SOUTH AFRICA SHOULD STRIVE FOR STRONGER PRESENCE IN INTERNATIONAL MARKETS

SOUTH AFRICA SHOULD STRIVE FOR STRONGER PRESENCE IN INTERNATIONAL MARKETS

By BRIAN KAJENGO

The Ambassador of South Africa to Chile, Dr Hilton Fisher says South Africa should strive for higher growth, business development and a stronger presence in international markets.

He was speaking at the Trade and Investment seminar held in Santiago, as part of the Outward Trade and Investment mission currently taking place in Chile.

“We must focus on ensuring that South Africa moves towards the next phase of socio-economic transformation and targets a cycle of growth and development,” he said.

Ambassador Fisher told the South African and Chilean businesspeople attending the seminar that South Africa consistently been recognised by credible international surveys as having an environment conducive for business. He highlighted that South Africa ranked high in sanctity of contract, intellectual and property rights and business sophistication.

“The World Economic Forum’s 2013 Global Competitiveness Report ranked South Africa 52nd out of 144 countries surveyed. Forbes Magazine also ranked South Africa as the best country in Africa for doing business, with the World Bank placing South Africa as the best country in Africa for doing business. The World Bank placed the country 39^th out of 185 countries in the ease of doing business,” he added.

He encouraged Chilean businesspeople to invest in South Africa as it has a unique combination of highly developed first world economic infrastructure and a vibrant economy.

The President of the Chilean South African Chamber of Industry and Commerce (CHISA), Mr Santiago Montt said South Africa and Chile had a lot in common in terms of what they want to achieve.

“CHISA wants to present Chile as a port of entry into Latin America, just as South Africa wants to present itself as a port of entry for investment into Africa,” he said.

He told the delegates that CHISA was willing to assist businesses with information of how they can improve trading between the two countries and announced that the chamber had created a presence in both South Africa and Chile.

The Director of Investment Promotion at the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti), Mr Brian Soldaat informed the Chilean businesspeople that South Africa had a range of incentives that created to support foreign investment. He added that South Africa holds a lot of opportunities for investment in many sectors.