Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) launches Shariah Index

I-Net Bridge just published this today and I find it extremely interesting. Since the “Oasis Crescent Equity Fund” and Oasis’s other products doing so well in the market due to the shariah-compliant investing, which has attracted lots of Muslims and Non-Muslims alike. I guess it’s all in the spirit of that one uniting driving force of humanity, making money.

Here’s the story published below.

The JSE, in partnership with FTSE Group (FTSE), the global index provider, on Monday launched the FTSE/JSE Shariah Top 40 Index.

The index will open up many opportunities for those interested in Shariah compliant investment, including the 850 000 strong South African Muslim community, the JSE said.

The index is a selection of Shariah compliant companies from the FTSE/JSE Shariah All-Share Index. The calculation of the index and the treatment of corporate actions are similar to the FTSE/JSE Top 40.

“Internationally the market for Islamic investment products is growing exponentially, at an estimated 15-20% per annum,” said Ana Forssman, Senior General Manager: Information Products Sales at the JSE. “This index gives Muslim investors access to the top performing listed companies in South Africa without compromising religious beliefs. With approximately 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide, there is huge growth potential for investment vehicles with a faith-based mandate,” said Imogen Dillon Hatcher, Managing Director, EMEA – FTSE Group.

“Shariah compliant investment is one of the fastest growing new areas of finance globally. The FTSE/JSE Shariah Top 40 index will provide institutional investors with an accurate Shariah benchmark as well as help providers create structured investment products tailored to the Islamic market. Today’s launch demonstrates FTSE Group’s commitment to providing innovative solutions to investors both in South Africa and worldwide. ”

The constituents of the FTSE/JSE Shariah Top 40 Index are screened by Yasaar Research Inc, a well-respected authority on Shariah law. To qualify as a constituent of the index, companies undergo a detailed screening process, which filters out any organisations considered unacceptable or non-compliant according to Shariah-law, including businesses involved in conventional finance, alcohol, pork-related and non-halaal food, entertainment, tobacco and weapons.

The remaining companies are then further screened according to Shariah compliant financial criteria. In order to remain in the index, the companies are reassessed by Yasaar quarterly, the JSE said.

: JSE, Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Shariah, Investing, Index, Shariah-index

Happy Birthday Madiba!

I had posted a full thought piece at Instablogs entitled
A Lesson on Madiba’s 90th Birthday

In summary…

Mandela was a great man but he was also an ordinary man, by his own admission, who found himself in extraordinary circumstances. His values shown throughout his life and his struggle against apartheid. We too face situations which are extraordinary and show us for what we truly are. So let’s strive to be the best human beings we can be and strive for the greatest ideals so that when we are faced with a situation, our truth will shine.

: Mandela, 90th Birthday, Philosophy, Lesson, Life

Post Office Swamped by Prospective Sasol Inzalo Shareholders.

Going to the post office is really irritating this past week. I want to apply to get my piece of the Sasol Inzalo Share offer which let’s people gain access to a nice slice of the pie of Sasol and secure their pension/retirement/spending-spree. The post office opens by 9am, I get there at 8am and there’s already a line going past three stores in the mall to get into the post office. I turn around, knowing it’s just not worth it.

It’s not that I’m impatient… it’s just that I was first in line the day before but was forced to leave unsatisfied because the system just kept on going down. Speaking to people in the queue, one lady waited there for 5 hours the day before, standing in a queue and was then sent home because the system still hadn’t come up yet. Very, very frustrating.

I did hear on the radio yesterday that they’ve extended the deadline from this Saturday to next Wednesday to apply for these shares and they did acknowledge their IT-related shortcomings.

Another interesting thing… this initiative which Sasol has launched was intended to help poor, disenfranchised black people get a chance at investing and securing a better future. When I was at the Post Office, I didn’t see a single black person in the line! I only saw a few coloured people and the rest were Indians! I found that fact a bit sad, but then again, according to law South Africa Indians are classified as black and who wouldn’t give up an opportunity like this? To get funded shares in a very good company with great potential…

Just some thoughts as I walked the mall back to my car to try again on Monday… maybe at 07h30 next time, with a magazine and an iPod so I don’t die of boredom.

Some more info @ …
Fin24
Moneyweb

: South African Post Office, Sasol Inzalo Shares, Money, Investing

Winners of the South African Twitter Story Competition!

Mandy de Waal, one of our esteemed judges has recently coined the phrase “twiction” to represent micro-stories, especially those created within 140 characters on the micro-blogging platform, Twitter. I found it extremely appropriate to put this new term into use for this competition.

What a ride! The South African “Twiction” competition has now come to a head with the winners in sight and the prizes ready to be sent off. Thanks once again to all the contestants, the beautiful and intelligent Judges and, of course, the sponsors!

Okay… Let’s get to it.

First Prize: @JasonEsch

“He was both at a loss and lost, staring at the road sign that seemed more to describe how he was feeling than where he was going: Bakgatla.”

