South African Tourism has joined forces with the Future Group to host the inaugural Holiday Expo due to take place from 26 and 27 August 2017 at Montecasino in Johannesburg, and expected to attract 7,000 visitors over the two days.
The expo is being devised as an experiential showcase, giving visitors a real taste of what exhibitors are offering. It aims to present as South Africa’s premier experiential holiday booking event and to provide a platform for various suppliers within the leisure travel and tourism market, to create an experience that will give their customers first-hand encounters of what to expect on their excursion or destination.
SA Tourism’s involvement will build on the current Hidden Gems programme development and will give 20 SMMEs the opportunity to have a thorough brand analysis done, as well as a revised marketing and CI strategy per SMME.
“South African Tourism is the vessel that ensures tourism is a growing sector for entrepreneurs and subsequently shows that the government wants to support this growth to stimulate job creation opportunities,” said Debbie Damant, Country Manager: South Africa at South African Tourism. “By providing greater market access for small businesses that increased demand can be created for lesser known quality tourism products in the industry.”
As publishers of Business Traveller Africa, Cresta Calling and SA Tourism’s Local Leisure at its Best, the Future Group has a long history with the southern African travel industry and knows what the various players in this space want to achieve with their brands which makes them the perfect partner for the above-mentioned collaborations.
“Discussions with the industry have shown us a very positive reaction to the event particularly because it’s a great conversion opportunity,” says Richard Lendrum, Managing Director of the Future Group.
In addition, SA Tourism will also give consumers a taste of their “Good Times in a box” product (which will soon be available online) at their 20 by 10-meter stand. This product aims to make travel more accessible to the potentially lucrative domestic market and curates a range of experiences, from family getaways to girls’ weekends, all packaged in a “travel box”. At the click of a button and at one inclusive price individuals can now buy accommodation, travel and an experience effortlessly.
JSE’s Hulisani Invests In Global Wind Tower Producer
JSE-listed Hulisani Limited (HUL), an investment holding company focused on energy opportunities, has announced its investment in GRI Wind Steel South Africa Proprietary Limited (GRI SA), a producer of wind towers to the global market. The investment is created through an indirect acquisition of an effective 12.5% in GRI SA and the provision of preference share funding to Pele SPV 198 (RF) Proprietary Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of Pele Green Energy Proprietary Limited (PGE)), which enables PGE to indirectly acquire 12.5% in GRI SA. The deal is valued at R82.5 million.
Marubini Raphulu, Hulisani’s CEO, says that the transaction is in line with Hulisani’s strategy to acquire and invest in a diverse basket of energy producing assets with potential for growth. It is Hulisani’s third transaction this year, following the acquisition of Kouga Wind Farm and Rustomo1, a solar PV farm.
“Importantly, this deal marks a move down the renewable energy value chain for Hulisani. GRI SA is a producer of elements used in the creation of renewable energy and services a global customer base. Worldwide, the supply of wind towers continues to outstrip demand and we are excited about the prospect of exporting wind towers while creating jobs and industrialisation in South Africa.
In addition, the preference share funding is significant as it enables further black participation in the manufacturing value chain,” he says.
GRI SA opened its first wind tower manufacturing plant in Atlantis, Cape Town 2014 and has the capacity to provide the global market with over 150 towers per year, creating 300 local jobs in the process.
ABSIP Stockbroking Summit To Advance Transformation
The second Stockbroking Summit will be held at the Cape Town International Conference Centre on Thursday July 27th. “We invite all investment value chain participants to an important engagement on advancing transformation in the South African stockbroking sector,” said ABSIP President Sibongiseni Mbatha.
“ABSIP’s strategic focus has always been and will continue to be a force for transformation of the financial industry, while at the same time seeking to grow our economy on a sustainable basis. The summit is expected to be attended by retirement fund trustees, asset managers, asset consultants, advisors, industry body representatives and stockbrokers,” he said.
The inaugural summit was held in 2015, with the intention of highlighting ABSIP’s commitment to the transformation of the industry, which has been slow over the past 23 years. This year’s summit seeks to continue the conversation by having open and constructive deliberation, and find possible solutions towards the advancement of transformation in this sector.
“Whether one is working at an emerging stockbroker company or a more established international stockbroker, an asset manager or multi-manager, a consulting firm or as a trustee of a retirement fund, at ABSIP we believe we can all play a part in realising this vision of inclusivity and transformation while growing the economy on a sustainable basis” said Mbatha.
ABSIP was established in 1995 as a lead custodian of black professional interests and black business in the financial services sector.
