REMARKS BY PRESIDENT JACOB ZUMA TO THE BRICS BUSINESS COUNCIL

SPECIAL SESSION FOR SOUTH AFRICA HELD ON THE MARGINS OF THE 9 TH

BRICS SUMMIT

XIAMEN, CHINA
3 SEPTEMBER 2017

Your Excellency President Temer of the Federative Republic of Brazil,

Ministers,
Members of the BRICS Business Council,
Distinguished Guests,

We are pleased to meet with you as members of the BRICS business community.
You are important partners in our quest for building stronger and more sustainable
economies and a better life for our peoples within the BRICS family.
We meet against the backdrop of developmental challenges resulting from the
downturn in the global economic order.
Our discussions are thus informed by those challenges.
The difficulties we face can be in part attributed to our status as commodity
exporters. We are thus affected by the decline in the demand for our raw materials
and negative resultant price decreases.
Hence our own domestic growth patterns have displayed growth that unfortunately
does not accurately reflect our true growth potential.
Within the BRICS context, South Africa has four primary goals;
We want to see development and inclusive economic growth. We want to promote
value-added trade among BRICS countries.
We also want to promote investment into productive sectors.
I am of the view that focusing on these goals would enable us to facilitate greater
trade, investment and industrialization which is a key part of addressing common
challenges facing us including unemployment, inequality and poverty.
We have made much progress with the formulation of key blueprints including the
BRICS Strategy for Economic Partnership and subsequent Roadmap, which clearly
articulate practical areas of cooperation across all disciplines.
I wish to encourage our Captains of Industry, to take ownership of the
implementation of this document as you are ultimately the beneficiaries of the
programmes contained therein.
Distinguished Guests, it is also important to acknowledge the sterling efforts made
by our BRICS Business Council in advancing our developmental objectives.
To this end, I would like to applaud the initiatives championed by the Council as it
relates to SME development, skills transfer programmes, increasing collaboration
with the New Development Bank, the discussions surrounding the establishment of a
BRICS rating agency, E-commerce collaboration and the issuance of an Investment
Guide, amongst others.
An important development is also the recent launch of the Africa Regional Centre of
the New Development Bank in South Africa.

The launch of the ARC further demonstrates the commitment by BRICS members
towards providing access to capital for infrastructure projects in Africa and other
developing countries.

We reiterate our view that the New Development Bank must be more welcoming to
emerging and developing markets and to Africa in particular, and assist us in taking
forward our developmental agenda.

We look forward to seeing progress in the funding of infrastructure investment in

energy, transport, water and other productive sectors which currently impedes our
competitiveness in the broader global landscape.

I must also welcome the growing trade amongst BRICS nations.

In terms of our current trade patterns, South Africas trade with its BRICS
counterparts has increased from 15 billion US dollars in 2010 to 31.2 billion US
dollars in 2016.

However, despite the increase in intra-BRICS trade, the character of trade has been
highly inequitable. Exports from South Africa have been driven particularly by raw
materials. This dominance of raw material exports has adversely impacted South
Africa.

In as much as South Africa is endowed with natural resources, it is critical that we

have in place beneficiation programmes that support our industrialization policy.

It is in this regard, that we call upon our BRICS partners to collaborate with us in a
few areas.

This includes investing in supply and development programmes in Africa, skills

development and technology transfer and also engaging in projects that would
support inclusive development and equal partnerships.

We also wish to remind our BRICS partners that given the history of institutionalized
racism in South Africa, we continue to work hard to reverse the impact on the
economy.

South Africa has thus set for itself a plan of action towards the attainment of radical
socio-economic transformation.

This means that all business partnerships will be expected to include more than
before, participants from the black majority, who had been excluded in the
ownership, management and control of the economy during the apartheid era.

South Africa offers opportunities currently in many areas as we seek to reignite

economic growth.

There is an increased focus on industrialization, mining and beneficiation, agriculture

and agro-processing, energy, small, medium as well as micro enterprises (SMMEs),
attracting investments, growing the oceans economy and tourism.

In addition to this, cross-cutting areas such as science and technology, water and
sanitation, infrastructure, transport infrastructure and broadband roll-out have also
been prioritized.

We also have a specific programme focusing on the development of black

industrialists.
This initiative aims to expand the industrial base of the country and grow the
economy through bringing in the majority to real productive sectors such as
manufacturing.

BRICS business partners will find South Africa ready to share opportunities in this
area.

Distinguished guests,

Let me also reiterate that Africa remains a continent of great opportunity with lots of
potential.

Despite the recent challenges, Africas household consumption and business

spending are both growing strongly, offering companies a 5.6 trillion US dollars
opportunity by 2025 according to the latest Mckinsey Report.

Africas manufacturing sector today does not compare favourably with those of other
emerging economies. However, Mckinsey predicts that output could expand to
nearly one trillion US dollars in 2025 if Africas manufacturers were to produce more
to meet domestic demand from consumers and businesses, and work with
governments to address factors hindering their ability to produce and export goods.

These statistics cannot be ignored.

Africa is thus the current frontier for growth and prosperity and the opportunities from
an investment perspective are limitless.

To this end, please accept my personal invitation to visit South Africa as we prepare
to host the 10th BRICS Summit on African soil in 2018.

I would like to extend my best wishes for this Business Forum. You have our full
support as BRICS Leaders, as we work together to build brighter futures for our
peoples.
In this regard, I would like to remind you of the words of the great former President
Nelson Mandela who once said: Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great.
You can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.

Africa awaits you!

I thank you!

Issued by The Presidency

Pretoria
www.thepresidency.gov.za