DAVOS: Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies says the World Economic Forum (WEF) provided the platform to engage with business leaders at the highest level in a bid to attract much-needed investment to the country.
Davies said the Annual Meeting of WEF in Davos, Switzerland, was an opportunity to meet chief executives and investors, “actual and potential, at the top level”.
Davies, who is part of a high-level government, business and civil society delegation led by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa to sell South Africa to the international investment community, said the forum offered the opportunity to meet as a group or individuals and to discuss issues which cropped up.
“This is all part of the process to get investment,” he said, adding that the forum this year took place at a time of great global uncertainty when one could “see the fears of the global economic elite” due to rise of populism and anti-globalisation.
The rise of populism in developed countries was a concern, but could be overcome with the right policies, said Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday said.
Lagarde said yesterday that the rise of populist movements was a real concern, but called for the implementation of policies to stem the tide.
“We now have an opportune moment to put in place policies that will help,” Lagarde told participants at the 47th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting.
She suggested more redistributionist policies since “excessive inequality puts a brake on sustainable growth”.
She also urged a stronger social safety net, fiscal and structural reforms, and education to help young people and mature workers prepare for the technological change that is disrupting the workplace.
Lawrence Summers, a professor at the Charles W Eliot College at Harvard University in the US, said that inequality was only one of the causes of rising populism. He also cited “a desire for national unity and strength” and a sense among the middle class that it was no longer in control.
“It’s a mistake not to recognise that the middle class in my country and in others is concerned that the government is not fighting for it.”
Summers urged not only more investment in infrastructure and education to provide support for the middle class, but also aggressive action against the tax and regulatory arbitrage that permitted many large companies and wealthy individuals to play by different rules.
Summers also noted that globalisation today was less about importing and exporting goods, and more about integrated global supply chains.
“We may be at a point where globalisation is ending,” said Ray Dalio, founder, co-chief executive and co-chief investment officer of US-based Bridgewater Associates.
Dalio cited the rise in populism, which he also attributed not just to the biggest wealth gap since the 1930s, but also to a sense among the middle class that governing elites did not represent them.
“Populism scares me,” Dalio said, calling it “the number one issue for market participants”.