Many Japanese companies are keen to invest in South Africa and others are interested in expanding their investments, Invest South Africa acting head Yunus Hoosen said on Sunday.

In a statement after returning from an investment mission by the trade and industry department (DTI), together with presidential investment envoy Phumzile Langeni and Business Leadership South Africa CEO Bonang Mohale, Hoosen described the mission as "successful".

The mission was part of government’s investment attraction drive to attract $100-billion in investments in South Africa in five years, he said.

“I am pleased that the many Japanese companies that we met are keen to invest in South Africa and others are interested in expanding their investments. We were able to address the concerns of investors about the South African investment environment and policy. We also assured them that the country’s investment policy development process was aimed at bringing policy certainty in order to enhance the country’s investment climate,” Hoosen said.

Japanese companies were also happy to hear about the investment opportunities, programmes, and incentives provided by government to attract foreign investors to the South Africa. Of particular interest to the majority of the companies were the special economic zones (SEZs) that offered attractive packages to investors to set up plants in the SEZs in various parts of South Africa. 

Hoosen said he was encouraged by the fact that Japanese companies were looking at South Africa as a key location in Africa, and therefore wanted to expand and increase their investments to service other parts of the continent.

“Some of the Japanese companies are already co-operating with us in areas such as supplier development, empowerment initiatives, and the automotive sector, as well as in the development of our energy, information and communication technology, telecommunications, water, and rail infrastructure,” Hoosen said.

The programme of the mission included an investment seminar that was attended by more than 200 potential Japanese investors.