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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

In tonight’s episode of the BizNews Power Hour, Piet Viljoen and Magnus Heystek join Alec Hogg on a community member challenge to put local vs offshore investments to the test; political analyst Ralph Mathekga on what seems to be the onset of kingmakers and coalition politics in the ongoing local elections; we also discuss how Standard Bank's PowerPulse platform is going to be extended to residential homes.

News headlines: *South African motorists will be hit with record-high fuel prices from Wednesday, with petrol prices increasing R1.21 and diesel prices shooting up R1.48. *South African pension funds will be banned – in no uncertain terms – from investing in bitcoin or its sibling cryptocurrencies, under new draft rules. *With over a third of votes counted, the ANC remains well below 50% of the national vote in the 2021 Local Elections, and of the major Metros, is only above this critical level in eThekwini.

In the sixth episode of the Standard Bank PowerPulse podcast series, BizNews founder Alec Hogg is joined by Kevin Ssemwogerere, Corporate Venturing Lead in Wholesale Clients Digital for the Standard Bank PowerPulse platform, Nafisa Fareed, the Chief Executive of Power4Less and Nick Roche, Chief Product Officer at Rubicon Cape Town, to discuss how the PowerPulse platform is going to be extended to residential homes. As many South Africans are looking for alternatives to power their homes and to make them less reliant on Eskom, there are tips on how to sift through the many new suppliers to the solar PV market and the booby traps to watch out for.

The man in charge of Embroiled ICT business EOH, Stephen Van Coller outlines that the group is ready to bear fruit after a three-year turnaround story.

Former Tekkie Town CEO Bernard Mostert unpacks the Western Cape High Court’s decision to grant Steinhoff leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal in the liquidation bid it is facing. Mostert and business partner Braam van Huyssteen are fighting for the restoration of their business Tekkie Town after the footwear retailer was sold to Steinhoff in 2016 for R3.2bn. Mostert and Van Huyssteen received Steinhoff shares in exchange for Tekkie Town. Months later these were worth a fraction of their value at the time of the transaction, given Markus Jooste sudden resignation and subsequent accounting irregularities that came to light at the end of 2017. If the Tekkie Town owners are successful in the liquidation bid against Steinhoff, shareholders will almost certainly be left with nothing. 

Dede Eyesan of Jenga Investment Partners - a London-based global investor - shares a number of small cap investment ideas.

Counterpoint Value Fund manager Piet Viljoen shares his investment insight on a busy week of corporate activity for JSE-listed companies. The mining sector has been especially vibrant, with Sibanye-Stillwater, Impala Platinum and African Rainbow Minerals all announcing sizable deals. Private and listed property investment in South Africa is discussed, with Viljoen outlining that the glory days for REITs have come and gone. Aveng and AB InBev are looked at from an investment angle to wrap up the conversation.

In tonight’s episode of the BizNews Power Hour, Piet Viljoen breaks down the latest in the markets, plus the recent addition of Aveng in the BizNews Portfolio; Tim Modise weights in on local elections to be held next week results after interviewing two of the top three candidates for Joburg mayor; EOH CEO Stephen Van Coller; and Bernard Mostert on the court's ruling to finally liquidate Steinhoff.

News headlines: *The 2021 election could usher in a massive shift in SA’s political landscape, with the ANC for the first time admitting before an election that it is preparing for coalition talks, while the DA has signalled its willingness to co-operate with the ruling party. *Transnet National Ports Authority, which manages all eight commercial ports in SA, is looking to increase tariffs by up to 24% in the 2022/2023 financial year — a move that has irked industry players and the Western Cape provincial government, which say the proposed above-inflation hike cannot be justified. *Public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan tried to assure South Africans that the lights would be on for election day, saying that load shedding would not disrupt voting.

