CHARLES MOLELE
PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday that South Africa was close to reaching a five-year target of raising R1.2 trillion in investments following pledges totalling over R332 billion at this year’s investment conference.
Ramaphosa unveiled this at the fourth annual SA Investment Conference held in Sandton, Johannesburg.
Soon after coming to power, Ramaphosa set a goal to raise R1.2 trillion rand to revitalise Africa’s most developed economy following repeated recessions and years of slow growth.
“We’ve now reached 95% of the ambitious target we set ourselves four years ago,” Ramaphosa said.
“What this means is that we are now only R60 billion short of our target. I expect that by next year we will not just reach our target – we will exceed it.”
Ramaphosa said with the pledges received on Thursday, South Africa has now taken the total level of investments pledged at the four Investment Conferences to R1.14 trillion.
“This Investment Conference has provided a glimpse into the South African economy of the future – an economy that is rich and diverse and growing,” said Ramaphosa.
“We welcome the investments in infrastructure and logistics, in property & telecommunications, which will help expand the capacity of our economy and improve its competitiveness. The investments in steel, vanadium, aluminium and other manufacturing plants all contribute to our ongoing effort to add value to the minerals that we mine and to create jobs that would otherwise have gone to more industrialised countries.”
Most pledges and commitments were made from many companies based here in South Africa, but also companies from Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Mauritius, Norway, Pakistan, Sweden, Turkey, UAE, the United States and the United Kingdom.
“Your investments are making are a difference in local economies and in people’s lives. We therefore invite you to be part of South Africa’s growth story,” said Ramaphosa.
“Today, we are expected to add on leading up to R1.2 trillion that we want to raise over a five-year period, and we think we are going to meet our target and even exceed it. South Africa is a very hot investment destination, with the presence of business of up to 40 countries here just goes to prove that we are still a desired investment destination.”
- Inside Politics
