| 1 Oct 2013 |
From money to Mxit... Michael Jordaan Michael Jordaan has joined Mxit. Jordaan is the former CEO of First National Bank and a recent recipient of the CNBC Africa Business Leader of the Year for Southern Africa award, and will join Mxit as chairman of its board of directors. He says, "It is difficult not to have a sense of pride about a home-grown South African company making such an impact in the social media and mobile space. It was an easy decision to join as chairman and I am looking forward to playing a part in the future of Mxit, both in South Africa and internationally." Little hurts more than coming up with a great product only to see some swine steal it - which is why it's good news that there is help on hand for brand owners in fighting counterfeiting. And just to prove women have what it takes when it comes to farming, a young female farmer has reaped two awards for her excellent work at Rethabiseng Sustainable farm. Sphiwe Machika (28), from Rethabiseng in Bronkhorstspruit has won the Provincial Female Farmer of the Year Award and the National Female Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Another winner - well, a few in fact, have been announced... They are the Eco-Logic Award winners. Finally, as a man who prides himself on his choice in footwear, our tame motoring editor Henrie Geyser reckons the new Astra looks good with a boot. Rod Baker, Content Director
Comment online in our ed's column archive. Go mobile with apps and m.bizcommunity.com. Engage with us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+. Subscribe to YouTube and via RSS. Send all your industry-specific news and event invitations to financenews@bizcommunity.com, exclusive opinion pieces to contributors-finance@bizcommunity.com and international news to internationalnews@bizcommunity.com. Read "How to contribute to Biz, from op-ed pieces to news". Weekly top stories | [Erika van der Merwe] South Africa's young yet lively venture capital ecosystem is building momentum, with the increased availability of funding mechanisms for innovation being one important driver of this growth. Read more >> |
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 | [Issued by Bizcommunity.com] Originally the main function of the Bizcommunity Press Office was as a simple conduit for company news and to distribute press releases, but since it has evolved and expanded into a hub where clients can monitor performance of their publicity and manage their recruitment advertising. Read more >> visit press office >> |
 | [Phakamisa Ndzamela] Professional services firm EY has said that one of the risks faced by SA insurers expanding to the rest of the continent was a lack of detailed knowledge about the insurance environment in various African countries. Read more >> |
 | [Issued by Hollard] The Hollard Group, South Africa's largest privately-owned insurance group, has confirmed that the Competition Tribunal has given its approval for the company to acquire the business and remaining 60% shareholding interests in Etana Insurance. Read more >> visit press office >> |
 | [Samuel Mungadze] The accident-prone and embattled bus company SA Roadlink has filed for business rescue despite denials last month that it was in financial crisis. Read more >> |
Trade Conferences International will be hosting the inaugural Branch Banking Conference 2013 on 30 and 31 October 2013 at the Focus Rooms in Sunninghill, Johannesburg. Read more >>
 | Kiezzy Skeef, a 24-year old KwaZulu-Natal woman doing her articles has passed Part 1 of her chartered accountancy board exams, being the first woman from the Durban accounting firm BDO office to complete the Initial Test of Competence (ITC) Boot Camp. Read more >> |
 | [Tiny Carroll] According to the Supreme Court of Appeal in Raubenheimer v Raubenheimer, your will is the most important document you will ever sign. Read more >> |
Only about half of people who apply to WesBank for vehicle finance actually get it. Of the rest, some will be among the 9.53 million South Africans who, according to Standard Bank, had poor credit records at the beginning of September. Others may be simply aiming too high because the vehicles they want are beyond their repayment capability. Read more >>
 | Lamna Financial offers a bespoke, personal asset based lending service that is seeing a rapid growth. This discreet service monetises the value of a client's assets, such as prestige cars, fine wine, and works of art, without having to sell the asset. Read more >> |
 | Responsible lenders will have an even more important role to play in determining whether consumers can realistically afford credit. This is the result of the South African cabinet's recent approval of a credit information amnesty. Read more >> |
Taking out travel insurance can protect you against the unique risks associated with travel and provide you with the peace of mind you need on your holiday. However, travelers are often not fully aware of what is, or is not, covered by their policy, or spend more than they should. Read more >>
 | Vodacom and Neotel have announced that they have entered into exclusive discussions regarding a potential acquisition of 100% of the shares of Neotel by Vodacom SA. Read more >> |
 | Steel distributor Alert Steel Holdings on Monday (30 September) reported a diluted headline loss per share (HLPS) of 132.9c for the year to June compared with the previous year's loss of 432c a share. Read more >> |
 | The annual Africa Investor Index Series Awards, which took place at the New York Stock Exchange on 21 September, are designed to recognise Africa's best performing stock exchanges, listed companies, investment banks, research teams, regulators, socially responsible companies and fund managers. Read more >> |
 | Packaging group Astrapak reported a 51.2% drop in headline earnings per share (HEPS) to 10.7c in the six months to August‚ from 21.7c in the same period a year ago. Read more >> |
