Finding investors and exploring trade opportunities are the prime objectives of South African businesses who are participating in the Department of Trade and Industry’s (dti) Outward Selling Mission to Peru.
The mission kicks off today in Lima.
“Our objective is to find businesspeople who can invest in our company, or companies that can be interested in partnering with us for projects that we tender for at the mines,” said managing director of North-West-based Ditsogo Projects Tebogo Mashego.
Mashego said some of the machines and equipment the company requires, needs to be imported from other parts of the world.
“We will also be on the lookout for an opportunity to invest in Peru as the country’s mining sector is vibrant and offers a myriad investment and trade opportunities,” she said.
Mashego formed part of the group of local business people that departed to the South American country on Saturday. The business people are in search of trade and investment opportunities in the country’s mining, construction agro-processing and services sectors.
Meanwhile, managing director of the Mpumalanga-based Moopetsi Mining Solutions, Makobe Makgale, is also on a mission to seek investors in Peru for his mining projects in South Africa.
“We are planning to open a chrome mine after we were granted four mining prospecting rights in Limpopo by the Department of Mineral Resources. We are travelling to Peru with the aim of meeting businesspeople who could be interested in investing in our company or partnering with us. We are optimistic that we will succeed because Peru is big in mining and we are hopeful that there are companies that would like to work with us in South Africa,” said Makgale.
Chief operations officer of Modi Mining, Motlapele Molefi, says she is delighted about the trip to Peru as mining and agriculture are the biggest contributors to the country’s economy.
“Our goal is to explore both trade and investment opportunities in the two sectors as our plan is to expand our market for our products and services. It is our ambition to spread our wings and be significant players in the mining sphere internationally. One of our long-term goals is to acquire one of the big mining companies that already has a notable international footprint,” said Molefi.
Western Cape wine producer Malcolm Green, who is the marketing director of La Ric Mal Wines, hopes to get a slice of the vibrant Peruvian wine industry.
”I am optimistic that the South African wine producers who are part of the mission will not return empty-handed. The wine industry in Peru is vibrant and I have no doubt that they will fall for the unique taste and quality of our wines.
“Our wines are making significant strides in different parts of the world due to their popularity and taste. Once we have made inroads into the Peruvian wine market, we will look across the border in order to expand our market and penetrate the whole of Latin America,” said Green.
The companies’ participation in the mission is funded by the dti through its Export Marketing and Investment Assistance (EMIA) scheme. The objective of the scheme is to develop export markets for South African products and services and to recruit new foreign direct investments into the country, aligned to the President’s investment drive.
The mission, which will conclude on Thursday, forms part of the dti’s efforts to strengthen bilateral trade relations and increase trade and investment between South Africa and Peru. - SAnews.gov.za
