South Africa

Home to one of the continent’s most sophisticated retail markets, South Africa boasts a wide variety of retail formats and distribution channels to match the diversity of the country itself. The retail sector has played an important role in helping South Africa rebound from the 2008-09 financial crisis relatively unscathed, as social grants, increases in public sector...

For over a century, up until the fall of apartheid, the entirety of South Africa’s mining sector was controlled by a small selection of diversified conglomerates, each governed by a group financing model. New, foreign or specialised participation in the sector was a rarity, as the incumbent mining finance houses held titles and rights over unexploited assets.

Industrial action has become an annual event for a number of South African sectors, leading to what is referred to as “strike season” during the second and third quarters of the year. In the mining sector, particularly in the platinum industry, the last couple of years have seen an escalation in terms of the size and scope of labour unrest, which could have significant...

South Africa’s industrial policy has been underpinned by the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP), which is launched each year by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on a three-year rolling basis and covering a 10-year outlook. The latest iteration, which will cover the period from 2014 to 2017, will place greater emphasis on trade competitiveness by directing...

Manufacturing constitutes South Africa’s secondlargest economic sector and currently accounts for 15.2% of GDP, as well as being responsible for the creation of roughly 1.7m jobs. It also ranks among the top three sectors in terms of multiplier effect, producing R1.16 ($0.11) of value added for every R1 ($0.09) invested according to industry representative group the...