Fee bearing image – Cape Town – 150824 – The Sino-SA Industrial Capacity Cooperation Forum took place at the Crystal Towers Hotel in Century City, Cape Town. Reporter: Nicolette Dirk. Photographer: Armand Hough Fee bearing image – Cape Town – 150824 – The Sino-SA Industrial Capacity Cooperation Forum took place at the Crystal Towers Hotel in Century City, Cape Town. Reporter: Nicolette Dirk. Photographer: Armand Hough
Nicolette Dirk
WITH Africa attracting foreign investment of $87 billion (about R1 trillion) last year, the continent is a good prospect for global investors.
This is according to Yansong Rong, China’s economic and commercial counsellor in South Africa, who was a speaker at the China-Africa Development Fund annual investment conference yesterday.
This year’s conference focused on South Africa’s manufacturing industry and was aimed at encouraging Chinese enterprises to invest more here.
But Rong added that Sub-Saharan Africa’s industrial sector contributed only 0.7 percent of the global gross industrial output.
“It is really high time for China-Africa production capacity co-operation, both to support Africa to develop a 2063 vision for infrastructure construction, and help with creation of jobs in African countries.” Rong added that since 2009, China has become South Africa’s largest trading partner. South Africa is China’s 28th largest trading partner. ”In South Africa, the Chinese investment is transforming from the mining sector to the field of manufacturing so as to help South Africa speed up its reindustrialisation process,” he said.
And sector leaders say they are open for business.
During his speech, Department of Trade and Industry acting director-general Yunus Hoosen said it had a long-standing relationship with the China-Africa Development Fund.
“Together with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), we have collaborated with a number of the investment projects that took place in the country,” he said.
Hoosen said China has become one of South Africa’s biggest trading partners and has maintained that relationship from an import and export perspective.
“As a manufacturing platform South Africa offers one of the finest market access regimes where you can export duty-free.”
Hoosen said collaboration with the China-Africa Development Fund would also bode well to help create about 5 million jobs, increase fixed investment, and improve infrastructure and industrial development.
nicolette.dirk@inl.co.za