Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies

Johannesburg, (NNN-SABC) : Despite South Africa’s recent downgrade to junk status by international rating agencies, the country is proactively meeting investors and foreign governments to promote South Africa as an attractive investment destination, Says Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies.

In a statement issued here Sunday, Davies welcomed the 2017 Annual Foreign Investment Confidence Index report released by AT Kearney, a global management company. The index, entitled “The Glass Half Full”, ranks South Africa in 25th position, whichDavies described as “a ray of sunshine and a more realistic representation of the state and outlook of South Africa’s economic prospects and investment landscape”.

According to the report, South Africa’s return to the index may be attributed to the short-term improvement of economic prospects and also the long-term investment potential in the country’s manufacturing sector. South Africa returned to the index after a two-year absence.

Davies said that in spite of the recent rating downgrades, South Africa was proactively meeting investors, foreign governments, and foreign ambassadors to promote South Africa as an attractive investment destination, which was confirmed by the AT Kearney index.

“Investors are convinced about the long-term investment prospects in South Africa. With sustained and continued improvements, South Africa is poised to lead one of the world’s next manufacturing hubs,” Davies said.

South Africa had performed extremely well compared with other African countries after having the third highest drop in investment levels in 2015, according to The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) World Investment Report, which estimated a 38 per cent increase in investment levels for 2016.

South Africa’s return to the index was remarkable and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows were estimated at 2.4 billion US dollars, according to the AT Kearney index.