03.08.18

2018 Entrepreneur of the Year Competition

BY Fast Company 3 MINUTE READ

SA’S PREMIER ENTREPRENEURIAL COMPETITION MARKS 30 YEARS OF CELEBRATING ENTREPRENEURIAL EXCELLENCE

Cape Town, 07 March 2018: Amid the current political optimism, entrepreneurs should be especially inspired by the continued commitment to SME support which emerged as a consistent theme in both the 2018 State of the Nation Address and the National Budget Speech. This is according to Kobus Engelbrecht, spokesperson for the 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year® competition sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS/PARTNERS, who believes that this continued focus evidences Government’s recognition of the vital role played by entrepreneurs in enabling economic growth.

Speaking in light of the launch of the 2018 competition in Cape Town today, Engelbrecht says that this long-deserved recognition of the SME sector only further validates the competition’s unwavering commitment to celebrating excellence in entrepreneurship and fostering future economic growth.

“Now in our 30th year, this renowned competition continues to pay homage to the fearless South African entrepreneurs who dedicate themselves to their enterprises and businesses: driving growth, combating unemployment and contributing towards the country’s economic development. It is therefore wonderful to see the public sector taking the required steps to improving the environment in which these entrepreneurs operate in order to promote further growth in the sector.”

Christo Botes, executive director at Business Partners Limited (BUSINESS/PARTNERS) has been involved in the competition since its inception in 1988, “Looking back over the last 30 years, this competition has evolved from an internal competition that recognized BUSINESS/PARTNERS’ clients only, to a nation-wide search for outstanding South African-based entrepreneurs, with Sanlam as our valued partner.”

He says that the competition continues to reward successful local business owners for the valuable contributions they make to grow their local communities and economies, and aims to inspire others to do the same. “As our 30th- anniversary year, we’re hoping to see even more entrepreneurs enter. The competition is open to all South African-based businesses and prizes are awarded for the following categories: Overall Entrepreneur of the Year®, Emerging Business Entrepreneur of the Year®, Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year®, Medium Business Entrepreneur of the Year®, Job Creator of the Year and Innovator of the Year,” says Botes.

Engelbrecht adds that this year, the 2018 competition will also recognize a South African entrepreneur for a Lifetime Achievement award. “The purpose of this specially nominated award is to recognize an entrepreneur who has made a significant contribution to the South Africa economy and has grown their business from start-up to large-scale, perhaps even multi-national corporation. We want to reward the individuals who have dedicated their lives to building our economy and inspiring others to do the same.”

The 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year® competition, sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS/PARTNERS, offers prizes valued at over R 2 million, which includes cash prizes of R 70 000 for each main category winner, and R200 000 for the overall winner. Competition winners will also receive valuable mentorship support, networking opportunities and national media exposure.

Engelbrecht says that in celebrating 30 years of searching for entrepreneurial talent in all sectors of the economy, the competition remains fiercely committed to its cause in 2018. “The judges are looking for entrepreneurs that have succeeded against the odds, either by carving out a niche market for their product or service offering, or by succeeding in a very competitive environment. Perseverance and endurance, innovation and agility are some of the qualities we look for in the entrepreneur.”

Engelbrecht adds that there are also a number of quantitative competition measures, such as turnover growth, profitability, owners’ equity growth, positive cash flows and job creation that play a part in the competition’s judging process.

Entrepreneurs are encouraged to enter the competition and can do so by downloading the entry form online at www.eoy.co.za. They can also interact with fellow entrepreneurs, past winners and entrants on the competition’s social media platforms www.twitter.com/@EOY_SA and www.facebook.com/EOY.SA. The closing date for the competition is 31 May 2018.

About Entrepreneur of the Year® competition sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS/PARTNERS:

The Entrepreneur of the Year® competition sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS/PARTNERS aims to honour, benefit and uplift South African SMEs. Now in its 30th year, the competition celebrates excellence in entrepreneurship, serving as an inspiration to others to succeed in the world of business. Visit www.eoy.co.za for more information.

02.16.18

Retail trade sales stronger than expected – Economist

BY Fast Company 2 MINUTE READ

The retail trade sales have increased by 5,3% year-on-year in December 2017. This was a strong growth than expected, according to Azar Jammine, a chief economist at Econometrix.

According to figures by Statistics South Africa, the highest annual growth rates were recorded for all ‘other’ retailers at 14,7%; and retailers in household furniture, appliances and equipment at 10,0%.

Jammine explained that there was continuing strong growth in respect of sales of furniture and appliances as well as sales amongst ‘all other retailers’, which some suspect is linked to increased online sales, seemingly defined as ‘retail trade not in stores’.

Stats SA said that the main contributors to the 5,3% increase, with each contributing 1,4 percentage points, were: all ‘other’ retailers; general dealers; and retailers in textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods.

In 2017, retail trade sales increased by 3,0% compared with 2016. The main contributors to this increase were: all ‘other’ retailers -11,3% and contributing 1,2 percentage points); and general dealers – 1,1% and contributing 0,5 of a percentage point.

