South Africa’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies has arrived in Japan for an official visit to promote trade and investment ties between the two countries.
Minister Davies is scheduled to have a bilateral meeting with the Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yukio Edano. The two ministers will exchange views on how to further strengthen bilateral trade and investment relationship between the two countries.
Minister Davies will also meet various industry stakeholders including Nissan, Isuzu, Toyota, and the Japanese Business Federation-Keidanren. In addition, he will also be a keynote speaker at the Southern African Development Community (SADC)/Mainichi forum to promote opportunities in the in the region.
Minister Davies says that the bilateral trade between the two countries has increased slightly between 2007 and 2011, growing from R87 billion to R90 billion respectively.
‘Total trade once reached the high of R106 billion in 2008 prior the global crisis of 2009 but subsequently declined by 43% to R60 billion. Between 2010 and 2011, South Africa’s exports experienced an average increase of 16% as compared to imports which saw an average increase of 10% during the same period. South Africa has been enjoying a trade surplus for the past (5) years,’’ said Davies.
Davies further says that Japan has been a major investor in South Africa for more than a decade.
“To date, the number of Japanese companies that have invested in South Africa have increased to approximately 108 in 2012. In 2011, South Africa managed to attract investments worth $312 million from Toyota and Kansai Paint. The recent investment from Japan was by the Hong Kong based Asian Mineral Ltd which owns 49% of the Kudumane Manganese mine, in the Northern Cape. The mine is expected to employ approximately 300 people,” added Davies.
This is the first visit to Japan by Minister Davies since becoming Minister of Trade and Industry. His last visit was in 2006 when he was Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry.
Enquiries:
Sidwell Medupe
Departmental Spokesperson
Cell: 079 492 1774
Tel: 012 394 1650
E-mail: MSMedupe@thedti.gov.za
