Marketing SA

Led by IMC Chair, Wendy Luhabe, the delegation includes Danny Jordaan, CEO of the 2010 World Cup Organising Committee, Bheki Sibiya, CEO of Business Unity SA and Monhla Hlahla, CEO of the Airports Company of SA.

The IMC delegation will hold three investment conferences in Frankfurt, Munich and London during its week-long visit, starting on 11 June.

Luhabe says: "Whilst the Institute for International Finance shows that foreign capital flows at US$311 billion are at their highest levels since 1997/98, the Reserve Bank reports that South Africa experienced a net outflow of US$1 billion last year. We urgently need to turn this around.

"Our mission is to demonstrate opportunity and success. We will showcase a country that is alive with possibility and a business environment that will provide investors in South Africa with rich rewards."

IMC Chief Executive Yvonne Johnston says: "We want to present the rich potential of doing business in South Africa. Investing in South Africa allows companies to reach a customer base of more than 170 million people in our immediate region and another 550 million people on the continent of Africa.

"Germany and the United Kingdom have been selected because they are South Africa's biggest trading partners. Our objective is to consolidate that position and explore the opportunities for further growth in two of the world's biggest economies."

Johnston adds that there is a growing interest in South Africa: "Investors see enormous potential - a stable democracy with sophisticated infrastructure and sound macro-economic policies. The Barclays-Absa deal this week again emphasised our country's growing stature in the global financial world."

Sibiya says he will inform European audiences of the huge potential for doing business with the South African SMME sector. There are an estimated three million small business operating in South Africa and they play a vital role in wealth and job creation.

Jordaan believes there will be considerable global interest in South Africa over the next five years: "This visit will introduce the European business community to the numerous opportunities that are opening up for new ventures and investments."