Ramaphosa woos investors as Iran war clouds SA outlook

Key topics:Cyril Ramaphosa targets R3tn investment in 5 yearsReforms, growth and stability pitched to attract global investorsUS-Israeli attack on Iran raises risks, fuels inflation concerns.Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox every morning on weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa's bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By S'thembile Cele.President Cyril Ramaphosa pitched South Africa as a reform-driven investment haven at a time of increasing global uncertainty as he set a target of attracting 3 trillion rand ($177 billion) of capital to the country over the next five years. He increased this figure from 2 trillion rand in a speech late Tuesday.Improving economic growth, slowing inflation and sweeping reforms position the country as a “credible” destination for investors, Ramaphosa said at the South Africa Investment Conference in Johannesburg on Tuesday..“We are meeting at a time of uncertainty for the global economy. Geopolitical fragmentation, supply chain disruptions from conflicts and wars and trade tensions are radically impacting global capital flows,” he said. “In such conditions, South Africa presents a favorable proposition as a resilient, credible and reform-oriented investment destination.”The US-Israeli attack on Iran has jolted South Africa’s economic outlook. The war erupted days after Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana presented a budget that forecast debt will peak this fiscal year after rising for almost two decades, along with accelerating economic growth and slowing inflation..Read more:.FT: Military Briefing — US/Israeli strikes and Iran's retaliation.Godongwana separately said in an interview on the sidelines of the conference that he will reduce a tax imposed on fuel by 3 rand ($0.18) per liter in April for both gasoline and diesel.The conflict has also derailed expectations for monetary policy to ease this year, with an almost 50% surge in oil prices expected to lead to a spike in domestic fuel prices. Higher borrowing costs risk weighing on investment just as the government intensifies its push to crowd in private capital.The conference is the sixth iteration of a forum first introduced in 2018 and which has drawn pledges totaling about 1.5 trillion rand, with about 600 billion rand deployed into the economy, according to the government.Over that time, Ramaphosa’s administration can point to progress on reforming the economy, including ending chronic power outages that once constrained output, with efforts underway to overhaul freight rail and port infrastructure, key bottlenecks for exporters.“Our economy is much stronger than it was five years ago, precisely because of the structural reforms that we’ve been undertaking,” Deputy Finance Minister David Masondo said in an interview at the conference. “The sovereign risk premium has been declining, which sets the better conditions for us to attract capital, not only for equities but also for fixed income, and that will enable us to raise capital to invest in infrastructure,” he said..© 2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Ramaphosa woos investors as Iran war clouds SA outlook

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