Newsletter Africa

Newsletter Africa
Structured planning
Newsletter Africa
Latest news on law, tax and business in Africa
Issue March 2016 www.roedl.de/www.roedl.com
In this issue:
I. Looking back
> 4th Annual Investment Conference
Munich
II. Legal
III. Tax
IV. HR Competence Centre
V. Focus on South Africa
VI. Upcoming Events
VII. Closing Statement
I.
Looking back
> SAIREC – Cape Town
Anna-Lena Becker, Lawyer with Rödl & Partner in Cape
Town, has shared "10 legal tips for foreign and local investors in South Africa" on 4 October in Cape Town. The
tips have covered 10 different legal topics all with a link to
renewable energy projects:
Tip 1: Legal Entities
Tip 2: Labour Law
Tip 3: Immigration Law
Tip 4: B-BBEE
Tip 5: Tax Law
Tip 6: Financing
Tip 7: Building Plan Approval
Tip 8: Environmental Impact Assessment
Tip 9: Generation Licence
Tip 10: Outlook to other African countries
th
The 4 annual investment conference Africa was held on
18 November 2015. Candice Aletter, Lawyer with Rödl &
Partner, addressed guests at this event. Her presentation
focused on investment opportunities in key African
growth markets. Further participants were Paul-Harry
Aithnard, chairman of Ecobank Asset Management Nigeria/Ivory Coast, Jörg Wellmeyer, managing director with
Strabag International GmbH and Christian Hiller von Gaertringen, business and finance journalist.
> 5th Renewable Energy branch meeting – Nuremberg
The 5th "sectorial meeting on renewable energy" was
held in Nuremberg on 10 November. More than 35 national and international lectures were held by Rödl & Partner colleagues from 17 different countries. Anna-Lena
Becker reported on "South Africa - Renewable Energy the answer to Load Shedding?”
1
Newsletter Africa
Anna-Lena also represented South Africa in the panel
discussion on "Distribution models - Germany a precedent
for international markets" at the same event.
Issue March 2016
> Symposium on Youth Employment
– Berlin
The Symposium on Youth Employment was hosted at the
SA Embassy in Berlin, on the occasion of the Presidential
visit and delegation of Cabinet Ministers on 10 November.
Candice Aletter, Lawyer and Labour Law Specialist with
Rödl & Partner attended the event and met with South
Africa’s Minister of Labour.
> German-African Infrastructure Forum – Munich
> 3rd German-African Infrastructure
Forum – Munich
> Italian delegation in Johannesburg
Ulrike Brückner, Associate Partner with Rödl & Partner,
addressed a visiting Italian delegation on the legal and tax
implications of doing business in South Africa on
Wednesday 11 November at the Southern Sun Hotel,
Hyde Park.
The 3rd German-African Infrastructure Forum was held in
Munich on 3 and 4 November 2015 and about 150 participants attended the conference. Jörg Schielein, Partner
with Rödl & Partner in Nuremberg was part of the panel
discussion on "Water and Sanitation Management in the
Urban Context". (Photo: Jörg Schielein and Judith Helfmann-Hundack responsible for Foreign Trade and Development Policy with Afrika-Verein der deutschen
Wirtschaft) © Fabian Hammerl Photographie Other participants of the panel included: Jacques Aharé M’Bata, General Director with Sociéte de Patrimonie Eau Potable et
Assainissement Republic of Togo, Diène Faye, State Secretary for Rural Water Supplies with Ministry for Water and
Sanitation Republic of Senegal, Tibor Kretschmann, Project Manager with Grünbeck and Thomas Kubbe, Vice
President with WILO SE.
2
Newsletter Africa
> 16th Forum Solarpraxis
The 16th Forum Solarpraxis, held in Berlin from 26 November – 27 November 2015, highlighted the interest of
German companies in the South African solar PV market.
Forum Solarpraxis is the most important conference on
non-technical topics of the solar energy in Europe. Participants voted for Anna-Lena Becker’s presentation “South
Africa: PV-entry market for Sub-Saharan Africa” as the
most interesting of the presentations held during the
Energy BarCamp sessions.
Issue March 2016
paid to any changes in pay, benefits or allowances in
respect of further employment.
Where the contemplated fixed-term employment is in
respect of an employee who will earn below the stipulated threshold amount in terms of the Basic Conditions of
Employment Act, which currently stands at R205 433, 30
per annum, further checklist items should be considered
too:
> An offer of fixed-term employment must be in writing.
The same applies for a renewal or extension of such
contract.
II.
Legal
> Checklist for Fixed-Term Employment in South Africa
With the amendment of the Labour Relations Act in South
Africa, companies are advised to enter into employment
relationships cautiously. And this applies perhaps even
more so with fixed-term employment. When contemplating employment on a fixed-term basis, the following
checklist items should be considered:
> Whilst in general there is no obligation under the
South African labour law to have a written contract of
employment, the Basic Conditions of Employment Act
in section 29 provides a list of information that must
be provided to an employee in writing upon commencing employment. Therefore it is often practical
and advisable for such particulars to be contained with
a written employment contract.