The report revealed that the seasonally adjusted retail trade sales decreased by 2,6% month-on-month in December 2017. This followed month-on-month changes of 3,8% in November 2017 and -0,1% in October 2017.

Jammine said that “Even though on a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis sales declined by 2.6% in December, this was less of a decline than it might have been anticipated”.

Stats SA reported that in the fourth quarter of 2017, seasonally adjusted retail trade sales increased by 2,2% compared with the previous quarter.

Compared with the fourth quarter of 2016, the retail trade sales increased by 5,6% in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Jammine points out that a number of factors have contributed towards this improvement: Firstly, the ending of drought conditions in the summer rainfall regions resulted in food inflation declining quite sharply from its double digit levels at the end of 2016.

Secondly, the average value of the rand during 2017 has proved to be significantly stronger than in 2016, contributing towards a steeper decline in inflation than had been anticipated in early 2017. “It also facilitated a -0.25 % reduction in the repo rate in July,” Jammine added.

Thirdly, Jammine notes that “the election of Cyril Ramaphosa as the ANC president at the party’s elective conference in mid-December might have resulted in increased consumer confidence towards the end of the month, encouraging a spurt feel-good buying”.

The main contributors to this increase were: all ‘other’ retailers – 16,8% and contributing 1,7 percentage points; retailers in textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods – 7,7% and contributing 1,5 percentage points; and general dealers – 3,0% and contributing 1,3 percentage points.

Jason Muscat, FNB Senior economic analyst said, “We expect the sector’s recovery to continue throughout 2018, spurred on by low inflation, another 25bps interest rate cut in the first half of the year, and decent real wage growth”.

-BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE

 

02.14.18

Metair surges after encouraging trading update

BY Roy Cokayne 2 MINUTE READ

Shares in Metair surged 8.37percent yesterday after the JSE-listed leading international manufacturer, distributor and retailer of energy storage solutions and automotive components reported that it expected a double-digit increase in earnings for the year to December.

The earnings growth was attributed to stronger performances by all its businesses.

Metair shares closed yesterday at R22 compared with its R21.55 closing price on Monday.

The company said headline earnings a share for the year to December were expected to be between 20.6percent and 24.6percent higher than in the previous year. This equates to headline earnings a share of between 276cents and 285c for this reporting period compared with 229c in the previous year.

Metair said its automotive component business recovered after a difficult 2016 to return to satisfactory profitability after the disruption of the new vehicle launch of one of its major customers.

“Trading for the period therefore sustained the progressive improvement in performance from the second half of 2016.

“All of the automotive components businesses managed to settle into a more stable post-launch business cycle during the period,” it said.

Metair said the automotive components business was expected to achieve mid-single digit full-year turnover growth profit before interest and tax (PBIT) margins of about 10percent for the full year.

Margins were higher than the revised medium-term guidance provided in December last year of between 7percent and 9percent, largely because of certain non-recurring items.

Metair said the major improvement in performance in the automotive components business was at Hesto Harnesses, which improved from a loss position in 2016.

Metair maintained its medium-term guidance that the achievement of targeted production volumes and efficiencies associated with the new technology and stabilisation of manufacturing processes should result in medium-term PBIT margins on new business of between 7percent and 8percent.

The company’s energy business had a strong finish to the year, with the Turkish battery business again experiencing record production output for the year on the back of excellent last quarter demand.

However, it said the exceptional operating performance from Turkey was muted by the weak Turkish lira as a result of political uncertainty.

But Metair said traditionally strong seasonal volume demand in the winter markets served by Rombat and Mutlu Akü in Europe and the Middle East, supported by a strong performance from Mutlu Akü in particular, partially offset the impact of depreciating foreign currencies relative to the rand, as well as higher lead prices.

Metair expects to publish its annual financial results on March 15.

– BUSINESS REPORT 

02.09.18

Banks ban credit card cryptocurrency buys

BY Reuters < 1 MINUTE READ

Banks in Britain and the US have banned the use of credit cards to buy Bitcoin and other “cryptocurrencies”, fearing a plunge in their value will leave customers unable to repay their debts.

Lloyds Banking Group, which issues just over a quarter of all credit cards in Britain, and Virgin Money said they would ban credit card customers from buying cryptocurrencies, following the lead of US banking giants JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup.

The move is aimed at protecting customers from running up huge debts from buying virtual currencies on credit.

Concerns have arisen among credit card providers because their customers have increasingly been using credit cards to fund accounts on online exchanges.

Other banks said on Monday that they would continue to allow credit card customers to buy cryptocurrencies.

Barclays is Britain’s leading credit card issuer with a market share of around 27 percent through its Barclaycard brand.

Spain’s second-biggest bank, BBVA, also said it has no restrictions in place on such purchases.

Last week Mastercard Inc, the world’s second biggest payments network, said customers buying cryptocurrencies with credit cards fuelled a 1percentage point increase in overseas transaction volumes in the fourth quarter.

At that time, Bitcoin was staging a spectacular rise in value, reaching a peak of $19187 on December 16 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange.

