President Cyril Ramaphosa says several multinational companies have expressed interest in investing in South Africa after discussions linked to the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi.
Speaking after the summit, Ramaphosa said South Africa used engagements with international businesses to present its economic reforms and investment opportunities.
He said the country’s focus was on attracting investment that could support economic growth and job creation. The engagements included the BRICS Business Council and the South Africa-India Business Leaders Roundtable.
Local-currency payments discussed
Ramaphosa also said central banks had been discussing local-currency payment systems intended to support trade among BRICS members.
“We have discussed our desire to have local currency payment systems and our central banks have been in discussion about this,” the president said.
He said the aim was to make trade easier rather than position the proposed arrangements against another payment system or currency.
Ramaphosa did not name the companies that had expressed investment interest or announce signed deals, values or implementation dates in the remarks reported on Sunday.
The comments follow South Africa’s participation in the summit and business meetings in India. Any projects would still depend on agreements between the companies and their South African partners or authorities.
