All potential investments – local and foreign – will be “secure and safe in South Africa,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said in Johannesburg on Thursday.
Ramaphosa was speaking at a day-long 4th South African Investment Conference (SAIC) which has set a US$80-billion target worth of investment funds by the end of 2023 to add to the US$51.33 billion raised since the inaugural conference in 2018.
Ramaphosa said there were many reasons why investors should put money in the country.
“They see an open society that has enabled us to weather many storms. They see a strong and vibrant democracy, a diverse media and an active civil society,” the president said.
He added: “They see durable institutions, an independent judiciary and the rule of law. After a decade of state capture, they see a country that is confronting corruption and criminality.”
According to him, “many companies represented by many of you here, will come forward to make new investment commitments because you see opportunity in this country. You see beyond the difficulties and challenges. You see reform and progress.”
The SAIC will profile the strengths and comparative advantages South Africa offered investors and trade partners in a period of growing African integration through the African Continental Free Trade Area.
NM/jn/APA