The fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and the government’s lockdown may threaten President Cyril Ramaphosa’s investment drive, with companies such as Sappi and Growthpoint reviewing spending plans that formed part of R360bn worth of investment commitments made in 2019.
This is a bad sign for Ramaphosa’s goal of achieving his target of $100bn (about R1.7-trillion) in investment over five years, which was announced to much fanfare in 2018.
Fixed investment in SA, particularly in infrastructure, has been a rallying point for Ramaphosa’s administration and is looked at as the linchpin for recovery plans to get SA out of its economic hole.
Global paper and packaging maker Sappi, which announced R14bn worth of expansion projects in the coming six years at last year’s investment conference, told Business Day that the pandemic has interrupted these plans.