The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), together with Deloitte, release an updated edition of South Africa: Investor’s Handbook on an annual basis. The purpose of the handbook is to answer one of the major questions on investors’ minds: “What are the incentives when investing in South Africa?”
Insight is delivered through a broad overview of the social, regulatory and economic environments in South Africa. This gives investors an idea of what to expect when doing business here. It also highlights the attributes that the DTI and Deloitte believe make South Africa an attractive investment destination.
Here are some of the highlights from the 2014/2015 edition of the Investor’s Handbook:
Opportunities
South Africa is a key investment location, both for the opportunities that lie within its borders and as a gateway to the rest of the continent.
The South African government offer a range of incentive schemes to stimulate and facilitate the development of sustainable competitive enterprises. The incentives are divided into three categories:
- Concept and Research & Development Incentives.
- Capital Expenditure Incentives.
- Competitivenes Enhancement Incentives.
The International Headquarter Company Regime allow for a free flow of funds through South Africa with minimal tax incidence. This Regime was introduced specifically to encourage foreign investment in the country.
Facts and figures
- South Africa’s economy is ranked as the second largest in Africa, behind Nigeria, and at number 33 in the world.
- The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) ranked as the 12th best stock exchange in the world in terms of market value, trade and turnover in 2014.
- South Africa’s debt to Gross Domestic Product ratio is 42%. The World Bank recommends a ratio of 60%.
- South Africa ranked 41st out of 189 countries for ease of doing business in the World Bank’s Doing Business Report 2014. This annual survey measures the time, cost and hassle for businesses to comply with legal and administration requirements. In the same report, South Africa came in at number 26 in dealing with construction contracts and 10th for good practice in protecting investors in business.
Thriving industries
The industries that drove economic growth in 2013 were:
- Agriculture (2.4%).
- Mining (9.2%).
- Manufacturing (11.7%).
- Electricity and water (3.0%).
- Construction (3.7%).
- Wholesale, retail and motor trade (16.6%).
- Transport, storage and communication (8.0%).
- Finance, real estate and business services (21.52%).
- Government services (17.0%).
- Personal services (6.0%).
South Africa especially have a lot to offer to investors in vehicle manufacturing, the mineral industry and ICT:
- Vehicle manufacturers such as BMW, Ford and Volkswagen have production plants in South Africa, as does leading component manufacturers.
- Apart from its diverse mineral reserves, South Africa has a high level of technical and production expertise, as well as comprehensive research and development activities in the mineral industry.
- South Africa’s ICT (Information and Communications Technology) industry’s growth outstrips the world average. The electronics sector comprises more than 3000 companies and contributes more than 7% to South Africa’s GDP.
You can download the full report
To discover all the insights from this latest edition of the Investor Handbook, you can download it from Deloitte’s website. It also contains information on South African regulatory requirements, taxation and foreign trade, to name but a few chapters.