Business News Leaders

How Steinhoff plans to tackle its legal battles

Steinhoff International is looking to settle some of the lawsuits against the embattled retailer by offering claimants cash and Pepkor shares. About 90 separate lawsuits have been filed against Steinhoff, with combined claims of more than R136bn. Business Day TV caught up with the group's CEO Louis du Preez for…

27 Jul 2020 2AM 5 min

Surging metal prices save Amplats dividend

Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) has reported a dip in interim profit as it had to deal with a lockdown in South Africa, but a sharply higher price for the group's metals has allowed the miner to declare a dividend. Business Day TV spoke Amplats CEO to Natascha Viljoen for more…

27 Jul 2020 2AM 8 min

Writedowns weigh on Invicta

Invicta swung into a loss during its year to end-March after it recorded writedowns of R1.1bn. Business Day TV unpacked the financial performance of the group in more detail with CEO Steven Joffe.

27 Jul 2020 2AM 4 min

SA may stop lenders from blacklisting borrowers

South Africa's government is mulling a proposal to temporarily ban lenders from blacklisting consumers whose credit records have been hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Managing Director of the Banking Association of South Africa Bongiwe Kunene spoke to Business Day TV about what this would mean for the financial sector if…

24 Jul 2020 2AM 7 min

Food service industry cooks up restaurant relief plan

South Africa’s restaurant industry is on the brink of collapse. News that a newly formed consortium of South Africa’s biggest food service suppliers, have partnered with leading food service distributor, Bidfood, to pool resources and in an effort to support the restoration of the industry, offers a glimmer of hope…

24 Jul 2020 2AM 26 min

Universal income grant sparks big debate

The debate over a universal basic income or a basic income grant has raged for 20 years. From a humanitarian perspective, there is an absolute need for support for the 'missing middle' and an issue that has only been heightened by the pandemic shock to the economy has pushed a…

23 Jul 2020 2AM 28 min

Were SA companies too hasty in looking for growth offshore?

Anchor Capital's CEO Peter Armitage says that local firm’s attempts to diversify by going offshore may have wiped out about R300bn in shareholder value over the past decade. He believes that many companies overpaid in desperation to diversify and points to Sasol, Woolworths and Brait as the biggest culprits. Business…

23 Jul 2020 2AM 4 min

SARB cuts interest rates, repo rate sits at record low

South Africa's central bank has cut interest rates for the fifth time this year. The 25 basis point reduction takes the benchmark rate to a record low of 3.5%. Business Day TV spoke to Isaah Mhlanga from Alexander Forbes and Razia Khan from Standard Chartered for their views on the…

23 Jul 2020 2AM 12 min

Covid-19 weighs on Gautrain

Gautrain's passenger numbers have dropped significantly due to the Covid-19 lockdown. Business Day TV spoke to William Dachs, CEO of the Gautrain Management Agency for more detail.

22 Jul 2020 2AM 5 min

The critical state of SA's health care sector

Since launching in 2012, Corruption Watch has received nearly 700 complaints of corruption in the public healthcare system leading the watchdog to release a report on its findings. Business Day TV spoke to the author of the report, Melusi Ncala for more on what has been unearthed.

22 Jul 2020 2AM 7 min

Is the SARB being too conservative?

Michael Avery previews the SARB’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting. The choice to cut seems obvious. The burning question is whether the bank should be bolder during a time of crisis and start pulling other levers at its disposal Dave Mohr, Old Mutual Chief Investment strategist Prof Brian Kantor, an economist…

22 Jul 2020 2AM 25 min

Retail sales plunge during lockdown

Retail sales nosedived in April, falling over 50% year on year. The decline however eased in May as government relaxed some lockdown rules allowing more sectors of the economy to reopen. Business Day TV unpacked the print in detail with Sa'ad Chotia from Nedbank CIB.

22 Jul 2020 2AM 5 min

Self-made in Stellenbosch

With the recent resignation of Paul Harris and Laurie Dippenaar from the RMB Holdings board, it brings down the curtain on an historic era in corporate SA’s history. The group's entrepreneurial history can be traced back to 1977 and the founding partnership of GT Ferreira, Dippenaar and Harris. Over several…

21 Jul 2020 2AM 27 min

Govt extends UIF TERS relief benefit by 6-weeks

Government has agreed to extend the UIF’s Temporary Employment Relief Scheme by 6 weeks so that it is in line with the president’s decision to implement the Disaster Management Act until August 15. Business Day TV spoke to UIF Commissioner at the Department of Labour, Teboho Maruping for more.

21 Jul 2020 2AM 7 min

Unions challenge government's stance on wage hikes

Government says it can't afford wage hikes during this time of crisis but public sector unions aren’t buying it. Business Day TV spoke to Godfrey Selematsela, President of the Federation of Unions of SA for more detail.

21 Jul 2020 2AM 6 min

How can SA's economy recover post Covid-19?

Standard Bank expects the economy to contract 8.5% this year largely driven by the impact of Covid-19. The lender's local CEO Lungisa Fuzile says a foundation for economic recovery must be laid urgently. Business Day TV spoke to him for more detail.

20 Jul 2020 2AM 7 min

Which local banks are best positioned to weather the COVID-19 storm?​

South African lenders are currently mulling how to avoid loan defaults as their Covid-19 relief measures to customers come to an end. Given the challenges the banks face, Business Day TV caught up with Kokkie Kooyman from Denker Capital for his take on which institutions are best placed to weather…

20 Jul 2020 2AM 7 min

What is the real value of the rand?

The rand weakened early on Monday as a surge in Covid-19 infections led to risk off trading. However, The Economist’s Big Mac Index shows that the rand is the world’s most undervalued currency. Business Day TV spoke to Lukman Ortunga from FXTM about current trading conditions and the index to…

20 Jul 2020 2AM 5 min

SA’s tourism on its knees: What happens next?

Tourism and hospitality, widely believed to be the sector most severely impacted by Covid 19, is well into the fourth month of little or no business. TERS is ending, borders are not open, insurers are not paying, and restaurants are closing their doors. What does the future hold for an…

20 Jul 2020 2AM 24 min

Covid-19 lockdown weighs on local labour market

Research from the the National Income Dynamics Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey shows that about 3 million people lost their jobs over the lockdown period, representing an 18% decline in employment from February to April. Business Day TV touched base with the principal investigator of the NIDS CRAM project, Nic Spaull…

17 Jul 2020 2AM 8 min