SA trade with Japan enters new chapter
TRADE officials from Japan, who had previously felt sidelined under the Jacob Zuma administration, are in a more buoyant mood, believing that relations with SA have entered a new chapter.
Giving reason for enthusiasm was a keynote address by President Cyril Ramaphosa that launched the Japan-Africa PublicPrivate Economic Forum in Sandton earlier this month.
Japan felt sidelined during the Zuma presidency when SA’s political, trading and investment focus turned to the Brics bloc of nations, especially China.
In his presentation, Ramaphosa reiterated that SA had embarked on a $100-billion (R1.2-trillion) investment drive over the next five years, and would be holding an international investment conference later this year.
No doubt Japan, among the top 10 investors in SA, is also in Ramaphosa’s sights.
“We will not be able to expand trade and investment relations between Japan and African countries unless our respective governments, state-owned entities and other public institutions are aligned with the work of the private sector.”
This meant attracting capital, technology, expertise and best practice from advanced economies in respect of the continent’s abundant natural resources, Ramaphosa said.
Last year, Africa’s exports to Asia as a whole were worth about $64-billion, of which Japanese imports of African goods accounted for about $8.3-billion – a fraction of the trade between the continent’s top trading partners – China, the US and the EU.
Japan had earlier pledged to invest $30-billion in Africa from 2016 to next year. This contrasts with a Chinese pledge in December 2015 to invest $60-billion in Africa over three years.
But it is not at all clear what has been implemented.
The difference, though, is that Japanese investment is through private companies and not stateowned enterprises, as is mostly the case with China.
Japan External Trade Organisation president Yasushi Akahoshi said the main focus of the forum was on diversifying trade.
Japan did not want to compete with China and other countries on price, but rather was focused on quality, he said.
Government-mandated trade financing was key and was aimed at supporting private Japanese companies.
This means leveraging Japanese global manufacturing investments in places like India and Nigeria, where in 2016 Yamaha opened a motorbike assembly plant that also built boat engines and generators.
Japanese businesses are also proficient in smart agriculture, small-scale off-grid electrification and the provision of broadband for rural development.