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.
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REGION<br />
The Provincial Government of the Free State<br />
has hosted two events targeting foreign investors,<br />
called the Free State Global Investors Trade Bridge.<br />
In 2016 the first Free State/Madeira Flower Festival<br />
took place in Parys. This is a first step in creating links<br />
to export markets in floriculture and horticulture.<br />
Mining and agriculture were for many decades<br />
the bedrock of the Free State economy. The northwestern<br />
part of the province sits on top of a rich<br />
gold-bearing reef more than 400km long, known<br />
as the goldfields region. <strong>South</strong> Africa is the world’s<br />
largest gold producer, and the country’s largest<br />
gold-mining complex is Free State Consolidated<br />
Goldfields, with an area of 330km². Gold-mining<br />
volumes are down and some towns are having to<br />
adjust to changed economic profiles. Diamonds are<br />
also found in the south of the province.<br />
Large percentages of <strong>South</strong> Africa’s agricultural<br />
production, particularly grains, originate in the Free<br />
State. Sorghum, sunflower, wheat, maize, potatoes<br />
and groundnuts come from the fertile plains of the<br />
western and northern Free State, while the valleys<br />
of the east produce almost all of <strong>South</strong> Africa’s cherries<br />
and asparagus. Livestock and flowers are other<br />
important agricultural products.<br />
Economic future<br />
Although agriculture and mining remain the mainstays<br />
of the provincial economy, diversification<br />
and expansion through initiatives such as Special<br />
Economic Zones (SEZs) are key to the future of the<br />
centrally located province. The official launch in April<br />
2017 of the Maluti-A-Phofung Special Economic<br />
Zone was thus a significant event for the provincial<br />
economy’s future shape. The 1 000ha site will have<br />
four zones: agri-processing, light industrial, heavy<br />
industrial and a container terminal.<br />
The N8 Corridor concept covers Bloemfontein,<br />
Botshabelo and Thaba Nchu and encompasses projects<br />
such as the ICC Precinct (hotel and convention<br />
centre in Bloemfontein), Bio-Medical Park, Airport<br />
Node (logistics and supply chain, warehouses, residential<br />
apartments, hospitals, schools, hotels and<br />
new shopping malls), and tourism infrastructure for<br />
the Naval Hill Development.<br />
The Free State also wants to create more valueadded<br />
goods out of raw materials. This applies to<br />
agriculture (in which the Free State enjoys great<br />
riches) and minerals. Five agri-parks are planned in<br />
each of the Free State’s district municipalities which<br />
will boost production so that more produce is available<br />
for beneficiation. Within these parks, support<br />
for rural smallholders will be available in terms of<br />
equipment hire from a central source, storage facilities,<br />
packaging of produce and getting products to<br />
market. The use of small towns such as Cornelia,<br />
Tweeling, Excelsior and Tweespruit as hubs under<br />
the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme<br />
(CRDP) will boost the rural economy and provide<br />
opportunities for investors.<br />
Newly discovered natural gas and helium fields<br />
are said to have proven reserves of 25-billion-feet³<br />
and Afrox has become the first of what may soon be<br />
a string of investors exploiting this resource. Afrox<br />
is a subsidiary of the Linde Group of Germany and<br />
has signed a deal with renewable energy company<br />
Renergen. A R200-million helium extraction plant<br />
will be built, to be ready in 2019.<br />
Sasolburg, an important petrochemical site in<br />
the Free State, recently fired up a new power plant<br />
running solely on gas. This power plant is the largest<br />
of its kind in Africa. The plant produces 140MW<br />
of power for the usage of Sasol’s chemical factory<br />
adjacent to the site, and feeds into the national grid.<br />
Eskom’s Ingula pumped storage project scheme,<br />
bordering KwaZulu-Natal, has started delivering<br />
power. Of the five projects that have been approved<br />
in the Free State so far in terms of the country’s<br />
Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers<br />
Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), two are small<br />
hydro projects and there are several solar projects.<br />
Capital Bloemfontein<br />
Population 2 817 900<br />
Area 129 825km 2<br />
Premier<br />
Languages<br />
Elias Sekgobelo "Ace" Magashule<br />
(ANC)<br />
Afrikaans, English, Sotho,<br />
Tswana<br />
143 SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS <strong>2018</strong>
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