BizNews Radio

Today we analyse the massive potential of the Venus field and South African gas resources, while debunking fears of a market bubble with real-world portfolio examples.

South Africa lags far behind the world’s leading recycling nations, with plastic littering our rivers and oceans. In the heart of the Western Cape Winelands, however, Lizl Naudé is quietly changing the narrative. Her Paarl-based company, Lily Loompa, collects discarded milk bottles, wine bottles and street plastic and transforms them into stylish platters, lap desks, trophies and gifts that people genuinely want in their homes.Naudé recently hopped on the Berlin metro to personally deliver one of her best-selling MyAfrica lap desks to a delighted customer in Germany. In an exclusive BizNews interview, she reveals how she rose from rock-bottom – after years of financial hardship and more than 44 house moves in 23 years of marriage to build a trailblazing upcycling business that has earned her a place among the winners of the prestigious Irish Tech Challenge.

Top banking analyst Kokkie Kooyman lifts the lid on Nedbank’s R600m Gupta-linked settlement, FirstRand’s painful UK mistake, and why global banks are cutting jobs as AI takes over. Kooyman also explains how a 3% inflation target could turn the rand into a “hard currency” and why South African bank shares may be the market’s most overlooked opportunity.

Tonight’s BizNews Briefing unpacks Nedbank’s R600 million settlement with Transnet over a controversial state capture-era deal, with financial guru Kokkie Kooyman weighing in on lessons learned. Mining analyst Peter Major explains why platinum’s 60% surge since May may be sustainable - a crucial boost for SA’s largest foreign exchange earner. Plus, Barclays SA CEO Amol Prabhu shares why the G20 outcome signals rising investor confidence and renewed economic optimism for South Africa.

In a “devastating” night for the African National Congress (ANC), the party suffered by-election losses in the Eastern Cape, the Northern Cape, and in KwaZulu-Natal. In this edition of The Electoral Road Show, analyst Wayne Sussman speaks to Chris Steyn about the night’s results: In Mandeni, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MKP) took the ward with over 60% of the vote with the ANC falling from 65% to 30%. In Douglas (Siyancuma), the ANC suffered a shock defeat with its vote share falling from 56% to 25% as an independent took 47% of the vote. In the Kou-Kamma municipality, the ANC lost another ward to the Patriotic Alliance (PA) when it grabbed 44% of the vote, up from 7%. On top of these losses, the ANC also fared poorly in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s home ward, Ward 90 Johannesburg, where the Democratic Alliance (DA) vote share shot up from 70% to 97%, and the ANC’s fell from 11% to 3%. The party was hit with another setback in Gauteng ANC heartland, where its vote share fell from 76% to 49% in Khutsong on the West Rand. It also suffered a big drop in Pellsrus, Jeffreys Bay, from 44% to 25%. And in another slide for the ANC, this time in Makana, formerly Grahamstown - where the ANC had been rock solid - it went down from 67% to 50%. Here, the DA were the big winners, surging from 1% of the vote to 26%. Sussman lays out the various coalition options now open to the ANC.

Today I unpack platinum’s 60% surge, SA’s new 3% inflation era, Trump’s G20 snub, DA leadership turmoil and why we’ve shifted from Lesaka to HCI.

South Africa’s top monetary voice, Dawie Roodt, says cutting inflation to 3% changes everything - interest rates, debt, the currency and even how businesses price their products. But there’s a catch. Roodt warns that the Reserve Bank cannot do it alone, and that politicians, municipalities and state-owned entities will fight the shift because high inflation hides their mistakes and pays their debt. He argues that if South Africans refuse unjustified price hikes, “we protect our money instead of letting it lose value.”

Mining analyst Peter Major unpacks Anglo’s outlook, the PGM surge, Zimbabwe’s “juicy” gold payback, and how Transnet still holds the industry hostage.

The criminal economy in South Africa is under the spotlight in the latest Africa Organised Crime Index. Chris Steyn speaks to Willem Els of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) about the factors that contributed to South Africa moving up to Number Two. “…unfortunately, and I think it came out in recent months in South Africa as well, your State-embedded actors are actually driving the agenda If it were not for them, it would not have been possible to have these types of criminality levels...what came to the forefront in recent months, is how these things were facilitated for these criminal actors in terms of capturing our judicial system and the policing.” As for the country' chances of navigating out of that hot spot, Els says: “It seems that should South Africa actually start to implement the right things and move in the right direction, it will take up to 25 years before we can actually be in the green when it comes to criminality. So it's a long road ahead of us. We have to battle it. There needs to be that political war.” Els also gives an updste on a top-level investigation into allegations that Duduzile Zuma has “trafficked” people to Russia to be used in the war against Ukraine, as well as other cases of human trafficking of South Africans.

