Patel is unconcerned by Shell confirming this week that it will divest from its downstream operations in South Africa.Foreign direct investment inflows into South Africa increased significantly in real terms to R1.1 trillion over the five years from 2019 to 2023 from the R312 billion in the prior five-year period when Jacob Zuma was for the most part president of the country.
“In the case of Shell, we have seen just in the last 12 months quite significant announcements about exits from other markets,” he said.
“This corresponds with other international rankings that situate SA in the middle of the range of countries for investment appeal, underscoring SA’s strong fundamentals like investor protection and corporate governance.”Patel noted that an EY Attractiveness Africa Report released in November 2023 said South Africa attracted the most FDI projects in Africa, making up 23% of the continent’s total, at 157 — the highest since at least 2016.
“The flows to date – meaning money that has left the investor’s bank account into the construction, machinery procurement or the establishment of the business – is R562 billion.“Projects that have been completed account for R265 billion, projects under construction a further R217 billion and then there are some early implementations and private finance and DFI flows,” he said.