BRIC Bilateral Direct Foreign Investment Relations with South Africa: A Critical Review

2021 ◽  
pp. 097508782110128
Author(s):  
Adrino Mazenda ◽  
Tyanai Masiya

This article explores the Brazil-Russia-India-China (BRIC) countries’ bilateral foreign investment relations with South Africa. It analyses investment patterns through the lens of the South African Foreign Investment Policy, and provides recommendations for the country to increase foreign investment from the BRIC. The article utilises a qualitative desktop approach, drawing from extensive literature review on BRICS’ foreign investment relations. The findings show that, despite the numerous foreign investment treaties signed within BRIC in South Africa’s favour, investments from BRIC are lagging. To increase direct investment flows, South Africa should relax entry and offer special incentives in critical sectors; such as energy, health, food production and mining; create a more stable and transparent legal environment; establish special and industrial economic zones as well as a clear foreign investment policy.

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (48) ◽  
pp. 129-139
Author(s):  
Maryia Samakhavets ◽  
Olena Hrechyshkina

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the key economic and geographical characteristics of the investment development of Belarus and how these characteristics could evolve in the future. The evaluation of the investment development of Belarus is based on comparative economic analysis, spatial analysis research methods and the cartographic method. Our results indicate a stable, predictable and enabling investment policy as the main determinant for attracting investment. This is confirmed by changes in the spatial distribution of foreign investment inflows in the real economy of Belarus by countries for 2010 and 2018. The characteristics of Belarusian investment development are identified because of the need to intensify innovative performance in the strategic dimensions of sustainable development. Particular attention is paid to the development of special economic zones with preferential regimes in the Republic of Belarus. This paper provides important new insights into the future prospects for Belarusian investment development on the basis of identified specifics.


AJIL Unbound ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 112 ◽  
pp. 223-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Sornarajah

There is much rethinking being done about investment treaties. While some level of uniformity existed when there was institutional direction by the World Bank and hegemonic pressure exerted by states in the Global North, geopolitical power is now shifting in ways that are producing greater diversity in approaches to the field. The evidence seems to indicate that each state that is of sufficient size or power will seek to fashion its foreign investment policy in the context of its own circumstances. This is certainly true for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (the BRICS). Within this group of newly industrializing countries, it is clear that a uniform approach to investment treaties will not emerge, despite avowals to the contrary. In this essay, I offer an assessment of the divergent paths some of these states have taken. I contend that China has emerged as a newly hegemonic actor in international investment in a way that undermines its traditional role as champion for the Third World, and that India's recent attempt to develop a “balanced approach” to investment treaties is unworkable. Only South Africa has developed an approach that seeks to protect its government's ability to serve the goals of its people by subjecting foreign investment disputes to South African law and courts.


2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-124
Author(s):  
Lenatha Wentzel ◽  
Kerry De Hart

The expansion of the manufacturing sector is one of the South African government’s focus areas for economic growth and employment creation. The research on which this article is based identified additional incentives, applicable to the manufacturing sector, which the South African government could introduce to encourage investors to choose the South African manufacturing sector as a desired investment destination. The incentives provided to manufacturing companies by the governments of Malaysia and Singapore and those provided by the South African government are compared in order to examine the similarities and differences between these incentives. In the light of these findings, recommendations are made for additional incentives in South Africa to promote investment in South African manufacturing companies and reduce some of the barriers that prevent local and foreign investment in the country.


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 242-263
Author(s):  
Tarcisio Gazzini

The South African Protection of Investment Act 2015 is a strong response to the perceived inadequacy of investment treaties, which are facing growing criticism for their unbalanced character, the undue restrictions on policy space and the shortcomings of the mechanism for the settlement of disputes. While other states have opted for a revision of their treaty models (i.e. India), concluded innovative BITs (i.e. the BIT between Morocco and Nigeria, not yet in force) or preferred facilitation agreements (i.e. Brazil), South Africa has taken a different route based on the assumption that domestic legislation is more appropriate than international legal instruments to regulate foreign investment. The Act is firmly anchored to the Constitution and provides a level of substantive and procedural protection that efficiently preserves South African sovereign prerogatives, but definitely falls short of that commonly ensured under international investment treaties. While states obviously need to balance the private and public rights and obligations at stake with a view to pursuing their economic and social development policies, it remains to be seen whether the drastic reduction in the protection of foreign investors operated by the Act was unavoidable and what impact it may have on the flow of foreign investment to South Africa. The article ultimately reflects on the implications of the Act from the standpoint of the protection enjoyed by foreign investors under both customary international law and investment treaties currently binding South Africa.