> In terms of the Labour Relations Act, if an employee
employed in terms of a fixed-term contract reasonably
expected the employer to renew a fixed-term contract
on the same or similar terms, but the employer did
not renew or offered to renew on less favourable
terms, this is considered a dismissal. Such a dismissal
can be challenged by the employee at the CCMA.
Therefore the contract wording should avoid creating
such expectation. Renewals should also be handled
carefully.
> Employment by way of a fixed-term contract or successive fixed-term contracts may only be longer than 3
months if the nature of the work is limited or for a
definite duration or if the employer can demonstrate
another justifiable reason for the term. Employment in
contravention hereof is deemed to be indefinite employment. The reason for a fixed-term contract exceeding 3 months must be provided to the employee
in writing.
> An employee employed on a fixed-term contract for
longer than 3 months is entitled to be treated on the
whole not less favourably than any employees of the
employer who are employed on a permanent basis
and who perform the same or similar work. Therefore there should be workplace policies in place to ensure that such equal treatment occurs and can be
proven.
> Employers must provide employees on fixed term contracts with the same access that indefinite term employees have to internal employment opportunities.
The legislative amendments reflect the attempt to curb
misuse of fixed-term employment. Companies should
ensure they fulfil all their legal obligations before entering
into such employment.
> Similarly, it is considered a dismissal under the law, if
the employee reasonably expected the employer to retain the employee on an indefinite basis and this does
not occur. Furthermore, it is a dismissal if the employee reasonably expected the employer to retain
the employee on an indefinite basis on the same or
similar terms as existed under a fixed-term contract of
employment, but the employer offers to retain the
employee on less favourable terms only. Therefore
contract wording should avoid creating such expectation. Promises of future indefinite employment should
not be made lightly. And special attention should be
3
Newsletter Africa
For more information please contact:
Issue March 2016
by section 31”). Chapter 10.3. of the Guidelines then sets
out some documentation requirements for the taxpayer
which are acceptable to the South African Revenue Service (short: SARS) which is in accordance with Chapter 5
of the OECD guidelines:
a)
Candice Aletter
Lawyer (South Africa)
Phone: + 49 (30) 810 795 55
E-Mail: candice.aletter@roedl.pro
b)
c)
d)
Anna-Lena Becker
Attorney at law
Phone: + 27 (11) 418 2350
E-Mail: anna-lena.becker@roedl.pro
e)
f)
More articles by Anna-Lena and Candice can be found
online:
›
“Employment Services Act: Operation date 9
August 2015”
http://www.roedl.com/fileadmin/user_upload/Do
cuments/Newsletter/20150813-Notice-SouthAfrica.pdf
“Employment Equity Act: Code of Good Practice
on Equal Pay / Remuneration for Work of Equal
Value, 1 June 2015”
http://www.roedl.com/fileadmin/user_upload/Do
cuments/Publikationen/update-good-practiceequal_pay-equal-work.pdf
›
III.
Tax
› Recent developments in transfer pricing documentation requirements in
South Africa
Currently South Africa (SA) does not have any transfer
pricing documentation requirements (see also Interpreta1
tion Note 7 of SARS Guidelines – especially Chapter 10:
“Although there is no explicit statutory requirement to
prepare and maintain transfer pricing documentation, it is
in the taxpayer’s best interest to document how transfer
prices have been determined, since adequate documentation is the best way to demonstrate that transfer prices
are consistent with the arm’s length principle, as required
1
SARS Guidelines http://www.sars.gov.za/
g)
h)
identification of transactions in terms of international
agreements entered into with connected persons
and the extent of any other commercial or financial
relations with connected persons which fall within
the scope of Section 31;
copies of the international agreements entered into
with connected persons;
a description of the nature and terms (including prices) of all the relevant transactions (including a series
of transactions and any relevant off-setting transactions);
the method that has been used to arrive at the nature and terms of the relevant transactions (including
the functional analysis undertaken and an appraisal
of potential comparables);
the reasons why the choice of method was considered to be the most appropriate to the relevant
transactions and to the particular circumstances;
an explanation of the process used to select and apply the method used to establish the transfer prices
and why it is considered to provide a result that is
consistent with the arm's length principle;
information relied on in arriving at the arm’s length
terms such as commercial agreements with third parties, financial information, budgets, forecasts etc.
details of any special circumstances that have influenced the price set by the taxpayer.
Further SARS would expect the taxpayer to identify:
a)
b)
c)
d)
which goods or service, if any, are considered most
comparable to the goods or services being reviewed;
its major competitors;
the competitors the taxpayer considers most comparable; and
the methodologies used and why they should be
considered appropriate in the taxpayer’s particular
circumstances.