In March 2020, some of South Africa’s richest families announced they will be donating R1bn each to help people affected by the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. It included Johann Rupert, Patrice Motsepe and Nicky Oppenheimer with Mary Oppenheimer and her daughters adding another R1bn. In October 2020, in an interview with BizNews, Jonathan Oppenheimer described the decision to channel the money into a trust, the South African Future Trust, which would support SMMEs as an “aha” moment for the family. He said it took just eight days to set up the trust with money flowing to beneficiaries a week later. The head of the South African Future Trust, Bridget Fury, told BizNews the small businesses they supported have proven to be extraordinarily resilient despite another shock in the form of  the July riots. – Linda van Tilburg

Veteran journalist and broadcaster Tim Modise has interviewed the top three party mayoral candidates from the ruling party, the DA and Action SA. Modise sat down with Alec Hogg to go over his findings on who will most likely rule over the city of Johannesburg after the local elections.

Veteran mining analyst Peter Major sits down to discuss Impala Platinum’s prospective takeover of mid-tier precious metals producers Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBP). The news follows Sibanye-Stillwater’s acquisition of a nickel and copper mine in Brazil for $1bn. Today, African Rainbow Minerals issued a cautionary announcement ahead of a prospective acquisition from competitors Anglo American. There is M&A mania in the air in the commodity sector, the likes of which has not been seen since the commodity bust 15 or so years ago. Despite traders and investors generally skittish about the flurry of deals in the resources sector, Major believes Impala’s prospective takeover of RBP makes sense given the synergies. RBP market value ballooned 20% following the announcement, adding over R6bn to its market cap. RBP is trading at a touch over R110 per share (as of the close of trade on Thursday) with a market cap of R32bn. A deal around the size of R40bn could be on the cards. 

In tonight’s episode of the BizNews Power Hour, Alec Hogg on the BizNews Portfolio’s newest purchase Aveng; Resources guru Peter Major unpacks Implats' plans to buy Royal Bafokeng Platinum; Mishal Patel, Sable International's British and nationality expert sheds light on the intricacies of obtaining British citizenship; and Linda van Tilburg explores what happed to the Oppenheimer's billion during Covid.

In tonight’s episode of the BizNews Power Hour, 10X founder and former top rated investment analyst Steven Nathan’s views on the BizNews Portfolio’s newest addition - Aveng; Resources guru Peter Major unpacks Sibanye Stillwater’s latest acquisition - mines extracting nickel and copper in South America; CEO of Spear REIT, Quintin Rossi, shares the Western Cape-focused company’s latest results; Bureau of Investigative Journalism’s international editor - James Ball let’s us in on the episode seven of Smoke Screen which has evidnece suggesting leading UK listed group British American Tobacco paid a $500k bribe to the Mugabe Regime.

News headlines: *The DA has appealed to finance minister Enoch Godongwana and the Treasury to create a new municipal grant so that metros with the required capacity can take control over local policing. *A former captain of South Africa’s national cricket team withdrew from a T20 World Cup match on Tuesday after the sport’s national body instructed all players to “take the knee” before every game in the tournament that’s under way in the United Arab Emirates. *South Africa is considering buying the country’s biggest oil refinery, a joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc, known as Sapref.

The BizNews Investment Portfolio has been a roaring success for over seven years. Since inception, the portfolio has managed to achieve a compound annual growth rate – the primary indicator of investment performance – of over 20% in both rand and dollar terms. This is an incredible achievement with some of the world’s very best investment professionals unable to achieve this feat. BizNews founder Alec Hogg has put his faith in technology-centric businesses, predominantly the high-flying US tech large cap names, which have been outperformers for the better part of the last decade. Hogg, a disciple of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger’s investment principles, turns his eye to local construction company Aveng. On the brink of collapse in 2018, Aveng has implemented a turnaround strategy that seems to be bearing fruit. After valuable insight from the ever-rational Piet Viljoen and decorated mining executive Bernard Swanepoel’s appointment to the board, Hogg has dived into this fallen angel in the hope it will rise again. 

Spear REIT CEO Quintin Rossi unpacks the Western Cape focused real estate company's interim numbers.