Speech by President Nelson Mandela to the Heads of major South Korean business Associations
South African History Online 
Speech by President Nelson Mandela to the Heads of major South Korean business Associations
Seoul, 7 July 1995
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and gentlemen.
It is a great honour to be able to meet with the leaders of such important
South Korean business associations. A meeting of this kind can only have
beneficial results for both South Korea and South Africa. I would therefore like
to thank you for this opportunity.
In South Africa we have great admiration for the achievements of your
country. You have lifted South Korea from extremely difficult circumstances to
become one of the "four Asian tigers" and one of the major economic success
stories of this era. Your spectacular dynamic growth provides many lessons from
which countries such as ours can learn a great deal.
South Africa is therefore studying your experience with great interest as we
embark upon the process of reconstruction and development.
There are many pointers to the potential for greatly expanded economic links
between South Korean and South Africa.
Not least among these is the prominent place of South Korea in the Asian
region. And now that South Africa has freed itself from apartheid, with the help
of South Koreans and the rest of the international community, the barriers to
realising this potential have been swept aside.
In the short period since we began our transition to democracy, trade between
us, albeit from a small base, has rapidly grown. For us it is particularly
pleasing that our exports to South Korea almost doubled in the two years after
1992, when your government lifted the economic sanctions.
Products of South Korean design are now very familiar in South Africa. We
would however like to see much more trade between our countries. Above all, we
are convinced that there is great scope for direct investment which will be both
profitable and beneficial to our business communities and nations.
This judgement, that there are long-term business opportunities for
productive investment, is one which is increasingly shared by business, both in
South Africa and internationally.
We are experiencing a sharp surge in domestic fixed investment as South
African business commits itself to the future of our country. Many transnational
corporations are currently establishing themselves in South Africa or increasing
their existing operations. The activities engaging foreign investors are
diverse, such as food processing; information technology; telecommunication;
tourism; property development and others.
The scale of the opportunities and the character of our needs arise out of
the imperative to reconstruct and develop our country. And there is consensus
from international experts that South Africa is on track.
Our basic policy concerning foreign investment is that of national treatment.
That is, foreign investors receive the same rights, privileges and incentives as
local investors. Furthermore, there are no restrictions on foreign ownership of
business or areas of the economy in which they may invest. Policy changes such
as the relaxation of exchange control and the abolition of non-residents tax on
dividends are meant to facilitate these initiatives.
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Southern Africa is quickly settling down to post-apartheid political
stability and economic growth. The region is beginning with the implementation
of a framework for integration in trade, investment, infrastructure and
financial markets within the Southern African Development Community. This brings
together South African and Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland, Namibia, Zambia,
Zimbabwe, Angola, Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania.
Indeed, in the past, a mere mention of these countries would conjure up
images of conflict and instability. We are proud that the emergence of a
democratic South Africa has helped release the energies of the region to
accomplish democracy, peace and security.
As such, the opportunities that we refer to in respect of South Africa, are,
multiplied many-fold, viewed against the backdrop of the region's potential.
South Africa is grateful that the South Korean government has moved rapidly
to support reconstruction and development in our country. We are in no doubt
that the private sector in this country shares the same sentiment.
The Republic of Korea is one of our most important trading partners. While it
ranked 13th in 1994, total growth in trade has increase by some 27% in 1994
alone. This is given added poignancy by the increased involvement of Korean
investors in our economy.
Ladies and Gentlemen;
While we emphasise this, your obligation, we cannot claim to have resolved
every detailed problem. We do know that South Africa has strengths and
weaknesses in its drive to attract new investment.
Our strengths include the existence of a diversified economy, very good
physical infrastructure, a sophisticated financial sector, low energy costs,
mineral wealth and potentially high levels of domestic investment and access to
markets in the region and beyond.
Our weaknesses include the fact that much of our labour is under-trained,
which is a legacy of apartheid. Our manufacturing sector is currently not very
competitive, and we have inward looking policies which are hangovers of the
previous era.
However, in the short period of our democracy, we have already introduced
policies to address these defects, and we are planning to do more.
We are part of the World Trade Organisation and are fully committed to
extensive, though gradual, tariff reform. We are taking steps towards the
complete removal of exchange control and we are imposing tight discipline on
government spending. In addition, revised competition policies will open the
market to competitive new entrants.
In quite a few countries we have visited, questions have been raised about
stability and security in our country, about crime and industrial actions.
One could go on and on, quoting the successes we are scoring against crime,
as a result of the co-operation between the law- enforcement agencies and
communities. This was unthinkable in the apartheid era. One could go on and on
extolling the virtues of our rainbow nation, particularly its capacity to bury
the past and together tackle the future. We could spend time explaining the
principled commitment our government and people have for consensus in dealing
with major national matters; and explaining the partnership between business,
labour and government in working out industrial strategies.
But the most reliable witness to all this are the large South Korean
companies that have already opened offices in South Africa. Some of them have
entered into joint ventures with South African companies. The confidence of
investors in the future of our country is also reflected by the Korean companies
which are already becoming involved in RDP projects such as housing.
The task we face is to speed up these efforts and diversify our relations.
There are complementarities between our economies. South Korea and South Africa
could become close and good partners in many fields.
This requires creativity on the part of the private sector in both our
countries. This will benefit our economies and ensure significant dividends for
our business communities. But, above all, it will provide fertile ground for the
flourishing of democracy, human rights and many other values that our nations
share. Not only will South Africans and South Koreans stand to benefit. But this
will also redound to the good of Asia and Africa as a whole.
It is in this spirit that I invite you to apply your expertise and capital
strength in South Africa. It is in this spirit that I encourage South African
business to take part in the economy of South Korea.
Together, we can move mountains.
