BizNews Radio

Ranmore Fund Management founder Sean Peche gave fair warning on the risks inherent in investing in Chinese companies on the BizNews Power Hour a few weeks ago. Since then, many of the most powerful businesses in China have been subject to ongoing scrutiny from the regulatory authorities, as the Chinese communist state seems to trying to grab some control back from Big Tech names such as Alibaba and Tencent.

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Francois Nortje, director of Distribution Junxion at Port of Gauteng, joined Alec Hogg to discuss the recent cyber attack on Transnet. Nortje says he is not surprised because Transnet is a soft target for organised crime. His advice is to break the organisation up into smaller private companies because employees in SOEs are not as protective of their businesses as private owners.

Francois Nortje, director of Distribution Junxion at Port of Gauteng, joined Alec Hogg to discuss the recent cyber attack on Transnet. Nortje says he is not surprised because Transnet is a soft target for organised crime. His advice is to break the organisation up into smaller private companies because employees in SOEs are not as protective of their businesses as private owners.

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News headlines:

*South African Finance Minister Tito Mboweni affirmed his commitment to reining in debt amid concerns that the coronavirus pandemic and a week of deadly riots will further erode the state’s already shaky finances.

*South Africa’s port and rail company appears to have been targeted with a strain of ransomware that cybersecurity experts have linked to a series of high-profile data breaches likely carried out by crime gangs from Eastern Europe and Russia.

*President Cyril Ramaphosa has authorised the use of 1,495 members of the military to help neighbour Mozambique fight an Islamic State-linked insurgency, parliament said on Wednesday.

News headlines:

*South African Finance Minister Tito Mboweni affirmed his commitment to reining in debt amid concerns that the coronavirus pandemic and a week of deadly riots will further erode the state’s already shaky finances.

*South Africa’s port and rail company appears to have been targeted with a strain of ransomware that cybersecurity experts have linked to a series of high-profile data breaches likely carried out by crime gangs from Eastern Europe and Russia.

*President Cyril Ramaphosa has authorised the use of 1,495 members of the military to help neighbour Mozambique fight an Islamic State-linked insurgency, parliament said on Wednesday.

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Counterpoint’s Piet Viljoen joined the BizNews Power Hour to weight in on the fate of Naspers and Prosus, given that their primary driver - internet giant Tencent - has been one of the worst affected tech companies hit by the muster of the Chinese regulators clamp down on Big Tech. while Viljoen believes that a small allocation to Naspers or Prosus or Tencent can be justified, he finds it ridiculous that people have 20% to 30% to 40% of their portfolio in this one entity, which has existential risk. Viljoen also provides valuable insight into the cyclical nature of the commodities sector and believes that we are in a commodity bull market, which ‘we'll stay in until we see aggressive supply responses from the commodity companies.’

Counterpoint’s Piet Viljoen joined the BizNews Power Hour to weight in on the fate of Naspers and Prosus, given that their primary driver - internet giant Tencent - has been one of the worst affected tech companies hit by the muster of the Chinese regulators clamp down on Big Tech. while Viljoen believes that a small allocation to Naspers or Prosus or Tencent can be justified, he finds it ridiculous that people have 20% to 30% to 40% of their portfolio in this one entity, which has existential risk. Viljoen also provides valuable insight into the cyclical nature of the commodities sector and believes that we are in a commodity bull market, which ‘we'll stay in until we see aggressive supply responses from the commodity companies.’

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Joining the BizNews Power Hour are the directors of Altvest, an exciting company that aims to transform the way people invest in companies. Warren Wheatley, Koshiek Karan and Rob Hersov spoke to Alec Hogg about the project, with Wheatley noting that the idea comes from a desire to make incredible investment opportunities available to the ordinary public. “Finally we can offer these [investment opportunities] in bite-sized chunks, to everybody. A call-centre agent can buy a stake in a wine farm, solar plant, Ferrari or even an Arabian stallion.”

Joining the BizNews Power Hour are the directors of Altvest, an exciting company that aims to transform the way people invest in companies. Warren Wheatley, Koshiek Karan and Rob Hersov spoke to Alec Hogg about the project, with Wheatley noting that the idea comes from a desire to make incredible investment opportunities available to the ordinary public. “Finally we can offer these [investment opportunities] in bite-sized chunks, to everybody. A call-centre agent can buy a stake in a wine farm, solar plant, Ferrari or even an Arabian stallion.”

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First Help, the largest towing company in the Southern Hemisphere, has an annual Blanket Drive which takes place in the winter. The drive aims to hand out blankets to the homeless in Johannesburg and Pretoria. Author David Gemmel - he wrote the book 'Joost, Man in the Mirror' about rugby's Joost van der Westhuizen - was invited by First Help founder Clinton Spolander, to join the early morning drive this year. He told BizNews about his experience, a tow truck driver named 'Duggie', the relationship that exists between drivers' and street people - and how handing out blankets to a phalanx of homeless people turned out to be painful. Gemmel noted that it's tough seeing first-hand how many people had it hard, but said it was pleasant to see “how these hapless souls could be cheered up by a dint of a single blanket.”