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Home to the most developed transport network and logistics industry on the continent, South Africa ranks highest in Africa and among the best in its income group globally on a number of indices. While both freight operators and passenger service operators have been experiencing respectable growth in the past year, the long-term success of such industries will be tied to the government’s ability...

Industrial activity plays a central role in the South African economy, accounting for around 31.6% of GDP in 2011, and employing a large portion of the population in labour-intensive processes. Like many comparable economies, recent decades have seen the nation’s economic activity tilt away from traditional industry towards a more service-based economy. However, various plans are in place for...

The mining industry in South Africa is the fifth largest in the world, and today it accounts for more than 5% of the nation’s GDP. Moreover, the sector remains one of the country’s most important sources of employment, providing 16.2% – or nearly 1.4m – of the total formal non-agricultural jobs. The labour unrest that was seen in 2012 highlighted some of the challenges faced by the sector as it...

As the continent’s most developed insurance sector, South Africa accounts for some 52% of African non-life premiums. The short-term insurance market is primarily focused on property and auto products, which together make up almost 75% of short-term gross premiums. Speedy growth in the number of independent insurers has created a robust takeover environment for the major insurers. However, the...

Home to the world’s 19th-largest exchange, South Africa has mature capital markets able to serve not only the domestic economy but also the wider continent. As global risk appetite for emerging market equities returned from mid-September 2012 following concerted interventions by the world’s central banks, South African equities rallied sharply. Bonds also did well in 2012, despite sovereign...

Competition in South Africa’s highly concentrated banking sector has led to it having the highest penetration rates – both in terms of credit to GDP and banked customers – of any African country. The sector had recovered from the effects of the global financial crisis on the real economy by the start of 2012, but significant uncertainties remain, stemming mainly from the flat growth outlook in...