min

Can AECI’s recovery be sustained?

AECI has hiked its interim dividend by 80% as the firm recovers from the fallout from Covid-19. Alishia Seckam spoke to AECI CEO Mark Dytor to find out if the firm thinks that its recovery can be sustained in the current operating environment.

28 Jul 2021 2AM 8 min

Are investors giving up on SA’s SMMEs?

South Africa’s small and medium enterprises have been hard hit by Covid-19 and the recent civil unrest which razed some firm to the ground. Alishia Seckam spoke to Charles Okehalam from AGH Capital about the challenging environment to find out if this is putting off investment in the SMME sector.

28 Jul 2021 2AM 6 min

Time to unshackle small business

As we start calculating the cost of the recent riots and the destruction, organised business warns that the economic recovery has been set back, probably by one to two years. It raises several questions but undoubtedly one of the most fundamental is the role of small business and entrepreneurship in…

28 Jul 2021 2AM 27 min

Treasury’s R39bn relief package won’t require additional debt

Treasury has announced a R39 billion economic relief package, which will be funded by higher-than-expected tax revenue. The lion's share of the funds will go towards reinstating the R350 unemployment grant. Alishia Seckam spoke to Kevin Lings, Chief Economist at Stanlib for his view on the relief measure.

28 Jul 2021 2AM 7 min

Kumba posts record first-half results

Higher iron prices have landed Kumba in a sweet spot with the group’s after tax profit more than doubling to over R30bn. Alishia Seckam spoke to the miner’s CEO, Themba Mkhwanazi for more detail.

27 Jul 2021 2AM 9 min

Are local bonds losing their appeal?

Local bonds seem to be losing their appeal as net bond outflows amounted to R3.7bn over the past week. This takes net outflows for the year to close to R50bn. Alishia Seckam caught up with RMB's Michelle Wohlberg for insight on the trends playing out in the fixed income market.

27 Jul 2021 2AM 4 min

Tiger Brands recalls 20-million cans of vegetable products

Tiger Brands is recalling 20 million canned vegetable products, due to safety concerns related to potentially defective cans. The move could cost Africa's biggest food producer up to R650 million. Alishia Seckam spoke to Noel Doyle, CEO of Tiger Brands for more.

27 Jul 2021 2AM 3 min

Share Shootout US Edition

It’s profits and the Fed as US earnings season kicks into high gear this week. The next couple of days are going to be monumental as everyone tries to figure out how strong corporate fundamentals are at the moment and in what context that is happening in terms of the…

27 Jul 2021 2AM 25 min