However, there are imminent changes to be expected
to the transfer pricing documentation requirements in
the foreseeable future (as a consequence of the OECD
discussions on transfer pricing). The so-called Davis
Committee, a task force set-up by the South African
government to review transfer pricing legislation in SA
and make recommendations, is of the view that the
current Practice Note 7 contains unclear documentation guidelines for taxpayers in SA and consequently,
the Report makes the following recommendations to
revise the transfer pricing documentation guidelines in
SA:
> Practice Note 7 must be revised and updated to be in
line with the OECD revised Transfer Pricing Documentation Guidelines and the finalisation of the draft Interpretation Note must be prioritized.
4
Newsletter Africa
> The OECD’s recommendation that countries should
adopt a standardised approach to transfer pricing
documentation that follows a three-tiered structure
consisting of a master file, a local file and country-bycountry reporting should also be adopted in SA.
> The three-tiered structure should however, only be
compulsory for large multinational businesses with a
group turnover of over R1 billion.
> SA should implement objective materiality standards
for local file purposes which are commonly understood
and accepted in commercial practice.
> The country-by-country report for SA should contain
additional transactional data regarding related party
interest payments, royalty payments and especially related party service fees so that SARS may perform risk
assessments where it is difficult to obtain information
on the operations of a multinational group.
> In respect of the timing for each of the three reports,
SARS should set out what its expectations are, as the
OECD recommends that the local file should be finalised no later than the due date for the filing of the tax
return; the master file should be updated by the tax
return due date for the ultimate parent of the group;
and the country-by-country report, should be submitted when the final statutory financial statements are
finalised (which may be after the due date for tax returns).
> The master file, the local file and the country-bycountry report should be reviewed and updated annually and that database searches for comparables be
updated every 3 years.
> SARS should start to build a database of comparable
information as the OECD recommends that the most
reliable information is usually local comparables.
However, these changes have not been finalised yet.
Therefore the ultimate parent entity of a large multinational business (with a, proposed, group turnover threshold of over R1 billion) in SA will be required to provide
aggregate information annually to SARS in each jurisdiction where they do business.
The information to be provided to SARS will include the
global allocation of income and taxes paid, the location of
economic activity within the group and information about
which entities do business in a particular jurisdiction and
the business activities each entity engages in.
The OECD also proposed a three Model Competent Authority Agreements to facilitate the exchange of countryby-country reports among tax administrations. This will
ensure that all tax administrations obtain a complete understanding of the way multinational enterprises structure
their operations and it will also enhance transparency by
providing tax administrations with information to assess
high-level transfer pricing risks.
Issue March 2016
For more information please contact:
Dominik Skalet
Tax Consultant (South Africa)
Phone: + 27 (11) 479 30 00
E-Mail: dominik.skalet@roedl.co.za
More articles by Dominik can be found online (Please
note that these articles are only available in German):
›
„Wer muss eine Einkommensteuererklärung in
Südafrika abgeben?”
http://www.roedl.de/themen/wer-musseinkommensteuererklaerung-in-suedafrikaabgeben
›
„Südafrika: Besteuerung deutscher Renteneinkünfte und die Gefahr einer Doppelbesteuerung”
http://www.roedl.de/themen/suedafrikabesteuerung-deutscher-renteneinkuenfte-undgefahr-doppelbesteuerung
›
„Südafrika: Aktuelles zur Verrechnungspreisdokumentation”
http://www.roedl.de/themen/verrechnungspreise/s
uedafrika-aenderung-verrechnungspreisdokumentation-beps
›
„Neue Gefahren für deutsche Dienstleister in
Südafrika”
http://www.roedl.de/themen/gefahren-deutschedienstleister-suedafrika
›
„Typische Fallstricke bei der Entsendung eines
Mitarbeiters nach Südafrika“
http://www.roedl.de/themen/fallstrickemitarbeiterentsendung-suedafrika
›
„Die Besteuerung von deutschen Mitarbeitern in
der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit in Südafrika“
http://www.roedl.de/themen/besteuerung-vondeutschen-mitarbeiternentwicklungszusammenarbeit-südafrika
5
Newsletter Africa
› Recovery of Illegal Taxes – Nigeria
A taxpayer called upon to pay a tax illegally imposed upon
him may be interested either in preventing the collection
2
of the tax, or in recovering it if he has already paid it .
At common law illegal taxes voluntarily paid cannot be
recovered. The reason is that a payment voluntarily made
is an asset to pay more in support of the government of
the town than the town had a right to demand, and the
law does not imply the duty of refunding. The word “involuntary” in this connection means more than an unwilling payment accompanied by protest and a declaration of
intention to endeavor to recover it. It means that the
payment was made with protest under circumstances
3
which in law amount to compulsion.
