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South African load shedding has just got to be hurting our economy.
I'll make a post on how load shedding is affecting our business later when I've got a bit more time.
In the meantime, how is it affecting your business?
I'll comment on some of the economic impact we're experiencing later, but here are some views from a foreign investment point of view.
Eskom's call for the government not to advertise South Africa as an investment location with cheap electricity does not mean the country is closed for new business.
This is the view of Iraj Abedian, the chief executive of Pan African Advisory Services, who said yesterday: "What the call does is open up options for investors and give guidance.
"It says all those who want to invest in South Africa should look at industries with less reliance on energy, among other things. When investors come here, they need to reprofile the industries they want to enter."
Tony Twine, a senior economist at Econometrix, said Eskom's advice simply meant that low-cost power was no longer a positive attribute, as it had been in the past.
He said it was difficult to say whether this would affect foreign direct investment because it was unclear how attractive low-cost power had been when investors made their decisions.
"Cheap labour and property could be among the attractions that would continue to woo foreign investors," Twine said.
Mario Galletti, a trade analyst at the Italian Trade Commission, said the economic effect could be huge, as informal discussions in lifts and dinner parties showed that concern was mounting.
"I think the reason we have not had a formal complaint from [business] chambers is because people thought the problem would be temporary," Galletti said.
"But ... because it will last for at least another three years, people back home would treat power cuts the same way they do crime.
"They would only ask how we are surviving in South Africa and would not simply disinvest."
A UK Trade & Investment official, who did not want to be named, said that though the power cuts would not cast South Africa in a good light, they would not deter firms from investing because they always believed the issue would be resolved sooner rather than later.
from Business Report here
Eskom's call for the government not to advertise South Africa as an investment location with cheap electricity does not mean the country is closed for new business.
This is the view of Iraj Abedian, the chief executive of Pan African Advisory Services, who said yesterday: "What the call does is open up options for investors and give guidance.
"It says all those who want to invest in South Africa should look at industries with less reliance on energy, among other things. When investors come here, they need to reprofile the industries they want to enter."
Tony Twine, a senior economist at Econometrix, said Eskom's advice simply meant that low-cost power was no longer a positive attribute, as it had been in the past.
He said it was difficult to say whether this would affect foreign direct investment because it was unclear how attractive low-cost power had been when investors made their decisions.
"Cheap labour and property could be among the attractions that would continue to woo foreign investors," Twine said.
Mario Galletti, a trade analyst at the Italian Trade Commission, said the economic effect could be huge, as informal discussions in lifts and dinner parties showed that concern was mounting.
"I think the reason we have not had a formal complaint from [business] chambers is because people thought the problem would be temporary," Galletti said.
"But ... because it will last for at least another three years, people back home would treat power cuts the same way they do crime.
"They would only ask how we are surviving in South Africa and would not simply disinvest."
A UK Trade & Investment official, who did not want to be named, said that though the power cuts would not cast South Africa in a good light, they would not deter firms from investing because they always believed the issue would be resolved sooner rather than later.
from Business Report here
In the meantime, how is it affecting your business?
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