The roadshow will provide him with an opportunity to attract new investors from China to the Maluti-A-Phofung SEZ that is located in the Eastern Free State town of Harrismith |
PRETORIA, South Africa May 29, 2018 A South African delegation comprising government officials from the Department of Trade and Industry and representatives of the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) has arrived in China for the Special Economic Zones Investment Roadshow taking place from 28-30 May 2018. The roadshow, which is aimed at attracting investors to the country’s SEZs is led by the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Bulelani Magwanishe. The roadshow will take place in the form of a seminar where the South African SEZ delegation will make presentations on South Africa’s SEZ value-propositions, opportunities and incentives offered to companies which invest in the zones. The targeted audience include investors, finance institutions and government representatives. The SA delegation will also visit a successful SEZs in Shanghai for the purpose of benchmarking and knowledge-sharing. The Chief Executive Officer of the Free State Development Corporation, Mr Ikhraam Osman says the roadshow will provide him with an opportunity to attract new investors from China to the Maluti-A-Phofung SEZ that is located in the Eastern Free State town of Harrismith. “the dti and the Free State Development Corporation have spent a significant amount of money on upgrading the infrastructure of the Maluti-A-Phofung SEZ to make it more attractive to the investors. Now is the time for us to focus our attention on bringing more investors to the SEZ in order for it to effectively serve its purpose of contributing in growing the economy and creating jobs in the province,” says Osman. The Project Manager of the Tubatse Special Economic Zone, Ms Bunjiwe Gwebu says the trip will provide her with an opportunity to meet with relevant companies in China and present to them various investment opportunities that will be available for them in proposed Tubatse SEZ to take advantage of. “This is part of our mission to market the SEZ internationally with the aim of attracting foreign investors to invest in various sectors of our focus which include platinum beneficiation, manufacturing and assembling of mining inputs,” says Gwebu. The General Manager of Properties and Infrastructure at the Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency, Mr Themba Camane says he will be using the opportunity to talk to potential investors interested in the agro-processing sector in particular, and agriculture generally. “We will also be looking at investors who are interested in investing in our green energy production infrastructure. Our ultimate goal is to make sure that the proposed SEZ effectively serves its purpose of creating jobs for the people of Nkomazi as well as contribute significantly in the economic growth of the province. We have identified about eight Chinese companies that we will be targeting during this trip with the aim of attracting them to invest in Nkomazi,” says Camane. The Project Executive of the Special Economic Zones at the North West Development Corporation, Mr Davis Sadike also expressed confidence that he will be able to attract investors to the Platinum Valley Special Economic Zone, which is also known as the Bojanala Special Economic Zone. The zone is focusing on mineral beneficiation with special emphasis on platinum and chrome, mining capital equipment manufacturing, agro-processing and renewable energy storage sectors. “The trip provides us with an opportunity to sell the SEZ to potential Chinese investors in their backyard. We are optimistic that we will be able to create sufficient interest amongst the investors and return with concrete commitments,” says Sadike. The Sector Specialist of the Upington Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Ms Babalwa Mbobo says she is looking forward to attracting investors from China to invest in the Upington SEZ, primarily in the solar energy sector because there are many companies in China that are operating in the sector. “We are aware that some of the companies are interested in investing in South Africa and the trip will give us an opportunity to provide them with relevant information regarding the opportunities that are available in our SEZ,” says Mbobo. Distributed by APO Group |
