{"id":856316,"date":"2026-04-27T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=856316"},"modified":"2026-04-24T16:53:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T14:53:07","slug":"the-country-primed-to-take-some-of-south-africas-most-important-companies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business-opinion\/856316\/the-country-primed-to-take-some-of-south-africas-most-important-companies\/","title":{"rendered":"The country primed to take some of South Africa’s most important companies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Botswana is becoming an increasingly attractive destination for some of South Africa\u2019s most important companies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to immigration experts Xpatweb, Botswana has steadily built a reputation as one of Africa\u2019s most stable and well-governed economies, with the mining sector at the centre of its economic success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This has made it attractive to South African companies involved in mining services, engineering, and technical support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor South African companies, particularly those operating in mining services, Botswana represents a natural expansion market, offering both geographic proximity and a familiar regulatory environment,\u201d said Xpatweb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much like South Africa, mining is the backbone of Botswana\u2019s economy, with diamonds historically dominating the sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the country is looking to broaden its mineral base, opening new opportunities in copper, coal, and other resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This diversification is creating space for regional players, with South African companies at the top of the list, to participate in exploration, project development, and operational support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Xpatweb said Botswana\u2019s appeal lies in its mineral opportunities and the certainty it offers investors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat sets Botswana apart is its theoretically predictable regulatory environment and strong institutional framework,\u201d said Xpatweb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis provides investors with a level of certainty highly prized in capital-intensive industries and essential for long-term risk management.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It added that the Botswana government has also shown a willingness to work with the private sector, particularly on projects that support job creation and skills development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, there are still hurdles. Xpatweb noted that while Botswana ranks well in terms of ease of doing business, setting up operations is not always seamless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe process typically begins with company registration through the Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA), followed by tax registration and the acquisition of relevant trade licences,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor mining-related activities, additional layers of compliance are introduced, including sector-specific licences and environmental approvals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa’s mining stagnation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Even with these caveats, Botswana is increasingly being seen as an attractive alternative to South Africa, where mining companies continue to face a much tougher environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is a major concern for South Africa, given the importance of the mining sector to the local economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Minerals Council South Africa (MCSA), mining contributes around 5.8% of GDP, or roughly R439 billion, and <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stats SA also shows that it supports approximately half a million formal jobs, and is a major source of tax revenue and foreign exchange earnings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite this, the industry has faced years of stagnation and decline due to both domestic and global pressures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Critics have argued<\/a> that policy missteps have played a central role in this decline, particularly the ANC government\u2019s implementation of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, South Africa has seen little meaningful exploration for new mineral deposits over the past two decades, despite its rich geological potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modern Corporate Solutions mining analyst Peter Major has pointed to policy uncertainty, deteriorating infrastructure, and recurring concerns around nationalisation as key reasons for the industry\u2019s decline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said South Africa has gone from being one of the best mining jurisdictions in the world to one of the worst in just three decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Fraser Institute\u2019s 2025 survey<\/a> ranked Africa as the world\u2019s worst-performing mining region. South Africa continued its downward slide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It now ranks 15th from the bottom overall. On the policy front alone, South Africa dropped to 70th out of 82, down from 66th last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were a leading country in the 80s and 90s\u2014often top three in many minerals,\u201d said KPMG South Africa lead economist Frank Blackmore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that regulation has become a major deterrent. \u201cOur score for regulation has more than halved, from 40 to 20,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He argued<\/a> that this has been a major reason for South Africa\u2019s deteriorating reputation as an investment destination. Infrastructure failures have also deepened the sector\u2019s problems.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rising electricity costs have hurt gold and platinum group metals producers, while rail and port bottlenecks continue to constrain bulk commodity exports such as iron ore and manganese.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Another African country is becoming an increasingly attractive destination for some of South Africa\u2019s most important companies.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":856379,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[20380,853,12739],"class_list":["post-856316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-opinion","tag-botswana","tag-south-africa","tag-xpatweb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=856316"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":857603,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856316\/revisions\/857603"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/856379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=856316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=856316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=856316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}