Last Thursday’s South Africa Investment Conference attracted a further R332 billion in investment as part of the government’s drive to raise R1.2 trillion in new investment in five years.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, writing in his weekly newsletter, announced that the value of investment commitments made at the conference was R332 billion, raising the total tally to R1.14 trillion, 95% of the target set in 2018.
“Such is the appetite of global investors for our economy that this year saw pledges from traditional trading partners in the European Union, United States, China and the United Kingdom, as well as from Canada, Mauritius, Norway, Turkey and Pakistan. We also had funding pledges from the United Arab Emirates, where we are currently participating in Dubai Expo 2020,” he said.
Firms that already had a footprint in South Africa were increasing their existing investment commitments, signifying a renewed vote of confidence in the economy, he added.
“The expansion plans of existing mining operations include an additional R10 billion investment by Anglo American, R11.8 billion by Impala Platinum, and R2.8 billion from Ivanhoe Mines to expand its Platreef mine in Limpopo. In the automotive sector, the Ford Motor Company has committed R16.4 billion to expand the manufacture of the next generation Ford Ranger, and there are commitments of R800 million by BMW and R350 million by Volkswagen,” Ramaphosa said.
Investment pledges have also been secured in the mining, agriculture and automotive sectors as well as in renewable energy production, pharmaceuticals, clothing and textiles, infrastructure and logistics, telecoms and the digital economy.
“Our creative industries have been given a major boost by multimillion rand investments in film and television production by the world’s largest media companies like Warner Media and Netflix. After nearly 15 years in the making, the eThekwini Film Studio in KwaZulu-Natal will soon become a reality following a R7.5-billion investment from Videovision Entertainment,” he said.
There has also been a marked increase in investment by black industrialists. Over the past five years, around R32 billion has been invested in nearly 800 black industrialists and entrepreneurs through funding initiatives within the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, creating or saving about 120 000 jobs.
“At this year’s conference, black industrialists made investment pledges in mining and steel production, automotive, component manufacturing, consumer goods, bulk fuel storage, and shipbuilding and repair in the Saldanha Industrial Development Zone,” he said.
Conference delegates had noted that the country’s reforms around energy, transport, telecommunications and immigration, and the progress of sectoral master plans, had improved investor confidence, he added.
