French companies have announced R50-billion of new investments in South Africa in different sectors, including energy, health, tourism, mobility, retail, manufacturing and agro-industry, the French embassy in South Africa has said.
The announcement was made at the 2022 South Africa Investment Conference on March 24 and follows the announcement of R20-billion in investment commitments in 2019, which have already been fulfilled.
“This year’s conference comes at a time when South Africa continues to build a firm foundation for a sustained economic recovery that will encourage further investment and stimulate new opportunities and jobs for its citizens, especially following Covid-19. This new pledge demonstrates the resilience of French companies in South Africa.
“However, to sustain this investment effort, it is crucial that business-friendly policies are reinforced, such as structural reforms, including port efficiencies, energy stability, anticorruption policies and security, as well as streamlined visa processes for investors to avoid any delays in implementation. These steps would further reinforce the position of South Africa as the investment hub on the African continent,” the embassy said.
During his visit to South Africa last year, French President Emmanuel Macron and President Cyril Ramaphosa reaffirmed the importance of the bilateral trade and investments between the two countries. They agreed to work together to increase trade and to promote investment that supports industrial development. Today, the European Union remains South Africa’s biggest trade and investment partner.
“France shares the transformation agenda of President Ramaphosa and is committed to being part of the investment drive that is now gathering pace following the pandemic. We are proud to be such an important partner and friend to South Africa,” said French ambassador to South Africa Aurélien Lechevallier.
The 22 companies behind the substantial investments are Advini, Air Liquide, Alstom, BNP Paribas, Bolloré Logistics, Bureau Veritas, Danone, EDF, Engie, Kasada, Leroy Merlin, Limagrain, L’Oréal, Mobilitas, Pernod Ricard, Sanofi, Saint-Gobain, Schneider Electric, Séché, TotalEnergies, Trace and Veolia.
About 400 French companies, from highly internationalised groups to small and medium-sized enterprises, have a presence in South Africa and directly employ around 65 000 people in the country. The companies invest with a long-term outlook, alongside South African partners, and contribute to the socioeconomic transformation of the country.
“This new investment further proves the strong resilience and confidence of French companies in South Africa, despite many challenges still to be tackled, such as structural reforms to be accelerated, including energy stability, port competitiveness and investor visa ease to allow SA to remain the preferred Hub for Africa,” emphasised Foreign Trade Advisers of France in South Africa president Jean-Claude Lasserre.