Electronics sector flourishes

27 Mar 2015 - by Staff reporter

The electronics components
sector in the Western Cape has
attracted almost R900 million
in foreign direct investment
(FDI) over the past 12 years –
and further growth is expected
following the start of several
major global manufacturing
projects in Cape Town over the
past two years, said Jacyntha
Twynam, senior manager
Wesgro Research.
She told FTW that the trade
and investment promotional
body for the Western Cape
had made a strategic decision
to de-focus from sectors in
which other government
agencies were already
actively promoting trade and
investment opportunities
and prioritise sectors such as
electronics, business process
outsourcing and information
and communications
technology.
“According to Business
Monitor International, South
Africa’s consumer electronics
sector was estimated at R6.9bn
in 2013 – in terms of sales.
Some 64%, or R555.4m, of
the electronic manufacturing
investments in Cape Town
– from January 2003 to
January 2015 – were consumer
electronics-focused,” said
Twynam.
She said that Wesgro had
facilitated the R350m HiSense
investment in a manufacturing
plant in Atlantis, Cape
Town in 2013. “Today, the
manufacturing facility is
fully operational and has the
capacity to produce
400 000 televisions
and fridges per annum.
A milestone is the
manufacturing of the Hisense
84 inch UHD TV – the first to
be manufactured on African
soil,” commented Twynam.