1983 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heribert Adam

Among the sober assessments of U.S. interests in South Africa by the Rockefeller Commission one finds a rare lapse into wishful thinking. It is the contention that the option of Major economic sanctions against the Republic ‘must be kept in the U.S. policy arsenal’. Since this distinguished body recommended against expansion and new entry into South Africa (but also against disinvestment), the commitment of American and European firms in South Africa has grown substantially. U.S. investment alone increased by 13 per cent in 1981. The 1,200 British companies, followed by 375 American and 350 West German firms, with a total foreign investment of R30 billion in 1982, seem to confirm the South African propaganda of stability and growth. These interests constitute an effective veto block against meaningful disengagement.


2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Krugell ◽  
M. Matthee

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to construct an index that captures the factors expected to affect a local economy's attractiveness to foreign investors. Problem statement: Following South Africa's reintegration into the world economy in 1994, foreign direct investment has been seen as a potential driver of growth and development. Concerns about the low investment rate in South Africa raise the possibility of augmenting domestic with foreign investment expenditure. The potential of technology spillovers and skills transfer from foreign direct investment have also been emphasised. As a result, Trade and Investment South Africa is involved in identifying, packaging and promoting investment opportunities. However, investments tend to be place-specific and this has lead to the decentralisation of foreign direct investment promotion. Currently the nine provincial development agencies are competing to attract investors and the larger local governments are also getting involved in the fray. This paper argues that some places have better potential to attract foreign investment than others. A first step to use scarce investment promotion resources more efficiently would be to measure the inward FDI potential of South African regions. Approach: This paper uses principal components analysis to construct an index that captures the factors expected to affect a local economy's attractiveness to foreign investors. This approach draws on UNCTAD's Inward FDI Potential Index and applies it to 354 magisterial districts in South Africa for the periods 1996, 2001 and 2006. The index creates a summary measure of FDI potential.Findings: The results show that different places present differential potential in urbanization and localization economies and market size. The high-potential locations are typically found in or around the major agglomerations, but there are a few smaller places on the periphery that offer FDI potential. Contribution: The index should aid the location decisions of prospective investors as well as local policymakers in their efforts to promote FDI-led economic development. Conclusion: The places with high FDI potential are not randomly scattered across South Africa, but tend to cluster together. Cities and towns can improve their attractiveness to foreign investors through the exploitation of natural resources, population growth, economic growth and strengthening links to metropolitan areas.


1979 ◽  
Vol 9 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 30-36
Author(s):  
William Raiford

South Africa’s system of apartheid and policy of separate development is unique among nations. Apartheid is the pervasive institutionalization of discrimination by law on the basis of race; separate development would deny South African citizenship to the blacks of South Africa. A central goal of U.S. policy with respect to South Africa is to encourage that country to end apartheid and grant full political participation to all its peoples. This key policy is diametrically opposed to the position of the government of South Africa.


2020 ◽  
pp. 60-73
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Zanoskina

The research is motivated by the extensive literature on the elevated levels of xenophobia in South Africa. The main contribution of the research to the academic field of ethnic conflict studies is that the author comprehensively approaches the determination of the level of xenophobia in South African society, whereas the majority of the literature on the issue has focused on the analysis of individual manifestations of xenophobic violence. This research was guided through three research questions: (1) what are the causes of xenophobia in South Africa? (2) What is the legal framework of South African policy addressing anti-migrant attacks? (3) What measures does the government of South Africa take to combat xenophobia? The principal purpose of the research is to help modernize South Africa’s policies, legislation and practices against xenophobia and related intolerance on the basis of the analysis proposed. Research methods included the study and analysis of literature and social surveys, the collection and analysis of factual materials, the study of documents, methods of quantitative and qualitative data processing. The article describes in detail the political, cultural, economic and socio-historical reasons of xenophobia and analyzes current policies of South Africa against anti-migrant attacks. As a result, the research illustrates what factors contribute to the spread of xenophobic violence and why the government’s actions to combat this social issue have so far been ineffective. The findings of the paper support the prediction that if the government pays attention to the roots of the problem, xenophobia in South African can be significantly reduced.


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