A 26 February 2015 Ruling by the European Court of
Justice declared French tax on Britons’ second homes
illegal and means France is liable to refund tens of millions
of Euros to British and other EU non-resident owners who
let out or sold their properties. The French tax levied
social charges on top of the existing Capital Gains Tax and
EU non-residents received no credit against their home tax
4
bill for this amount.
The foregoing bring to mind the contemporary question
of the legality of the Consumption Tax levied by Lagos
State. The enabling statute guiding the administration of
the tax is the Hotel Occupancy and Restaurant Consumption Law 2009.
Justice Hakeem Oshodi of a Lagos High Court sitting in
Ikeja delivered a judgement stating that the Consumption
Law was validly passed by the House of Assembly as it
was separate and distinguishable from taxes exclusively
reserved for the Federal Government. However, a review
of the repealed Sales Tax Law, the VAT Act and HORC
Law reveals the following similarities: a tax rate of 5% on
the value of goods and services purchased and they are all
Consumption Taxes. Also, the HORC Law is basically Part
2 of Sales Tax Schedule Amendment Order 2000 of the
repealed Sales Tax Law Cap 175 Laws of Lagos State of
Nigeria 1994 as amended.
The OECD launched a project to develop International
VAT/GST Guidelines (“the Guidelines”) intended to assist
policy makers in their efforts to evaluate and develop the
legal and administrative framework in their jurisdictions,
taking into account their specific economic, legal, institutional, cultural and social circumstances and practices.
2
Harvard Law Review Vol 45 No 3, Jan 1932 The Recovery of
Illegal Taxes
3
University of Pennsylvania Vol 59 No 8, May 1911 Recovery
of Money Paid on an Illegal Tax Assessment
2
Harvard Law Review Vol 45 No 3, Jan 1932 The Recovery of
Illegal Taxes
3
University of Pennsylvania Vol 59 No 8, May 1911 Recovery
of Money Paid on an Illegal Tax Assessment
4
The Telegraph 12 March 2015
Issue March 2016
The Guidelines apply only to VAT systems, by whatever
name or acronym they are known, that embody the basic
collected from, but in principle not borne by, businesses
through a staged collection process (by whatever approach, e.g. invoice credit method or subtraction method)5.
A review of the practice in other jurisdictions shows that
the Sales Tax was replaced with Value Added Tax. This
was done in India in 2005 for example. In Lagos, Nigeria
however, Consumption Tax is charged at 5% of the bill
exclusive of VAT and Service Charge.
The Lagos State Consumption Tax bears strong similarity
with the Sales Tax which was declared illegal and uncon6
stitutional by the Courts . The Supreme Court judgment
of 19 July 2013 only validated the Lagos State Laws, thus
challenging the powers of NTDC to regulate hotel and
tourism in Nigeria. The judgement however, did not address the issue of whether Lagos State has the constitutional right to impose tax.
The Supreme Court on 11 April 2014 also struck out the
Suit by Lagos State Government in 2009 contesting the
legality of the VAT Act. Then in September of 2014 the
Lagos State Governor specifically granted a waiver of
taxes not collected by the Government at the inception of
the HORC Law in 2009. He further promised in the spirit
of fairness to credit the accounts of those who did not
collect taxes, but made payments to Government in fulfilment of the Law.
In the event that the HORC Law is repealed in future,
there is no practicable basis for refund to the final consumer for Consumption Tax charged by hoteliers. Even if
the State Government was to refund the hoteliers, how
practicable is it for each customer to be reimbursed. A
determination must be reached quickly on the constitutionality of the Consumption Tax to ease the burden on
the tax payer.
For more information please contact:
Kenneth Edinbus
Senior Associate - Tax
Phone: +234 (812) 26 90 198
E-Mail: Kenneth.edinbus@wforoedl.com
5
International VAT/GST Guidelines OECD Global Forum on
VAT April 2014
6
Aberuagba V AG Ogun State (1985) NWLR Part 3, page
260
6
Newsletter Africa
IV.
HR Competence Centre
Amendments made to labour legislation in South Africa,
along with the recent changes made to the immigration
law, expatriate employment and international assignments
in South Africa and across the African continent make it
essential for companies to consult experts when dealing
with labour issues locally.
Kenya’s labour market has, in recent years, become more
dynamic with an upsurge in the number of well qualified
and highly skilled employees for both domestic companies
and multi-nationals. The growth in the number of recruitment agencies is also evidence of the growing demand for and presence of niche labour resource requirements.
Nigeria’s extensive labour legislation provisions and onerous immigration laws make it important for companies
entering into employment relationships to do so only
following careful preparation and consultations with local
experts.
Rödl & Partner has launched HR Competence Centres in
South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria which bring together
labour law, immigration and expatriate tax experience and
expertise in an effort to assist clients with employment
and related issues in these target markets.
