Peter,

RSA looks good on paper with those statistics.

Unfortunatly, I'm not so sure that reality will be so rosy in say 15 years...

Erik D.

I'd have to say that while most of those statistics probably rank you #1 on the African continent, on a worldwide basis, they generally aren't so great. Very few in top 3, or even top 5. Not what I'd be too proud of.

Art's

Quote:

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Not what I'd be too proud of.

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Be careful !!!



WE control and produce MOST of the worlds strategic minerals and the WEST needs to be careful that it does not fall into the wrong hands and become a weapon JUST as we all know OIL is ...



These 3rd world countries we live in have a string to their bow that we ALL need to be thinking about, if not to be VERY concerned about .. WE all know what is going on with terrorism whereby the weak are holding the mighty powers to ransome, we must NOT get complacent with our puported strengths, the world is changing dramatically in front of our eyes and we dont know what to do about it. I have always stated DONT abandon AFRICA to its wishes, BUT the powers to be have ignored us, it will be to their peril if they dont wake up soon IMHO and take notice of the problems being faced, ignorance complacency and abandonment will not fix the problems



Regards, Peter

Balla Balla--on those points and issues I fully agree with you. The minerals aspect wasn't really what I was referring to, and you are correct on that count.

Guests

I know statistics can be selective and not always what they say BUT just for those knockers here are some interesting stats

Have a wonderful day in Sunny SA

Peter
---------------------------------
Richard's Review


40 SA's Strengths:


I was watching Carte Blanche last Sunday in which they had a report from a recently published article in the IMD International's World Competitiveness Yearbook. I found it interesting and extracted the following from the Carte Blanch website. I don't know if you saw the program but I was so excited by the information I have repeated it below.


The World Competitiveness Report ranks South Africa 2nd in the export market diversification and 14th for shareholder value.


South Africa's quality of air transportation 6th in the world.


South Africa's self-sufficiency in non-energy raw materials is ranked 3rd in the world.


South Africa has one of the highest levels of expenditure on education in the world, currently at 20% of GDP


South Africa's protection of patent and copyright is ranked 8th in the world.


South Africa has the 20th largest economy out of 230 countries in the world, according to gross domestic product measured in US dollars purchasing power parity.


South African government efficiency is rated as the 15th best in the world as rated by IMD International.


Our management of public finance is rated 3rd in the world and we are rated 1st in terms of effective personal income tax collection.


South Africa has the world's largest reserves of gold (35%), manganese (80%), Chromium (68%), platinum-group metals (56%), vanadium (45%) and alumino-silicates (37%), and is the leading producer of these and many other metals.


South Africa is the world's largest platinum producer, producing 73% of the world's platinum output.


South African tap water is now piped into 76% of the country's households, compared to only 23% in 1994.


South Africa has the lowest cost of electricity in the world and the lowest cost of living compared to the world's major cities.


South Africa has produced in the form of the King II Report, what is widely considered to be one of the most comprehensive and most advanced reports on corporate governance in the world, emphasising the South African business community's determination to adhere to good and ethical business practices.


South Africa is the world's leading producer of gold, generating 17% of the world's annual output.


South Africa has been identified by US department of commerce as one of the world's top 10 Big Emerging Markets based on the enormous potential that exists in South Africa for US business.


The Institute of International Finance has praised South Africa as being "among the best performers in terms of corporate governance in emerging markets".


South Africa has the 5th most productive labour force in the world, measured in dollar terms.


The Johannesburg Securities Exchange is one of the 15th largest stock exchanges in the world, in terms of market capitalisation.


Our banking sector is rated one of the top 10 in the world and our data security is ranked 8th


Following almost 10 years of capital outflows, South Africa has experienced capital inflows averaging 6% of GDP per annum since 1996.


South Africa ranks 23rd in telecommunications development in the world and is ranked 5th in terms of investments in the industry. In addition, 99.8% of our telecommunications network is digital.


South African vehicle exports by BMW, Daimler Chrysler, Toyota Motor Corporation, Volkswagen and Ford increased from 20000 units to 140000 units between 1995 and 2002. With annual revenue standing at R15billion in 2002, the industry is now the 3rd largest export earner after mining.


