南非若想从此走上经济复苏之路，还需要投资者助力其经济发展
文I奥莫菲特塞.姆琪(Omphitlhetse Mooki) 南非《星报》副总编辑 翻译I 王晓波
●新投资驱动计划
●中国的作为
●中国公司在南非的经营
●还有投资的空间吗？
上个月（4月27日）南非庆祝了自由日，24年前的这一天南非人民摆脱了几十年的压迫和种族隔离。在过去的二十年里，国家虽然在自由进程中谱写出新的篇章，可是通往经济自由的道路却是极其曲折的。许多人认为，只有当5700万人民全都获得了经济上的自由，才能说国家实现了真正意义上的自由，而现在他们中的多数人仍生活在贫困当中。
新投资驱动计划
在今年早些时候发表国情咨文时，南非总统西里尔·拉马福萨说，南非经济发展的步伐还不够快，没有能创造足够的就业机会帮助人民走出贫困。他说政府将“大力推进和鼓励经济领域的新的重大投资”，并将重点放在解决制造业下滑以及由此给就业和出口带来的影响这一困局上。
4月27日在自由日发表讲话时，拉马福萨再次重申了同样的内容。他说，“如果我们想消除贫困的话，那我们就需要创造更广泛的经济机会。”为了达到这一目的，政府正在“着手进行一项雄心勃勃的新投资驱动计划，旨在吸引本国和国际上的投资者进入那些对创造就业最具潜力的经济领域。” 拉马福萨还补充说，政府正在努力使南非经济变得更具竞争力和对投资者有吸引力。
这几年一些腐败和政治丑闻的事件严重影响了国家形象，去年评级机构已经将南非下调成垃圾级。不过在拉马福萨就任总统后，投资者的信心已经得到了恢复。穆迪已将南非主权债务前景提高到稳定的级别；标准普尔也在2018年将南非的经济增长预期提高了一倍，从1%调到了2%。南非货币兰特（ZAR）也实现了升值，从去年12月的1美元兑换13.50兰特升值到现在的12兰特。
拉马福萨迅速改组内阁，并且重新任命了国有企业的董事会，因为这些年来腐败和管理不善使国有企业陷入了困境，这些举措成为南非展示新前景的重要驱动力。
如果希望国家从此走上经济复苏之路，还需要投资者助力其经济发展。今年一月在达沃斯举行的世界经济论坛上，拉马福萨说南非欢迎外国投资者在基础设施、公路、桥梁、铁路和港口的建设以及兴建学校、医院、大学和诊所等方面进行投资。采矿业也是南非需要投资的另一领域，因为南非拥有世界上最多的铂（80%）和锰的储量，其它自然资源也很丰富，包括黄金（全球50%的储量）、钻石、铁矿石和煤。在其国情咨文中，拉马福萨特别强调说，“采矿业是另一个未来具有巨大发展潜力和创造就业机会的领域，我们应当把它作为一个朝阳产业来对待。”
采矿业的投资因出台新采矿章程受到阻碍，原因在于新章程将黑人的所有权从20%提高到了30%。许多矿业公司认为此举会危及工作的安全性，最终导致企业破产。不过南非新任的矿业部长Gwede Mantashe在二月份表态说，他们将“加强与矿业公司、工会和社区的合作，推进该行业的发展，同时吸引新的投资和创造就业，确保该产业的转型并且走上一条可持续发展之路。”
中国的作为
从2000年开始，中国已经成为非洲大陆最大的经济合作伙伴，超过了非洲长期的贸易伙伴，比如法国、德国、印度和美国。这一信息来自麦肯锡去年发布的一份报告，该报告研究了占撒哈拉以南非洲地区国内生产总值三分之二的八个国家的状况。
狮子与龙共舞：非洲与中国正在展开怎样的合作、未来又会有怎样的发展？麦肯锡的报告指出，中国在非洲大陆的外商直接投资每年都在以40%的速度增长，而且中国在非洲运营的公司已经有10000家，它们大多从事基础设施建设。在其所调查的八个国家中，南非和埃塞俄比亚与中国合作的程度更高。中国外交部非洲司司长戴兵说，在过去18年里，中国对非洲的投资一直在大幅度增加，2015年已经达到了1150亿美元。此外，2017年，中国和参与一带一路倡议国家的贸易额达到了1.1万亿美元（增长了14.4%）。
南非与中华人民共和国于1998年建立了外交关系，双边贸易以每年15.4%的平均速度增长，去年已经达到了391.7亿美元。过去二十年里，两国建立了牢固的关系，在中非合作论坛（Focac）、金砖国家合作机制、一带一路倡议和南南合作等框架中都是合作伙伴。
2015年中非合作论坛峰会在约翰内斯堡举行期间，在中国国家主席习近平和南非前总统雅各布·祖马的见证下，中国与南非签署了26个投资协议，投资额高达940亿兰特，这为两国的双边合作增添了新动力。签署的协议包括：
1.中国工商银行与南非标准银行之间签署的合作框架协议：这项100亿兰特的协议旨在为中国工商银行以兰特计费筹集资金提供便利。这些资金将被用于南非各经济领域的发展，特别是能源和基础设施建设领域。进展情况：2018年2月，标准银行设立了第一个专门为在南非的中国企业服务的分支机构。它位于约翰内斯堡的中国商城，所有的员工都可以讲流利的英语和汉语。在此之前，标准银行在其总部成立了第一个非洲—中国金融中心。