An On-going International HR Support service package
(available on a retainer basis or in the form of individual
services) can be developed to suit each client’s particular
needs, taking into account various factors such as: business activities and operational sector, the number of staff
employed in each of the different African countries in
which the company operates, the international assignment of employees and staff turnover.
Unlike other HR support service packages on offer, Rödl &
Partner’s On-going International HR Support service package ensures that clients have instant access not only to a
team of labour law specialists in a position to optimize
your labour management policies and procedures, but
also to tax, payroll, secretarial services and accounts specialists. This ensures that our HR support team is perfectly
positioned to ensure compliance with local laws and regulations at all levels.
Issue March 2016
› Conditions of Employment – A
Comparison between Germany,
South Africa and Kenya
Companies looking to take advantage of business opportunities in foreign countries are increasingly faced with the
challenge of deciding which markets to exploit, as well as
coming to grips with the costs of compliance with the
foreign regulations. Hereunder, the local labour regulations of Germany, South Africa and Kenya are compared
with the purpose of highlighting the employer obligations
in respect of minimum conditions of employment.
Germany
In Germany, the legal framework for employment is based
on and regulated by the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (Civil
Law Act) and many other acts concerning specific fields of
the employment relationship such as, termination, maternity protection and fixed term contracts. In general, German employment law is employee friendly, as is shown by
the comprehensive termination protection rights of employees. Furthermore, in certain fields, such as annual
leave, it is common practice in Germany to grant more
favourable terms for the employee in the employment
contract than the statutory minimum prescribes.
South Africa
In a country with a very high unemployment rate and no
minimum or ‘living’ wage, the cost of labour is not
immense.
However, whilst the cost of employing workers in South
Africa is not vastly different to that of other countries, the
real risk of costs being incurred is in respect of termination
of employment. The law regarding termination is set out
within the Labour Relations Act which was amended with
effect from 1 January 2015. In respect of minimum conditions of employment, these are set out in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, which was also recently amended. The aforementioned Act provides that the minimum
conditions found within the Act constitute a term of any
contract of employment, whether expressly stated in such
contract or not. The minimum conditions in the Act apply
except for if another law provides a term that is more
favourable for the employee or if a term of the contract is
more favourable for the employee.
Brochures
›
›
Kenya
“HR Competence Centre South Africa”
http://www.roedl.com/locations/africa/
south_africa.html
“HR Competence Centre Kenya”
http://www.roedl.com/locations/africa/
kenya.html
Kenya’s skilled and professional labour market has experienced tremendous growth in the last two decades or so,
evidenced in part by the local and international firms
sourcing their skilled and professional staff, including
senior managerial positions, largely locally. In addition, an
overhaul of the laws governing employment in 2007 was
a result of a need to ensure the legal framework governing the employment relationship of and in-keeping with
the prevailing labour issues and conditions.
7
Newsletter Africa
In general, the labour laws in Kenya - contained in the
Employment Act, the Work Injury Benefits Act, Labour
Relations Act, Labour Institutions Act and the OccupationMinimum conditions of
employment
Maximum hours of work in
a week
Maximum hours of work a
day in a 5-day week
Issue March 2016
al Safety and Health Act - are employee friendly, as is the
dedicated labour court, the Employment and Labour Relations Court.
Germany
South Africa
Kenya
40 hours (5-day week)
45 hours
52 hours (6-day week)
8 hours (10 hours possible, if
over a period of 6 months or 24
weeks, the average hours of
work in a day are not to exceed
8 hours)
No statutory legal maximum
9 hours
8.66 hours (daily average
considering 52 hours in a 6day week)
10 hours
Minimum annual leave in a
year
20 days (in the event of a 5 day
week)
15 days
Sick leave entitlement in a
year
6 weeks per type of sickness in
12 months (exemptions apply)
30 days in 36 months, based
on a 5-day working week
Maternity leave entitlement
(paid / unpaid)
14 weeks paid
Parental leave: up to 14 months
if mother and father take parental leave (paid 2/3 of income
by the state)
No statutory legal minimum for
paid leave.
4 months unpaid
40 hours for night staff, 12
hours for day adult staff
over a period of two consecutive weeks
21 working days of leave
with full pay after every 12
months of service
Not less than 7 days with
full pay and 7 days with half
pay in each period of 12
consecutive
months
of
service
3 months maternity leave
with full pay. A male employee is entitled to 2 weeks
paternity leave with full pay
Written employment contract required
No. Exception applies in the
event of a fixed term employment contract.
National minimum wage
Yes, EUR 8.50 per hour.
No. But written particulars of
employment must be provided on commencement of
employment.
No. But a minimum wage can
be set for a particular sector
or by way of a collective
agreement.
Minimum severance pay for
retrenchment
0.5 month’s pay for every completed year of service (applicable for employers with more
than 10 employees – exemption
applicable - and only if the
employee was employed for a
minimum of 6 months).