Judges comments:
“A journey at a crossroads, with a real sense of character. The ending wins it for me.”

“Beautiful use of metaphor for such a short form, and strong expression on the archetypal journey and ability of humans to get lost on that journey.”

@JasonEsch wins a T-shirt from SpringLeap.com! Congratulations!

Second Prize: @yusufk

“Vuvuzela in one hand,phone in the other,he watched the cross float by 3 defendenders,deflect off a forehead into the net. Tweet:”SA Scores!”

Judges Comments:
“Sports offers up great narrative. The themes of struggle, perseverance and victory are timeless. The ‘tweet’ added a nice touch.”
“Another strongly descriptive entry, which conjures images of our strong sporting nation.”
“I am so excited about World Cup coming to SA, and I think it will be great for the country spirit. And every goal will help. So this captures that hope beautifully!”

Yusuf’s entry was a close contender for no. 1

@yusufk wins a $20 Amazon.com voucher from the guys at Qatarliving.com! Well Done!

Third Prize: @samanthaperry

“A writer entered a story competition, lost, and killed herself. The judges denied guilt, claiming the writer had terminal Bulwer-Lyttonitis”

Judges comments:
“ For the benefit of those who don’t know the reference – click over to http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/ Clever entry; complete and concise.”
“Smart. Funny. Self evasive. Another complete story in 140 characters.”

Samantha’s entry was very close to snatching second place. She wins 40 Minutes Free wi-fi access which she can use anywhere in South Africa. Great Work Samantha!

Runners Up:

These were entries which were contending with the three winners and made some great efforts which put them onto the list…

@takilla786: Innocent window washes, innocent sells, innocent begs, innocent smells.Innocent pleas, innocent harps,all so that Innocent Jnr never starves
@blacktiemedia: Thembi stood contrasted against the sky of hungry fire. Smoke filled her lungs, blood stained her clothes. “Ubuntu” she whispered tearfully.
@nicharry: We’ve lost our ubuntu. 14 years gone and we are too scared to stand for our countrymen. Instead we fall for anyone carrying a knife or a gun.
@Sznq: He said: 1.Like it or 2.Hamba Kahle.When he wasn’t looking,she left.Now why can’t he buy her back ? Such bitter sweet things,ultimatums.
@qudsiya: One day she clicked on his nick and typed “hi”. A year later, she shook his hand and said, “Nice to meet you.” On 19/01/07 she said, “I do.”
@ismaild: its dark and she misses him, hears a sound in the kitchen! “WTF? Should she check? slowly tiptoes, damn those skelm tokoloshe with munchies
@shaunoakes: ! I said “Fok, Chyna” said a frustrated God, after another misunderstanding with an apologetic Mother Nature. “Now look what you’ve done!”

The competition overall showed the great variety of experience and expression in our great nation. Different stories, varied perspectives, emotion and intellectualism all in 140 characters. A tremendous example of creativity :) I was humbled at the outstanding creativity in each entry and I know for a fact that it made the judges’ jobs all the more harder to choose the overall winners.

Last Word from the Judges:
Saaleha Bamjee-Mayet – “Such stellar entries made the judging process really difficult. To facilitate the process, I tried to look for the most complete story in a twitter format, ones that gave a sense of a beginning, middle and end. SA twitterers have a wicked way with words, and I hated to let some really poetic entries go.”

Mandy de Waal – “For me the biggest skill in the short form is not only the concise concept and the writing, but the re-writing. The ability to shave off everything that’s not necessary, leaving only the bare bones of the story. Short form is essentially fiction that tells a story in anything from five thousand words to a couple of paragraphs. Imagine then how ruthless one must be with Twiction, which surely must be the shortest form of fiction ever written.”

Eve Dmochowska – “Overall, I think that the entries were fabulous, creative, inspired and mostly a whole lot of fun. And It was wonderful to see so many entries .. it shows that the twitter community is quite a cohesive one in this country. Well done to all the entrants!”

Winners, please contact me to collect your prizes :)

Till the next competition, Keep Tweeting!

: Twitter Story Competition, South Africa, Winners

So Who is this Madiba Chap? eh?

What can I say… the man is an inspiration to millions, but what I’d like to highlight about his life is a fact which he mentioned himself…”I was not a messiah, but an ordinary man who had become a leader because of extraordinary circumstances.” He was just a man… just like any one of us, but what made him great was his purpose and his dedication which he stuck by and fought for till he achieved it. That’s what catapulted him out of the ordinary, doing the things which others shied away from or were to fearful to carry out.

In the face of death, detention and exile he persisted. We all need to learn from his lesson that the greatest obstacle can be overcome by simple, truthful ideals.

Happy 90th Birthday! I’ll catch the Hyde Park dedication concert on TV tonight.
: Madiba, 90th Birthday, Hyde Park, Lesson

Thoughts on Youth Day…

It seems unreal how far South Africa has come since the beginning of the fall of apartheid, that infamous day, June 16th, 1976. This day always serves to make me realise how important it is for us, as human beings and as South Africans, to remember our vibrant past with all its struggle and adversity as well as our progression and success. We cannot allow the same oppression to exist anywhere, let alone our own country.

