I spoke with Anchor Capital's Casey Splake about China. A lot was expected of the world's second-largest economy after the strict lockdown was lifted at the end of 2022. But 2023 has been disappointing, and Casey is not optimistic about the coming years. Because we think consumption will have to grow at a record pace, and we think that's highly unlikely.
You can also listen to this podcast at iono.fm.
I spoke to Viv Govender from Rand Suisse about SA gold and foreign exchange contingency reserve accounts. Paper gains from the weaker rand are about R450 billion. But should the government use it to pay off debt? The law would need to be changed, but the governor says he certainly has the right as the administration of the day to change the law.
You can also listen to this podcast at iono.fm.
Unless you're a gold miner, mining isn't fun at the moment. We spoke to Cobus Loots, CEO of Pan African Resources, about the company's performance through the end of December. Production volumes increased, costs were kept well under control, and overall results were excellent. Once the new project is operational, we should see further increases in production and lower average costs.
You can also listen to this podcast at iono.fm.
Next week is budgeting and I spoke with Joubert Botha, Executive Director and Head of Tax and Legal Affairs at KPMG, about potential tax increases. He believes the finance minister will tread carefully in an election year when consumers are already struggling. He needs more money coming in, but he is likely to make smaller adjustments rather than larger ones such as increases in business or value-added tax.
You can also listen to this podcast at iono.fm.
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