Tag: Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

In this vidcast, we dig into the Forum for China-Africa Cooperation Summit (FOCAC) that took place in Beijing and what it means for the African continent. We also unpack some of the conditions that typically come with foreign direct investment (FDI) commitments and how Africa can negotiate these better.

The steel industry is the backbone of any economy, it forms the foundation of any modern economy and is essential to every single sector. Without a healthy and vibrant local steel industry, South Africa will simply not be able to integrate and develop itself or the rest of the continent.

In February this year, South Africa was greylisted by the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) because of its failure to comply with its standards and measures to combat illicit financial flows, terrorist funding and potential threats to the integrity of the global financial system. This step is the consequence of the endemic corruption, generally referred to as “state capture” which has long prevailed in the country.

South Africa is currently experiencing challenging political and economic conditions, which has a direct impact on the financial and trading performance of businesses. Vulnerabilities to external shocks have also converged at the worst possible time in our post-pandemic economy, with the impact rapidly manifesting in financing becoming more difficult to secure, more expensive and dwindling foreign direct investment.

In a recent newsletter, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that South Africa knows what needs to be done to be removed from the greylist and that the fundamentals are in place. Eight areas of strategic deficiency have been identified by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) which government needs to urgently address in order to get off the greylist.

The Africa Report 2022 has revealed a continent that has shown stable growth, increased innovation and consistent reform in a bid to create a competitive environment, foster free trade and improve the investment climate. For investors navigating the 54 different countries and relatively opaque market – only a few provide key economic and business data – the landscape is changing, providing greater clarity, visibility and opportunity. 

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader, Julius Malema has threatened Pick n Pay with 'militant action' if a third meeting request is ignored by the company. He has alleged that franchisees are exploited and treated unfairly by the retail company.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has opened fault lines between nations which will affect trade relations and investment for years to come. The war in Ukraine is already having a significant effect on inflation and activity in the world economy as commodity prices have soared and supply chains have been disrupted.

Foreign exchange fluctuations can have a material impact on investment portfolio returns measured in terms of a base currency. We dedicate significant resources into understanding currencies through a range of models, backed by observations from our local teams.

In light of recent developments on the sides of both the South Africa Revenue Service (SARS) and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), the regulatory burden for the cross-border flow of funds, resulting from transactions concluded between South African residents and foreign parties, has been significantly eased.