Monitoring for Quarter 4 added 18 projects not previously captured by the FDI tracker. These are a mix of projects announced during the Investment Conference held in October 2018, and announced or taking place before the conference. The quarter rounds out the year with a total pledge value for projects of R174,2 billion from 15 projects, a marked increase from the R47,7 billion recorded in Quarter 3 2018. 

Business Day - 28 January 2019 by Theto Mahlakoana

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TIPS training programme for 2019 includes Trade Policy and Practice; Value Chain Strategies; Industrial Policy for South Africa; Macroeconomics for Policymakers; and the Green Economy and Industrial Policy. For more go to Training Workshops.

The second edition of the State of Small Business published by TIPS includes a review of trends in small business according to national data, and two briefing notes look at learnings from efforts to support small business in South Africa from Kate Philip’s new book, Markets on the Margins, and a summary of the main initiatives for small business in the Job Summit Framework Agreement. Read here.

This edition of The Real Economy Bulletin is the third edition of the State of Small Business published by TIPS. It reviews trends in small business post COVID-19, looking at small business by the numbers and the pace of recovery; employment and earnings; contribution to the GDP; small business by sector; profitability and earnings; assets and liabilities; education levels; ownership by race and gender; and the geography of small business

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Business Day - 22 January 2019 by Neva Makgetla (TIPS Senior Economist)

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This policy brief attempts to draw some initial conclusions on the state of the testing infrastructure for South African National Standards (SANS). The analysis draws on a new database developed by TIPS, which individually codes some 550 SANAS testing laboratory accreditation reports. It identifies four important trends in the South African testing space: the rapid growth of private testing providers, the growing role of the big three private testers, the growth of small specialist testing firms, and – most importantly – the bifurcation of the South African testing space, and the subsequent need for a deeper, more targeted role for the South African Bureau of Standards. Finally, the policy brief recommends a new approach to monitoring and evaluation of standards, quality, and accreditation (SQAM) in South Africa, with the aim of facilitating more targeted policy interventions.

AGENDA

10:00 - 10:15 Arrival and coffee / tea

10:15 - 10:30 Opening and welcome by Chairperson: Xolelwa Mlumbi

10:30 - 12:00 Presentations:

Neva Makgetla: South Africa's exports and inclusive industrialisation
Faizel Ismail: A 'Developmental Regionalism' approach to the AfCFTA
Christopher Wood: Tracking imports, trends and anomalies

12:00 - 12:45 Discussion

12:45 Lunch

BACKGROUND

Exports are often seen as a necessary feature for industrialisation. Looking at the basket of South Africa's exported products, is there an opportunity in expanding or shifting exports to improve the industrial capacity of the country? How does the region feature within South Africa's exports? Expanding exports to neighbouring countries without comparable imports have seen significant trade imbalances. Will the African Continental Free Trade Agreement result in improved exports and imports, and ultimately support an industrialisation strategy for African economies? This Development Dialogue aims to discuss some of these challenges.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Xolelwa Mlumbi is the Deputy Director-General responsible for the International Trade and Economic Development (ITED) division at the Department of Trade and Industry.

Neva Makgetla is a senior economist at TIPS. Makgetla has published widely on the South African economy and worked for many years in government, most recently as Deputy Director General for Policy in the Economics Development Department, as well as in COSATU.

Dr Faizel Ismail is an Adjunct Professor at the UCT School of Economics and a TIPS Research Associate. He has previously been an advisor to the dti on International Trade and Special Envoy on the African Growth and Opportunity Act and served as the Ambassador Permanent Representative of South Africa to the WTO (2010-2014).

Christopher Wood is an economist at TIPS focusing on trade and industry policy. He set up the TIPS import tracker, which monitors the trends, spikes and highest imports. Chris previously worked as a researcher in economic diplomacy at the South African Institute of International Affairs.

Business Day - 21 December by Duma Gqubule

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The TIPS Forum 2019 will be held in Johannesburg on 30-31 May 2019. The theme is Innovation and Industrialisation. Those wishing to contribute papers are invited to submit their title and abstracts of up to 500 words. Deadline for submissions is 1 March 2019. For more information go to forum.tips.org.za