BizNews Radio
Welcome to BizNews Radio where we interview top thought leaders and business people from South Africa and across the globe.
SA's KFC entrepreneur Burt Gunning: How to build a business from zero to 41 stores
Chicken and chip meals are a South African favourite, so it's little wonder that KFC is a massive presence on the tip of Africa. But there's more to running a successful KFC business than demand. One of South Africa's successful entrepreneurs, Burt Gunning, tells BizNews founder Alec Hogg how he…
WSJ Tech News Briefing: Coronavirus misinformation circulating online
False information about the coronavirus has been circulating online, despite big tech companies' attempts to stamp it out. The Wall Street Journal's reporter Sebastian Herrera joins to explain. Kateri Jochum hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Investors give Bright Light Solar boost to shine
With the problems at Eskom, ever resilient South Africans dig deep into the ‘Boer maak ‘n plan’ philosophy and come up with their own solutions. And when it came to investing into another round at 12J company Bright Light Solar, which invests in solar and efficient renewable energy, they were…
SA enters recession; Nigeria economy overtakes SA; Ramaphosa fears Covid-19 threat to SA growth
In today's news headlines: * South Africa’s economy slumped into a second recession in consecutive years as power cuts weighed on output and business confidence dropped; * Nigeria's economy is on rocket fuel, expanding as South Africa's contracts, which means Nigeria's Gross Domestic Product is the largest in Africa; * Coronavirus, or Covid-19 as…
SA's first Cannabis stock Labat Africa - a two year project for Brian van Rooyen
Those who chuckled when analysts considered the prospect of turning South Africa into the global epicentre for a mushrooming cannabis industry are surely thinking differently after hearing the references by president Cyril Ramaphosa in last month's State of the National Address. The official sanction is no surprise to serial entrepreneur…
Meet Stafford Masie - Google to WeWork, SA tech whiz still running at 100mph
When in the company of 100mph-thinker Stafford Masie, it's best to listen closely. A computer scientist by training but an entrepreneur by persuasion, Masie has a string of successful startups to his credit. The man who opened Google's first Africa office recently returned to a US-based multinational, now helping office…
Meet Dawid Potgieter: Researching consciousness to treat pain and mental health
When South Africans go out into the world, we like to hang on to them and remind ourselves that we come from the same soil. Elon Musk is probably the best example of this, but there are many others. In the sports world; typical South African surnames pop up in…
Central banks prepare for 2008-style Covid-19 hit; Eskom punishes manufacturers; PIC Ayo scalp
In today's news headlines: * Global central bankers pledged action aimed at stabilising markets rattled by the outbreak as pressure builds on them to ease monetary policy to safeguard their economies and appear set to move in tandem for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis; * Sentiment in…
Dave Woollam: Tongaat has sold the crown jewels - because it just had to
Shareholder activist Dave Woollam has been keeping us updated on the survival efforts of embattled Tongaat-Hullett, which last week sold its highly profitable Starch division for R5.35bn. Woollam agrees with new CEO Gavin Hudson that the price received was a good one - especially given the stress that everyone knows…
David Shapiro: Many years since we've seen such great value on the JSE
In the latest episode of Rational Radio, SA's favourite market commentator shakes his proverbial head at the excellent value offered by industrial companies listed on the JSE, pointing out some of the obvious bargains. While Shapiro will be doing his homework on exciting new plays like the JSE's first Cannabis…
Wikus Marais: Markets panicking because of how Govts reacting to COVID-19, not because of virus itself
In this segment from the latest episode of Rational Radio, economist Wikus Marais present the most cogent explanation you'll hear of why asset prices are plunging on the Coronavirus. He explains why the mortality rate of under 2% has nothing to do with it - but that the reaction of…
SAs in Wuhan to be flown home; Rand takes bashing; Pam Golding probed; ANC/Cosatu talk job cuts
In today's business headlines: - 151 out of the 201 South Africans living in the Wuhan area of China where the coronavirus first broke out, have indicated that they wished to return home and are going to be repatriated by the Government and will be kept in quarantine for 21…
What does the US food delivery shakeup mean for Naspers?
Naspers, through its global Prosus arm, is a major player in the world of global food delivery. The company has made some sizeable bets on the long-term profitability of global food delivery, joining other venture capitalists pouring cash into the sector. Yet the long-term future of food delivery is anything…
Roger Jardine on whistleblowers, Talking to Strangers and The March of the Folly
When German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited South Africa earlier this month she told students at the University of Pretoria that the youth should stand up against corruption and “name names” and added that they would be surprised how people would come forward and support them. If it wasn’t for the…
What's News: The hidden forces behind stocks' sharp sell off
As coronavirus ripples through markets, the Wall Street Journal's Gunjan Banerji reveals the invisible forces that are exacerbating this week's wild swings. Charlie Turner hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Outraged unions fight govt cuts; fresh SAA bail-out; coronavirus leaps outside China; Massmart, Implats
In today's business news headlines: * The credibility of South Africa’s proposals to curb debt and save its sole investment-grade credit rating will be put to the test by powerful labour unions outraged by plans to pare back the wage bill; * Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has told journalists the…
Ticking time bomb: unsecured debt is a major risk - Alec Hogg, Dave Woollam
In an article warning that the United Nations has unsecured lending on its list of concerns, Malcolm Rees points out that there is much as R208bn in outstanding unsecured and short-term credit in South Africa, accounting for 11% of all outstanding credit. "To put that in context, the nominal value…
Mboweni 'kicking the can down the road' in his decision not to raise taxes - Economist Dawie Roodt
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said in his budget speech that pundits who expected a VAT increase had misread Government’s messages. He said there was little scope to increase taxes without pushing the South African economy deeper into the mire. Economist Dawie Roodt does not agree and told Biznews that Mboweni's…
Collision course with unions; Telkom lay-offs challenged; Tax relief; Money for SAA, Denel; Market cheer
In today's business headlines: - The government has set a collision course with labour unions as it was announced by the National Treasury that pay increases and promotions will be limited, saving R16bn over the next three years; - Unions have challenged Telkom in court on its plans to cut…
FM Tito Mboweni goes after "fabulously rich 'men of the cloth' who don't pay tax"
At a pre-budget speech press briefing, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said the government could no longer afford to sit back and watch controversial "men of the cloth" flaunt their wealth while they found creative ways of evading tax. He has announced taxes for their sins, which according to Mboweni included…