2.北京汽车集团与工业发展公司签署的谅解备忘录：双方商定在南非的一个沿海城市建汽车制造厂，这样不仅可以创造就业机会，也可以将汽车在南非以及非洲其它地区销售。北京汽车集团在合资企业中占股65%，工业发展公司占股35%。进展情况：该汽车制造厂建在伊丽莎白港，投资总额为110亿兰特。第一批装配设备已于去年12月运抵，包括用于车辆组装、焊接和喷涂的零部件。
3.中国国家开发银行与埃斯科姆（南非国有电力公司）之间的贷款协议：该协议涉及到的贷款金额达到5亿美元，可以对南非与中国的投资和贸易合作起到促进作用，并进一步援助埃斯科姆的基础设施建设项目。进展情况：去年7月，埃斯科姆与中国国家开发银行签署了15亿美元的贷款协议，用于资助位于林波波河省莱帕拉莱的迈德匹电站的建设。
除上述合作项目外，其它一些中国公司也纷纷前来南非进行投资，从下面三家中国公司在南非的运营情况可以看出南非对中国投资的接受程度：
中国公司在南非的经营
中石化：今年早些时候，这家中国的国有石油公司决定以9亿美元收购南非雪佛兰（CSV）75%的股权，同时承诺将投资60亿兰特用于开普敦炼油厂的升级改造。但是竞争法庭提出了严苛的条件，其中一项就是要求公司将其总部设在南非。这项交易还包括收购在南非及其邻国博茨瓦纳境内的200多个便利店。但由于南非雪佛兰（CSV）只持股25%，处于小股东的不利地位，它必须行使优先取舍权，结果这笔交易至今仍未达成协议。他们已经就雪佛兰资产向竞争委员会提交了交易申请，但裁决还在进行中。
海信：该公司2013年已经在开普敦的亚特兰蒂斯投资3.5亿兰特兴建了一个工厂。最初计划是每年制造和组装40万台电视和40万个冰箱。该公司为亚特兰蒂斯提供了不少的就业机会，因为工厂98%的员工都来自当地社区。工厂制造出的产品出口到附近十三个国家，包括莱索托、博茨瓦纳、莫桑比克和赞比亚。
证大发展：这家位于上海的公司完成了在南非的最大一笔房地产交易，它买下了1600公顷的土地，目的是在约翰内斯堡的莫德方丹地区开发多重用途的房地产项目。莫德方丹是与桑顿城竞争的城市开发区。该公司计划在未来二十年里为这一项目投入800亿兰特（76亿美元）的资金。到目前为止，证大已经投资4500万兰特代表约翰内斯堡公路局完成了世纪大道延长线扩建工程的建设。这2公里的延长线可以为将该地区连接到约翰内斯堡国际机场的N3公路提供一条替代通道。
还有投资的空间吗？
今年3月拉马福萨总统说，习近平主席的再次当选“为南非与中国在个人、双边、地区和全球层面深化战略和政治、经济、社会及国际合作提供了机会。”
拉马福萨更进一步邀请中国继续支持南非的经济复苏计划。除了向南非投资外，中国企业还可以响应习近平主席提出的“互相尊重”和“合作共赢，共同发展”的倡议为南非提供援助。不过，中国企业首先应当熟悉南非的采购政策，特别是黑人经济振兴法案。该法案旨在纠正过去黑人在种族隔离制度下在经济上遭受到的不平等待遇。为此，合作时选择的南非合作伙伴必须符合B-BBEEE要求，其中一项就是公司中黑人要占股51%，这样的公司在采购时拥有优先权。比如，当一家中国企业计划投资某个基础设施项目时，如果希望得到国家的许可，它就一定要与当地符合B-BBEEE要求的公司合作，这样才能对各方都有利。（编辑：张梅）
英文版：
Renewed hope in South Africa
By Omphitlhetse Mooki, Deputy Editor of The Star Newspaper in Johannesburg South Africa
LAST month (April 27) South Africa celebrated Freedom Day, a day that marked 24 years since its people were freed from decades of oppression and racial segregation. But while the country has made great strides over the past two decades to write a new positive narrative, the road to economic freedom has been a long winding one and true freedom, many believe, will only be realised when a bulk of the 57 million people, most of whom continue to live in poverty, are economically free.
