FROM THE
CEO ’ S DESK
Dear reader , PPS will soon have business operations in five countries : three in Africa and two in Australasia .
PPS has been operating in Namibia for decades . Before independence in 1990 , Namibia ( or the then South West Africa ) was often considered a fifth province of the then four-province South Africa . It was , therefore , natural for PPS ( and many other financial institutions in South Africa ) to also have operations in that beautiful part of the world . After independence , Namibia slowly weaned itself from South Africa in many ways .
In the past , we at PPS often thought of our operations in Namibia as merely an extension of South Africa . But today , we have a different mindset : Namibia is independent . The more than 5 000 PPS members in Namibia have their own profit pool and have enjoyed significant additions to their PPS Profit-Share Accounts TM over the last few years . Seeing PPS Namibia grow under a very capable board and management team is pleasing . The third country in Africa where we are – as of this month ( July ) – operational is Botswana . Our PPS Healthcare Administration business will take over the administration services of the Botswana government ’ s medical fund . We are excited to serve the tens of thousands of Botswana members in this fund with the same quality service that the members of our South African clients enjoy .
Then , for almost seven years now , PPS Mutual has been writing life insurance business in Australia . We are close to a significant milestone there : the 10 000 th member is about to join our associate business Down Under . PPS Mutual has also recently been voted by the independent advisers in Australia as the best retail life office in that market . We were top three in many other categories , including number one in the very important product category . After an initial tough start , PPS Mutual is fast becoming a success story . It is not a subsidiary of South Africa but stands on its own with its own profit pool .
PPS South Africa provides certain back-office services to Australia , from which our South African members earn an income . There is also a royalty stream to PPS South Africa , as a founder of this business . We expect this royalty stream to become significant in future .
Because of our success in Australia , we have recently started to build a business “ next door ” in New Zealand as well .
We expect that PPS New Zealand will be in the market in 2024 . The model will be very similar to that used in Australia . It will be an associate business ( not a subsidiary ) for New Zealand members , run by a New Zealand team and with its own Profit- Share pool . Similarly , South African members will benefit from a service and royalty income stream .
The theme for this edition of The Professional is inspiration .
I mention New Zealand when I share some thoughts on this theme on page 8 . Returning from Australia and New Zealand the other day , I was again inspired by the possibilities of our great mutual model . It does not have to stay with five countries . South Africa is indeed exporting mutuality to the world !
May you again find this edition enjoyable , educational and valueadding .
Regards ,
PPS Group Executive
Izak Smit
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