South Africa and China, which operates the largest high-speed rail network in the world, have signed an agreement that seeks to promote co-operation, trade and investment in rail projects between the two countries.

Small and medium businesses are set to benefit from The India Show, a trade exhibition set to strengthen trade ties between South Africa and India. The show is expected to give local businesses a taste of global export opportunities.

 

Russia will supply South African nuclear power stations with uranium from 2011 until 2017.
This follows an agreement reached by both countries’ presidents.

South Africa will soon be able to process more of its own diamonds, thanks to a new diamond polishing plant in the Eastern Cape.

President Jacob Zuma goes to Russia and China this month, part of a push to open new trade and investment routes to the fast-growing emerging economies.

This weekend saw some exciting activity on the South African online marketplace bidorbuy.co.za: A 1902 South African ZAR Veldpond coin was sold on the site for R450,000.

 

Residents of the Happy Valley informal settlement in Blackheath now have their own brand new, fully-electrified plaza with essential shops that provides the area with much needed business opportunities.

Hundreds of poor South African grandmothers made more money than they'd seen in their lives selling homemade scarves and hats to soccer fans who came unprepared for freezing conditions during the World Cup.

Most investors regard an investment in mid-cap and smaller companies as too risky, but according to Plexus Asset Management that perception isn't the reality.

Africa has $1.7 trillion of potential wealth and production in areas such as agriculture, tourism and water, a study showed on Wednesday, pointing to new investment areas that stretch beyond commodities.

Addressing the G20 business leaders in Toronto yesterday on the eve of the G8 and G20 Summits, Zuma said Africa can no longer be viewed only as a destination for development aid.

As stereotypes about the African Continent come tumbling down with a so-far successful Fifa World Cup in South Africa, a bold new summit is leveraging the international exposure at this time to encourage investment onto the Continent.

The Festival of Africa’s inaugural Investor Summit is setting the platform to bring continental trade and investment to the fore by providing World Cup-participating African countries with exposure to potential investors from around the world.

Themed “Doing Business in Southern Africa,” the Festival of Africa started on the 11th June and will continue until the 11th July at the Melrose Arch precinct in Johannesburg.

Volkswagen has launched a R230-million parts and accessories distribution centre in Centurion outside Pretoria, while announcing a R500-million investment in a new press shop at its plant in Uitenhage – further demonstrating the company's commitment to South Africa.

During his visit to South Africa to watch Fifa's 16th-ranked United States play Fifa's 9th-ranked England, United States Vice President Joe Biden emphasized South Africa's leadership role both in Africa and internationally.

South Africa sees growing opportunities for trade with other developing countries as new economic powerhouses emerge and Europe is engulfed by economic and currency weakness, South Africa's trade chief said on Wednesday.

President Jacob Zuma has described India as a crucial partner for South Africa's long term economic growth strategy.

Twenty-six South African and Chinese companies signed contracts valued at billions of rands in Pretoria on Wednesday, the department trade and industry said.

South African wine sales in the UK have overtaken those of France for the first time, according to the latest figures from market analysts AC Nielsen.

The UK business community holds South Africa in high regard, both as an investment destination and as a springboard into the rest of Africa, said Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan.

South Africa and the United Kingdom aim to double the value of trade between the two countries over the next five years, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said on Thursday.

Foreigners seem to perceive SA's political risk as far lower than what locals believe it to be, after treasury succeeded in raising its biggest global bond ($2bn, or R15.16bn) at a historically low rate.

Confident that the worst is over for the local auto industry, General Motors SA is to invest around R900-million on upgrading and consolidating its production facilities, and on launching 10 new products over the next three years.

Foreign investors flocked to South African equities in 2009, snapping up 75.418 billion rand worth of local shares as appetite for emerging markets rose after worries over the credit crisis lessened.

Volkswagen South Africa has been awarded an export contract for up to 300,000 cars, the Herald Online reported on Friday.

South Africa's JSE is one of the first stock exchanges worldwide to become a signatory to the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investment (UN PRI), which guide investors in taking environmental, social and corporate governance issues into account when investing.