However, it has since fallen dramatically and on Monday was down by 11percent.

The decision on whether to allow credit card users to buy cryptocurrencies is a credit risk decision made by the card-issuing banks, said Mastercard.

– Reuters

02.08.18

An investor’s best friend? Israel Diamond Exchange launches digital coins

BY Ari Rabinovitch and Tova Cohen 4 MINUTE READ

Israel’s diamond
exchange is turning to digital currencies to inject new life
into a marketplace long ruled by cash and backroom handshakes,
but it must first persuade traditionally conservative players
that the technology can work.

One of the world’s largest diamond centers, the exchange
hopes its virtual currency will make trading more efficient and
less opaque.

Current transactions are “often carried out anonymously,
with the shake of a hand and minimal documentation”, according
to a recent report by Israel’s Justice Ministry. That murkiness
has led the FBI and Europol to target the trade as a vehicle for
money laundering and crime financing.

Narrow profit margins between rough and polished gems make
it hard for polishers to get financing, and banks have cut back
lending or pulled out entirely.

Backers of the digital currency programme believe it will
help address those issues.

“We foresee alignment behind this currency because it’s
going to make things easy,” Eli Avidar, managing director of the
exchange, told Reuters in an interview.

“This industry is facing challenges, and this is going to in
a lot of aspects address those challenges … the profitability
element of the business, the speed of doing business, money
laundering aspects and the problematic elements of banking
nowadays,” he said.

The exchange is planning to launch two coins.

The first, to be known as the Cut, will be available only to
dealers on a peer-to-peer basis. Traders from around the world
will receive digital wallets after being vetted by the exchange,
similar to today’s background checks.

Each transaction will be verified in a matter of minutes and
be available to the public on blockchain – a digital ledger
maintained by a random group of peers – but the identity of who
owns what will be kept private. The exchange can provide that
information to regulators upon official request.

DIFFICULT TRANSFERS

The Cut could solve increasing problems moving money between
traders and retailers, one mid-size diamond dealer said.

“Transfers of money have become increasingly difficult. With
banking regulation, even the smallest move becomes complicated.
It can take days,” said the dealer, who asked not to be
identified because of the sensitivity of the process.

“Buyers don’t want to give the money till they get the
stone, and sellers don’t want to give the stone till they get
the money.”

He wanted to see how it will be regulated, however, which
may take some time, given that the coins are being launched
without any government regulation in place, as is typical in the
cryptocurrency world.

Bitcoin, the original cryptocurrency, has lost 70 percent of
its value from its peak in December partly because of market
concerns about a global regulatory clampdown. Many bitcoin
backers say regulation should be welcomed.

A spokeswoman for the Economy Ministry, which oversees the
diamond trade, says there has been no in-depth discussion yet on
how the coins would be regulated.

Presale of the Cut went live at the International Diamond
Week that started on Monday. The coins should enter into use
within a few weeks, said Avishai Shoushan, CEO of the year-old
CARATS.IO, which created the coins for the exchange.

The coin is based on an index using 14 parameters, compared
with just four characteristics used to price physical diamonds.

Price is determined by an algorithm, because whereas gold is
priced by the ounce or oil by the barrel, for example, diamonds
are priced individually since each diamond is so different from
the next.

A second coin, Carat, will be issued later and is meant for
institutional and retail investors who want to invest in the
diamond market without taking possession of physical diamonds.

“We are creating a way for people to invest in the market
without actually buying and selling diamonds,” Shoushan said.

A quarter of the market value of both coins will be backed
by diamonds held by a third party. All this, he said, should
make the tokens “much less volatile compared to any other
cryptocurrency.”

HIGH SECURITY

In the high security four-tower complex on the outskirts of
Tel Aviv, $23 billion changed hands between local and foreign
traders in 2017. The area is known as the diamond district, and
visitors coming by train access it across Diamonds Bridge.

Visitors are fingerprinted before they can enter the
buildings and look down on the world’s largest trading floor.
Should a diamond go missing, the entire complex locks down.

Israel’s diamond district is full of polishers who
specialize in large, high-end diamonds. The country cannot
compete in smaller stones with massive operations in India and
China. The trade by nature is global. The State Bank of India
has a branch beside the exchange.

Israel’s diamond exports in 2017 fell 12 percent to $15.5
billion. Consultancy Bain said in a 2017 industry review that
diamond jewelry sales, which according to De Beers hovered at
$80 billion in 2016, were “stagnant”.

Slowing long-term demand and the shaky financial position of
polishers are two big concerns, it said.

Martin Rapaport, chairman of the highly influential Rapaport
Group whose diamond price list is a global industry benchmark,
has a big presence in Israel and may have to compete with the
new system.

He applauded the effort to expand diamond demand, but told
Reuters he thought cryptocurrencies were “a bit of a fad” and is
unsure of their sustainability.

“Diamonds have an inherent value and that inherent value has
been around for centuries. Whether or not you can take that and
hype it into something modern and something interesting like a
cryptocurrency is highly questionable,” he said.