Last night I attended the BoE / JSE showcase that had directors from Raubex, Keaton, Chemspec, and Metmar talking.  Besides all the background company-specific stuff that came out, there were two extremely interesting macro-economic comments made.

Firstly, Raubex noted that they have seen little recovery in the local private residential sector.  Only around 5% of their business comes from this sector, so they went to great pains to point out that this doesn't really effect them too much.  Despite this, a continued lack of growth or volumes in the private residential sector is a critical fact in a lot of other construction businesses and, in the listed small cap world, implies continuing tough times for Wearne, RBA, FinBond and other construction-related / housing-related businesses.

Secondly, David Ellwood, CEO of Metmar, spoke about his interesting company.  He made an interesting point how the commodities world is currently sitting in a strange position: high commodity prices and large stockpiles.  He went on to point out how the size of these stockpiles implies that it is probably not fundamentals holding the commodity prices so high.

Chatting with him after the event I reiterated what Cobus Loots, the FD at Pan African Resources Plc, told me.  Cobus Loots and I were discussing the recent gold price run during the last couple years and he pointed out how the majority of gold stockpiles were actually held as the underlying in commodity traders trades.

The current lack of fundamentals for high commodity prices coupled with the high stockpiles across all different markets that David Ellwood showed us makes me think that we're currently seeing the same paradox: huge volumes of speculation driving commodity prices higher, rather than market demand for the actual commodities driving the prices.

Overall, though, it was a fun and informative evening and my thanks goes out to the JSE, BoE, and the directors presenting.

[A major subsidiary of Dialgue] ContinuitySA has expanded its Business Continuity service capability in Cape Town with the news that it is about to make another 6000 square metres of office space available in the Somerset West area. The new location brings the number of buildings under ContinuitySA’s management that specialise in and are specifically designed for Business Continuity to 13, located in four countries.

“We needed more space in Cape Town as – throughout all regions in Southern Africa - our clients have become more aware than ever of the value of Business Continuity services due to an increased focus on corporate governance and compliance,” says Ansophie Strydom, GM of International Business Development at ContinuitySA. "Our first site in Cape Town had almost reached capacity, necessitating the set up of a second site."

“There has always been a need for Business Continuity professionals within the region to share knowledge,” says the head of BCM at a large financial services company based in Cape Town.  “Twelve months ago the Cape Town BCM forum was established to cater for this need. It meets every quarter and the attendance has been remarkable. In my opinion Business Continuity awareness is increasing within the region. With ContinuitySA now providing a second site with more office recovery capacity, the larger businesses will be able to contract to more seats and have the added advantage of greater recovery redundancy within the region.”

Strydom adds that the impending restrictions that will be implemented as a result of the FIFA World Cup have also forced business leaders to pro-actively rethink their continuity plans.

The FIFA restrictions will have a dramatic impact on the region. For example, roads around the stadium will be closed on match days and some roads will be closed for the duration of the tournament. In addition, Fan Parks and their associated restrictions will be located at the Athlone Stadium, the Grand Parade, the Velodrome in Bellville and another will be set up in Gansbaai. In the city centre, Darling Street, between Adderley Street and Buidenkant Street, together with the side roads feeding into Darling will be closed for the full duration of the event to facilitate the activities associated with the FIFA Fan Fest on the Grand Parade.

Bradley Janse van Rensburg, Solutions Design Manager at ContinuitySA adds that it’s not only soccer driving the changes. With signs that the recession is finally ending, companies are emerging from survival mode and looking at ways to enhance their support of customers, investors and employees.

He says that the recession can be summed up in the concept of “short term profit over long term sustainability”. With this lesson behind them, business leaders are realising that their strategies need to be accountable for the long-term sustainability and viability of their companies. Business Continuity Management is an integral part of a sustainable business and hence the renewed interest in ContinuitySA’s services.

“Businesses are not only thinking of their own operational constraints during the tournament, but also the viability of their supply chains,” adds Janse van Rensburg. “They are questioning how critical suppliers will be able to deliver as required during the World Cup, as well as afterwards should another type of emergency occur.”

The new recovery location will provide customers with the ability to split their recovery plans over multiple sites as an additional safeguard in case of emergencies. The new location will be specifically prepared for workstation recovery services and ContinuitySA has installed high-speed fibre optic links to its other recovery locations.

“Though Somerset West is based well away from any major business hub, it is at the same time well suited for a recovery site with local resources such as hotels and food vendors. Access routes to the area are well established,” adds the head of BCM at a large Financial Services Company based in Cape Town.