Discovery to focus on SA
Discovery has committed to spending the bulk of the R13bn it plans to invest in its operations over the next five years in SA, saying it believes the fundamentals are in place for the local economy to grow.
Discovery has committed itself to spending the bulk of the R13bn it plans to invest in its operations over the next five years in SA, saying it believes the fundamentals are in place for the local economy to grow.
Speaking at the Discovery Leadership Summit on Thursday, Discovery CEO Adrian Gore said part of the investment will go towards capital expenditure on the company’s infrastructure and in getting the Discovery bank, scheduled to be launched in the third quarter of 2018, off the ground. The company still expects to launch the bank this year.
Investments will be made to prop up Discovery’s business insurance offering, the umbrella fund business and other businesses it is starting, on which Gore would not elaborate.
“The sum of those investments and our building as it goes through is a R13bn investment. That might change but it’s pretty set,” Gore said. Discovery is convinced SA’s economy will grow because the country has made considerable progress despite challenges.
“We need a positive narrative to appreciate that SA has made progress so that we invest in the future. If the GDP were to contract, and I will be very surprised if that happened, it will be because we haven’t taken the opportunity,” said Gore.
Statistics showed SA’s GDP growth is less volatile than other Brics countries, apart from China, and the depth of its capital market is to be celebrated. The value and volume of daily trades on the JSE is 30 times bigger than in the second-biggest market in Africa, Egypt, and 200 times bigger than in Nigeria. “You can’t argue we are in decline, it’s simply not true.”
Gore said the problem is that South Africans are always seeking negative signals and think the country’s problems are insoluble. Even in boom times, sentiment remains negative.
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