Africa: Preparations for the South Africa Investment Conference underway

With South Africa halfway to its goal of reaching R1.2 trillion in investment, this year’s Annual South Africa Investment Conference will not only push for further investment, but also take stock of progress in implementation.

The 2020 episode of the Investment Conference will be held in Sandton, Gauteng, November 17-18, 2020.

“We had about R664 billion in investments that were promised in the first two conferences that were convened. Obviously, COVID-19 has had an impact on the investment climate, economic performance and global markets, and now we need to address it.

“This conference is an opportunity to assess the progress we have made in getting those 664 billion rupees from an idea in an investor’s mind, to the point where the bricks and mortar hit the ground,” said the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Competition Ebrahim Patel, on Monday.

Patel, who was joined by the president’s economic adviser, Trudi Makhaya, spoke during a media briefing on preparations for the conference.

This year’s conference comes as countries around the world continue to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, with foreign direct investment (FDI) expected to drop by 40%, according to the 2020 UN Global Investment Report.

“For South Africa, our intention is to use the investment conference opportunity to showcase new possibilities and opportunities in South Africa …

“We are in a global environment where sentiment is very low, where the pause button is being pressed by many investors. We want to make sure South Africa stands out in terms of the opportunities available,” Patel said.

Two critical opportunities that will be aimed at, Patel pointed out, are the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the recently announced economic recovery and reconstruction plan by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The AfCFTA agreement will create the largest free trade area in the world measured by the number of participating countries. The pact connects 1.3 billion people in 55 countries, with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) valued at R7 trillion.

“The conference will be an opportunity to highlight this and to involve investors because when you have a much larger market, you no longer suffer from the problems of scale. Small markets mean a very small print run and are produced only for small and its cost the structure is high – and that’s the advantage that Asian, European and North American manufacturers have. They have these huge markets. So we’re trying to replicate the size to bring investors to the continent, “Patel said.

Relieving fears of hosting the conference during a pandemic, Patel said the government has decided to hold the conference, as it is central to the country’s efforts to rebuild the economy.

“We have decided to proceed because, although these are difficult times, we are now shifting our focus to economic recovery and reconstruction, and investments play a fundamental role,” said the minister.

On November 17, President Ramphosa will officially open the first day of the conference. Following the opening of the President, the conference will enter into targeted discussions at industry level in the form of plenaries.

Opportunities in the value chain of agriculture, energy constraints, manufacturing, the digital economy, reconstruction of small businesses and tourism markets, among others, will be discussed.

In light of the COVID-19 regulations, Makhaya said there will be a limited number of guests, with much of the conference being hosted through virtual platforms.

The first day of the event will be a purely virtual event with the second day taking on a hybrid format.

“We expect a 90% drop in attendance not because we are not successful this year, but because we want to meet the COVID-19 regulations in force.

“The good thing with the virtual-physical hybrid is that we are able to accommodate a much larger global audience online. So far, we have over 1000 delegates who have registered and we are expecting a lot more. The conference will also be broadcast. from the SABC, “he said.

Delegates can register for the conference at http://sainvestmentconference.co.za/.