BI-LATERAL CHAMBER CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE


A Business Forum representing twenty bi-lateral chambers in South Africa with common objectives in the area of economic development for all South Africans through the development of two-way trade that is both free and fair

BCCC INVESTOR SURVEY 2004 FACT SHEET

The Bi-iaterai Chamber Consultative Committee (DCCC) is an informal grouping of business chambers representing foreign businesses and industries operating in South Africa. DCCC has been in existence (Tor some twenty years and meets on mutual matters of business, trade interests and the development of business understandings between the individual members and the host country, the Republic of South Africa.

Many of the networking companies have been in South Africa for a many decades, some are relatively new. Whilst some of the senior management in some cases may not be South African, most employees are. Ail chambers represented under the BCCC umbrella have the objective of promoting two-way trade and investment between South Africa as host country and their own countries and promoting development in the southern African region.

Many have a more focused approach on certain issues in the kaleidoscope of current affairs issues facing South Africa. All member chambers, however, have the one common aim of encouraging further investment in South Africa and the creation of more jobs for South Africans. German Chamber of Commerce currently holds the Chair position whilst British Chamber is currently acting as Secretariat.

The BCCC 2004 Investor Survey is the second in a series of joint co- operative exercises between members aimed at establishing views and opinions on various current issues in South Africa affecting the Local business-operating climate.

The questionnaire used was based on similar exercises undertaken separately by the British, American and German chambers in past years. The seven bi-lateral European and Scandinavian chambers that participated in 2004, the German, French, British, Italian, Swedish, Netherlands and Finnish chambers, kindly adapted their inquiries in order to gain a common result. This represents an employee base of some 120,000 employees. This year the American Chamber of Commerce

In all, 252 companies responded to the inquiry, forty more than in 2002, who represented ,-m overall 22% response rate of the companies in the -.even Chambers that participated, one less than 2004. This is an average result. There are in all 21 bi-lateral chambers of. Varying size operating in South Africa, but not all of these conduct surveys or necessarily could deal with the issues covered by the questions.

46% of the respondents class] fied themselves as small companies, 35'% as medium sized companies and 19% as large by South African standards. The questionnaires were distributed and then returned in the period from the middle of May to the end of July, 2004.

The overall results were co-coordinated by Sandra van Lingen of the British Chamber of Business in South Africa as Secretariat, in liaison with the German Chamber through Matthias Boddenberg who had interpreted the results for their own members at an earlier point The Bilateral Chamber Consultative Committee (BCCC) has simultaneously made a copy of the survey findings to the South African Minister of Trade and Industry, whilst at the same time presenting their findings to the Trade & Industry Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on 22 October 2004.