Investec Bank CEO Cumesh Moodliar says SA’s presidency of the Group of 20 (G20) presents the country with a perfect opportunity to attract foreign direct investment.
SA will next month take over the presidency of the bloc, which brings together the world’s largest economies, including the US, China, Japan, France and Germany.
It is the first time SA will have the presidency since the intergovernmental group was established in 1999, which experienced its finest hour marshalling the globe out of the 2008/09 global financial crisis.
Moodliar says the G20 presidency, which culminates in a summit to be held in SA a year from now, is the perfect tonic for SA to showcase its capabilities on the world stage.
“If you look at the last two countries that had the G20 presidency, India and Brazil, they certainly leveraged the presidency to expand their international presence ... We see this as an opportunity to showcase SA Inc, and put forward the best of what SA has in the framework of the world’s most industrialised countries,” Moodliar told Business Day.
“If I cast my mind back to 2010 Fifa World Cup and think of what it did for the country as a sporting event, I think the same energy is needed to rally around the G20 presidency. That is what can unlock a significant spend in SA.”
SA, Africa’s most industrialised economy will be the first country on the continent to lead the powerful bloc. Its year-long presidency begins in December, with the US under Donald Trump next in line for the G20 presidency.
SA is the third consecutive Brics member to assume the leadership of the bloc, following India and Brazil, whose tenure ends at the end of the month.
The AU was accepted as a permanent member of the G20 at the bloc’s summit in New Delhi last year.
Cumesh said hosting the summit also allowed Johannesburg to clean up the city, and called for all sectors of society to come together to ensure services.
“The president made a statement a few days ago about roads leading to Johannesburg for the G20 summit. I believe at a local government level, civil society and business should seize the opportunity to take all the infrastructure needs over the next month and start beautifying and investing in Johannesburg,” he said.
“This can be a rallying point to uplift Johannesburg as a city and make sure we can get some basic services in. That to me is exactly what the 2010 World Cup achieved for many cities in SA if you look at the infrastructure spend. The only difference now is that we have a shorter timeline and we all have to step up, business and civil society to support the government in hosting the G20.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Wednesday that about 130 meetings of the G20 would take place across the country.
Hendrik du Toit, CEO of SA’s largest asset manager, Ninety One, echoed Moodliar’s sentiments.
“We are talking to the government, saying this is the opportunity of an era,” Du Toit said. “This is President Ramaphosa’s moment to reset SA’s position on the world stage, particularly because we will next year hand over the presidency of the G20 to the US, which means there will have to be a lot of co-operation between the two countries.
“President Ramaphosa can position SA as a very reliable neutral player. We should put every resource into ensuring the success of SA’s presidency of the G20. The National Treasury is working with companies on how we can help to position our country in the best possible light and extract value from the presidency of the G20.”
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