1998 SOUTHERN AFRICA ECONOMIC ... - National Treasury

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N A M I B I A S TATISTICS (USDm unless otherwise stated) 1 9 9 2 1 9 9 3 1 9 9 4 1 9 9 5 1 9 9 6 1 9 9 7 Population (millions) 1 . 5 1 . 5 1 . 5 1 . 6 1 . 6 1 . 6 Nominal GDP at market prices 2 , 7 5 7 . 9 2 , 5 5 6 . 2 2 , 9 2 6 . 4 3 , 1 6 2 . 3 4 1 1 1 . 0 – Real GDP growth rate, % 8 . 2 - 1 . 9 6 . 5 4 . 1 3 . 0 3 . 0 GDP per cap i t a ,U S D 1 , 8 9 8 . 0 1 , 7 0 5 . 2 1 , 8 9 3 . 4 0 1 , 9 4 8 . 9 2 , 0 0 7 . 4 2 , 0 6 7 . 6 Consumption as % of GDP 8 8 . 0 9 0 . 2 8 0 . 7 8 6 . 0 8 8 . 8 – G ross domestic savings as % of GDP 2 5 . 7 2 2 . 1 2 9 . 8 2 4 . 1 – – G ross investment as % of GDP 2 0 . 9 2 2 . 6 2 1 . 6 2 2 . 8 2 0 . 9 – Inflation rate, % 1 7 . 7 8 . 6 1 0 . 8 1 0 . 0 8 . 2 – M e rchandise exports as % of GDP 4 8 . 1 5 0 . 1 4 5 . 7 4 5 . 3 3 8 . 3 – M e rchandise imports as % of GDP 4 5 . 8 4 7 . 4 4 3 . 7 4 6 . 6 3 9 . 0 – C apital account of balance of payments 3 2 . 6 2 7 . 2 4 3 . 4 4 3 . 6 4 7 . 5 – Fo reign direct investment as % of GDP 4 . 2 1 . 9 2 . 1 1 . 6 4 . 2 – Fo reign port folio investment as % of GDP 0 . 9 3 . 0 1 . 3 3 . 3 0 . 8 – O verall balance on balance of payments - 9 . 1 2 8 8 . 4 7 4 . 1 8 7 . 7 – – Average exchange rate: NAD to USD 2 , 8 5 2 0 3 . 2 6 7 7 3 . 5 5 0 8 3 . 6 2 7 1 4 . 3 0 0 0 4 . 6 1 0 0 Foreign exchange reserves expressed in 1.5 4.2 6.1 6.1 1.0 – terms of weeks of import cove r Total external debt as % of GDP 8 . 3 7 . 3 5 . 5 5 . 1 4 . 1 – Total external debt service as % of export s 2 . 7 4 . 0 2 . 5 2 . 4 – – Budget deficit as % of GDP - 5 . 5 - 4 . 0 - 2 . 1 - 3 . 8 - 8 . 0 - 4 . 6 Central bank discount rate (end of ye a r ) ,% 1 6 . 5 1 4 . 5 1 5 . 5 1 7 . 5 1 7 . 8 1 6 . 9 Prime lending rate (average for ye a r ) , % 1 7 . 5 1 5 . 5 1 6 . 5 1 9 . 0 1 9 . 9 2 0 . 2 G rowth rate of M2 money supply, % 2 6 . 1 2 0 . 5 2 7 . 9 2 4 . 0 2 4 . 3 7 . 6 Domestic credit to government 1 7 0 . 4 1 8 9 . 4 1 9 1 . 7 2 1 4 . 2 2 3 0 . 0 – Domestic credit to private sector 1 , 083 . 5 1 , 184 . 6 1 , 387 . 2 1 , 729 . 2 – – S o u rc e :Bank of Namibia (1998) N o t e s :1 ) . Some discrepancies are evident in figures re c i eved from Namibia, and it is advisable that the figures in this table be tre a t e d with some caution. USEFUL A D D R E S S E S I nvestment Promotion A ge n c y I nvestment Centre, M i n i s t ry of Trade and Industry, Private Bag 13340,W i n d h o e k ,Te l : +264-61-283 7335, F a x :+264-61-22 02 78 Consulting Firms Coopers & Ly b r a n d ,P O Box 1571,W i n d h o e k ,Te l :+264-61-22 19 23. Deloitte & To u c h e, P O Box 47,W i n d h o e k ,Te l :+264-61-23 31 0 8 ,F a x : +264-61-23 31 17 Ernst & Yo u n g ,P O Box 1857,W i n d h o e k ,Te l :+264-61-23 82 60, F a x :+264-61-23 49 91 K P M G ,Private Bag 13268,W i n d h o e k ,Te l : +264-61-22 65 11, F a x :+264-61-23 23 09 Price Wa t e r h o u s e, P O Box 21616,W i n d h o e k .Te l :+264-61-22 65 85, F a x :+264-61-22 65 88 Trend Line Economic & Management Serv i c e s ,Te l : +264-61-25 90 60. F a x :+264-61-25 90 60 72
Johannesburg Stock Exchange. G E N E R A L I N F O R M AT I O N G e og r ap hy and Po p u l a t i o n The Republic of South Africa occupies 1,223,201 km 2 at the southernmost tip of the African continent, s t retching from the Limpopo river in the north to Cape Agulhas in the south. S o u t h Africa borders Namibia, B o t sw a n a ,Z i m b a b we, Mozambique and S w a z i l a n d .C o m p l e t e ly enclosed by South Africa in the south e a s t ,is the Kingdom of Lesotho. South Africa has a multiracial population of 43.2m living in nine p rov i n c e s .Each province has its own Legislature, P remier and M i n i s t e r s .T h e re are eleven official languages, with English being the language of commerc e. South Africa was ranked 