Tonight’s BizNews Briefing explores how South Africa’s new 3% inflation target could strengthen the rand and curb capital flight. We unpack Nedbank’s R600m state capture-era settlement with Transnet, Tiger Brands’ 59% dividend increase, and Treasury’s proposal for a 20% national online gambling tax amid a 31% surge in betting activity. Plus, a returning South African believes he’s found a local challenger to tequila using red agave.

Today I unpack SA’s R1.5trn online betting scourge, Treasury’s proposed 20% tax, and what it all means for our economy — and your money.

In tonight’s BizNews Briefing, we unpack why Prosus – which makes up over 10% of your equity-linked retirement savings – is turning from a value destroyer into a value creator. Results reveal critical developments in China via Tencent and in Europe through Just Eat Takeaway. Locally, Pepkor impresses despite tougher debtor losses, HCI makes a strategic oil and gas leap, and Zeda delivers strong growth.

36ONE’s Steven Hurwitz says Prosus has finally shifted from promise to profit, with its e-commerce brands now earning real money beyond Tencent. Buybacks are shrinking the discount and a Just Eat turnaround could unlock major upside for South African investors. The only wildcard? China still holds the key to how big the payoff can be.

A big battle has begun to overcome the “coalition chaos and instability that has allowed Nelson Mandela Bay to be hijacked by criminal networks”. In this interview, Retief Odendaal, the Democratic Alliance’s mayoral candidate, tells Chris Steyn that the City has the dubious record of having the most irregular expenditure of any municipality - R28 billion, while 10,000 street lights are not working, not a single engineer is left in the electricity department - and despite being one of only two metros in the country that actually still has some cash reserves, it can't deliver services. Since 2009, the City has had 48 municipal managers and 12 mayors. “If you take the municipal managers, it equates to about one every quarter. People ask me, but why does that happen? And I say, well, it's to facilitate looting because one loots from the State when there is absolute chaos.” Odendaal, urges citizens to give the DA the votes it needs for an outright majority as he outlines the measures needed to turn the Metro around. “…the good news for South Africans, not just in Nelson Mandela Bay, but in every other broken city and municipality in South Africa is that bad governments can be removed, corrupt people can be voted out of office.”

I unpack Prosus’s pivotal interim results, the changes I’m making to our portfolios today, and why HCI has quietly become a compelling SA opportunity.

Global fund manager Sean Peche says Wall Street isn’t defying gravity — it’s already off the cliff. The AI boom, Nvidia hype, Trump trade, and Bitcoin “hope” have pushed markets into a cartoon-style moment where investors are still running… but there’s nothing under their feet. Peche unpacks why value is shifting away from the US, why the world is quietly walking away from America, and where real opportunities are hiding outside the Magnificent 7.

Global money manager Sean Peche warns of US market fragility while unusually endorsing Pretoria’s diplomatic approach toward Donald Trump. Locally, investors received welcome news as Naspers and Prosus posted robust half-year results, bolstering retirement portfolios. Anglo American gains ground after BHP’s retreat, Netcare shows profit resilience despite high interest costs and a positive tailpiece for major SA corporates.

Prosus' dynamism stood out today, Anglo got long-awaited clarity, and I'm eyeing a rare buying opportunity in our Ricardo portfolio.

In the latest edition of the NDB Sunday Show, Chris Steyn is joined by Security Strategist and retired Interpol Ambassador Andy Mashaile. He reveals how General Nhlanhla “Hurricane” Mkhwanazi had warned politicians in a speech at a Parliamentary dinner in 2011 already that he was coming for the corrupt. “And when I look back at what he meant on that day in Parliament, the Minister of Police was Nathi Mthethwa. I am sure also when they look back, they realise that he really meant what he was saying. Him having taken on the Minister didn't start on the 6th of July…He did warn politicians that when you do wrong things, I will come after you because I am a police officer.” Mashaile can still recall the shocked silence that followed. “Now referring to the politicians, the clinking sound (of knives and forks on plates) died instantly.” Mashaile does an in-depth performance appraisal on General Mkhwanazi, and lists all the objectives that the General has achieved since his Press Conference. Mashaile outlines the reasons why he would like to see General Mkhwanazi as National Police Commissioner. “I will tell the President… This is the man that the country needs. This is the man who has what it takes.” He predicts that should the general be appointed to the top job, there would be an exodus of corrupt cops. “…people are going to sweat or people are going to take earlier retirement packages”. Mashaile also comments on the conduct of the various role players in the police and political capture saga, including that of forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan.

I unpack next week’s pivotal by-elections, Chris Steyn’s must-watch interviews, and why political missteps are piling up as SA heads into a crucial year.