| South Africa Agroprocessing
South Africa is a food self-sufficient country and the bulk of the population's
food needs are produced locally from raw materials. South Africa's well developed
food and beverages industry has become a global player. The sector consists of
11 downstream agricultural sub-sectors, including meat processing, preservation
of fruit and vegetables, dairy products and canning and preserving of fish.
Some of the major international agroprocessing companies that have a presence
in South Africa are: Unilever, Nestle, Coca-Cola, Danone, Parmalat, Kellogs, HJ
Heinz, Cadbury-Schweppes, Virgin Cola, McCain Foods of Canada, Pillsbury and Minute
Maid.
Automotive
The South African
automotive and components industry is on a growth projectile and is perfectly
placed for investment opportunities. BMW, Ford, Volkswagen, Daimler-Chrysler and
Toyota have production plants in South Africa. Component manufacturers like Arvin
Exhaust, Bloxwitch, Corning and Senior Flexonics have established production bases
in the country. The industry is largely located
in two provinces, the Eastern Cape (coastal) and Gauteng (inland). Companies with
production plants in South Africa are placed to take advantage of the low production
cost, coupled with access to new markets as a result of trade agreements with
the European Union and the Southern African Development Community free trade area.
Opportunities also lie in the production of materials (automotive steel and components).
Banking and finance
The
South African banking industry is dominated by four major commercial banking groups:
ABSA, First National Bank, Standard Bank and Nedcor. These provide retail and
investment banking services in competition with a wide range of niche commercial
banks. Currently there are currently 55 locally-controlled banks, five mutual
banks, 12 foreign-controlled banks, nine branches and 60 representative offices
of foreign banks. The European, Malaysian and
US banks that have banking licences have concentrated on corporate as opposed
to retail banking. They have rapidly gained market share by charging aggressive
lending margins, which the less cost-efficient South African banks were unable
to compete with. However, margins have now stabilised across the industry.
Chemicals
This is the
largest manufacturing sector of the South African economy, accounting for some
5% of the gross domestic product. The country is a world leader in the manufacture
of synthetic fuel from coal. The petroleum and petrochemical industry is dominated
by four oil refineries plus the Sasol and PetroSA operations. The rest of the
chemical manufacturing sector consists mainly of AECI, Sentrachem and fertiliser
plants such as Indian Ocean Fertilisers and Omnia.
The petrochemical and plastics cluster, which focuses on the chain from production
of polymers to plastic products, has significant export potential particularly
in the plastics conversion sub-sector. The government
has moved away from demand side assistance to supply side intervention. This intervention
gives existing and new businesses access to more than R2 billion in government
funds via approximately 50 schemes in support of exports, innovation, investment,
empowerment and job creation. The potential shortage
in the availability of petroleum products and of primate feedstock such as olefins
and basic aromatics are becoming critical issues for sustainable growth in the
industry. The possibility of a number of feedstock projects such as a Naptha Cracker
as well as a new world scale refinery with an aromatics unit are being proposed.
This is expected to lead to further downstream investment potential in major imported
chemicals such as ethylene, glycol, styrene, and terephthalic acid.
The downstream, fine and speciality chemicals base provides strong opportunities
for investors. There are also significant opportunities in product manufacturing,
pharmaceuticals, household products and agrochemicals, industrial chemicals. Fishing
The South African commercial fishing industry is valued at about R2 billion annually.
Economically, trawling is the most important activity.
Demersal fish such as hake, Agulhas sole and kingklip comprise the biggest part
of the fishery sector, contributing 46%. Pelagic catches have fluctuated in recent
years, but on average the pelagic fishery, including anchovy, pilchard and red
eye contribute 23%. The rock lobster fishery accounts for 11% and linefish 13%.
Smaller contributors are abalone and aquaculture. Food and
Beverage
South Africa's well developed food
industry is a global player. The following food processing sectors all have turnovers
in excess of R2,5 billion: flour and other milled products, beer and malt, slaughtering
and preparing of meat, canning and preserving of fruit and vegetables, bakery
products, sugar, animal feeds, and wine and distilling.
South Africa has a strong tradition of food research achievements in the areas
of cereal science, fruit technology, fish research, biotechnology, genetic engineering
and cell cloning, fermentation chemistry, novel synthesis of food additives, as
well as essential oils and botanical extractions.
