Buffett show will go on despite recent health scare

Today I'm on my way to the United States to attend a two-day investor conference at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, and thereafter to join 40000 other Berkshire Hathaway shareholders at the company's annual meeting at the Century Link Centre on May 5.

Last week, Warren Buffett's prostate cancer diagnosis made world headlines, even though his condition is treatable and the chance of his dying from this ailment over the next five years is probably zero.

I have no doubt that Buffett in his usual folksy style will put investors' concerns at ease and appeal for no further discussion on the matter.

Still, at 81, it raises questions about who will succeed him and, although he assures the public that the board is aware of his choice, pressure is mounting to disclose the information.

More likely to lead the dialogue at the meeting is the bitter debate over America's class-conscious taxes. The Republicans are bitterly opposed to hiking taxes as a measure to reduce America's wayward budget deficit and recently, in an exercise to accelerate employment, proposed a cut that was designed to reduce the load on businesses with fewer than 500 employees.

The Democrats have countered with the "Buffett Rule", a tax plan embraced by President Barack Obama to raise the contribution made by individuals earning more than a $1-m a year.

Buffett, the third-wealthiest person in the world, has vociferously campaigned against discrepancies in legislation that result in the rich paying considerably less as a portion of income in taxes than many middle-class earners.

Each year, I return from the meetings with a lot better understanding of world affairs and generally, too, stocked with a few valuable share tips. Last year, fund managers were hot on Visa and MasterCard. Instead of following their advice, I stood motionless like a rabbit caught in the headlights, watching MasterCard and Visa each climb over 60% over the past 12 months. I have vowed to be more attentive in future and follow the counsel and guidance of these experts more diligently.

In November, I wrote about meeting former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe at a conference in California and how awestruck I was with the way he and his administration had rescued the South American country from virtual anarchy. He had transformed Colombia into an appealing investment and tourist destination by, among other things, challenging lawlessness, confronting defiant guerilla groups and slashing government expenditure.

It turns out that Uribe's successor, former defence minister Juan Manuel Santos, is even more popular, and, this week, was included in Time magazines' list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Santos' extensive programmes to fight poverty and discrimination and increase access to quality education, above his ongoing battles with rebel groups, has gained him international respect and has elevated Colombia's standing in the global economy.

The country has managed to shrug off its typecast image of druglords with slicked-down hair, battle fatigues and fashionable Ray-Bans and, instead, is now linked with the musical talents of pop princess Shakira and the voluptuous beauty of TV-sitcomModern Family's Sofia Delgado.

Last week, news that Canadian mining entrepreneur Robert Friedland had resigned as CEO of Ivanhoe Mining as part of an agreement that will underpin diversified miner Rio Tinto's support for a huge Mongolian copper and gold project, reminded me of another presentation that formed part of my Californian expedition, although for reasons that were purely circumstantial, it gained nowhere near the same prominence as President Uribe's address.

It was delivered at 8am by a delegation from Mongolia on the morning following a grand Mexican dinner for delegates in the enchanting gardens of the 200-year-old Franciscan mission station San Juan Capistrano.

Unfortunately, the only people present were those desperately seeking a medicinal mug of coffee to neutralise the effects of a savoury carne asada washed down with copious amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon from the Temecula Valley.

The only reason I was in attendance was that the South African panel, of which I was a member, was scheduled to talk an hour later.

Mongolia, Adam Bornstein, the resident representative for the International Finance Corporation, explained sadly to an absent audience, is developing into one of the globe's most attractive frontier mining regions.

Tucked between Russia to the north and China to the south, Mongolia is the second-largest landlocked country in the world.

With a sparse population of only 2.75million people, its generous deposits of copper, coal, tin, tungsten and gold are attracting investment bankers and miners from Canada, Russia and China. Over the past few years, growth has reached over 9% but is expected to creep into the low teens in the near future.

Like any fast-expanding nation, speedy development brings problems, from inflation to environmental issues, but Bornstein assured us there was nothing that the present investor-friendly administration will not tackle.

For Bornstein, Rio Tinto's commitment to what the mining giant considers one of its most exciting growth projects is just reward for the embarrassment he and his party suffered for what I believed was a fascinating and instructive presentation.

Not that we were treated any better. With another keynote speaker, former US secretary of defence and director of the CIA Dr Robert Gates, following hot on our heels, the numbers in the audience began to swell, but their nodding heads, droopy eyes and hidden yawns bore witness to a night well spent.

David Shapiro

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