Classic Business

Traxtion Group has announced an initial locomotive and wagon build programme (for freight only) of R1.5 billion upon conclusion of the appropriate access rights with Transnet. The Group plans to invest a further R14-17 billion in locomotives and wagons over the next 5 years as part of carefully scaled rolling procurement programme. The investments are a response to the new policy (part of the President’s Economic Recovery Plan) that will grant third-party access to the core rail network – to operate on the state-owned rail infrastructure alongside and complimentary to Transnet within the next 12 months. James Holley, CEO of Traxtion, tells Michael Avery, what the President’s signal means for rail in the region and what he sees as the perfect world – how he sees government, Transnet and third parties working together.

Cobie Legrange, co-founder of RexSolom Invest

The National Development Plan (NDP) for 2030 identified improving education, training and innovation as one of our nation's top 14 priorities. Now a group of researchers at the University of Cape Town have come together to better understand SA's post-school qualification picture and to launch big hairy audacious goal by 2030 to help us achieve massive improvement. The project is housed in the Siyaphambili website. Dr Nicola Branson, senior research fellow in the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit in the School of Economics at the University of Cape Town tells Michael Avery that the proportion of working age South Africans with a post-school qualification has doubled since 1994, reaching 13.8 percent in 2020. While this is a remarkable feat, at the same time, the attainment rate is a stark reminder of just how few South Africans successfully reach, and complete, this education milestone

Branson explains how the Siyaphambili website is an attempt to ensure South Africa achieves the stretch goal 2030, to have 22% of young people in SA with a post school qualification.

For many of us, 2020 has left a serious mark on our finances. Maybe you have had to access your savings to make ends meet, or perhaps you’ve simply realised how precarious your financial position really is if you didn’t have an emergency fund for example. For whatever reason, many of us are asking the same questions: How can we grow our savings and build wealth for the long term? How do we best position our portfolio to deliver on the most basic requirement, which is to outpace inflation, despite the severe economic upheaval? Michael Avery sits down with Anet Ahern, CEO of PSG Asset Management, to talk about how we can use this crisis to focus our attention on our finances.

Wayne McCurrie, portfolio manager, FNB Wealth and Investments & Imtiaz Suliman, executive director Sentio Capital

The issue of market dominance and regulation of big tech has risen to the surface of the global debate about the future of today’s biggest companies. In the USA Congressional report produced after more than a year of fact-finding and testimony blasts Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook as monopolistic ‘gatekeepers’ of the digital economy Breaking up these companies will apparently be on the table. And recently the South African Competition Commission outlined the approach it intends to take to regulate competition in the digital economy. Michael Avery hosted Dr Cristina Caffarra of Charles River Associates; Patrick Smith, Partner, RBB Economics; and Heather Irvine, partner, Competition at Bowmans; for a roundtable discussion on the future of regulating the dominance of big tech firms.

CEO Douglas Craigie Stevenson

Dr Tashmia Ismail-Saville, CEO of Youth Employment Services & Mamokgethi Molopyane, labour analyst and founder of Creative Voodoo Consulting

Rob Pietropaolo, joint-head of trading at Unum Capital

Steven Barker, head of lending products at Standard Bank