Thesis Abstract and Dissertation Abstracts
Barriers to foreign direct investment in South Africa and the implications for corporate attraction strategies
Abstract Category: Accounts and Economics
Course / Degree: PhD
Institution / University: La Trobe University, Australia
Published in: 2003
For many decades, inequality in the distribution of foreign direct investment (FDI) amongst nations has proved an intractable problem.
This thesis attempts to contribute to previous studies in relation to South Africa, examining and evaluating the roles of several FDI determinants inadequately explored in the literature.
Despite normalisation of international relations in the early 1990s and the end of apartheid, South Africa has been unable to attract sustained FDI. This thesis has looked at why this is so and what South African policy makers can do to remedy the situation.
The thesis has conducted original comparative research in three areas. First, personnel from four multinational firms were interviewed in relation to country risk assessment and FDI decision-making processes. The interviews reveal an unsurprising pre-occupation with profitability but also, more revealing, a focus on economic certainty and sovereign credit ratings.
Second, three developing countries were selected to compare and contrast FDI performance with South Africa. The collective experience of these countries has confirmed the importance of privatisation as well as robust institutions and regulatory regimes, and access to and availability of skilled labour.
Finally, recent South African history 1980-2000 was analysed to establish the relationship, if any, between FDI and political and economic events. The period analysis has suggested that apartheid was no disincentive to FDI and inflows increased as the government moved from a command economy to a market economy regardless of the political status of the country. Overall, the analysis has shown that privatisation, economic certainty and expected return (profitability) are the most important determinants to attract FDI inflows into South Africa. The thesis has concluded that South Africa's openness and willingness to reduce the number of state owned enterprises through privatisation is most likely to create an investment incentive for foreign investors.
Thesis Keywords/Search Tags:
FDI, South Africa, foreign direct investment
This Thesis Abstract may be cited as follows:
Contact La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
Submission Details: Thesis Abstract submitted by Matthew Durban from Australia on 19-May-2011 02:44.
Abstract has been viewed 4369 times (since 7 Mar 2010).
Matthew Durban Contact Details: Email: matthew.durban@austrade.gov.au
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