A REGIONAL OVERVIEW OF THE
WESTERN CAPE
The Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone is targeting the marine and oil and gas sectors. Credit: SBIDZ
Cape Town’s new stock exchange is based on smart technology, something the Western Cape is rapidly becoming famous for. Special economic zones at Atlantis and Saldanha aim to tap into growing markets – maritime, oil and gas and renewable technologies. By John Young
A
have their headquarters in the Cape. Seven of the top 10 managers in the Plexcrown Ratings of 2019 are based in Newlands (MiPlan), Victoria & Alfred Waterfront (Allan Gray), Claremont (Coronation), Bellville (PSG and Boutique CI), Pinelands (Old Mutual) and Westlake (Prescient). Cape Town also, according to the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), ranks second in Africa in 2020 (behind Mauritius) in competitiveness as a financial centre. The ranking is an aggregate of indices covering five things: business environment, financial sector development, human capital, infrastructure and reputation. Neighbouring Stellenbosch is advancing its reputation for technological innovation and the output of the region’s four universities and six TVET colleges ensures that the tech sector has the necessary human capital.
s a way for the Western Cape to show off its growing reputation as a tech-friendly destination, the launch of the Cape Town Stock Exchange in August 2021 was an ideal event. When several new bourses launched in 2017 most of them put an X in their names and all of them based themselves in Johannesburg. In 2021, 4AX made the move south and rebranded as the Cape Town Stock Exchange. Not only does this give the exchange immediate access to a global brand, but it puts them at the heart of an area which has been home to financial institutions for as long as there have been banks and insurance companies in South Africa. A more recent trend has seen asset managers setting up in the Cape. Of the 20 finalists named for the 2020 Morningstar South Africa Fund Awards, 13
WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS 2022
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