The European Union (EU) Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Southern Africa has just completed a survey of more than 100 European companies operating in South Africa about the investment climate here.According to Rui Marto, chair of the EU Chamber, this is the first survey since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the data collected will be supplemented with information from more than 150 potential investors in South Africa that are based in the EU member states.“This survey will give us up-to-date information about the range of issues that impact EU businesses in South Africa and the outlook they have for trade. We hope to release the data from our survey in May.”With the Chamber being the representative of European business in South Africa, the survey is an important tool to gather information to drive continued investment, meaningful transformation and sustainable economic growth.Marto said the EU Chamber also actively monitored legislative and regulatory developments in South Africa.“In the past six months, we have made a submission to Parliament on the proposed amendment to Section 25 of the Constitution that states no one may be deprived of property except in terms of law of general application, engaged with the Department of Home Affairs on the critical skills visa process, and reviewed the impact of the localisation policy. We have also undertaken dedicated research to understand logistics challenges in South Africa. Other legislation that we have monitored includes the Employment Equity Amendment Bill, The Draft Company’s Amendment Bill, Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Bill, Expropriation Bill, and the Draft Public Procurement Bill.”They were also monitoring the African Continental Free Trade Area which had huge potential for South Africa and its neighbours, Marto added.“At the same time, we also continue to ensure that business is aware of the opportunities that exist under the EU-SADC EPA agreement.”From a Europe perspective, he said South Africans were advised to take note of two trends.“The first is the strong emphasis in Europe on green economy and the opportunities in this regard, e.g. circular economy and recycling, green hydrogen and electric vehicles,” he told Freight News. “Then there is the continuous adaptation and development of technology to enhance manufacturing processes and service delivery. We believe there are opportunities here for South African firms with regard to technology transfer and exchange.”He said the outlook for trade with Europe remained positive and the Chamber was committed to strengthening the trade and investment relationship with South Africa.“It is already significant but we believe there is untapped potential to expand the trade of both existing products, especially in the agriculture and agro-processing space, as well as to encourage the participation of new companies.