In delivering his maiden State of the Nation Address earlier this year, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the country’s economy has not grown at the pace needed to create enough jobs to lift people out of poverty and that the government will “make a major push to encourage significant new investment in our economy”, with focus on addressing the decline in manufacturing that has subsequently affected employment and exports.
Ramaphosa reiterated the same message while delivering a Freedom Day speech on Friday, April 27, saying, “if we are to end poverty, then we need to create much broader economic opportunities”.
To that end, the government was “embarking on an ambitious new investment drive that aims to draw local and international investors into those parts of the economy that have the greatest potential for job creation”, said Ramaphosa, adding that efforts were being made to make the South African economy more competitive and attractive to investors.
Several issues such as corruption and political scandals have affected the country’s image over the years, with rating agencies downgrading South Africa to junk status last year. But with Ramaphosa’s appointment as the country’s president, investor confidence has been boosted, with Moody’s upgrading their outlook of South africa’s sovereign debt to stable and S&P doubling their growth forecast for the country in 2018 from 1% to 2%. The South African currency (ZAR) also strengthened from R13.50 to the USD in December to R12.
The main drivers for a new outlook on South Africa are Ramaphosa’s swift move to reshuffle cabinet and appoint new boards for state owned entities which have been marred by corruption and mismanagement over the years.
With the country on a path to economic recovery, investors are needed to help drive economic growth.
In January at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Ramaphosa said South Africa is open for foreign investment, infrastructure, the building of roads, bridges, railway lines and ports, as well as schools, hospitals, colleges and clinics as areas of investment. Mining is another area open for investment, with South Africa holding the world’s largest reserves of platinum (80%) and manganese, with its other natural resources being gold (50% global reserves), diamonds, iron ore and coal. In his State of the Nation Address, Ramaphosa stressed that “mining is another area that has massive unrealized potential for growth and job creation. We need to see mining as a sunrise industry”.
Investment in mining has been hampered by the drawn out finalisation of the new mining charter, with contention being an increase of black ownership to 30% from 20%, a move that mining companies felt will be detrimental to job security as it will leave many companies out of business. But South Africa’s new mining minister Gwede Mantashe said in February that his department will “intensify engagements with mining companies, unions and communities to grow the sector, attract new investment, create jobs and set the industry on a new path of transformation and sustainability”.
With doors of investment opportunities wide open, where does china fit in?
Since 2000, China has catapulted from being a small investor in Africa to being the continent’s biggest economic partner, surpassing Africa’s long standing trade partners such as France, Germany, India and the United States. This is according to a report released last year by McKinsey Africa following a study of eight countries that make up two-thirds of Sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP.
Titled Dance of the lions and dragons: How are Africa and China engaging, and how will the partnership evolve, the report put China’s Foreign Direct Investment in the continent at 40% year growth, adding that the number of Chinese firms operating in Africa was at 10 000, mostly in infrastructure development. Of all the countries surveyed, the study found South Africa and Ethiopia to have higher levels of coorperation.
Over the past 18 years, China’s investment in Africa has grown considerably, reaching 115 billion USD in 2015, said Dai Bing, China’s Deputy Director of African Affairs in the Department of Foreign Affairs. In addition, the country’s trade with the Belt and Road initiative countries stood at 1.1 Trillion (up to 14.4%) last year (2017).
China and south africa
Diplomatic relations between South Africa and the People’s Republic of China started in 1998 and last year, bilateral trade between the two countries increased by 15.4% year-on-year, registering $39.17 billion. Over the past two decades, the two countries have forged strong ties, becoming partners in the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation (Focac), BRICS, the Belt and Road Initiative, and the South-South initiative.
