PODCAST | SA’s investment credentials dealt a further blow

In this edition of the Business Day Spotlight, we discuss how SA’s economy stacks up against its emerging-market counterparts in the wake the unrest in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal earlier in July.

Host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Adriaan Pask, chief investment officer of PSG Wealth. The firm, which provides wealth management services, is part of listed financial services group PSG.

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The discussion focuses on the impact of recent unrest on SA’s economic outlook; the growth of civil unrest in other parts of the world; the current state of emerging-market economies; how SA compares with its counterparts; and the recent performance of the rand.

Besides the physical damage and destruction, the violence has probably caused long-term damage to investor sentiment, Pask says. Where SA was once a “go-to” destination for international investors looking for exposure to emerging markets, that image — already dented by the Covid-19 pandemic — has been further tarnished. 

Pask also highlights the general sense of unrest around the world as revealed by riots in the US earlier in 2021 and more recently, close to home in Eswatini. The probable cause is the growing gap between rich and poor, which has been worsened by the pandemic, he says.

Locally, the rioting has added to the pessimism of South Africans looking for ways to save, invest and grow their wealth.

Though the rand weakened over the past week, this was more a function of the strong dollar than the protests, Pask says, explaining factors that contributed to the currency’s value in 2021.

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• Business Day Spotlight is a MultimediaLIVE production.