South African Business 2018 edition
Welcome to the sixth edition of the South African Business journal. First published in 2011, the publication has established itself as the premier business and investment guide to South Africa, supported by an e-book edition at www.southafricanbusiness.co.za. Regular pages cover all the main economic sectors of the South African economy and give a snapshot of each of the country’s provincial economies. Feature articles on topical issues such as sustainability and African trade provide unique insights, together with an interview with the newly elected chairman of the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers, Mr Thomas Schaefer. Another special feature focusses on an exciting project to transform South Africa’s small harbours and coastal properties. South African Business is complemented by nine regional publications covering the business and investment environment in each of South Africa’s provinces. The e-book editions can be viewed online at www.globalafricanetwork.com. First published in 2011, the publication has established itself as the premier business and investment guide to South Africa, supported by an e-book edition at www.southafricanbusiness.co.za Regular pages cover all the main economic sectors of the South African economy and give a snapshot of each of the country’s provincial economies. Feature articles on topical issues such as sustainability and African trade provide unique insights, together with an interview with the newly elected chairman of the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers, Mr Thomas Schaefer. Another special feature focusses on an exciting project to transform South Africa’s small harbours and coastal properties. South African Business is complemented by nine regional publications covering the business and investment environment in each of South Africa’s provinces. Visit www.globalafricanetwork.com for more business and investment news, opportunities and events.
Welcome to the sixth edition of the South African Business journal. First published in 2011, the publication has established itself as the premier business and investment guide to South Africa, supported by an e-book edition at www.southafricanbusiness.co.za.
Regular pages cover all the main economic sectors of the South African economy and give a snapshot of each of the country’s provincial economies. Feature articles on topical issues such as sustainability and African trade provide unique insights, together with an interview with the newly elected chairman of the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers, Mr Thomas Schaefer. Another special feature focusses on an exciting project to transform South Africa’s small harbours and coastal properties.
South African Business is complemented by nine regional publications covering the business and investment environment in each of South Africa’s provinces. The e-book editions can be viewed online at www.globalafricanetwork.com.
First published in 2011, the publication has established itself as the premier business and investment guide to South Africa, supported by an e-book edition at www.southafricanbusiness.co.za
Regular pages cover all the main economic sectors of the South African economy and give a snapshot of each of the country’s provincial economies. Feature articles on topical issues such as sustainability and African trade provide unique insights, together with an interview with the newly elected chairman of the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers, Mr Thomas Schaefer. Another special feature focusses on an exciting project to transform South Africa’s small harbours and coastal properties.
South African Business is complemented by nine regional publications covering the business and investment environment in each of South Africa’s provinces. Visit www.globalafricanetwork.com for more business and investment news, opportunities and events.
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Chemicals and pharmaceuticals<br />
Drug research is in the spotlight.<br />
OVERVIEW<br />
The Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D) at the University<br />
of Cape Town wants to become the <strong>African</strong> continent’s first drug<br />
discovery entity. Companies such as Merck, Novartis and Janssen and<br />
non-profits like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are working<br />
with the centre.<br />
Pharmaceuticals are manufactured primarily in Gauteng and the<br />
Eastern Cape. Although there are more than 200 pharmaceutical firms<br />
in the country, large companies dominate the field. In 2016 Aspen had<br />
a market capitalisation of R160-billion and Adcock-Ingram R7.6-billion.<br />
Ascendis, which was established in 2008 and now has a market cap of<br />
R6.9-billion, has been acquiring companies such as a genetic manufacturer<br />
based in Cyprus. Cipla Medpro is another big company.<br />
Aspen SA produces about 10-billion tablets per year at its Port Elizabeth<br />
facility. The company has another factory in Gauteng and successful<br />
operations in <strong>South</strong> America and Australia.<br />
<strong>South</strong> Africa’s chemical industry contributes 5% to national gross domestic<br />
product (GDP) and about 60% of earnings are derived from exports.<br />
The complexes run by Sasol at Secunda (Mpumalanga) and Sasolburg<br />
(Free State) underpin the national manufacturing capacity in chemicals.<br />
Sasol Chemical Industries makes about 60% of <strong>South</strong> Africa’s polypropylene.<br />
Safripol is <strong>South</strong> Africa’s only other producer. More than half of Sasol’s<br />
production of 625 000 tons is exported.<br />
Omnia and Kynoch (fertiliser), Karbochem (rubber and carbo-chemical),<br />
Safripol (plastics) and Afrox are among the other major companies<br />
operating out of Sasolburg.<br />
The by-products of the sugar and forestry processing plants of<br />
KwaZulu-Natal benefit the chemicals sector. Illovo Sugar manufactures<br />
downstream products such furfural, furfuryl, alcohol, diacetyl and<br />
ethyl alcohol.<br />
ONLINE RESOURCES<br />
Chemical and Allied Industries’ Association: www.caia.co.za<br />
National Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers:<br />
www.napm.org.za<br />
Plastics SA: www.plasticsinfo.co.za<br />
SECTOR INSIGHT<br />
Sappi makes 17% of the<br />
world’s dissolving wood pulp.<br />
Sappi makes 17% of the world’s<br />
dissolving wood pulp. Two of the<br />
company’s three mills are in <strong>South</strong><br />
Africa, Ngodwana (Mpumalanga)<br />
and Saiccor (KwaZulu-Natal).<br />
The latter mill has a capacity of<br />
800 000 tons per annum of sulphite<br />
dissolving wood pulp, making it the<br />
world’s single largest manufacturing<br />
site.<br />
Two large oil refineries and a<br />
sophisticated sugar milling and<br />
refining industry underpin chemical<br />
manufacturing in KwaZulu-<br />
Natal. German chemicals group<br />
Lanxess has built a carbon dioxide<br />
concentration unit at its existing<br />
plant in Newcastle where the steel<br />
works of ArcelorMittal produce<br />
by-products such as ammonium<br />
sulphate. Large companies such as<br />
Karbochem, Bayer, <strong>African</strong> Amines<br />
and SA Calcium Carbide also operate<br />
in the area.<br />
AECI is one of <strong>South</strong> Africa’s<br />
biggest groups. The two principal<br />
divisions are AEL Mining Services<br />
and Chemical Services .<br />
Foskor is the country’s only<br />
vertically integrated phosphates<br />
producer.<br />
103 SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS <strong>2018</strong>
Change language