Maximum hours of overtime work in a week
Family responsibility leave
per year (paid / unpaid)
3 days
1 week’s pay for every year of
completed service
Termed as ‘compassionate
leave’ and is taken from
annual leave entitlement
(paid), with additional 5-20
days unpaid depending on
the industry
Yes provided it is for a period of 3 months or more.
Yes, minimum depends on
the sector/industry (e.g.
agricultural industry, building and construction industry) and the locality of employment,
e.g.
KES
10,954.70 (approx. EUR
100) per month excluding
house allowance for a general labourer - cleaner,
sweeper, gardener, children's ayah, house servant,
day watchman-in Nairobi
Not less than 15 days’ pay
for each completed year of
service.
8
Newsletter Africa
Issue March 2016
For further information on companies’ obligations in the afore-mentioned and other countries, contact one
of the members of the Rödl & Partner Africa HR Competence Centre:
Candice Aletter
Lawyer (South Africa)
Phone: + 49 (30) 810 795 55
E-Mail: candice.aletter@roedl.pro
Anna-Lena Becker
Attorney at law
Phone: + 27 (11) 418 2350
E-Mail: anna-lena.becker@roedl.pro
Judy Chebet
Partner with Rödl & Partner’s associated law firm (Nairobi)
Phone: +254 (732) 188 636/637
E-Mail: judy.chebet@roedl.com
9
Newsletter Africa
Issue March 2016
V. Focus on South Africa
Austrian Trade Commission
South Africa is Austria´s most important trading
partner on the African continent.
South Africa is by far Austria's most important trading
partner on the African continent. Nearly one third of all
Austrian exports to Africa go to South Africa and a fifth
of all imports from Africa come from here. The bilateral
trade volume amounts to approx. EUR 1 billion. In Q3
2015 we saw a recovery of our exports (+ 8%) to South
Africa which is a positive signal for the year to come.
Austria plays a significant role as an investor in
South Africa.
With more than 50 investment projects Austria is well
represented in South Africa. The list of companies reads
like a who is who of the Austrian industry. Austrians are
present mainly in the sectors of machinery and equipment, metal processing, construction, food and automotive industry. The Austrian Business Chamber provides a
great network for newcomers and established companies
as well.
What makes South Africa interesting for Austrian
companies?
Johannes Brunner
Austrian Trade Commissioner
Austrian Trade Commission
POSTAL ADDRESS
Private Bag X18
Parklands
2121 Rep. Südafrika
T +27 11 442 71 00
F +27 11 442 83 04
johannesburg@advantageaustria.org
www.advantageaustria.org/za
South Africa distinguishes itself from its neighbors in
southern Africa by its diversified economic structure. It
does not depend solely on one or a few natural resources, but also scores with strengths in other industries
such as the automotive industry, agriculture, and a welldeveloped and modern finance and services.
Which sectors are most interesting for Austrian
companies in South Africa?
We see great opportunities for the Austrian investors in
South African infrastructure projects (roads, railways,
airports and ports) as well as the supply of equipment for
construction, mining and other industrial sectors, especially the energy and environmental sector. Austrian
companies are world leaders in the construction of power plants, and can provide valuable know-how in the use
of alternative energy sources (photovoltaic, wind and
solar energy) as well as energy-saving technologies. Another important sector of expertise lies in the field of
water and wastewater treatment. Finally the automotive
sector will continue to play an important role for Austrian
automotive suppliers.
10
Newsletter Africa
› Italian-South African Chamber of
Trade and Industries
In 2013 the bilateral trade between Italy and South Africa
amounted to 3, 45 billion Euro: Italy exported commodities to South Africa, mainly machinery, equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, pharmaceutical products, motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers, computers, electronic and optical components, food and beverages for a
total amount of 1, 90 billion Euro, and imported mainly
raw materials and minerals amounting to circa 1, 54
billion Euro. This was the first time in many years that
Italy had registered a bilateral trade surplus (of 356 million Euro).
In 2014 the volume of trade between Italy and South
Africa increased once more, reaching close to 3.6 billion
Euro, marking an increase of 3.6% with respect to figures recorded for 2013.
Various large and medium Italian enterprises have invested in South Africa, particularly in agriculture, transportation, energy, infrastructure, design and equipment.
Major Italian companies operating in the energy sector
are increasing their presence locally. ENEL Green Power
has begun work on a solar Photovoltaic plant in the
Northern Cape and was recently awarded 6 of the 9
public tenders issued by the South African Department of
Energy for the third phase of the “Renewable Energy
Independent Power Producer Programme” (REIPPP). Under this programme, ENEL will provide Eskom (the South
African national electric company) with 513 MW of energy. Of the 513 MW to be generated, 314 MW will be
generated by photovoltaic systems and 199 MW by wind
power plants.
