{"id":227681,"date":"2018-02-26T07:24:33","date_gmt":"2018-02-26T05:24:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=227681"},"modified":"2018-02-26T07:24:33","modified_gmt":"2018-02-26T05:24:33","slug":"its-like-1994-again-ceos-hail-ramaphosa-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/227681\/its-like-1994-again-ceos-hail-ramaphosa-win\/","title":{"rendered":"`It’s like 1994 again’: CEOs hail Ramaphosa win"},"content":{"rendered":"
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South African company heads cheered the start of Cyril Ramaphosa\u2019s presidency, saying that business and consumer confidence were sure to improve following the departure of scandal-hit Jacob Zuma.<\/p>\n

The result should be economic growth and even job creation, while various stagnating business-friendly policy initiatives could be revived. Further downgrades to the country\u2019s debt may also be avoided.Below are a selection of quotes taken from interviews with chief executive officers as their companies reported full or half year financial results.<\/p>\n

Ian Moir, Woolworths Holdings<\/strong><\/p>\n

South Africa\u2019s largest clothing and food retailer caters for customers in the higher income bracket in its home market and in Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve gone from looking down to looking up. It\u2019s incredibly positive. It will make a big difference in terms of consumer sentiment. We\u2019re talking about greater GDP growth, we\u2019re talking about fiscal responsibility, we\u2019re talking about corruption being under control. It\u2019s all the right things. It\u2019s everything we wanted and I think our customer is going to respond well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Referring to last week\u2019s Budget, which included the first rise in VAT since the end of apartheid:<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, VAT has increased and it was a tough budget. But the good thing was that it was a fiscally responsible budget. Our customers are going to feel better about a fiscally responsible budget and the lower threat of credit downgrades coming back than they are about an increase of 1% on VAT.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mark Lamberti, Imperial Holdings
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

South Africa\u2019s sixth-largest company by sales has\u00a0a global transportation operation and is planning to spin off its African car rental and retail business later this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the President delivers on the kinds of things he spoke about in the state of nation address – and I have no reason to believe he won\u2019t over time – I think you will see a level of regulatory certainty that we never had before, which makes it easier to make an investment decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will definitely see an uptick in consumer and business confidence. You will see people investing more. You will see consumers more upbeat and prepared to buy that new car that they were thinking twice about before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is like 1994 again for me and I\u2019ve been through both. I was excited about this when he finally became president as I was standing in the queues voting in 1994.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jose Dos Santos, Cell C
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

South Africa\u2019s third-largest mobile-phone company completed a recapitalization last year and is now growing by acquisition into a full-service telecommunications provider.<\/p>\n

\u201cBusiness and investor confidence have turned positive since the election of Ramaphosa at the ANC elections in December. We saw the positive reaction in the stronger currency. If the rand continues to improve that holds great possibilities for Cell C in terms of capital expenditure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Referring to government plans to sell off more spectrum to increase availability and speed of broadband, which has been gathering dust for some years:<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the new leadership the industry needs a resolution on the white paper policy and spectrum allocation needs to be fast-tracked. At the very least we need clarity and a resolution on a way forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rob Wessels, AfriSam South Africa<\/strong><\/p>\n

South Africa\u2019s second-biggest cement maker has been struggling with a depressed construction industry and large debt pile.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a cement company we have already seen some improvement with the election of Cyril, and already saw an improvement in our January and February numbers. We are seeing some green shoots in the industry that has been very depressed, with some private and residential building ticking up.<\/p>\n

“We hope to see this come through in the public sector as well, even though we know our state-owned companies are currently tight on money. So yes, we are cautiously optimistic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andy Hall, Adcock Ingram Holdings<\/strong><\/p>\n

South Africa\u2019s largest maker of hospital products is building by acquisition after a tough period partly caused by a lengthy takeover battle.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo doubt there is a renewed sense of optimism regardless of people\u2019s political affiliations or anything else. It benefits us in many ways. The president had committed to making sure government agencies work better, that suppliers get paid quicker, so clearly that benefits our business. Particularly from a regulatory perspective.\u201d\u201cThe second issue is around how his appointment has impacted the rand dollar exchange rate.<\/p>\n

Most of our cost inputs are on the dollar and with the rand trading where it is, it really has been beneficial to our business.\u201d\u00a0The other issue is that it just changes sentiment in the country. People go out and spend more time in shopping centers as opposed to sitting at home thinking about what they should be doing with their money. We are immensely positive about what the new president is saying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bernard Berson, Bid Corp<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the economic cycle is based on sentiment and if you can get the sentiment to turn and you get the positive feeling, a lot of it feeds on itself. Success breeds success.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe sincerely hope that the feel-good factor does carry on and that Ramaphosa really does get to grips with some of the issues and can positively contribute to the future of South Africa, which will be good for South Africa, the investors, us and everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Read: Ramaphosa takes tax gamble ahead of elections in 2019<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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