The xenophobic attacks were a shameful reminder of how close can come to reverting to the worst of ourselves. The thin line between Love and Hate. I understand there were many factors around these attacks but the fact remains, we had intolerance and discrimination vividly emblazoned on the screen around the world. How far a cry is it from the days when we seen the pictures of Hector Pietersen being carried away dead during the June 16th, 1976 uprising… and not forgetting the sacrifice of other youth across the world, Mohammed Al Dura in Palestine being shot while his father tried to protect him; or Victor Hugo Daza in Cochabamba, Bolivia who was killed by the military in protests against Bechtel trying to privatise Bolivia’s sources of water.


We need to also be aware of oppression around the world and either fight against it physically or by some action or at least to speak out against it. We owe it to ourselves as human beings and South Africans to do this at least. China’s oppression of Tibet and support of oppressive regimes in Africa, the conflict in Sudan, The oppression of the Palestinian people on a daily basis, the Middle East, etc. We can not sit back and idly nod as we read about these things in news papers and through our RSS feeds. We need to do something, say something.

We are all too aware of chaos theory and how little things affect greater outcomes and events. We could be that little change.

Let’s hope for a greater world… and one in which we have played our part.

Peace.

Link: The Front Line

South Africa’s First On-line Book

Andy Hadfield at Techleader at posted about an on-line collaboration between some of South Africa’s best bloggers in order to create a book which glorifies this great country we live in, A Piece of Significance.The content of the book is a positive viewpoint on South Africa, amidst the many sad tales and general negativity about the country.

See Darren’s (the one who started the initiative) Post which covers all the Chapters.

Contents

Introduction
1. The new South Africa – is it real?
2. Is SA rich or poor?
3. What the world thinks of South Africa and what our global opportunities are
4. The importance of each individual’s contribution collectively
5. SA Inc and the business of doing business in SA
6. The beauty and grandeur that surrounds us
7. The importance of technology in SA’s global emergence
8. Building brand South Africa
9. Making the most of SA’s creative talents and abilities
10. Innovate for a better South Africa
11. The role of the younger generation in SA, and what we need to do to support them
12. Connecting South Africa – Communities that transcend technology
13. We are African – the role of collaboration in South Africa’s growth

Image above copyright Darren Gorton 2008. Content copyright of the respective authors and indicated on the relevant posts.
: South African, Blogging, Books, On-line book

South Africa to Launch Battery-Powered Car

In some positive news from South Africa, a battery-powered car is being developed and will be unveiled next year (no, it’s not a toy). This announcement was made by the Deputy Science and Technology Minister, Derek Hanekom. Given the effect on the country with the recent oil price increases and lack of investor confidence with the xenophobia crisis, a new alternative which would help people save money and provide a viable alternative is very welcome.

Read the full story here.

: Battery-Powered Car, South Africa, Technology

A Positive Twist Away from Xenophobia: The Standard Bank TV Ad

I thought Standard Bank’s new TV ad for Africa day which ends with something like… “It’s not that we are in Africa, Africa is in us…” is a very effective ad for the bank.

It capitalises on Standard Banks’ diverse range of African personell (40000) across the continent as well as being pertinent to Africa Day and the current xenophobia crisis in South Africa. It does a great job with advertising the Standard Bank Brand – capitalising in organisational competencies, brand values and some very appropriate timing.

You can catch the making of the TV ad here. Or download the video here.

Creating awareness for Africa Day took on a practical meaning for our staff, who starred in this TV advertisement. Shot in Durban, South Africa, we were able to draw on the inherent diversity of our people from across the continent. Staff chosen from our 18 countries of operation participated in the filming, most appearing in front of the camera for the first time. – from the “Standard Bank Africa Day” website

: Standard Bank, Advertising, Bank, South Africa, Africa Day, Brand

Marketing Lesson: Xenophobia and the South African Government.

Don’t just TALK! Take ACTION! One thing marketers know through and through is that when you promise and you don’t deliver, your sales go to hell and you lose your job. Before any advertising goes on TV, Radio, Print or spread virally across social Media we have to make sure the product delivers what we claim to promise on every level. If this wasn’t such an important step, the Advertising Standards Authority would be out of a job.

Also, it makes perfect sense on a human level. People want to get what they are promised and what they spend their taxes on. We don’t spend our money so that we can hear nice things that make us feel all warm and gooey for our country. We want to see the leaders we voted for actually doing the work to make our country the best in the world and live up to the claim of “a better life for all”.

The current xenophobia crisis has shown the ugly insides of the government in power. All they are doing is talking, if they were working, really working for change… none of this would have happened.

So… the marketing lesson from all this as I had mentioned in the beginning… Deliver what you promise, or you’ll be in deep kak if you don’t.

Technorati Tags: South Africa, Xenophobia, Marketing

« Previous Page — Next Page »