September 22, 2024
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Africa-news (598)

Absa Life predicts less deadly fifth wave of Covid-19
Africa-news

Absa Life predicts less deadly fifth wave of Covid-19

April 08, 2022
0

Absa Life, the first bank insurer to predict that the fifth wave of Covid-19 infections might be around the corner, says it nonetheless expects the trend of milder illness to continue.

Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway adds new US$4.2bn HP stake
Africa-news

Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway adds new US$4.2bn HP stake

April 07, 2022
0

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. bought a stake in HP Inc. valued at more than US$4.2 billion. Shares of the laptop maker surged as much as 10%.

South Africa to get a state-owned bank
Africa-news

South Africa to get a state-owned bank

April 07, 2022
0

The South African department of communications and postal services is finalising plans to transition the Postbank into a full-service bank.

These two South Africans among the world’s 250 richest people
Africa-news

These two South Africans among the world’s 250 richest people

April 06, 2022
0

Almost all of South Africa’s super-wealthy individuals have seen their fortunes grow over the last 12 months, with two local billionaires now ranked among the richest 250 people in the world.

Forbes has published its annual Billionaires List for 2022, tracking the wealth of the world’s richest people over the last year, including five from South Africa.

In the 2022 ranking, luxury goods tycoon Johann Rupert ranks as the richest man in South Africa with an estimated net worth of US$8.9 billion, up 25% from US$7.1 billion in 2021.

Rupert moves ahead of mining magnate Nicky Oppenheimer, whose fortune of US$8.7 billion tracks closely behind. Both Rupert and Oppenheimer now rank within the top 250, placing 230th and 241st, respectively.

South Africa’s other billionaires include familiar names on the list – mineral resources boss Patrice Motsepe saw his fortune grow by $400 million over the period, while Capitec founder Michiel le Roux has cemented his place on the ranking with his net worth growing to US$1.8 billion.

The only local billionaire to suffer a loss is media mogul Koos Bekker, whose wealth declined by 23% over the last year to US$2.3 billion from US$3 billion.

Like South Africa’s billionaires, the global elite were slaves to the global marketplace, hit by the Covid pandemic, sluggish markets, and more recently, the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

While many billionaires hit is big and saw their wealth boosted by these events, not all were as lucky. Counting 2,668 billionaires in 2022, the Forbes ranking was 87 people lighter than in 2021.

Collective billionaire wealth was also down, the group said – $400 billion less than in 2021 ($12.7 trillion).

“The most dramatic drops have occurred in Russia, where there are 34 fewer billionaires than last year following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and China, where a government crackdown on tech companies has led to 87 fewer Chinese billionaires on the list,” Forbes said.

“Still, [there are] more than 1,000 billionaires who are richer than they were a year ago. And 236 newcomers have become billionaires over the past year,” it said.

There were two notable changes among the top 10 this year – the first being a new global number one in Elon Musk, with an estimated net worth of $219 billion, up 45% from last year.

Musk supplants Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who actually saw his wealth decline over the last year.-bustech

 

South Africa looking at introducing ‘digital rand’
Africa-news

South Africa looking at introducing ‘digital rand’

April 06, 2022
0

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is actively experimenting with digital currency and distributed-ledger technology, but this cannot be done in isolation from the wider financial industry, says governor Lesetja Kganyago.

Kganyago was speaking on the findings of Project Khokha 2 on Wednesday (6 April) – a project which aims to explore the use of tokenised money, blockchains and digital currency in South Africa.

A distributed ledger is a digital record of transactions and contracts maintained in a decentralized form across different locations. The technology underpins cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and is being experimented with in large parts of the global financial system.

DLTs are currently most closely associated with blockchains – the system underpinning cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. However, blockchain technology is only one type of application of DLTs.

“We recognise that digital currency innovation cannot be explored in isolation. The SARB continues to draw on the insights emerging from various initiatives, including (but not limited to) our ongoing study into the feasibility, desirability and appropriateness of a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC), to enrich our understanding of digital currency implications.”

US federal reserve Chair Jerome Powell outlined four qualities a hypothetical digital currency in the US must have while adding that no final decision has been made on whether to proceed with creating one.

US central bankers are conducting research and experiments with digital currencies though Powell has stopped short of recommending a digital dollar, saying such a move would need more input from US lawmakers and stakeholders.-bustech

Vedanta's R7bn investment in NCape's mine will make it Africa's largest zinc producer
Africa-news

Vedanta's R7bn investment in NCape's mine will make it Africa's largest zinc producer

April 05, 2022
0

Vedanta will invest R7 billion in expanding its Gamsberg Mine in the Northern Cape to double up its production and become the largest zinc producer in Africa.

Performance bonus bumps Santam CEO's 2021 earnings by R7m in one year
Africa-news

Performance bonus bumps Santam CEO's 2021 earnings by R7m in one year

April 05, 2022
0

In her last full year as Santam CEO, Lize Lambrechts bagged R17.5 million in total pay, bonus and incentives. This was R6.68 million more than in 2020, the year in which Santam suspended dividends and was in and out of courts seeking clarity on whether it should pay lockdown-related business interruption claims.

