Looking past Discovery's disappointing interims: PingAn could be its "TenCent"

Discovery's visionary co-founder and CEO Adrian Gore downplays the mere suggestion. But the hyper growth being posted by its Chinese partner Ping An offers some parallels to Naspers' enterprise transforming investment in internet giant TenCent. Ping An is already generating over R25bn in annual premium income through providing health insurance on 16m lives, and its management is now targeting R250bn in API. While it carries the most potential, Ping An is only part of Discovery's globalising of the Shared Value philosophy upon which its proven business model is built. With a setback in the UK dropping the share price back to 2014 levels, the obvious question is whether Mr Market has overdone the Vitality Life. I caught up with Gore this afternoon for a private session after he'd presented interim results to investment analysts. - Alec Hogg