90th in terms of the UNDP HDI in 1997, and was there fo re placed at a similar level as Peru (89), Sri Lanka (91) and Latvia (92), in the medium human development catego ry. Political Ove rv i ew E x t e n s i ve constitutional negotiations we re held in South A f r i c a after the National Party government decided to abandon its policy of ap a rtheid in the early 1990’s .During these nego t i a t i o n s it was agreed that a pro p o rt i o n a t e ly elected government - n a m e ly the Government of National Unity - would rule fro m 1994 to 1999. The country ’s first democratic elections we re held in April 1994 and Nelson Mandela, leader of the A f r i c a n National Congress part y, was elected President of South A f r i c a , along with two Deputy-Pre s i d e n t s ,Thabo Mbeki of the A f r i c a n National Congress and FW de Klerk of the National Part y. Voters also chose a provincial government for their ow n p rov i n c e, including a regional “ p remier” - the African National C o n g ress obtained the majority vote in all nine prov i n c e s except for Kwazulu-Natal (Inkhata Freedom Party) and the Western Cape (National Part y ) . In 1996,the National Party decided to leave the Government of National Unity, in order to form a more effe c t i ve opposition to the African National Congre s s . Elections are held eve ry five years and are due to be held again in 1999. P resident Nelson Mandela has indicated that he will not stand again for the p re s i d e n c y. South A f r i c a ’s new constitution was adopted in Fe b r u a ry 1997. Sectoral Ove rv i ew South Africa possesses considerable mineral we a l t h ,with re s e rve s of go l d , p l a t i nu m - g roup metals, c h ro m i u m ,v a n a d i u m ,f l u o r s p a r, a n d a l u s i t e, n i c ke l , c h ro m i u m , m a n g a n e s e, a n t i m o ny, a s b e s t o s , d i a m o n d s , c o a l , p h o s p h a t e s , i ron ore, l e a d , z i n c, u r a n i u m , vermiculite and zirc o n i u m . Mining contributed 8.6 percent to the gross domestic product in 1997, with output growing 1.2 p e rc e n t .Gold has been the main source of fo reign exchange fo r ye a r s , but its share of total export receipts has declined to b e l ow 20 perc e n t .It is becoming incre a s i n g ly expensive to mine gold in South Africa because of the depth of the mining re q u i re d . O ver the past year or so, the South African mining industry has experienced significant re t renchments and gold production has d ropped steeply. M a ny South African companies are there fo re looking to other African countries for new inve s t m e n t s . South Africa has a dual agricultural economy - a we l l - d eve l o p e d c o m m e rcial sector and a pre d o m i n a n t ly subsistence-oriented sector in the rural are a s .To d ay, South Africa is not only selfsufficient in most major agricultural pro j e c t s , b u t , in ye a r s without adverse climatic conditions, it is also a net exporter of fo o d . In 1997, agricultural output accounted for 5.6 percent of G D P. L i vestock is farmed in most parts of South Africa and the c o u n t ry normally produces 85 percent of its meat re q u i re m e n t s ,while the other 15 percent is pre d o m i n a n t ly i m p o rted from Namibia, B o t swana and Swaziland. M a nufacturing output contributed 24.9 percent to total output in 1997, with real output growing in excess of three perc e n t . Major industries include chemicals, fo o d , t r a n s p o rt ,e q u i p m e n t and iron and steel. Although output has been growing steadily over the past few ye a r s ,e m p l oyment in manufacturing has been contracting since 1996. F rom being a net importer of timber and timber pro d u c t s ,t o d ay the industry is a net exporter to the value of more than ZAR 1 bn (about USD 223.3 m) per annu m . The fo