South Africa investment conference secures pledges of nearly USD 23 bn

That is a good collection of countries to have as your investors, he said.Ramaphosa said the investments in projects like mining would breathe a new life into one of South Africas oldest industries and still one of its most important.The investments in steel, vanadium, aluminium and other manufacturing plants all contribute to our ongoing effort to add value to the minerals that we mine and to create jobs that would otherwise have gone to more industrialised countries.

South Africa on Thursday secured investment pledges of nearly USD 23 billion from international and domestic investors.

The pledges were made at the concluding day of the fourth edition of the South Africa investment Conference hosted by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

“Four years ago, we set ourselves an ambitious target of raising R 1.2 trillion over a five-year period. The 80 investment pledges at today’s conference come to a total of R332 billion (approx USD 23 billion),'' Ramaphosa said.

“With the pledges we have received today – and with cancellations and additions we have heard about from investors in previous conferences – we have now taken the total level of investment pledged at the four investment conferences to R1.14 trillion,” he said.

The president said the investment pledges have brought in 95% of the target and the balance would not only be achieved by next year, but would exceed it.

“The investment commitments that have been made here today are impressive, not only by virtue of the cumulative value of the investments, but also by the sheer number and diversity of projects that they represent,'' he said.

Ramaphosa singled out the countries which pledged investments in the country.

“It’s important that I should mention some of these countries because there has been this notion that we are losing traction (and) the world is turning against us.

''The companies that have come forward to make pledges come from countries like Belgium, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Mauritius, Norway, Pakistan, Sweden, Turkey, the UAE, the US and the UK. That is a good collection of countries to have as your investors,” he said.

Ramaphosa said the investments in projects like mining would breathe a new life into one of South Africa’s oldest industries and still one of its most important.

“The investments in steel, vanadium, aluminium and other manufacturing plants all contribute to our ongoing effort to add value to the minerals that we mine and to create jobs that would otherwise have gone to more industrialised countries. We have been talking about beneficiation for a number of years and we are beginning now to see more and more fruition,” he said.

Other areas that will be supported by the new investments include production of vaccines and other pharmaceuticals, both for South Africa and the African continent; the export potential of the country’s automotive sector; infrastructure and logistics; property, telecommunications, agriculture and the digital economy.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)