Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel told an infrastructure cluster media briefing that a combination of investment, particularly in energy, transport and logistics, had lifted the investment rate to 19.2% of GDP in the fourth quarter of 2013, compared with 18.9% a year earlier. It had also helped to create jobs, Engineering News reports.
Investment incentives through the Industrial Policy Action Plan had spurred about R143-billion in private sector investments, creating around 144 000 jobs, while 200 000 jobs had been retained in sectors that were either in distress or needed help in exporting. These included the automotive and textile sectors.
Patel said: “Of all the Brics [Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa] countries, China and South Africa have the most trade-exposed profile – the percentage of trade to GDP – so when the [global] economy slows down, it hits very hard.”
By: Kim Cloete
Read the full article here: http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/infrastructure-plan-gains-traction-2014-03-04/rep_id:3182
