SA was well received at ‘tough’ Davos gathering, say delegates
Global investors at last week’s World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting were surprised at how candid SA government leaders were about SA’s problems and impressed at the deep understanding by SA’s business leaders of the issues the country faced and what needed to be done, says Standard Bank group CEO Sim Tshabalala.
“The narrative was that we recognise our challenges but we are a country at work, responding appropriately to these challenges and we were well received,” Tshabalala said on Friday from Davos, where he and more than 30 other business leaders attended the WEF annual forum, along with five cabinet ministers led by finance minister Enoch Godongwana.
The finance ministry said in a statement on Monday that the delegation had used the Davos platform to engage investors, civil society, businesses and governments, and “drove home the message that the country remains a top destination for growth and investment”. It described the trip as tough, but productive.
Godongwana said in the statement that SA’s participation in such global forums reinforced its belief in multilateralism and the spirit of co-operation as part of a strategy to lift growth.
The WEF’s annual meeting in Davos — with the theme “Rebuilding Trust Amid Uncertainty ”— was attended by almost 3,000 leaders from governments, business and civil society, from more than 125 countries, including 35 heads of state and government or ministers.
Davos once loomed large as a platform for SA to showcase its attractions as an investment destination, and it has in the past provided important opportunities for business and the government to talk to each other on the sidelines. But the forum itself is smaller than it used to be. And though the government still sends a sizeable delegation and
— through Brand SA — invests a significant sum on hiring an SA venue in the town, the steep expense and dwindling importance of Davos now deter many CEOs. The number of African delegations who attend has also dwindled, with just 11 this year, many African leaders not present and the continent not on the agenda for the most part.
Tshabalala said, however, that the WEF still mattered as a place for SA to advocate for a greater role for Africa and for SA in global affairs, as well as in global multilateral institutions. It was also an opportunity for SA to explain its case. Tshabalala and other financial sector CEOs who attended the WEF this year, including Nedbank’s Mike Brown, FirstRand’s Mary Vilakazi and Old Mutuals ’ Iain Williamson, participated in a global meeting of financial sector CEOs during the forum.
It also provides CEOs with an opportunity to meet clients, suppliers and partners from across the world — and, importantly — to broaden their minds and get to grips with global economic, geopolitical and technological trends.
Tshabalala said Standard Bank’s view is that SA is set to see a pickup in portfolio and foreign direct investment inflows this year, with equity returns of 10%-15% likely.
Godongwana said SA looked to the opportunity of Davos to remind the world that SA had made tremendous progress in its 30 years of democracy. “Yes, we face a number of obstacles to achieving policy that balances fiscal sustainability, growthaccelerating reforms and targeting spending on social services and infrastructure. We are forging ahead and making good progress,” he said.