IT and electronics
The
South African IT industry growth outstrips the world average. It has ready access
to cutting edge technologies, equipment and skills and has the advantage of access
to the rapid expansion of telecoms and IT throughout the vast African continent.
Internet and cellular telephony penetration in South Africa is among the highest
in the world. The country has three cellular network operators and a base of some
5 million mobile users that is projected to triple by December 2003.
South African software developers are recognised as world leaders in innovation,
production and cost efficiency backed by an excellent local infrastructure. Some
of the world's leading telecommunication brands like Siemens, Alcatel, SBC Communicatons,
Telecom Malaysia, Cell C and Vodaphone have made significant investment in the
country. Investment opportunities lie in the
development of access control systems and security equipment, automotive electronic
subsystems, systems and software development in the banking and financial services
sector, silicon processing for fiber optics, integrated circuits and solar cells.
There are also significant opportunities for the export of hardware and associated
services as well as software and peripherals. Mining and minerals
South Africa holds the world's largest reserves of gold (35%), platinum group
metals (55.7%), manganese ore (80%) chrome ore (68.3%) titanium metals (21%).
It also produces a large share of the world's diamonds and mineral deposits.
Lucrative opportunities exist for downstream processing and value adding of iron,
carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminium, platinum group metals and gold.
Beneficiation of minerals before export is a major growth area. The Department
of Minerals and Energy has embarked on a small-scale mining programme aimed at
encouraging and facilitating the development of economically viable small-scale
mining and mineral-based industries, in line with the government's desire that
small miners gain access to mineral rights suited to small mining activity.
Relationships between individual mining companies and the controlling mining houses
are being reevaluated. Mergers, restructuring and unbundlings have created much
optimism for the industry in recent years, driven by the need to develop black
ownership, to expand abroad and by a languishing gold price. Property
Investors face a wide array of possibilities when choosing land for development
in South Africa. Private, state, provincial, municipal, and parastatal landholdings
are all potentially available for commercial development - each with their own
application process. In practice, the specific details of this process are determined
and administered by the relevant municipality concerned.
Commercial real estate is well developed in South Africa, with private landholdings
in both urban and outlying areas. The availability of industrially zoned and serviced
land varies by location. Property owners, brokers,
managers and developers who are members of the Property Council of South Africa
are available to assist investors in locating, buying and selling private property.
Any of these companies can be located through the Property Council of South Africa. Telecommunications
South Africa is the telecommunications leader on the African continent with 4,03
million installed exchange lines, representing around 100 lines for every 1 000
inhabitants. South Africa has a large transmission
area, necessitated by the country's geographical spread of 1,2 million km2 utilising
125 million km of transmission circuits. Digital microwave and optical fibre serve
as main transmission media for the inter-primary network interconnecting all the
major centres. Over the next five years, the
current 4,03 million exchange lines will grow to around 7 million. About 2 million
of these additional lines will be aimed at increasing telephone penetration in
under-serviced urban and rural areas. The remaining 1 million lines will cater
for growth in developed areas. Textiles
The textile industry has evolved into a capital-intensive industry offshoot, producing
synthetic fibres (man-made fibres) in ever-increasing proportions. A major boost
to the industry has been approval of South Africa by the United States for benefits
under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), and are permitted duty-free
access for clothing exports into the USA. These
latter provisions encompass an effective visa system, legislation to permit US
Customs Service access to the countries of export, reportage provisions, full
co-operation with the United States, complete record keeping and reports on manufacturing
capabilities. At present, Agoa only provides for the duty-free access of clothing
under strict rules of origin to the US. Various categories of duty-free access
for clothing articles are provided for.
Tourism
The South African
tourism industry is valued at $10 billion a year and is expected to rise sharply
as the government and the private sector invest in a marketing and promotion drive.
The country's tourism infrastructure is sophisticated and developed, but key opportunities
exist in this arena given the rise in demand. Eco-tourism promises excellent investment
and development potential. General
Airport systems Franchising
Healthcare services and equipment Safety
and security equipment Water treatment equipment
Packaging equipment
Informatica:
Lists projects and opportunities per sector that exists in South Africa.
SA
Chamber of Business: Lists the latest trade enquiries received from around
the world. Trade World:
Home to a vast pool of trade leads and other business opportunities.
International Trade Centre: The
technical co-operation agency of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for operational, enterprise-oriented
aspects of trade development. The ITC supports
developing and transition economies, and particularly their business sector, in
their efforts to realise their full potential for developing exports and improving
import operations. | 
