First Impressions
Well today was my first time at the Mining Indaba and well it was a blast. The day begun slowly, there were some problems with the registration time and some people were not impressed. I was not impressed too as I woke up really early and I had to wait close to an hour to register. So it was not looking good at about 9am. The registration process when it begun was simple enough, so that was good. After registration the delegates had to wait until 1:15pm as that was the official start time for the Mining Indaba.

Let the Indaba beginAt this point I was really excited, I got my free conference swag (slang for free corporate gifts), I read the schedule and I was ready to start indaba-ring. Let me point out that I have a history in commodity trading and so I had a general understanding of the industry or so I thought. The conference schedule kicked off with a Commodity Outlook and Review series of speeches. The lead off speaker was Timothy Wood, Vice-President of International Investment Conference (the organising company for the Mining Indaba). Mr Wood gave a brief overview of the Mining Indaba. This was a great way to start as I didn’t know much about the Mining Indaba. Some quick facts about Indaba, last year there were about 5000 delegates, this year there will be about 4000 delegates, with a 25% decline in attendance. The layout of the venue has been improved with better peer-to-peer networking systems. The networking aspect of the Indaba is the most important aspect of the Indaba. I definitely noticed that at the welcome cocktail party, people were networking, I even got involved, I was a NETWORKER. SWEET!
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A huge relief has come to South Africans. South Africa’s central bank has cut its key repo rate by 100 basis points to 10.5 percent today (Thursday), as expected, and hinted there may be more cuts to come. For many it was not a question if rates would be cut or not but just a matter of by how much will they be cut. Suggestions ranged from 50 basis points to 200 basis points, but it looks like the MPC (Monetary Policy Committee) has settled on 100 basis points for now. However, Reserve Bank Governor, Tito Mboweni said today that he personally wanted a 200 basis point cut in interest rates but the MPC agreed on 100 only. This could easily mean that we will see another 100 basis point cut in April when the MPC meets again.

The full percentage fall, the biggest single adjustment in more than five years, adds to December’s 50 basis point cut that started unwinding the 5 percentage points in hikes between June 2006 and June 2008.

The world’s largest gathering of mining industry stakeholders will reconvene on 9-12 February 2009 in Cape Town. Delegates appeared in record numbers to participate in last year’s conference, creating a near sell-out. Mining Indaba 2009 will include:

This is an opportunity not to be missed for those in the mining industry or those looking to find out more about this lucrative industry. Those who attend the Mining Indaba will have the privilege of hearing from speakers which include:

Be sure not to miss out on this great event. To register for the event and find out more about it you can click here or visit www.iiconf.com . TheRandToday.com will be present at the Mining Indaba and will be bringing posts throughout the duration of the event so be sure to stay tuned to find out what will be happening at the Mining Indaba if you are not present.

The South African rand took a knock yesterday after the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) reversed a decision to dismiss corruption charges against Jacob Zuma, making it possible for him to once again face charges. The issue of Zuma is important to the South Africa economy as chances are high that Zuma could be the next president of South Africa. Investors would be concerned about investing in a country where the president has criminal charges hanging over him. At 11:31 yesterday, the rand traded at R9.9350 versus the dollar after earlier falling to R9.98, compared to R9.9195 before the ruling. This morning the rand has further slipped as is now trading at around R10.13 to the dollar.

Compliments of the season. We are hoping that you have a great holiday period and you have started 2009 on a great note. Most of you have still be on holiday and have returned back to the office today. Business really starts today for many who are returning from holidays and so to TheRandToday.com team. We have had a great break and are ready to kickoff 2009 and keep you updated with all the news that matters to you from the Rand. For many, 2008 was not a great business year but we are hoping 2009 will bring us better relief. It has started rather well with the decrease in petrol prices and hopefully there will be another interest rate cut soon; if that does not get your 2009 off to a good start then I do not know what will.

Wishing you a great 2009 again and thank you for your continued support of TheRandToday.com

Phuthuma Nhleko, CEO of MTN Group, could receive R300m from the group’s takeover of a structure that was set up to boost black ownership of the company, Business Report said on Wednesday last week. Earning 300 Million may seem out of reach for the rest of us, that is not the case with Zimbabwe. What I am trying to preach is that earning a big sum like that is not out of our reach here in South Africa. What may be out of our reach is something more subtle. I have a business idea that I shared with my family and the advise I got was that I should get a good job and earn my starting capital. This is fine if you are starting a corner shop,barber shop or butchery. But think of a bank, who would start a bank with their salary, Bill gates and Warren Buffet might struggle to start a small one so what are your chances. The big companies are started by “going out to the MARKET”.

I am afraid most of us colourful Africans are not yet aware what the market is and we do not participate fully yet.  What I mean by the “market” is a place to get funding in order to make big business. Most individuals do not have the knowledge of who to approach. The South African government has done well in initiating programs that we can source funding for company growth and start ups of new companies. To earn the big pay cheque an individual has to come up with a brilliant business idea, then source funding and start it. The rest will be details. When you have the idea, the Internet is a powerful tool, use it to find who to approach and learn material on how to present and what to present. You can also find out exactly what legal compliance you need and so on. I encourage us (black) colourful people to learn from our (white) colourless who have made cars, banks, shoe companies, tissue companies and so on which we all use. Each of the big companies be they makers of toilets or tissue, perhaps even scrap metal. Most of these guys earn it, we should also earn it.

If you wanted an early Christmas present then you certainly have gotten one! The retail price of all grades of petrol will decrease by a staggering 161 cents a litre on Wednesday December 3, the department of minerals and energy announced today (Friday). This decrease comes off the back of a 45 cents drop in November. Certainly good news on the inflation front.

Diesel prices will also decrease, with 0.05% sulphur falling by 81 cents and 0.005% by 80 cents. Wholesale paraffin decreases by 75 cents and illuminating paraffin by 100 cents.

Petrol in Gauteng now costs R7.35 a litre from R8.96 before, and it is now R7.11 at the coast from R8.72 before.