| R3bn boost for Gauteng – 28/11/2007 |
This year’s Soccerex football convention was expected to inject more than R3bn into the Gauteng economy, according to finance MEC Paul Mashatile. Business Day reports that the event has attracted more than 5 000 delegates from across the world. It is seen as the first major football event to test SA’s capability to host a successful 2010 WC.
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Full Business Day report
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| Tourism driving economic growth – 28/11/2007 |
Global affluence and increased disposable income create a set of circumstances that impact not only on the local travel and the tourism market, but also on the global market, according to Iraj Abedian, CE of Pan-African Capital Holdings. According to a Net Assets report, he said that global affluence had created bigger markets worldwide for services. Disposable income spent on products decreased proportionately with the growth of prosperity. He added that tourism was an exceptionally labour-intensive industry and SA needed to take greater note of this. He said that there was enormous potential to create even more jobs in the industry, even beyond the opportunities presented by the 2010 WC.
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Full Net Assets report
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| SA warned not to be overly optimistic - 25/11/2007 |
As 2010 WC fever continues to mount, SA may be wise to temper its expectations as Germany comes to the realisation that the event was not the pot of gold predicted. That’s the only conclusion to be drawn from a report just released by the German Institute for Economic Research, which notes that expectations before the event were overly optimistic. According to a report on the News24 site, property economist Erwin Rode describes the positive impact of the few new stadiums in SA as a drop in the ocean. His conclusion is that SA is unlikely to experience notable house price growth as a result of the 2010 WC.
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Full report on the News24 site
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| A sure-win for investors - 12/11/2007 |
Government’s R800bn infrastructure budget ahead of the WC makes it a sure win for TwentyTen fund investors. In June 2010, when the first whistle of the first soccer match blows, investment expert and radio personality David Shapiro hopes to give Sasfin TwentyTen fund investors more to cheer about than soccer. Shapiro is not a man who wears his heart on his sleeve, but when President Thabo Mbeki announced in 2005 that government would invest R165bn in infrastructure over five years, he saw an opportunity to make money for local investors in the construction sector. He wasn’t wrong.
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| Appeal for members to volunteer services - 12/11/2007 |
Nelson Mandela Bay’s business elite were warned ’not to drop the ball’ and run the risk of harming the economic boom being experienced. PE Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Percci) president Siya Mhlaluka was also obviously aiming his statement at trade unionists and politicians when speaking at the chamber’s annual gala dinner. The Herald reports that on the WC, he appealed for chamber members to volunteer their services to make sure the event was a successful ’showcase’ for the region and that benefits would carry on far beyond 2010. Looking ahead, Mhlaluka said a major task facing the metro was to ’enhance its competitiveness’ in attracting investment.
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| IIC satisfied with 2010 preparations - 12/11/2007 |
The International Investment Council (IIC) is satisfied with SA’s preparation for the 2010 WC. Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa said the construction of roads, stadiums that is currently underway in SA cities has been warmly received by the members of the council. BuaNews reports that Mpahlwa indicated that government has a responsibility to keep the council, the media and the public informed about all the developments taking place with regard to the 2010 event. ’The work that the government has done is an indication of our commitment to this project and we would like to invite the international community to join us all as we approach 2010,’ he said. Mpahlwa said that skills challenge is one of the aspects that the IIC takes seriously.
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Full BuaNews report
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| Looking beyond 2010 - 11/11/2007 |
Given current investment trends in both the public and private sectors, 2010-related investments would amount to around 3-4% of total fixed investment in the country over the next three years. According to a Trade Invest SA report, SA President Thabo Mbeki said that while hosting the 2010 World Cup had boosted investment into the country, the government’s investment vision and priorities for the economy went beyond the World Cup. Mbeki indicated that spending that could be attributed to hosting the tournament would amount to between R40bn and R50bn.
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Full Trade Invest SA report
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| Business booming ahead of 2010 - 05/11/2007 |
Clothing retailer Foschini reported a 12.2% increase in first-half earnings per share and predicted ’satisfactory’ full-year results. Business Online reports that consumer spending has eased over the last few months as heavily indebted South Africans responded to interest rates that have been raised by 350 basis points since last June. The slowdown has cast a shadow over retailers’ profits, which soared under historically low interest rates before the central bank embarked on its monetary tightening campaign. Analysts also say a new credit law that aims to clamp down on irresponsible lending has dampened spending.However, Foschini said Christmas holiday shopping should help it weather the downturn. It also expects the economy to recover fairly soon as state infrastructure spending takes off ahead of the 2010 World Cup, which will be held in SA.
