Eastern Cape Business 2017 edition
The 2017 edition of Eastern Cape Business is the 10th issue of this highly successful publication that, since its launch in 2006, has established itself as the premier business and investment guide to the Eastern Cape Province. The Eastern Cape enjoys an abundance of natural and human resources, as well as established industrial infrastructure that drives the economy of the province. This includes three ports and two industrial development zones which are home to a wide range of manufacturers and exporters. The 2017 edition includes an in-depth look at the province’s two Industrial Development Zones, a focus on skills development and investment climate information from the Nelson Mandela Business Chamber and the Border-Kei Chamber of Business.
The 2017 edition of Eastern Cape Business is the 10th issue of this highly successful publication that, since its launch in 2006, has established itself as the premier business and investment guide to the Eastern Cape Province. The Eastern Cape enjoys an abundance of natural and human resources, as well as established industrial infrastructure that drives the economy of the province. This includes three ports and two industrial development zones which are home to a wide range of manufacturers and exporters.
The 2017 edition includes an in-depth look at the province’s two Industrial Development Zones, a focus on skills development and investment climate information from the Nelson Mandela Business Chamber and the Border-Kei Chamber of Business.
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OVERVIEW<br />
Banking and finance<br />
Formal banking is expanding its reach into rural areas.<br />
SECTOR INSIGHT<br />
The renewable energy sector<br />
is taking loans to finance new<br />
developments.<br />
• Nedbank <strong>Business</strong><br />
Banking has a new headquarters<br />
in East London..<br />
News that Postbank (run by the South African Post Office)<br />
received a first-level licence in 2016 was well received in the<br />
<strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>, a province with a high proportion of people<br />
living in rural areas. The Post Office has an unmatched reach,<br />
even in remote parts of the country. By taking these services to rural<br />
areas, it is hoped that small businesses can be more easily created and<br />
given better support where they already exist.<br />
National government wants the bank to serve a developmental<br />
agenda. Once a board has been appointed and a company formed,<br />
the Reserve Bank is likely to grant the full licence. The current Postbank<br />
focusses on taking deposits and savings accounts. Postbank has secured<br />
a R3.7-billion loan to enable it to open its own loan book.<br />
A somewhat informal form of banking (which is popular in rural and<br />
urban settings) has the potential for tremendous growth. The stokvel<br />
(savings clubs) market is estimated at R44-billion in South Africa and<br />
developing products for this market is seen as a possibly lucrative outlet<br />
for South African financial services companies. The <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> will<br />
be no exception.<br />
With the renewable energy sector being actively pursued in South<br />
Africa, a whole new sector in need of funding has opened up for banks,<br />
and the <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> has attracted about a quarter of all new projects<br />
in the bidding process by independent power producers.<br />
For many decades South Africa had a retail banking Big Four –<br />
Standard Bank, Nedbank, Absa/Barclays and First National Bank. All of<br />
them have a strong presence in the <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>, but the big news in<br />
the sector since 2001 has been the<br />
emergence of Capitec Bank. Based<br />
on Capitec’s results for 2015/16,<br />
<strong>Business</strong>Tech published a chart<br />
giving Capitec the fourth most<br />
customers, at 7.3-million, just less<br />
than Nedbank and slightly more<br />
than FNB. Standard Bank (about<br />
11-million) and Absa (about ninemillion)<br />
are top of the list.<br />
Investment company PSG<br />
Group is one of the biggest investors<br />
in Capitec and is a majority<br />
shareholder in PSG Konsult,<br />
a financial services company.<br />
Like other companies of its type,<br />
PSG Konsult is present in the big<br />
<strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> towns, but it also<br />
has a presence in regional centres<br />
such as Middelburg and Aliwal<br />
North. From the Karoo Midlands<br />
towns of Graaff-Reinet, Cradock,<br />
Adelaide and Somerset East, the<br />
firm of Gerber, Botha & Gowar<br />
dispenses financial advice across<br />
large parts of central South Africa.<br />
Standard Bank, which was<br />
founded in Port Elizabeth in 1862,<br />
EASTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2017</strong><br />
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