A clear line in the investor sand about the local business-unfriendly environment has been drawn by the news this morning that French businesses have decided to halt further investments in South Africa.
News 24 reports that this position will only change once the government implements necessary reforms to provide a stable and competitive operating environment,
Sébastien de Place, president of the French Foreign Trade Advisors in SA and a partner at international auditing and advisory firm, Mazars, stated that French companies chose to hold off on committing to additional investments at the 2023 South Africa Investment Conference.
He said business leaders are eager to see material improvements around energy stability, logistics efficiencies, port competitiveness, anti-corruption measures and an improved investor visa application process.
De Place also mentioned that countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, Egypt, Ghana, and Nigeria are developing faster through more favourable policies and attracting French attention as better potential investment destinations.
According to Kim Silberman, economist and macro strategist at Matrix Fund Managers, Tuesday’s gross domestic product data showed that SA’s tertiary and secondary sectors contracted and inventories were drawn down for the first time since 2021, implying that producers and manufacturers are pessimistic about the future.
There are more than 400 French companies in SA, directly employing 70 000 people and contributing to the fiscus through taxes, according to De Place.
The businesses include TotalEnergies, EDF, Engie, Air France, Air Liquide, Sanofi, BNP Paribas, Mazars, Danone, Lactalis, Leroy Merlin, L’Oréal and Pernod Ricard. SOURCE: News 24.
