SA Inc a hard sell, but areas of 'enormous interest' to foreign investors

The third SA Investment Conference has kicked off. Bruce Whitfield interviews president's Special Investment Envoy, Jacko Maree.

In April 2018, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a drive to secure R1.2 trillion in additional investments over a five-year period.

The third South Africa Investment Conference got underway in Johannesburg on Tuesday as the Covid-19 pandemic further tests an economy already in trouble.

President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the second South Africa Investment Conference in Sandton, Johannesburg on 6 November 2019. Picture: @PresidencyZA/Twitter

Ramaphosa notes that over the last 10 months, the pandemic forced many promising investments pledged at previous conferences to be scaled back or put on hold.

This year’s (semi-virtual) conference, he says, is about implementation and turning commitments into brick and mortar projects in our cities and towns.

Our national objective is that the investments we secure at the third South Africa Investment Conference must lead to more jobs and improved living standards, and ultimately build the highway that leads to a better, more inclusive future for all.
President Cyril Ramaphosa

Bruce Whitfield interviews Jacko Maree (deputy chairperson of Standard Bank), who is the president's Special Envoy on Investment.

Maree acknowledges that South Africa is a hard sell but says there is reason for optimism, particularly in specific industries.

It's been a pretty dead period since March... The whole focus has been on developing a recovery and reconstruction plan... background work to try and get a story to tell.
Jacko Maree, Special Envoy on Investment to the President of the Republic of SA

We have to have a story to tell because we're in a competitive situation. Every country in the world has a similar idea which is to restart, kickstart their economy through infrastructure rollouts, etcetera.
Jacko Maree, Special Envoy on Investment to the President of the Republic of SA

Maree says he's encouraged by the work that went into the recovery plan the president announced a month ago.

What not many people picked up on is that there was a document published... There were five pages of key commitments on infrastructure, on energy security, on fast-tracking reforms for a competitive and inclusive economy - things to be done within three months/six months/twelve months, with departments' names next to them...
Jacko Maree, Special Envoy on Investment to the President of the Republic of SA

For the first time I think one's seeing lists of prioritization... and that plan was agreed in Nedlac by the various social partners...
Jacko Maree, Special Envoy on Investment to the President of the Republic of SA

The sectors Maree highlights for growth include renewable energy, business process outsourcing and agro-industries.

We know that our financial position is pretty precarious at the moment, but there are areas where there really is excitement!
Jacko Maree, Special Envoy on Investment to the President of the Republic of SA

We're exactly halfway along the five-year road from when the president announced his commitment to $100b or R1.2 trillion... so it's a good time to check in and take stock. The real hard work starts now.
Jacko Maree, Special Envoy on Investment to the President of the Republic of SA

Listen to the discussion on The Money Show:

This article first appeared on 702 : SA Inc a hard sell, but areas of 'enormous interest' to foreign investors