 | Forestry group York Timber Holdings on Monday (30 September) reported a 21.4% decline in headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the year to June. Read more >> |
[Ray Faure] The Don Group has seen a significant improvement in its bottom line since converting all its properties from hotels to rental apartments in 2011. Read more >>
 | [Alistair Anderson] Telecommunications and information technology solutions provider FoneWorx's earnings per share for the year to June increased 11% during what the company said was a difficult trading period. Read more >> |
 | [Fifi Peters] The rand was softer on Friday morning (27 September)‚ breaching R10 to the dollar on news of a strike in the platinum mining sector. Read more >> |
 | [Marc Hasenfuss] The long-awaited consolidation of SA's fragmented agribusiness sector has finally got under way with some vigour. Read more >> |
 | The SAPOA/IPD South African Biannual Property Indicator, released yesterday, 25 September 2013, showed that the South African property sector delivered an improved 9.2% total return for the first six months in 2013. Read more >> |
 | Fleet management and vehicle tracking solutions supplier DigiCore Holdings has reported a 74% drop in diluted headline earnings per share (HEPS) to 3.3c for the year to June from 12.7c a year ago‚ saying the results reflect the most difficult period since the group's listing in 1998. Read more >> |
 | In light of the low economic growth in South Africa how is the office sector of property performing? Read more >> |
 | Resources group Anglo American has agreed revised terms for the sale of the Amapá iron-ore operation in Brazil to Zamin. Read more >> |
 | TOKYO, JAPAN: Japanese camera company Olympus agreed to pay US$2.6m to settle a US investor claim stemming from a huge accounting scandal that hammered its shares. Read more >> |
 | [Zeenat Moorad] Truworths has adopted a cautious and incremental approach to store expansion plans outside SA in order to gain a better understanding of the operating environment and the market potential, the fashion retailer said in its annual report, released last week. Read more >> |
 | [Rob Baker] The most telling bit of information released about SA Express last week, was on page 165 of the Annual Report of the Department of Public Enterprises: "No impairment for the current year for South African Express (SAX) has been provided as the current year net asset value is not available." Impairments are changes in the value of an asset, which are obviously impossible to specify if one does not know what the value of the asset was at the start and end of the period. Read more >> |
ooba's average purchase price has shown a year-on-year price growth of 8.3% to R905 20, while the first-time buyers' purchase price is showing a year-on-year increase of 4% to R686 176. Applications from first-time home buyers remain high, with 51.1% of ooba's intake of bond applications in August from this segment. Read more >>
 | [Hopewell Radebe] The net income of some farms‚ especially those owned by small-scale farmers‚ has deteriorated substantially over the past decade compared with the total cost ratio‚ with a serious effect on the potential recovery rate of farmers should they fail‚ according to Absa's agriculture business unit. Read more >> |
 | [Karl Gernetzky] Members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) will strike at Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) this Friday (27 September)‚ with rival union‚ the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM)‚ saying it will also consider industrial action over job cuts by the company. Read more >> |
 | [Linda Ensor] Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies has come to the rescue of SA's "bleeding" poultry industry by significantly increasing the import tariffs on five categories of imported chickens. Read more >> |
 | SA's empty registry of locally flagged cargo and passenger ships has prompted treasury to propose a tax break to revive the country's maritime industry and attract vessel owners. Read more >> |
 | A significant proposal which drew attention when Treasury presented the draft response document to the draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill to Parliament's Standing Committee of Finance earlier this month, was the tax treatment of individual-based insurance policies. Read more >> |
 | [Anton Ressel] The next generation of tenderpreneurs is waiting in the wings, and we should all be very worried. Read more >> |
 | BERLIN, GERMANY: German engineering and technology company Siemens said it plans to cut 15,000 jobs worldwide by late next year as part of a cost-cutting drive. At least 5,000 jobs will be lost in Germany itself. Read more >> |
 | FRANKFURT, GERMANY: German manufacturer Volkswagen plans to withdraw its shares from trading on the London Stock Exchange later this month. Read more >> |
 | WASHINGTON USA: Americans spent US$2.6bn on gambling websites in 2012, according to a study released on Tuesday, 24 September, by the casino industry as it renewed a push for Congress to regulate online betting. Read more >> |
More International
 | The Presidency has reiterated that there is no link between the e-toll court case this week and the signing of the Transport and Related Matters Amendment Bill. Read more >> |
 | President Jacob Zuma has signed into law the Transport Laws and Related Matters Amendment Bill - paving the way for e-tolling, the presidency said on Wednesday, 25 September. Read more >> |
More Government news
 Magna Carta retains Standard Bank PR account - more info
 | Head of financial services marketing. Leading BEE financial services company seeks a candidate with extensive banking, investment or insurance experience. Read more >> |
SAICA Tax ConferenceSouth African Institute of Chartered Accountants - 8 Oct 2013 to 9 Oct 2013 Johannesburg
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