South Africa's trade minister says the country does not want to scare off foreign investment by imposing conditions on Wal-Mart's bid to buy into a South African company.
Rob Davies said Monday that the restrictions were meant to protect jobs. Davies welcomed a ruling last week that the deal could go ahead as long as Wal-Mart does not lay off any workers for two years, respects existing labor agreements for three years and invests in training South African suppliers.
Davies says his and two other government departments were “right to engage to try to ensure that this particular transaction did not have negative consequences on jobs or industrial development.”
He adds the government is studying whether the conditions are enough. - Sapa-AP