SA is committed to policy certainty, Paul Mashatile says at France meet
Mashatile said he hopes French businesses will choose SA as a gateway to Africa, leveraging on the country's advanced financial sector and growing population. He said SA had curated an investment book of $40bn (R7.1-trillion) in public and private sector projects that are ready for investments.
He said SA was aiming to attract investments in critical minerals including lithium, vanadium and cobalt which are available in the country. It also wanted French investment in infrastructure, green energy and pharmaceutical technology.
'We are looking at our partners including France to bring advanced and sustainable innovation,' he said.
Mashatile said since the first South African investment conference in 2018, French companies had committed more than R70bn with most projects either completed or being implemented. Announcements included renewable energy generation capacity, manufacturing, retail agribusiness and other services sectors, he said.
'On the trade side, we need to extend our trade basket and SA will be a partner for high value-added products. We have a list of the top 100 products we would like to introduce to the French markets through inward buying, exhibitions and sourcing,' he said.
Also speaking at the conference, Laurent Saint-Martin, French minister of commerce, said France was a gateway to the European market.
'France has been the most attractive destination for foreign investment in Europe for six consecutive years,' said Saint-Martin.
He said the European market had more than 415-million people and strong infrastructure. He said companies including SA's Sibanye-Stillwater had taken advantage of potential in Europe.
Philippe Labonne, CEO of Africa Global Logistics, said SA was considered a gateway for Africa. He said there were more than 480 French companies and their local branches in SA, representing 65,000 direct jobs.
'We are ready for many more partnerships with your country and with South African companies.
'French companies are interested. We have built strong partnerships with South African companies to release the potential of the country and the region.'
Labonne said there were opportunities to invest in infrastructure, including building roads, railroads, ports and sanitation.
'We have great experience in agro-processing which is also a priority sector.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Maverick
an hour ago
- Daily Maverick
Stocks slip, dollar droops as trade, geopolitical tensions weigh
Rising Middle East tension dents sentiment, lift oil, gold Markets give lukewarm reception to US-China truce agreement Trump's latest tariff salvo unnerves investors Soft US CPI sets stage for Fed meeting next week By Ankur Banerjee and Johann M Cherian SINGAPORE, June 12 (Reuters) – Global stocks and the dollar slipped on Thursday as investors sized up a benign US inflation report and the fragile trade truce between Washington and Beijing, while rising tensions in the Middle East and lingering tariff anxiety dented risk sentiment. Attention in financial markets this week has been on the US-China trade talks which culminated in a framework agreement that would remove Chinese export restrictions on rare earth minerals and allow Chinese students access to US universities. 'We made a great deal with China. We're very happy with it,' said US President Donald Trump. Markets though were guarded in their response, awaiting fuller, concrete details of the agreement and remained wary of another flare up. Trump also said the US would send out letters in one to two weeks outlining the terms of trade deals to dozens of other countries, which they could embrace or reject, adding yet another dose of uncertainty in the markets. 'The US China deal really just leaves the tariffs in place after they've been cut back following the Geneva meeting, so it doesn't really change things,' said Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy and chief economist at AMP Capital. 'Ultimately the trade tension is yet to be resolved between the US and China.' MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.3% lower in early trading after hitting a three year-high on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.7%, while US and European stock futures fell. China's blue-chip stock index fell 0.37%, moving off the near three-week top it touched in the previous session. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 0.74%, also inching away from Wednesday's three-month high. Trump's erratic tariff policies have roiled global markets this year, prompting hordes of investors to exit USassets, especially the dollar, as they worried about rising prices and slowing economic growth. The euro, one of the beneficiaries of the dollar's decline, rose to a seven-week high and was last at $1.1512. The Japanese yen was 0.4% firmer at 144.03 per dollar. That pushed the dollar index, which measures the US currency against six other key rivals, to its lowest level since April 22. The index is down 9% this year. Data on Wednesday showed US consumer prices increased less than expected in May as cheaper gasoline partially offset higher rents, but inflation is expected to accelerate in the coming months on the back of the Trump administration's import tariffs. The soft inflation report led Trump to renew his call for the Federal Reserve to push through a major rate cut. The president has been pressing for rate cuts for some time even as Fed officials have shrugged off his comments. Traders are pricing in a 70% chance of a quarter-point reduction in the Fed policy rate by September. Policymakers are widely expected to keep rates unchanged next week. AMP's Oliver said the higher prices will flow through either in the form of higher inflation or lower profit margins. 'I suspect it's probably going to be a combination of the two. Therefore it makes sense for the Fed to wait and see what happens rather than rushing into a rate cut.' In commodities, oil prices were pinned at two-month highs, close to $70 a barrel, on worries of supply disruptions in the Middle East after Iran said it will strike US bases in the region if nuclear talks fail and conflict arises with Washington. O/R Gold prices also got a boost from safe-haven flows, with spot gold up 0.5% at $3,370.29.