There are also other major Italian companies which have
increased their presence in South Africa through production plants, generally in collaboration with relevant local
partners. CNH/Iveco, ENI, Smeg, Maccaferri, Ansaldo
Energia, Fata epc, Danieli, Pilosio, Moncada, CMC Ravenna, Ariston, and well-established firms like Ferrero,
Duferco and others are already present locally.
The Chamber provides an array of quality services with
the aim of promoting, encouraging and developing Italian-South African relations. The Chamber has consistently provided well-researched advice, linked like-minded
business people and offered itself as a beacon of support
to a numerous of our satisfied clients and members of
our chamber.
The services provided by the Chamber vary according to
the type of customer they are working with and include,
for example:
›
›
›
›
trade and market analysis
access to Chamber’s vast network
legal advice
consultant services
Issue March 2016
›
›
human resources
assistance with delegations.
Great opportunities for the Italian companies in 2016 will
be the exhibitions held in South Africa, among them we
mention:
›
2016 South Africa – Italy Summit, Forum Ambrosetti the third edition of this summit will take place in
Johannesburg from 19 – 20 October 2016 (the first
two editions were held in Cape Town).
›
Interbuild Africa 2016 which is the largest building
trade show and construction in Africa will be held in
Johannesburg from 17 – 20th August 2016.
http://www.interbuild.co.za/
›
Africa’s big Seven: the continent’s largest annual
food & beverage industry trade event with trade
buyers from over 50 countries will be held in Johannesburg from 19 – 21st June 2016.
http://www.exhibitionsafrica.com/ems/africa-s-bigseven.html
›
Africa Solar Expo 2016 will showcase PV solutions,
technologies and components offering a one-stop
sourcing platform for manufacturers, project-based
and trade-based visitors. It will be held in Johannesburg on the 16th and 17th of February 2016.
http://www.africaenergyindaba.com/futureexpos/africa-solar-expo/
Mariagrazia Biancospino
Secretary General
Italian-South African Chamber of Trade and Industries
Unit 3B Bedford Manor Office Suites, Bedford Gardens
Bedfordview, Johannesburg
South Africa
T +27 11 615 3906
F +27 11 615 0682
mariagrazia@italcham.co.za
www.italcham.co.za
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Newsletter Africa
Issue March 2016
› Wallonia Export and Investment
Agency
AWEX, the Wallonia Export and Investment Agency,
successfully concludes the “South Africa focus market year” initiative
Awex is the trade and inward investment promotion
agency of the Wallonia region of Belgium, with a network of 109 trade and investment offices abroad, including one in Johannesburg with jurisdiction over 10 other
southern African countries.
Every year, Awex carefully chooses a ‘focus market’,
which receives extraordinary attention. In 2015, South
Africa was selected. Consequently it became the focal
point of multiple actions, including a trade mission, selected investment attraction initiatives, several group
participations at trade shows, the invitation of buyers,
etc.
“We chose South Africa because of the high potential of
the market and its neighbouring countries and the fact
that, despite this potential, exports from Wallonia to SA
are relatively low,” says Jean-Pierre Muller, head of Awex
Johannesburg. “Africa represents less than 2% of Wallonia’s total exports and, as our largest market on the
continent, SA accounts for only 0.33% of our total exports. There are many opportunities still to be explored.”
Among the various initiatives taken by Awex in connection with South Africa in 2015, we can mention a trade
mission comprising about 50 people, including representatives of 30 different companies, which visited Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban. In addition to this, 20
companies participated in 3 major exhibitions in Johannesburg, targeting Africa’s medical, food & beverage and
mining & engineering industries during the course of the
year.
Jean-Pierre MULLER
Trade & Investment Commissioner
Wallonia Brussels Trade Commission
c/o Consulate of Belgium
Fairway Office Park
Sable House
52 Grosvenor Road
Bryanston 2021 (Johannesburg)
Republic of South Africa
Tel +27 (0) 11 463 0378 - Fax +27 (0) 11 463 7272
Direct +27 (0) 11 463 7291
johannesburg@awex.org.za
In September, Awex also hosted a senior procurement
manager of one of the top SA supermarket chains to
meetings with 25 potential new suppliers in Wallonia.
“The “South Africa focus market year” initiative is already showing results”, says Muller. Not only have new
business deals been struck, but two major South African
economic development agencies are also soon to ratify
partnerships with Awex. The first one with TISA (Trade
and Investment South Africa) from the Department of
Trade and Industry (DTi) and the other with SEDA (Small
Enterprise Development Agency), an agency of the newly
formed Department of Small Business Development.
Last but not least, Awex also intensified its campaign to
attract South African direct investment in 2015. As a
result, a new investment in Wallonia was officialised, in
the sector of civil aviation, and several others are nearing
conclusion, in particular in the IT and logistics sectors.