Sasol Mining was voted as the Coal Company of the Year in 2002 by the Platts/BusinessWeek Global Energy Awards.


South Africa straddles important shipping routes between Europe, Asia and South America, and the country's five major ports handle 13000 freight vessels annually, carrying 500 million tons of cargo.


Over six million people have found homes in the 1.5 million houses that have been constructed since 1996. The housing programme has R50billion budgeted for the historically marginalized people and 22000 emerging contractors have been established.


BMW's plant in South Africa won the European Gold Plant quality award, which ranked it best in the world in terms of quality of production. Over 70% of the leather that is needed for the global production of all BMW cars is sourced from South Africa.


Our gross domestic product is the 26th highest in the world, totaling US$126 billion.


Eskom, the national power utility, supplies over 50% of the African Continent's electricity needs and, in 2001, was voted as the Power Company of the Year by the Financial Times Global Energy Awards.


Daimler Chrysler's plant in East London is the sole exporter of right-hand drive Mercedes-Benz C-class vehicles for the Japanese, Australian, and United Kingdom markets.


Of course we all know that South Africa is the best country in the world to live in but it is interesting to see our world wide rankings in other things as well.

Back in 1999 I started investing in some South African companies that are traded on U.S. exchanges. The two largest that I own stock in are Sasol and Anglo American. (Anglo American is now a U.K. registered company but it still has a large amount of operations in and around South Africa.) As of today, my investment in Sasol is showing a 196.22% gain (an annualized rate of return of 22.58% per year). My Anglo American stock is showing a 148.52% gain (an annualized rate of return of 18.45% per year).



These investments have beaten the performance of the American markets for the last few years. And all of my friends thought I was crazy for investing in South Africa. Well, maybe I wasn't so crazy after all.



-Bob F.

Balla Balla



Great info



My main concern is the rating of the elected politicians and the administration



Cheers

/ JOHAN

Nitrox



The future is shakey NOT only in 3rd world countries, believe me the WEST as we know it is basically stuf..d because the liberal elements in society have capitulated to terror ... when someone like BUSH want to knock seven colours of sh.t out of them a good part of the bloody white liberal world wets their knickers ... bring back the birch and hit them with all available power, or am I only the SILENT MAJORITY ???



Good luck with the diamonds, and enjoy the local Aussie wine, it sure is a cartel as you say, or old boys network, BUT nothing is wrong with that if we are the ones in the cartel ( ha ha ) Go the Springboks tomorrow



Peter

Peter

But they are trying to cram 50 million people into such a small country! And increasing with every new illegal immigrant from the North.

I think I could take on the 'most of the world's strategic minerals" comment. Even if us Aussie's do allow a South African controlled cartel to market some of the largest diamond deposits in the world at Argyle. (PS they are looking for diamonds right here at the moment, including on one of my properties - so just call be 'Diamond Jack' )

The real concern most people have with South Africa is not what it is now, but what it's future will be with a Mbeki who thinks Mugabe is a great friend, leader, and example.

What does the future hold in store with this sort?

Bob



Those facts are enlightening to ALL of us, like any business venture one needs to be selective ...



Same with hunting ranches in AFRICA as investments, most people say dont touch it with a barge pole with a health inspector on the end, BUT then if one is selective and likes the way of life it can be a good opportunity .... Why are there 9,000 plus private ranches in SA, it is a good investment for those with expertice and knowledge of the market, many are owneed or shareheld by overseas people and a lot of them are Americans as well



Peter

Arts

Sorry if I sounded cocky, I also agree will your general tenure as well. WE in Africa have to fight with dictatorship influences and it can be a life long struggle to put it mildly ...

Dont get me wrong, I am one of the patriots and am a USA supporter in most things that America does, BUT I am worried that when problems are glossed over by governments in the WEST it will come back to bite us

Have a nice day, Peter

I've maintained since about '96 that RSA would be the first nation to go from developed status to third world undeveloped status. I hope I'm wrong, but the progress in that direction is apparent. We'll see.