CAPE TOWN - The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Bulelani Magwanishe will this week be leading an investment roadshow to China, in a bid to attract investors to South Africa’s Special Economic Zones (SEZs).
The roadshow which will be taking place from May 23-30 in Shanghai, China is seen as the dti’s latest bid to attract investors to SEZs.
According to the deputy minister, the investment roadshow will take place in the form of workshops and seminars. The South African SEZ delegation will present the various opportunities that SEZs present.
In addition to this, the delegation will also visit SEZs in Shanghai where they will engage in knowledge sharing and see how Shangai SEZs are run.
“The roadshow seeks to attract potential investors in different productive sectors to invest in in our SEZs. The targeted audience will include investors, deal makers, finance institutions and government representatives. In order to have vibrant SEZs and competitive regional economies, it is therefore necessary to continue to aggressively implement a systematic marketing and investment promotion for various SEZs in South Africa and to also state their value-proposition to potential investors,” said Magwanishe
Notably, South Africa has eight SEZs which are located in six of the country’s provinces.
“One of the strategic initiatives that the government, through the dti, has earmarked for accelerating the country’s industrial development agenda is the SEZs Programme. According to the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP), SEZs are used to stimulate foreign and domestic investment, increase production output leading to increased exports of value-added manufacturing goods and employment creation, amongst others,” adds Magwanishe.
The deputy minister said that the ultimate objective of the roadshow is to entice international investors appetite to invest in South Africa.
This follows President Ramaphosa's bid to charm Japanese investors to invest in SA, saying that South Africa has invested over R1 trillion on infrastructure development to make the continental superpower investment friendly.
Delivering his keynote address at the inaugural Japan- Africa Public-Private Econo-mic Forum, Ramaphosa positioned SA as a thriving democracy with stable institutions.