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Newsletter Africa
Issue March 2016
VI. Upcoming Events
Please find below links to some of the exhibitions scheduled to take place over the next few months*:
Rödl & Partner presentations
April 2016
March 2016
>
E Commerce Show Africa – South Africa, Johannesburg:
01.03.2016 – 02.03.2016
>
CIBEX East Africa – Kenya, Nairobi:
03.03.2016 – 05.03.2016
>
6th African Petroleum Congress and Exhibition –
Nigeria, Abuja:
15.03.2016 – 17.03.2016
>
Power, Steel & Housing Exhibition and Conference –
Nigeria, Calabar:
22.03.2016 – 24.03.2016
>
10th German-African Energy Forum 2016 – Germany, Hamburg:
25.04.2016 – 26.04.2016
June 2016
>
17th Forum Going Global – Germany, Nuremberg:
09.06.2016
April 2016
>
7th Ghana Summit – Oil, Gas & Power Conference
& Exhibition – Ghana, Accra:
20.04.2016 – 21.04.2016
>
Nigeria Agrofrood – Nigeria, Lagos:
24.04.2016 – 28.04.2016
>
10th German-African Energy Forum 2016 – Germany, Hamburg:
25.04.2016 – 26.04.2016
>
Med Ports 2016 – Morocco, Tanger:
27.04.2016 – 28.04.2016
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Newsletter Africa
Issue March 2016
VII. Closing Statement
As one of the first global professional service firms of European origin, Rödl & Partner has built a strong presence in
leading African investment destinations such as Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, and South Africa. In more than half of
the 54 African countries we have assisted private business and public sector organisations achieve their objectives. Offering one-stop shop, multi-disciplinary services to the international investment community in the areas of legal, tax, accounting and audit, where compliance with global standards of quality and independence is mission-critical: A unique
combination of African experts and European professional support and training.
This newsletter is intended to share some of the practical experience of the Rödl & Partner expert teams based in our
African offices and at our European head offices, and to create ideas to add value to your own ventures in Africa. We
look forward to working with you in analysing and implementing your project.
Yours,
Dr. José A. Campos Nave
For more information please contact:
Dr. José A. Campos Nave
Managing Partner
Phone: + 49 (61 96) 7 61 14-702
Subscription:
Would you like to subscribe to the Rödl & Partner Africa Newsletter?
If so, please consult: www.roedl.com/africa_the_next_frontier_of_growth.html
Thank you very much!
Structured planning
„Each and every person counts“ – to the Castellers and to us.
“Thanks to its impressive growth potential, Africa is becoming an increasingly attractive investment destination. Many African countries enjoy political and economic stability and offer excellent opportunities for business ventures. Our team is
committed to offering tailor-made solutions aimed at helping you develop a carefully engineered market entry strategy
and successfully implement your business project in your African target market."
Human towers symbolise in a unique way the Rödl & Partner corporate culture.
They personify our philosophy of solidarity, balance, courage and team spirit.
They stand for the growth that is based on own resources, the growth which
has made Rödl & Partner the company we are today.
Rödl & Partner
„Força, Equilibri, Valor i Seny“ (strength, equilibrium, valour and common
sense) is the Catalan motto of all Castellers, describing their fundamental
values very accurately. It is to our liking and also reflects our mentality. Therefore Rödl & Partner embarked on a collaborative journey with the representatives of this long-standing tradition of human towers – Castellers de Barcelona
– in May 2011. The association from Barcelona stands, among many other
things, for this intangible cultural heritage.
"Each element of our human tower supports another. This works only because we draw on more than just our physical
abilities. It is our sense of cohesion that gives us strength, structure, stability and, above all, the courage necessary to develop great things."
Castellers de Barcelona
Imprint Newsletter, issue March 2016
Publisher:
Rödl & Partner Johannesburg
1 Eastgate Lane Bedfordview 2007
PO Box 346 Bedfordview 2008
Johannesburg
Phone: +27 (11) 4 79 30 00 | E-Mail: africa‎@‎roedl.co.za
Responsible for the content:
Ulrike Brückner – ulrike.brueckner@roedl.pro
Layout:
This Newsletter offers non-binding information and is intended for general information
purposes only. It is not intended as legal, tax or business administration advice and cannot
be relied upon as individual advice. When compiling this Newsletter and the information
included herein, Rödl & Partner made every endeavor to observe due diligence as best as
possible. Nevertheless, Rödl & Partner cannot be held liable for the correctness, up-to-date
content or completeness of the presented information.
The information included herein does not relate to any specific case of an individual or a
legal entity. It is therefore advised that professional advice on individual cases is always
sought. Rödl & Partner assumes no responsibility for decisions made by the reader based
on this Newsletter. Should you have further questions please contact the relevant Rödl &
Partner contact persons.
Bettina Maram – bettina.maram@roedl.co.za
14