rest industry contributes some 14 percent to the total export of m a nu f a c t u red go o d s . Marine re s o u rces along the 3,000 km South African coastline sustain a fishing industry which employs about 28,000 people. The industry harvested 537,227 tonnes (live weight) of fish, s h e l l - f i s h ,s e aweed and guano in 1994. The Government fo l l ow s a strict conservation policy based on re s e a rch conducted by the Sea Fisheries Research Institute of the Department of E nv i ronmental Affairs and Tourism and enfo rced by 130 full-time marine conservation inspectors.The sector will undergo some major restructuring fo l l owing the passing of the Marine Living R e s o u rces Bill in March 1998. S t a t u t o ry science councils,such as the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research are responsible for science and technology d eve l o p m e n t , i n n ovation and transfer and also for the p romotion of human re s o u rces development for science and t e c h n o l o gy and promotion of technology implementation. Tourism in South Africa contributes 3.6 percent to GDP and one employment opportunity in 25 is linked to tourism. W i t h the country ’s international isolation having ended, fo re c a s t s 73
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1998 SOUTHERN AFRICA ECONOMIC SUMMI
Page 3 and 4:
CONTENTS I N D E X Abbreviations 2
Page 5 and 6:
THE SADC FINANCE AND INVESTMENT SEC
Page 7 and 8: c u rre n t ly exists in SADC gover
Page 9 and 10: REGIONAL MAC RO-ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
Page 11 and 12: Southern Africa and Competitive n e
Page 13 and 14: had agreed to accept the general fr
Page 15 and 16: A NG OL A of GDP in 1996. E x p o r
Page 17 and 18: A NG OL A Projects for Possible Inv
Page 19 and 20: A recent event in the political sce
Page 21 and 22: B O T S WA N A B OT S WANA STOCK MA
Page 23 and 24: B O T S WA N A P rotection of Inve
Page 25 and 26: scheduled for 23 May 1998. Eight po
Page 27 and 28: L E S O T H O The money market is d
Page 29 and 30: L E S O T H O L E S OT H O :P ROJEC
Page 31 and 32: p a r l i a m e n t a ry elections,
Page 33 and 34: M a l awi Stock Exchange The stock
Page 35 and 36: M A L AW I I nvestment Code The Inv
Page 37 and 38: M A L AW I S TAT I S T I C S(USDm u
Page 39 and 40: M au r i t i u s c o u n t ry is se
Page 41 and 42: M au r i t i u s Mauritian Investme
Page 43 and 44: M au r i t i u s Ta x a t i o n Tax
Page 45 and 46: c u rre n t ly holds 129 seats in P
Page 47 and 48: M O Z A M B IQ U E combined with a
Page 49 and 50: The current status of the project i
Page 51 and 52: M O Z A M B IQ U E dermersal fish f
Page 53 and 54: After talks between the South Afric
Page 55 and 56: N A M I B I A Namibia does not impo
Page 57: N A M I B I A I nvestment Code A c
Page 61 and 62: S O U T H A F RI C A that some East
Page 63 and 64: S O U TH A F R I C A cities of Joha
Page 65 and 66: S O U TH A F R I C A INDUSTRIAL FIN
Page 67 and 68: S O U T H A F R I C A * M a c h i n
Page 69 and 70: p rocessing industries,t e x t i l
Page 71 and 72: S WA Z I L A N D Swaziland Stock Ma
Page 73 and 74: S WA Z I L A N D The Ministry of En
Page 75 and 76: Snow capped peaks of Kilimanjaro. G
Page 77 and 78: TA N Z A N I A exchange rate, the s
Page 79 and 80: TA N Z A N I A S TATISTICS (USDm, u
Page 81 and 82: Z A M B I A the supply of water for
Page 83 and 84: Z A M B I A Fo reign Tr a d e Zambi
Page 85 and 86: Z A M B I A Other institutions incl
Page 87 and 88: Victoria Falls. G E N E R A L I N F
Page 89 and 90: Z I M BA BW E Z i m b a b we Stock
Page 91 and 92: Z I M BA BW E - No restrictions on
Page 93 and 94: LIST OF SOURCES S o u rces containi
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1998 SOUTHERN AFRICA ECONOMIC ... - National Treasury

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