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Full Business Online report
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| Business tourism soars in Gauteng - 01/11/2007 |
T-Sec economist Mike Schüssler says Gauteng’s tourism sector is one of the best-performing sectors in the province as it experiences annual growth of more than 10%. ’Over 9.4m people walked through the turnstiles at the OR Tambo International Airport for the year to end of September. This represents annual growth of more than 12.5% if compared to the corresponding period a year earlier,’ says Schüssler. ’Gauteng is by far SA’s largest tourist destination, although the majority of the visitors are business tourists. The average stay of these tourists is around three days.’ According to an I-Net Bridge report, Gauteng tourism businesses should focus on the development of a magnitude of opportunities such as the 2010 World Cup and other cultural, historical and heritage sites. Gauteng is largely seen as a business hub, but also offers promising and exciting leisure sites and activities. It is important for these business owners to develop product offerings in the run-up to 2010 specifically to magnetise foreign arrivals to these sites and activities.
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Full I-Net Bridge report
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| Toursim shows huge growth potential - 30/10/2007 |
The South African tourism industry which currently contributes R95bn to the country’s GDP, is showing more potential for growth having grown six percent in the early in the last seven years. This is according to experts speaking on investment in tourism in the country at the Trade and Investment South Africa Conference which is currently underway in Durban’s International Convention Centre. Looking at tourism investment opportunities in South Africa, Yunis Hoosen, Director of investment, promotion and facilitation at the Department of Trade and Industry said the industry had since seen significant growth since 1994. BuaNews reports that the country has also seen strong and consistent growth in foreign tourist arrivals which reached eight million last year. General Manager of Business Development, Tourism KwaZulu-Natal James Hlongwa, said the past five year had seen an investment of over R5 billion in the province’s tourism industry. However, the 2010 World Cup will be an important step in growing tourism far beyond the event.
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Full BuaNews report
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| Daunting challenges facing SA - 25/10/2007 |
SA’s social challenges remain daunting, despite progress in restructuring SA’s economy and creating jobs in recent years, Moody’s Investors Service said in their latest SA annual report. Between 1995 and 2006, average incomes rose by $4000 (some R27 000) per person to $12 500 (R84 000) on a purchasing power parity basis. According to a report on the IoL site, crime had slowed for a time after the democratic transition, in fact some South Africans who had emigrated from the country were returning, but the revival of violent crime is putting this at risk. ’If the police and judicial authorities do not manage to bring crime under better control, investment could be seriously affected. In addition, the success of the 2010 World Cup in attracting foreign tourists will be in doubt,’ concluded the Moody’s analysts.
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| WC spending only the start - 24/10/2007 |
Preparations to host the 2010 World Cup have distracted attention from bigger capital projects that will substantially expand the country’s productive capacity, according to Standard Bank chief economist Goolam Ballim. ’There is a perception that the economy will fall off a cliff post 2010,’ Ballim said. ’But there are greater forces creating investment momentum and guiding investment decisions.’ Based on expected growth in the economy, he estimated the R50bn dedicated to stadiums and other infrastructure for the event would be dwarfed by public and private spending on other infrastructural projects. According to Business Report, he said R1.2trn in total would be invested in the real economy between last year and 2009 - 50% more than in the preceding three years.
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Full story in Business report
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| 2010 a major economic catalyst - 16/10/2007 |
The economy was experiencing one of its longest uninterrupted growth periods in history, fuelling what has become the longest equity bull market, Absa Asset Management’s private clients analyst Christopher Gilmour said. Gilmour said SA was entering a ’second wave’ of economic growth, promoted by significantly higher fixed investment spending. This phase was likely to be larger and longer than the first, largely fuelled by consumer spending. Business Day reports that he said the economy was throwing up some great investment opportunities in a variety of investment stocks. ’The big question on everyone’s minds is how long the fixed investment cycle can last. Many mistakenly believe building stadiums and related facilities for the World Cup in 2010 is a big driver of fixed investment spending. In fact, it’s a drop in the ocean but it has proved to be an excellent catalyst to get the rest of the show on the road,’ he said.
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Full Business Day report
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| The key to solid growth - 12/10/2007 |
Solid growth in the number of tourists visiting SA bodes well for the continued health of the local property market. According to the latest available statistics, a total of 795 901 foreign travelers visited the country in April, an increase of 9.4% compared to the April 2006 figure of 727 272. This continues the growing trend seen last year when nearly 8.4m tourists entered the country — 14.5% more than the previous year. According to a report on the iafrica.com site, there are high expectations that the 2010 World Cup will give a tremendous boost to the number of visitors streaming to the country. SA should also benefit from its vibrant conference industry, with more than 860 major conferences taking place here every year, in turn driving business tourism.
