A high-level delegation of South African business leaders and public sector representatives today promoted the country as a favourable investment destination to US-based institutional investors.

The South African delegation hosted the SA Macro Seminar in New York, the USA’s financial capital, where discussions focused on the importance of boosting bilateral trade and economic co-operation between the two countries in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic.

The USA is South Africa’s third largest trading partner after China and the European Union, with more than 600 companies from the USA operating in South Africa in a range of sectors spanning manufacturing, technology, finance, insurance, and wholesale trade.

The one-day seminar was hosted by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in partnership with Standard Bank, Old Mutual, and UBS.

“South Africa has a robust investment case offering attractive opportunities across a range of sectors and asset classes. The JSE has an opportunity to encourage and facilitate further growth in investment flows between the two countries. The structural reforms that South Africa is implementing have strengthened the investment case for our country,” said Dr Leila Fourie, JSE’s Group CEO.

According to the Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition (DTIC), the USA accounts for 17.4% of total South African outward FDI to the world and last year the USA ranked as the second largest destination for South Africa’s exports globally.

The delegation that represented South Africa in New York was led by SA Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor Lesetja Kganyago and Rudi Dicks, Head of Project Management in the Presidency.

The private sector delegation was represented by Dr Leila Fourie; Valdene Reddy, JSE’s Director of Capital Markets; Sim Tshabalala, CEO of Standard Bank; Khaya Gobodo, MD of Old Mutual Investment Group; and Deanne Gordon, Head of SA Equity Strategy ta SBG Securities.

Andre de Ruyter, CEO of Eskom, made a presentation via live stream on the efforts by the power utility to ramp up energy generation.

At the seminar, the delegation gave investors an update on the progress made so far by South Africa in implementing the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP) and Operation Vulindlela, two key initiatives that are critical to stimulating economic growth and attracting investment.

Operation Vulindlela is a programme led by the Presidency and National Treasury to fast-track the implementation of structural reforms in key sectors such as energy, logistics, and telecommunications.

The SA Macro Seminar took place nearly a month after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa met with USA President Joseph Biden in Washington DC, where the two leaders agreed to establish a joint task force on trade and investment to expand bilateral economic ties between the two countries.

In 2023, South Africa will host the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum which will map the next phase of Africa-US trade relations to ensure that AGOA is beneficial to both the USA and South Africa.

Presidents Ramaphosa and Biden also affirmed their commitment to the Just Energy Transition and agreed that South Africa required more funding to transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.

ENDS

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