South African Business 2018 edition

Nedbank, Standard Bank and Capitec Bank are among
several big finance groups which have a strong presence
in the Eastern Cape.
The automotive industry provides 30% of the
jobs in the province’s manufacturing sector and accounts
for 32% of gross added value. Half of South
Africa’s passenger vehicles are made in the Eastern
Cape and 51% of the country’s motor exports
originate here.
Ford makes engines in Port Elizabeth. General
Motors South Africa (GMSA) manufactures and assembles
vehicles and is a leader in producing catalytic
converters. The Eastern Cape supplies 14% of the world
market in catalytic converters. Among the other products
exported by GMSA to Mexico, the US, Europe and
Australia are seat belts and aluminium heat shields. The
Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has identified
the automotive-parts sector as a target sector to
grow exports.
The largest mall to be constructed in South
Africa since 2004 has opened in Port Elizabeth. The
Bay West Mall is a sign of confidence in the Eastern
Cape economy.
Tourism
The Eastern Cape has some unique natural advantages
as a tourist destination. For example, the province covers
seven different biomes (communities of plants and
animals coexisting in a particular place), of which the
grassland, Nama Karoo, thicket and savanna biomes are
the most extensive. The Eastern Cape has three areas of
endemism: Albany, the Drakensberg and Pondoland.
The National Arts Festival in Grahamstown is a key
national festival.
The Addo Elephant National Park is a 164 000ha
facility that attracts more visitors than East Africa’s
Serengeti National Park. Other national parks in the
province are the Camdeboo National Park (around
Graaff-Reinet and now home to some lions), the
Mountain Zebra Park (near Cradock) and the Garden
Route Park, a marine reserve.
The Eastern Cape Provincial Government is responsible
for 21 nature reserves and is planning
to commercialise the administration of many of
these facilities.
Economic future
REGION
More than 6 000 international athletes will line up on
a beach in Port Elizabeth in September 2018 for the
first African staging of the 2018 IRONMAN 70.3 World
Championship. This event illustrates the Eastern
Cape’s striving to be a world-class events destination.
International conferences on the Oceans Economy
have also been held in recent months, indicative of
this coastal province’s determination to make the
most of its 800km coastline, with three ports and two
associated industrial development zones geared to
attracting investments in new sectors. Programmes
are in place to promote ship-building and repair,
aquaculture, offshore oil and gas, marine protection
and governance, and marine transport and
manufacturing. The Nelson Mandela University
(NMU) launched an Oceans Campus in 2017 and
already has several research chairs studying this
potentially very lucrative field.
The Eastern Cape’s long coastline is an asset in the
national Oceans Economy strategy. With three major
ports, two of which house industrial development
zones (IDZs), the province is well placed to leverage
the advantages that will come with the promotion
of maritime sectors.
National government aims for the Oceans
Economy to contribute R29-billion to the national
gross domestic product (GDP) by 2019 and a possible
R177-billion by 2033. This is part of the broader
National Development Plan (NDP).
Another new area of interest is renewable energy.
The Eastern Cape is a favourite destination for
wind power investors. Of the 17 projects approved
in the province in terms of the national independent
producers’ programme, fully 16 are on-shore wind
projects. More than 1 500MW has so far been procured
within the borders of the province, and there
is potential for much more.
Capital Bhisho
Population 6 916 200
Area 168 966km 2
Premier Phumulo Masualle (ANC)
Languages Afrikaans, English, Xhosa
141 SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2018