Posted: July 8, 2022
The Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Mr Fikile Majola, says the private sector is critical for economic growth and development and the South African government is amplifying its efforts to attract quality investment that will assist in achieving economic goals and objectives of enhancing the country’s industrial capacity.
He was addressing the Swiss-South Africa Business Forum held at the Johannesburg Country Club in Woodmead. Switzerland’s Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Deparment of Economic Affairs, Mr Guy Parmelin, and Ambassador to South Africa, Dr Nicolas Brühl were also in attendance.
South Africa is one of Switzerland’s key economic partners on the African continent, accounting for almost a quarter of total Swiss Foreign Direct Investment on the continent.
The business forum brought together stakeholders involved in the South African and Swiss business ecosystems, government officials and market experts to discuss the investment climate, regulatory requirements of doing business in South Africa and market trends. It also served as a platform for the guests to network and build relations.
Switzerland is among the top ten foreign investors in South Africa with the bilateral trade volume between the two countries exceeding CHF (Swiss Franc) 4.4 billion in 2021. More than 100 Swiss companies are present in South Africa, creating employment for around 50 000 people.
Majola appealed to the Swiss investors to join other Eurpean companies that have already increased investments in South Africa. He told the audience that South Africa is well positioned to capitalise on the rapidly developing global hydrogen economy. He added that in response to the energy challenges, South Africa is expanding its successful renewable energy programme through the involvement of independent power producers.
“The development of South Africa’s hydrogen economy is a significant opportunity to improve energy security, grow our economy and create business as well as job opportunities. Our country has abundant renewable energy resources, providing a significant opportunity to be a player in the global green hydrogen energy market and thus playing a leading role in the global energy transition towards a net carbon zero future.”
Majola also spoke about South Africa’s investment drive aimed at raising $100 billion in a period of five years, and urged Swiss investors to bring much needed investment to help boost SA’s economy.
“Also aligned to our investment drive, several Special Economic Zones have been designated in different parts of the country, each with their own particular advantages and focus. We are working on adding more to assist in attracting foreign investment. Companies that invest in special economic zones benefit from a reduced corporate tax rate and the employment tax incentives. The support measures that South Africa offers in these economic zones are comparable to our global competitors,” he said.
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Issued by: The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic)
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