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Full report on the iafrica.com report
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| Growth opportunities in telephony market - 06/10/2007 |
Investments by government and government-aided organisations, contact centre service providers and the primary sector are stimulating growth in the African business telephony market. In particular, multinational aid and international loans have helped governments finance secondary and tertiary sectors in the continent, creating a market for business telephony. New analysis from Frost & Sullivan finds that the African business telephony market earned revenues of €158.3m in 2005 and expects this to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 12.3% to reach €345.3m in 2012. According to a CBR report, economic progress in certain countries due to a favourable petroleum and commodities market has helped the continent’s GDP to grow at an average of 5.7% in 2006, as reported by the UN’s economic commission for Africa. The African business telephony market will continue to expand with several opportunities arising from the 2010 World Cup.
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Full CBR report
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| CT network to add R211bn to GDP - 04/10/2007 |
The roll-out of a fibre optic network by the City of Cape Town could contribute a cumulative amount of at least R211bn to the GDP over its 20-year life cycle. This is according to the draft results of an economic impact assessment commissioned by the city as part of its business case for the fibre network. According to an ITWeb report, The city plans to lay fibre around its municipal environs to connect its buildings, such as libraries and clinics, and then allow the private sector to use the spare capacity to resell commercial services. Speaking at the third annual BMI-TechKnowledge Digital Cities Forum, in Midrand, Cape Town CIO Nirvesh Sooful said the impact study was conducted by the same economic consultants who performed assessments on the Cape Town International Convention Centre and 2010 World Cup stadium.
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Full ITWeb report
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| Africa needs engineers - 01/10/2007 |
African countries would not be able to achieve higher levels of economic development if their people were not trained in engineering and technology, says President Hifikepunye Pohamba. The Nation reports that the President said Africa was still just exporting its natural resources in raw form, without value addition. While African countries struggled to increase education budgets and improve skills, they were deprived of maximum benefit from their raw materials, Pohamba added. ’I therefore urge the participants to this conference to work out practical solutions for the promotion and effective teaching of engineering and scientific subjects in Africa.’ The SA Government recently said that it had become acutely aware that a lack of engineers could seriously hamper the infrastructure projects planned for the World Cup in 2010.
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Full report in The Nation
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| SMME portal launched in EC - 26/09/2007 |
Metropolitan Holdings has partnered with Ubuntu Empowerment Services to launch an SMME portal in the Eastern Cape Province, aiming to help industry players to identify suitable BEE business partners and trade opportunities for small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs). According to an ICT World report, the key objective of the Metropolitan SMME Portal is to provide SMMEs with a platform to market themselves, as well as to give emerging informal business access to the mainstream economy through enterprise development and procurement opportunities leading up to the 2010 World Cup and beyond.
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Full ICT World report
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| SA gets to work on creating jobs - 23/09/2007 |
A third of businesses across the economy plan to increase employee numbers this year. Nearly a third of employers in SA’s main economic areas plan to hire more staff in the next three months, according to a survey by employment services organisation Manpower SA. The survey was conducted by interviewing a representative sample of 799 employers on how they anticipated total employment in their companies to change in the three months to the end of December 2007. The Times reports that about 31% of the companies plan to add workers while only 4% plan job cuts and 63% expect no change. This is their net employment outlook Job openings were mainly expected in activities critical to economic growth, such as mining, power supply, wholesale and retail trade, construction, transport, telecommunications, as well as high-skill, high-wage occupations such as accountants, researchers and professionals in financial services. Business growth and expansion, as well as an increased emphasis on the 2010 World Cup infrastructure development, have all contributed to the rosy job outlook.
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Full report in The Times
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| High levels of growth expected - 21/09/2007 |
There is much optimism about the future performance of the South African economy. Engineering News reports that the 2010 World Cup, massive infrastructure investment and new platinum mines will help sustain relatively high levels of economic growth for the next five to ten years. The looming recession in the US economy is a grey cloud on the horizon. The inability of US consumers to maintain their borrowing and spending stamina will have an effect on global demand. The extent of the fallout of lower US growth on South Africa and other countries is yet to be seen. Many countries may weather the storm heading from the US better than we expect. They may find alternative markets for their consumer goods and raw materials.
