The importance of foreign direct investment (FDI) will come under the spotlight in a presentation by Reg Rumney (Foreign Direct Investment: Why it Matters), executive director of The BusinessMap Foundation, on Thursday May 29.
According to Rumney, who will discuss trends in South Africa since 1994, FDI is important to South Africa if we wish to remain influentially linked to the modern world. “FDI is necessary to make up the savings gap,” says Rumney. “It is also a key measure of globalisation and hasn’t yet delivered the kind of economic efficiencies we have hoped for.”
Asked why foreign investors should consider investing in South Africa, Rumney answered: “People must not be put off by Afro-pessimism. South Africa has a lot to offer. It is a great place to do business from a legal, language and macroeconomic perspective. Don’t let the apparent enthusiasm of South African investors to invest offshore paint a misleading picture.”
Corporate South Africa
James Lennox, acting CEO of the South African Chamber of Business (Sacob), will be speaking at the summit on Thursday May 29 on the issues confronting corporate South Africa. This is particularly relevant in light of the fact that Sacob, the Afrikaanse Handelsinstituut, the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and the Foundation of African Business and Consumer Services have recently signed an agreement to combine into a single association from September this year.
Lennox is a past president of the WesVaal Chamber of Business and has represented the North West province on the Sacob council from 1996. He also served as an officer of Sacob during this period. In 2000 he was contracted to establish the trade division of Sacob, and after the departure of Kevin Wakeford he was appointed to act as CEO of the parent organisation.
Development for growth
Kutoane Kutoane, chief operating officer of the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), will address the issue of Developments for Growth at the summit. Kutoane holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree from the University of Manchester. He has also completed Harvard University’s programme on investment appraisal and management and Harvard Business School’s advanced management programme.
Kutoane served as general manager (corporate finance) while heading the corporate finance advisory services division of the finance group at Eskom, and was responsible for projects evaluation and capital investment programmes, financial structuring and cor- porate level financial manage- ment. Prior to joining the company early in 1998 he had 10 years experience working in commercial and investment banks as well as in international development finance institutions in Southern Africa. During this time he completed a number of corporate finance transactions and advised clients on mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring and raising of capital through debt instruments and listings.
Kutoane has been involved in offering financial advice and in the structuring of a wide range of privatisation projects and initiatives in Africa under the auspices of the International Finance Corporation, and has participated in the financial evaluation and structuring of many large international development projects. His fields of expertise include the negotiating of cross-border investments and the restructuring of companies for value realisation. He has a passionate interest in issues relating to problems of raising capital for the advancement of small and medium-sized businesses in African countries, and has been actively involved in the restruc- turing initiatives of the electricity supply industry in South Africa.
Zimbabwe in crisis
The eyes of Africa and the world are focused on Zimbabwe as the continuing political drama unfolds. Will President Robert Mugabe resign? What will happen in the treason trial of Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai? With shortages of basic foodstuffs and petrol, and inflation at an all-time high, the people of Zimbabwe are suffering.
Although South Africa has shown steady economic growth and political stability since the first democratic election in 1994 a number of foreign investors are still wary of investing in Africa, and thus South Africa. They are worried the Zimbabwe crisis — especially when it comes to land reform — could be replicated here.
Who better to address this subject at the summit than Trevor Ncube, chairperson and CEO of M&G Media?
Ncube has had a long career in journalism. He joined the Financial Gazette in 1989 as assistant editor and went on to become one of the founders of the Zimbabwe Independent and The Standard, of which he is still publisher, in 1997. In 1994 his courageous journalism earned him the honour of being named editor of the year in Zimbabwe, and he is still a respected commentator on the situation in that troubled country. If anyone is able to provide insights into what is happening on the ground in Zimbabwe, Ncube is. His presentation, entitled Zim Option? Is it Likely in SA?, will be presented at the summit on Wednesday May 28.
Black economic empowerment
Black economic empowerment is the topic on everybody’s lips at the moment, and on Wednesday there will be a lively debate with a group of experts on a number of issues facing South African businesses in this regard. The panel will consist of Peter Vundla, chairperson of the Black Business Executive Circle; Nolitha Fakude, managing director of the Black Management Forum; and Dr Danisa Baloyi, chairperson of the Black Business Council.
Having formerly served on the boards of National Chemical Products, Sentrachem and New Africa Investments Limited, Vundla is deputy executive chairperson of the African Merchant Bank. He is also chair- person of advertising agency Herdbuoys McCann-Erickson and AMB-Foord Asset Man-agement, and sits on the boards of Santam WesBank and M&G Media.
Baloyi, who has a doctorate in education from Columbia University, is an executive director of the National Black Business Caucus. She is also chairperson of the Advertising Standards Authority, the National Skills Authority and the South African Women’s Investment Holdings, and sits on various other boards. Baloyi advises corporations, the government and international organisations on extensive procurement and tendering transformation, business development, diversity management, equity plans and strategic and directional management. She was a member of the United States-South Africa Bilateral Council’s business development committee, and is a signatory to the Black Economic Empowerment Commission Report as a commissioner.
Fakude holds a BA honours (psychology) degree from University of Fort Hare, as well as a senior executive programme certificate offered jointly by the Harvard and Wits business schools, over and above other management and leadership courses.
She sits on various boards including the Black Management Forum Investment Company, Harmony Gold Mining, Peoples Bank, Business Partners and the Wheat Trust.
HIV/Aids: The impact
Looking at The Impact of HIV/Aids on the South African economy will be Stephen Kramer, head of HIV/Aids research at the Metropolitan Group. HIV/Aids has a huge impact on a company’s bottom line, so South African businesses need to take responsibility for their future economic viability by managing the health of their staff.
Kramer, who was appointed head of HIV/Aids research at Metropolitan in 2000, utilises his mathematical modelling and risk skills in conducting assessments of the future impact of HIV/Aids on businesses. He undertakes demographic modelling of the epidemic for clients, advising on product pricing, development and reserving. At the end of his first year in the job he began using research information more broadly to model micro-economic impact, assess company impact and social policy, and develop various scenarios. He has subsequently modelled the impact of HIV for governments, including South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
Kramer is a member of the Actuarial Society of South Africa’s Aids committee and was founding member of the Life Offices’ Association of South Africa’s Aids strategy committee. He is deputy editor of Aids Analysis Africa and project owner of the Red Ribbon website. His latest output includes a report for the Financial Services Board on the effect of HIV/Aids on the life industry, a proposal for compulsory mortgage life cover accepted by the board of the Life Offices Association, and the latest life industry Aids brief.
Recent advocacy work includes a national tour with Clem Sunter addressing business leaders on Aids strategy, and hosting a regional Aids-conference in Botswana. He is presently studying cost-effectiveness and affordability issues for Aids treatment in corporate South Africa, with a special focus on funding treatment via insurance mechanisms.