The 'Great Resignation' is here to stay, says global employment firm
Africa-news

The 'Great Resignation' is here to stay, says global employment firm

April 04, 2022
0

The "Great Resignation" shows no sign of easing and a dwindling supply of workers may be here to stay, according to Randstad NV, a global provider of employment services. 

Fewer people in the job market, underpinned by a long-term demographic trend, is allowing talented workers to have more options and they’re going where their needs are met, said Sander van't Noordende, who took over as chief executive officer of the Dutch company.

"That is sort of a change today: Employees are more prepared to attach consequences to their unhappiness or not getting what they want," Van't Noordende said in a phone interview as Randstad revealed its latest Workmonitor report. "They’re prepared to quit their job if they’re not happy." 

The Great Resignation has been a boon to employees searching for better working conditions and higher pay. Economies bouncing back from the pandemic and work from home options have made it easier for employees to quit unappealing positions and look for alternatives, driving up wages. 

One-third of the participants in Randstad’s survey said they have left a job because it didn’t fit their personal lives. More than half of Millennials and Gen-Z respondents said they would quit a job if it prevented them from enjoying life. That compares with just over a third of those polled who identify as Baby Boomers.

Although 83% and 71% of those polled say flexible hours and workplace were important, respectively, most said they feel like they don’t have a choice of where to work, and two in five can’t control their hours, according to the report. 

"Employers really have to raise their game in terms of personalizing the work experience for every individual employee," Van‘t Noordende said.

With a decline in Covid-19 cases, companies are increasingly calling their employees back to the office, at least for part of the week. Still, apart from some financial services institutions, Van‘t Noordende said he hasn’t heard of many companies asking all employees to fully return to the office. 

"Most senior level executives understand that they can trust their people," in terms of flexible work arrangements, he said. "The role of the office is becoming more of a collaboration and meeting place than a place where the work gets done."-fin24

RCS acquires iStore, Takealot and Superbalist's online credit platform
Africa-news

RCS acquires iStore, Takealot and Superbalist's online credit platform

April 04, 2022
0

Unsecured consumer credit provider RCS has acquired Mobicred. The company, owned by French group BNP Paribas now gets a foot in the growing buy-now-pay-later market to fund retail purchases.

Old Mutual Insure eyes more acquisitions and partnerships
Africa-news

Old Mutual Insure eyes more acquisitions and partnerships

April 01, 2022
0

This is likely to be a busy year for  Old Mutual's short-term insurance division, Old Mutual Insure. After buying 51% of underwriting management agency ONE Financial Services Holdings in January, Old Mutual Insure said it continues to investigate acquisition options and opportunities for inorganic business growth.

The insurer, which owns iWYZE, Mutual & Federal Risk Financing (MFRF) and Credit Guarantee Insurance Corporation (CGIC), published its integrated annual report on Thursday. In that report, the company said it has developed an acquisition strategy. It also has "comprehensive partnership plans" to help it drive growth in 2022 and beyond.

"OM Insure will continue investigating acquisition options and opportunities for inorganic business growth. Our current 9% market share gives us a lot of scope for upward movement, particularly in the direct channel," said the insurer's MD Garth Napier.

iWYZE is OM Insurer's direct short-term insurer, selling gap cover, home, car and other short-term insurance products to retail consumers. It also launched direct commercial insurance for small businesses in 2020. It is the smallest business in the OM Insure stable, with R1.14 billion of gross written premiums collected in 2021.

MFRF, the group's cell captive insurer that offers insurance to corporate customers like Guardrisk, is the biggest OM Insure subsidiary, with more than R1.7 billion in gross written premiums collected in 2021. CGIC, the subsidiary that provides trade credit insurance across the African continent, is the second largest.

OM Insure already commands a substantial market share in the specialist insurance space. It said CGIC's market share in SA rose to an estimated 80% in 2021.

But there's still a lot of room for growth in iWYZE. In 2021, iWYZE grew premiums by 12.9% from 2020, even though the direct retail insurance market is highly contested by larger incumbents that have been around before it, banks and new InsurTech players.

OM Insure said iWYZE is "steaming ahead" and has been growing its market share. It had approximately 158 000 at the end of 2021. OM Insure said extending iWYZE's product offering and partner network to continue gaining market share and making strategic acquisitions are its top priorities this year.

Last year, the company developed on-demand insurance for iWYZE, Comma Insure, which allows customers to activate cover as and when they need it. Since 2020, OM Insure has also entered into several partnerships to distribute its products through channels not owned by Old Mutual. One of those was the partnership with peer-to-peer InsurTech player Pineapple Insurance.

And as OM Insure chase growth through these partnerships and acquisitions, it said it is determined to not fall into the trap of trying to gain market share while shooting itself and shareholders on foot through selling inferior insurance products at discounted cost.

In 2021, OM Insure's underwriting margin rose to 4.9%, bouncing backing from a loss of 2.6% in 2020. That margin, which gauges the profitability of the business that insurers underwrite, was just 0.4% in 2019. The company's profit after tax of R729 million was also more than double what it reported in 2019 and even bigger than the R705 million recorded in 2018.-fin24

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