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South Africans may have become accustomed to the persistent load shedding but it is understandably causing much frustration among citizens, businesses and industry. As a result, attention has shifted towards alternative power sources. BizNews spoke to the director of SolarSaver, a group that was founded on the concept of providing clients with unique solar solutions without requiring them to put up any capital or financial guarantees. Stuart Batchelor touched on selling solar under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), saying it would relieve businesses from operational responsibilities. One of the greatest benefits of the solar solution is that it is capex-free, so there are massive savings to be made, as opposed to using municipal city power.

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An Israeli watertech company, Blue Green Technologies, cleaned up the Setumo Dam in the North West Province on the Molopo River of the contaminated toxic algae blooms making its water unsafe to drink. It was basically a dead aquatic zone. The South African Director of Blue Green Technologies, Jurgens van Loggerenberg, told BizNews how the company’s technology achieved this, how they saved a canoe race on the Roodeplaat Dam, the story about a fisherman who covered himself in Vaseline to protect himself from the toxic algae and the link to elephants dying in Botswana.

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In tonight’s episode of the BizNews Power Hour, we kick off a new weekly feature with BizNews's Alec Hogg discussing the top news of the week with Gary Stroebel of Namibia's NOVA FM. Also tonight, Piet Viljoen looks at news from his biggest holding - MTN - and provides insights on other major news; SA’s BlueGreen director - Jurgens Van Loggerenberg explains the process that has cleaned the previously toxic Rootplaats Dam; and highlights of a webinar with the team from the Bureau for Investigative Journalism, - Victoria Hollingsworth, Tom Wright, Chrissie Giles and James Ball - with Alec Hogg explaining why the UK body was drawn to the story of the South African tobacco industry.

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News headlines:

*With 97% of the ballots counted, the Democratic Alliance and ActionSA, together with support of natural allies, appear to have won sufficient votes to take control of Johannesburg and Tshwane, SA’s commercial heartland and its capital city.

*With attention now on political parties forming coalitions, the ANC has said it is willing to work with any political party to form a stable government in the 52 municipalities with no outright majority.

*Eskom CEO André de Ruyter has admitted that corruption is still rife at the power utility and that patronage networks still exist, saying it is clear that the networks created during the state capture years are still active.

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Nasdaq and JSE-listed financial technology business Net1 Technologies announced a “transformational” deal, acquiring the Connect Group for a whopping R3.7bn. Given that Net1’s market capitalisation stands at around R6bn, the deal is significant and will broaden Net1’s exposure into the South African informal sector. The legacy-stricken business has recently had a management overhaul, with Investec corporate and investment banking veteran Chris Meyer taking the reins mid-year. Meyer outlined the thesis and rationale for the acquisition, with the deal targeting market share in the micro, small and medium enterprises merchant space. The informal economy has a large addressable market, so despite the Connect Group already serving over 40,000 merchants, there is ample room for growth. This will complement Net1’s existing business, which currently serves the more formal economy. Net1’s management overhaul along with this ground-breaking corporate activity could be an inflection point for a business that has struggled to get going over the years.

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In several European countries, the idea of an outright winner in elections is strange, especially in Italy and Germany. In South Africa, where single parties have loomed large, we are about to enter an era of horse-trading with smaller parties able to punch above their weight. As the results of the local government elections of 2021 are tallied, parties are already indicating opponents with whom they will and will not enter into coalitions. And the DA may come to regret that it could not keep Herman Mashaba in the fold. Political analyst Dr Ralph Mathekga told BizNews there would not be kingmakers in this election and he has expressed concern about the low voter turnout and what it means for our democracy.

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In tonight’s episode of the BizNews Power Hour, Stuart Batchelor, director of SolarSaver on it’s unique solar solution; David Bacher unpacks the Corion Report for October; Linda van Tilburg spoke to author of The Crash of the Rhinos Ray Dearlove on the Australian Rhino Project; Chief executive of Net1 Chris Meyer unpacks it’s R3.7bn acquisition of The Connect Group.

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News headlines:

*Economist Mike Schussler says that South Africa’s load shedding problems have cost the country “well over a million jobs”.

*Eskom says that it will need between R460bn and R537bn over the next 15 years to transition away from generating electricity from coal.

*With over two thirds of the ballots counted, the ANC’s share of the national vote in the 2021 Local Elections is still on track to fall by up to ten percentage points – from 56% in 2016 to 46% in 2021.

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Corion Capital publishes a monthly informative summary of asset class and fund performance data, which is a must read for any level of investor. As is customary for the beginning of the new month, Corion’s chief investment officer David Bacher delves deeper into the drivers of outperformance and risks facing the financial markets as the year slowly draws to a close. Bacher notes that October was somewhat of a reversal of September, with global equities and specific sectors such as resources bouncing back strongly. The JSE All Share Index has climbed 36% on a rolling 12-month basis. However, the small-cap and fledgling indices – which constitute the smallest listed businesses by market capitalisation – have increased 60% and 100% over the same comparative period. This is where money managers such as Piet Viljoen (Counterpoint Value Fund) have managed to outperform the benchmark, by being contrarian in nature. Bacher also touches on the major developments that took place in the asset management industry over the past month, with Sanlam’s buyout of Absa’s investment management business and Stanlib’s partnership with US banking giant JP Morgan being the talking points. - Justin Rowe-Roberts

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A BizNews community member has called for an end to the local vs offshore investment debate. The member, who wishes to stay anonymous, has given Piet Viljoen and Magnus Heystek each half a million rand to invest on their behalf. The challenge is simple; which money manager can grow the initial principle the most in a five-year time horizon. Brenthurst founder Magnus Heystek has been advocating offshore investments and diversification for the better part of a decade. He has been very successful, generating superior returns for his clients. Magnus focuses on global investment themes, such as biotech and healthcare, which have outperformed significantly. He is confident offshore investment will continue to come up trumps and has allocated R500,000 in a mix of the following investment products: the Franklin US Opportunities Fund, funds managed by Anthony Ginsberg, and the Brenthurst Global Equity Fund. Piet Viljoen has kept it simple and put his money where his mouth is, investing the entire R500,000 in a fund that he manages, the Counterpoint Value Fund. Piet says there are outstanding opportunities in the South African market, with the small to mid-cap space largely neglected and this creates opportunities. The Counterpoint Value Fund has done incredibly well over the past three years, generating compound annual returns of 18.5% compared to 8.5% for the JSE All Share Index. Two top managers going head to head, may the best man win.

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