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.

An innovative investment call centre was launched by Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies in Soweto last week. The Investment Promotion and Facilitation Centre in Moroka, Soweto will be operational by the end of November, and will aim to improve the investment climate in South Africa and reduce the costs of doing business.

South Africa has been identified as a key emerging market for global investors, moving up to fourth position in a new survey conducted by the British government's international business development agency.

The BMW Group will invest an additional R2.2 billion in its Rosslyn plant, the German car manufacturer said on Monday.

South Africa, which recorded a strong rise in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2008, might still show increased inflows for 2009, despite estimates that global flows would slump on the back of the global economic crisis.

The deficit of the current account of the balance of payments narrowed significantly in the second quarter, the SA Reserve Bank said on Thursday in its September Quarterly Bulletin.

South Africa posted a trade surplus of R447 million for July, the SA Revenue Service (Sars) said on Monday.

Young blacks dominate First National Bank's investors, the bank said on Monday.

South African President Jacob Zuma travels to Angola on Wednesday in a bid to strengthen ties between the continent's biggest economy and one of its top oil producers.

South Africa recorded a second consecutive monthly trade surplus in June, with a R3.22 billion surplus after a R2 billion rand surplus in May, the South African Revenue Service said on Friday. In May, South Africa's trade balance swung to its first monthly surplus in 29 months. 

Chana Auto Company (ChangAn), the Chinese state-owned vehicle manufacturer, will invest US$80 million (about R662.4 million) in South Africa, Business Report said on Tuesday.

Aegis Limited, an Indian Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firm, acquired the Johannesburg-based Call Centre Nucleus (CCN) this week as part of their R500 million investment into the country.

South Africa's trade balance swung to its first monthly surplus in 29 months in May, data showed on Tuesday, as the prevailing economic recession kept imports depressed.

The South African Revenue Service said the country recorded a surplus of R2 billion in May from a deficit of 1.465 billion rand in April, the first positive balance since December 2006.

Economists polled by Reuters had predicted a deficit of R2 billion, although the trade number is generally volatile and difficult to forecast.

Potential investors need not be nervous of South Africa's new government, African National Congress (ANC) treasurer-general Mathews Phosa said on Thursday. There would be ample opportunities for foreign businesses in the country, he told the Royal African Society in London.

International financiers and developed nations have committed US$ 1.4 billion to a new trade development programme that will open up business opportunities in eight African countries, including South Africa. 

US manufacturer of consumer goods Proctor & Gamble has announced a R200 million investment in South Africa with the establishment of a new plant in the country that will produce disposable nappies. 

South Africa is expected to fare better than most countries when it comes to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in 2009 with the region being well shielded from the turbulent global economy, according to mergermarket's South African M&A Round-up for 2008. 

Jeremy Gardiner, director of Investec Asset Management, gives the low-down on the key issues for investing in 2009.

The JSE launched two new African indices with the UK’s FTSE Group on Monday with the aim of increasing the flow of investment into Africa.