foreign direct investment

An important process that started three years ago will begin to move forward this week as the first round of negotiations to establish a free trade area covering 27 countries in east and southern Africa kicks off in Nairobi, Kenya.

The National Treasury has announced that local investors will now be able to trade in foreign-domiciled companies listed on the JSE, boosting the status of South Africa's bourse as a springboard for foreign companies to expand into Africa.

South Africa is open for business and is looking to explore opportunities with small and medium enterprises in the United States, President Jacob Zuma said at the SA-Houston Partnership business lunch in Texas on Friday.

Is Africa the world's most under-rated investment destination? Could the continent offer better returns on cheaper capital? Could private equity be the key to unlocking the wealth of the world's largest market and the last frontier of growth in an ailing global economy?

The rise of developing countries, exemplified by the BRICS grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is changing the old way of doing business, and calls for a "reformatting" of the investor mindset, argues South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan.

South Africa and software giant Microsoft are to work together to fast-track high-performance computing and enterprise development in the country, and to provide previously disadvantaged students with placement opportunities in order to gain work experience.

Foreign investors are increasingly aware of the huge long-term growth possibilities that Africa presents, according to Ernst & Young's first Africa attractiveness survey, which predicts that foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into the continent will reach US$150-billion by 2015.

Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan delivered his mid-term budget policy speech before the National Assembly on 27 October 2010.

Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan delivered his mid-term budget policy speech before the National Assembly on 27 October 2010. Read the full text of the minister's speech.
• Budget big on education, jobs

Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has welcomed Chinese mobile technology company Huawei's investment in South Africa, encouraging the company to use it as a platform for expansion on the African continent.