HP's BEE solution.

[Dave A]

How to do BEE without giving up equity. HP shows the way.

Hewlett-Packard (HP) yesterday became the first information technology multinational to get government approval to invest in an equity-equivalent project as its contribution to empowerment.

The equity-equivalent route, which sparked a lot of controversy when it was first mooted about a year ago, allows foreign companies to avoid selling equity to black investors. These companies are not exempt on other aspects of the black economic empowerment (BEE) codes.

Ken Willett, the director of HP Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa, said the firm would invest about R150 million in programmes that promoted the pillars of the codes. A significant chunk of the money would go towards creating an HP Business Institute - the equity-equivalent project.

The institute, to be launched in November, is expected to train about 300 small black information technology (IT) businesses over seven years. "It will upgrade skills, bring unemployed graduates into the sector and provide for job placement," said Willett. The first class will begin in February.


The department of trade and industry gives international firms credit for empowerment alternatives so they can avoid selling shares.
full story from Business Report here.

[duncan drennan]

Yes, and on the other hand we have Telkom's response...

Telkom has refused to give any new supply contracts to Hewlett-Packard (HP) after rejecting the company's equity equivalent projects, an executive close to a multinational ICT company, said yesterday.

This comes after a series of warnings from Telkom that it would stop doing business with suppliers that would not sell at least a 30 percent stake to empowerment partners, as required by the information and communication technology sector charter.

Full story on Business Report

[Dave A]

It's about time narrow based BEE got called to book. Skills transfer is probably far more beneficial than narrow enrichment ownership deals here - but some jumped-up ass...

I'd better stop there.

[murdock]

thank god i rid myself of all my staff and became a one man operation again now i can work for anybody...anyone see anything similar between SA and zim... land reform climbing interest rates and inflation...brain drain...the only thing not similar is the extremely violent crime people have to endue.

something else i dont get is how can a company be 100% black owned like the BMW ad???

[Ann Williams]

Telkom digs it grave a little deeper

Good old Telkom shooting itself in the foot again!

In their bid to be so super BEE compliant they would rather tell a world class manufacturer to piss off (despite having made some kind of attempt to assist with BEE even if it is NOT selling their soul) - and of course we will see the consquences.

When is the SA government going to realise that some cutting-edge industries need international expertise and that stomping one's feet about having the 'right colour' ownership for sections of large international corporations is just going to continue Telkom's slide into mediocrity.

[Dave A]

I wonder if the folks that are so dogged about the ownership component are not really just on the lookout for some discount equity.

I'm starting to understand why there is unrest about delivery. There was this fascinating session on Morning Live yesterday or the day before - with representatives of two civic action groups. One of the clear messages was that a major source of their frustration is the blatant self-enrichment of what are essentially their former comrades, whilst the man in the street is being left behind getting not much more than lip service.

The HP offer is genuine upliftment for people who really need it across a broad spectrum, unlike the R millions that the accelerated board members etc. are queuing up for themselves in preferential share deals.

Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day.
Teach a man to fish and he'll have food every day.

Mind you, with the size of the fish the connected are being given nowadays, they'll eat very well!