IOL News
2 hours ago
- IOL News
Subscriber losses mount for MultiChoice as financial challenges escalate
MultiChoice, a leading entertainment company, has revealed a staggering loss of 2.8 million active linear subscribers over the past two financial years, as it released its results for the year ending March 31, 2025. In the reporting period linear subscribers were down 1.2m, or 8%, to 14.5m active subscribers, with the loss evenly split between South African (0.6m) and Rest of Africa (0.6m). The group said although reflecting an improvement on 2024 trends, "this indicates ongoing broad-based pressure across the group's entire customer base". "The past two financial years have been a period of significant financial disruption for economies, corporates and consumers across sub-Saharan Africa due to challenging macro-economic factors. Combined with the impact of structural industry changes in video entertainment such as the rise of piracy, streaming services and social media, this has materially affected the overall performance of the MultiChoice Group," it said.
IOL News
2 hours ago
- IOL News
Ramaphosa and Trump to discuss trade relations at G7 Summit
President Cyril Ramaphosa and his US counterpart Donald Trump are set to meet, for the second time, at the G7 Summit expected to be held in Canada this weekend. Image: Supplied / GCIS President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to meet with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) Summit in Canada this weekend. The meeting will focus on key issues, including the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and US-SA tariffs. Ramaphosa's meeting with Trump comes after South Africa submitted a revised framework proposal to the US, aiming to expand trade and investment relations between the two countries. The US imposed tariffs on South African imports in April, with a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs of 30% against South African exports. The tariffs were part of a broader set of 'liberation day' tariffs imposed by Trump on all US trading partners. However, they were later reduced to a base rate of 10%, with the expectation that countries would use the 90 days to propose solutions addressing the US's trade deficit concerns. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ramaphosa's meeting with Trump will be his second in about three weeks, following their tense encounter at the White House last month. During their previous meeting, Ramaphosa emphasised the importance of the US's role in the G20 Summit and invited Trump to attend the G20 Leaders' Summit in Johannesburg later this year. Trump agreed to attend, and Ramaphosa sees this as a positive development for bilateral relations. According to sources close to Ramaphosa, the meeting agenda will include discussions on AGOA, providing duty-free access to the US market for some African products. The agreement is set to expire in September, and South Africa is eager to see it renewed. Ramaphosa will also raise concerns about US-SA tariffs, urging the US not to increase them beyond the current 10% if negotiations on a new trade framework are not concluded by July 9. The sources further said the meeting between Ramaphosa and Trump was significant, given the current state of US-SA trade relations. 'The business sector has expressed concerns about the rise of tariffs, and Ramaphosa is under pressure to come up with answers. A successful meeting could help to ease tensions and pave the way for improved trade relations between the two countries,' the source added. Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya did not respond to questions as to what to expect at the upcoming meeting. However, Ramaphosa, while speaking to journalists on Tuesday after he announced the date for the National Dialogue on various issues affecting the country, confirmed that he would be meeting Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Ramaphosa said he was invited by Carney, who holds the presidency of the G7, and would also use the opportunity to talk about the G20 Summit to be hosted by South Africa in November, where Trump will take over the presidency. 'We're going to use it as a platform to begin to consolidate what we want to achieve in November when the leaders' summit takes place here (in Johannesburg),' he said. Last month, Ramaphosa and his delegation included Minister of Trade and Industry Parks Tau, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen, and International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola. His goals for that meeting included resetting US-SA relations and beginning serious engagement with the US on trade and investment. He emphasised that South Africa did not 'go kowtowing' to the White House but rather took the initiative to engage with the US. 'For us, it's important for us as a nation to reposition ourselves in the very turbulent geopolitical architecture or situation that we have,' Ramaphosa said at the time. Cape Times
