Classic Business

Jeremy Sampson, MD of Brand Finance Africa

Neal Froneman, CEO Sibanye Stillwater

“Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future,” or so said Niels Bohr, and nothing has made predicting the future harder than the coronavirus pandemic

It’s disrupted businesses, caused market volatility and triggered asset devaluations across the globe.

While the full economic impact of the pandemic has not yet been felt in South Africa, it is clear that the volatility has created much uncertainty around how the fair value of a business is determined.

And this has made dealmaking tricky.

FTI conducted a survey into valuations recently

And Michael Avery caught up with Thoba Vokwana, FTI’s Managing Director (Valuations) to find out what it revealed about the impact of Covid on valuations.

Chantal Marx, head of equity research at FNB Wealth and Investments

Heyneke Meyer was still at high school when he told a teacher that he would one day become the Springbok head coach. Rather than encouraging the youngster, he was told this was a pipedream.

This discouragement continued at university, but against advice to the contrary, he studied sports management, education, and “just about everything I believed was necessary for me to realise my ultimate goal of coaching my country. When my time came, and it would, I had to be ready. But few people believed in me.”

Unknowingly, his coaching career would evolve along seven key principles of leadership, and these would only become apparent to him after experiencing the ebbs and flows of what is an extremely uncertain career choice.

Michael Avery caught up with the coach who transformed the Bulls into a Super Rugby winning juggernaut and also the man who holds the unwelcome tag of losing against Japan, what these highs and lows have taught him about leadership in this inspiring 30 minute conversation.

Eighty-thousand Johnson & Johnson jabs touched down at OR Tambo International Airport on Tuesday and were distributed to 16 sites across the country where healthcare workers will be vaccinated.

This marks the start of South Africa’s new, adjusted vaccine roll-out plan where jabs will be given as part of an implementation study conducted by the South African Medical Research Council and the Department of Health. The study will focus on “real-life” environment roll-out issues and gather additional data on side-effects and the protection the shot offers against severe Covid-19 disease caused by the new SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes Covid-19) variant, 501Y.V2, that is now dominant in South Africa.

Michael Avery sat down with Anban Pillay, Deputy director-general of health who has been directly involved in the vaccine procurement drive, to break down everything you need to know about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine – how well it works against the new variant, how many doses will be going to which sites (see our interactive map), and how many more vaccines will be arriving and when.

Cobie Legrange, co-founder of Rex Solom Invest

The fourth estate is in the news, and when you report on the events of the day, that’s never a good thing.

The media’s reputation has taken a battering over the last few years. It’s not a local issue solely either with the rise of fake news, trimming of newsroom budgets and the need and desire to be first without thoroughly fact checking and also the rise of digital media giving platforms to op eds without doing the basics of editing, it’s a difficult time for the fourth estate.

Likewise, in South Africa, if it wasn’t for the investigative media who knows where we would be right now a country, the state capture faction in charge most likely of a rapidly failing state.

However, it is not only false information that is dangerous. The most damage is caused when information is used out of context and inflated to promote a specific agenda. In the world of investment this easily leads people to make wrong decisions.

One often think of certain well known financial market commentators who demonise SA to build their offshore books.

Michael Avery talks to Ronald King, Head: Public Policy & Regulatory Affairs, PSG Konsult, about why, when it comes to retirement, the old adage of “any news is good news” doesn’t apply.

Izak Odendaal Old Mutual Wealth Investment Strategist

Wayne McCurrie, portfolio manager, FNB Wealth and Investments

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Martin Harris, premium client manager at IG SA