So invested in South Africa is China that during the 2015 Focac summit held in Johannesburg 26 agreements worth R94 billion were signed by President Xi Jinping and former South African president Jacob Zuma, adding fresh impetus to bilateral co-orperation between the two countries. Some of the agreements signed included:
1. Collaboration and framework agreement between the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Standard Bank-South Africa: This R10 Billion agreement was aimed at facilitating the raising of Rand denominated funding for the ICBC, which will be made available to strengthen the various sectors of the South African economy, with a particular focus on power and infrastructure.
WHAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE THEN: In February this year (2018), Standard bank launched its first branch dedicated to servicing the Chinese business community in South Africa. Based in Johannesburg’s Crown Mines, where China Mall is, the branch’s employees are fluent in both Chinese and English. This move followed the launch of Standard Bank’s first Africa-China Banking centre at the bank’s headquarters
2. Memorandum of understanding between the Beijing Automotive Group and the Industrial Development Corporation: The parties had undertaken to establish motor vehicle manufacturing facilities in one of South Africa’s coastal cities. From this, jobs were to be created and motor vehicles sold in South Africa and the rest of the African. Beijing Automotive Group has a 65% stake in the venture, while the IDC holds 35%.
WHAT HAS SINCE HAPPENED: The first shipment of assembly equipment for the new R11 billion car plant being built in Port Elizabeth arrived in December last year (2017), comprising components for vehicle assembly, welding, and painting plant equipment.
3. Loan Agreement between the China Development Bank Corporation and Eskom (South Africa’s state owned power utility) : This agreement involved a loan facility to the value of $500 000 000 as a means of facilitating South Africa-China investment and trade cooperation and to further support Eskom’s infrastructure construction.
WHAT HAS SINCE HAPPENED: In July last year, Eskom signed a $1.5 billion loan agreement with the China Development Bank to assist with financing Eskom’s Medupi power station in Lephalale, Limpopo.
Other than the abovementioned, a number of Chinese firms continue to flourish in South Africa and a look at the three companies below shows just how receptive of Chinese investments South Africa has been:
Chinese companies operating in south africa
● SINOPEC:
The Chinese State owned oil company struck a $900 million deal to acquire a 75% stake in Chevron South Africa (CSA) earlier this year, committing to invest R6 billion in the upgrading of the Cape Town based oil refinery. Strict conditions were however imposed by the Competition Tribunal, among them that the company should establish its headquarters in South Africa. The deal, which includes more than 200 convenience stores across South Africa and neighbouring Botswana, has however not been sealed as CSA previously disadvantaged minority shareholders, who own 25% of CSA, must exercise a right of first refusal. They have filed their transaction with the Competition Commission for the Chevron assets and a ruling is pending.
● Hisense: Having operated The company invested R350 million in a factory in Atlantis, Cape Town in 2013, with initial plans to manufacture and assemble 400 000 television sets and 400 000 refregirators annually. The company has helped with the creation of jobs in Atlantis, with 98% of its employees drawn from the community. Products manufactured at the plant are exported to 13 countries including neighboring Lesotho, Botswana, Mozambique and Zambia.
● Zendai Development: In one of the largest real estate deals to be concluded by a Chinese firm in South Africa, the Shanghai-based company bought 1 600 hectares of land with the aim of developing a mixed-use property project in Johannesburg’s Modderfontein area, an urban development to rival Sandton City. The company plans to inject 80 billion ($7.6 billion) project over the next 20 years. So far, Zendani has completed construction of the R45 million extension of Centenary road on behalf of the Johannesburg Roads Agency. The 2km stretch will offer alternate access to the N3, which links the area to the OR Tambo International airport.
Is there still room for investment?
In March, President Ramaphosa said Xi Jinping’s re-election “presented an opportunity for South Africa to deepen its strategic and historic political, economic, social and international cooperation with China at a personal, bilateral, regional and global level”.
Ramaphosa further invited China to continue supporting initiatives aimed at South Africa’s economic recovery. Apart from injecting capital into South Africa, part of the support by Chinese firms will be for them to heed President Xi Jingping’s principles of “mutual respect” and “win-win coorperation for common development”. So Chinese firms ought to familiarize themselves with South Africa’s procurement policies, especially the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Act. The Act seeks to redress injustices of the past whereby blacks were economically prejudiced by apartheid masters. To that end, companies doing business with the state have to meet B-BBEEE requirements, among them that they should be 51% black owned, and these companies are to be prioritized for procurement. For example, if a Chinese firm was to invest in an infrastructure project, for the State to grant such a company business it has to partner with a local firm which meets the B-BBEEE requirements. That way, projects will be mutually beneficial to all parties involved.