Top South African biz team coming in Sept.

A top South African business delegation will be arriving in Colombo next week.

The delegation consists of no less than 30 leading business members of the Progressive Business Forum of African National Congress (ANC-PBF), the ruling ANC’s influential business collective. 

The delegation will be in Sri Lanka from 5-8 September. “We warmly extend our welcome to the strong business delegation led by South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Economic Development Hlengiwe Mkhize, to Sri Lanka. I have no doubts that this visit will help further strengthen current trade levels of $ 65 m,” said Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen yesterday.

The PBF consists of many business leaders from top South African industry and business sectors such as mining, agriculture, tourism, logistics, automotives, minerals and diamonds, chemicals, finance and outsourcing. PBF is one of the first stops of any international business delegation visiting South Africa.

According to the Department of Commerce of Sri Lanka, South Africa has become the most important trading partner for Sri Lanka in the Southern African region. In 2011, bilateral trade between both countries topped $ 65.49 m. The balance of trade between Sri Lanka and South Africa was reported in favour of South Africa except in 2007 and 2010.  

Last July, a top Sri Lankan business delegation visited South Africa as part of a joint initiative of the Sri Lanka High Commission in Pretoria and the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) to take part at the SAITEX 2012 International Trade fair in Midrand, which featured a special Sri Lankan pavilion.

Among the delegation were nine companies from various sectors, which included porcelain tableware, Ceylon black tea, green tea, organic tea, spices, desiccated coconut, rubber-based value-added products such as rubber tyres, floor covering, electrical cables, electrical switches, sockets, and enclosures, and automobile components such as airbag sensor switches and seat belt sensor switches.

During SAITEX the Sri Lankan High Commission in Pretoria also arranged individual B2B meetings at the High Commission in Pretoria and Johannesburg.