Nedbank said nationalisation would have a negative effect on investor confidence and would not help attract job-creating investment, the Business Day reported on Tuesday.
As government aimed to create five-million jobs in 10 years, the focus should rather be on making South Africa more attractive to investors, Nedbank chief executive Mike Brown said.
“Clearly the debate on nationalisation is not conducive to investment which will in turn lead to economic growth and job creation,” he said.
The African National Congress Youth League has been continuously calling for mines and farms to be nationalised without compensation.
Brown said South Africa was competing for investment with other emerging markets at a time when global investor sentiment had been weakened by the economic crisis in the United States and Europe.
“In South Africa, we have a number of policy and infrastructure challenges and the need for job creation is important,” he said.
“But in essence, job creation is an outcome of investment which facilitates economic growth.”
More needed to be done to make South Africa competitive, Brown said.
The country needs to improve its gross domestic product growth closer to the Brics’ countries’ 5% to 7%.
Brics is an economic bloc of developing nations comprising Brazil, Russia, India and China and, recently, South Africa. — Sapa