Last week BHP made a bid for Anglo American minus the SA assets, confirming the widely held perception that SA mining is uninvestible due to bureaucratic ineptitude in the issuing of mining licences, onerous BEE requirements and the disasters at Eskom and logistics provider Transnet.
The same week BHP threw its hat in the Anglo ring, PwC published a report showing that SA has attracted net positive FDI every year since 2018. Read/listen: Foreign direct investment in SA at highest levels since 2016 Priced just right: Why global giants have their eyes set on SA Inc Heineken’s Distell acquisition strengthens SA’s foreign direct investment attractiveness Manufacturing is by far the largest holder of FDI at 38.5% of the inward stock, followed by mining and financial services .South Africa has seen a net FDI inflow every year since 2018, says PwC’s April Economic Outlook bulletin.
In fact, 2021 was a huge year for inflows, totalling a net R594 billion or 9.5% of GDP, which contributed to SA’s ability to bounce back from the devastation of Covid. “The financial services sector in SA is sophisticated and well developed and has shown relatively strong growth in recent years, which would make it attractive for foreign investors,” says Viljoen.