Vote of confidence in Western Cape

Exports totalling R121bn bring welcome boost

EXPORTS from the Western Cape totalled R121 billion last year, a 3.8% increase from the previous year, which gives a welcome boost for the province’s economy and job creation goals.

This is according to latest research from Wesgro. the Western Cape’s official tourism, trade and investment agency.

Tim Harris, the chief executive of Wesgro, this week launched the agency’s latest trade and invest document, The Western Cape: Africa’s Trade and Investment Springboard.

Harris said Wesgro’s research department provided business intelligence to the agency, its stakeholders and clients.

He said the agency produced more than 100 research documents a year and believed that this document and its insights would be valuable to economists, exporters, strategic business owners in the province and the press.

Harris said one of the most significant findings in the report was that the Western Cape experienced an annual average export growth of 17.8% from 2012 to 2016 and the province’s exports totalled R121bn last year, an increase of 3.8% from 2015.

Harris said the growth was largely due to the depreciating rand and an increase in competitiveness among Cape exporters.

Trade in the province was driven by 25% export growth to the Americas, 15% to Oceania and 10% to Asia, while the most popular export prod- ucts were agricultural goods, engine parts, diodes and hotrolled iron and steel.

The report also shows the rest of Africa is the largest destination region for investment by Western Cape companies, accounting for more than 50% of outward investment.

A new survey in the report examined the perspective and experience of companies that have recently invested in the Cape.

Three-quarters of companies surveyed had a positive perception of Cape Town as a base to do business in Africa and noted the city’s sophisticated infrastructure as a drawcard.

Of companies that intended to expand into Africa, a quarter indicated they would opt to run their African regional headquarters in Cape Town.

The Mother City is also ranked 80th among more than 3 000 global cities in terms of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) projects and second in Africa.

Sectors with a competitive advantage for attracting global FDI are real estate, non-automotive transport and food and tobacco.

Harris said an estimated 51% of companies investing in Cape Town cited regional expansion and market access as their primary motive, followed by 47%, who primarily wanted to capture the local domestic market.

“These figures indicate a serious vote of confidence in the Cape as a trade and investment destination, and are testament to the work Wesgro has done to promote our region as a business hub for Africa.”

This week Desmond O’Connor, the general manager of the Radisson Blu Hotel & Residence, a five- star hotel, announced that it would be opening in Cape Town next month.

“In the last quarter of 2016, the number of foreign visitors coming to Cape Town, for example, increased by 22.8% year-on-year.

“Many of these tourists are return-visitors seeking a superlative experience, which creates the perfect market for which a luxury hotel, such as the Radisson Blu Hotel & Residences, can cater to.”

Tim Harris