Mining Weekly - 23 February 2021 by Marleny Arnoldi

Read online at Mining Weekly.

Business Day - 22 February 2021 by Neva Makgetla (TIPS Senior Economist)

Read online at Business Day.

Or read as a PDF.

Fin 24 - 18 February 2021 by Lameez Omarjee

Read online at Fin 24.

Engineering News - 15 February 2021 by Schalk Burger

Read online at Engineering News.

News 24 - 13 February 2021 by James de Villiers

Read online at News 24.

Business Day - 8 February 2021 by Neva Makgetla (TIPS Senior Economist)

Read online at Business Day.

Or read as a PDF.

The Import Tracker is a quarterly analysis of import trends. It provides an overview of import patterns and look at the causes of surges in manufacturing imports, and their likely impact on industry. Quarter 4, 2020 is now available. Import Tracker Q4 2020.

Although declining slightly compared to the third quarter of 2020, South Africa maintained a high trade surplus in the fourth quarter of 2020, at R103 billion. Year-on-year, this marks a more than 300% increase in the trade surplus compared to the fourth quarter of 2019. The surplus is the result of low imports and high exports (Graph 1). This has been the case over the last three quarters in particular as South Africa and its trade partners continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic that began in January 2020.

Industry Master Plans have emerged as an important industrial policy intervention and approach to strengthening and growing South African industrial capacity. The approach to and process of developing these plans has brought about a comprehensive understanding of specific industry dynamics, engagements between key stakeholders in an industry, and the actions required to strengthen and grow that industry. Developing the Master Plans involved research, engagement and collaboration between stakeholders to identify and support the actions required. The Master Plans aim to collectively reposition the economy rather than solve a specific crisis faced by an industry. This policy brief explores some of the tensions that have surfaced in the Master Plan process.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its role in Africa is controversial. This paper argues that African countries should work through regional organisations, such as the African Union (AU) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to use their agency and negotiate with China to advance their own interests. The experiences of China in building regional corridors and supporting regional value chains and connectivity in Southeast Asia can provide valuable lessons for both Africa and China on how the BRI can contribute positively to developmental regionalism* in Africa.

* Developmental regionalism is defined as “cooperation among countries in a broader range of areas than just trade and trade facilitation, to include – for example – investment, research and development, as well as policies aimed at accelerating regional industrial development and regional infrastructure provision, such as the building of better networks of roads and railway” – UNCTAD.