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Full Engineering News report
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| Spending to increase economic growth - 18/09/2007 |
Consumers were spending less, but economic growth would continue to be strong, driven by a series of infrastructural projects, many of them already under way, Azar Jammine, Econometrix chief economist, said on Friday at a Coface South Africa conference. According to Business Report, he predicted consumption would slow from 5.9% this year to 4% next year. But growth will be supported by the Gautrain rapid rail project, connecting Johannesburg, Pretoria and OR Tambo International Airport; soccer stadiums for the 2010 World Cup; new power stations by Eskom; investment in carriages and rolling stock by Transnet; upgrading of ports and airports; the build up of tourist facilities; and knock-on infrastructural development associated with the World Cup.
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Full story in Business Report
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| The catalyst for a ’new’ SA - 16/09/2007 |
The World Cup in 2010 is expected to inject up to £1.5bn into the SA economy. According to an Easier.com report. this unprecedented event will be the catalyst for a ’new’ South Africa that will benefit from direct investment into its transport infrastructure and will see the rehabilitation of poorer areas, as SA takes a giant leap forward in its global standing. Lloyd Cornwall, Managing Director of Pin High Property says, ’Once SA was named as host for the 2010 World Cup, not only was this a massive vote of confidence from the International community but it confirmed that SA can be a leading overseas destination and progress towards the infrastructural requirements of hosting such a huge event have already begun.’ The upgrading of the infrastructure is also key to the property market and its longevity. SA has already made a name for itself in the global property market with huge increases on property in the last few years.
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Full Easier.com report
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| Potential for business development - 12/09/2007 |
Economic growth in the Western Cape is on a steady rise, promising great potential for business development in the future. According to a Cape Business News report, this has prompted FNB to strengthen its presence in the business banking market in the province. Earlier this year, a new regional head for FNB’s Commercial Banking was appointed – Johann van Wyk, joins Francois Pienaar and Ashiek Manie in the leadership of the bank in the region. ’The Western Cape is certainly an important area for the SA economy, contributing just under one-fifth of GDP,’ says van Wyk. ’A range of industry sectors traditionally associated with the Western Cape continues to feature strongly, while new areas offer opportunities for the years ahead.’ The positive outlook for the tourism industry is further bolstered by the likely windfall that the 2010 World Cup will bring. Now that the conflicts regarding the stadium have been settled, construction is well under way.
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Full Cape Business News report
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| 2010 ’already a commercial success’ - 12/09/2007 |
With a little more than 1 000 days to go until the 2010 World Cup, the tournament was ’already a commercial success’, the organisers said. The Mercury reports that Fifa had already secured R23.2bn in commercial revenue from the World Cup, including R13.9bn from the sale of television rights. With seven of 18 sponsorship deals yet to be finalised, the revenue ’showed the confidence corporations have in SA’s ability to deliver’, said LOC spokesperson Tumi Makgabo, predicting that final revenue would top R29bn.
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Full report in The Mercury
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| Are we expecting too much? - 11/09/2007 |
As 2010 World Cup fever continues to climb, SA may be wise to temper its expectations as Germany balances the final books on its own World Cup and discovers the post-match coffers are not quite as full as predicted, according to a report by Cape Town-based Rode & Associates. Shortly after the announcement in 2004 that SA would host the 2010 World Cup, it was predicted that the country could expect R21.3bn to be pumped into the economy. According to a Cape Business News report, the latest predictions place that amount at R30bn, resulting in an estimated 150 000 new jobs created. The impact that this will have on the SA economy is being touted as ’enormous’, spurring economic growth to between 5 and 6%, and everyone — from the tourist trade to the property industry — is breathless in anticipation. But are we expecting too much?
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Full Cape Business News report
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| New strategy to supply SA with required skills - 07/09/2007 |
SA is casting a new die to supply the economy with the skills required to achieve the economic growth objective of 6% a year. ’This is not business as usual,’ National Business Initiative (NBI) director: education and skills Marianne Scott tells Engineering News. Beyond providing the secretariat for the Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition (Jipsa), the NBI is actively involved in an initiative in which six of SA’s largest companies – Sasol, ArcelorMittal SA, Anglo Platinum, Gold Fields, Eskom and Transnet – have combined forces as the Technical Skills and Business Partnership to tackle the national skills shortage. The working group facilitaed by the NBI has been set up under this initiative, and a plan is currently being prepared to restock and stock up the South African economy with artisan, technologist, technician and engineering skills. Government alone is spending R430bn on infrastructure in a bid to realise the targets of the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (Asgisa). The private sector is spending billions more in the run-up to the 2010 World Cup, while Asgisa’s targets are to halve unemployment and poverty by 2014.
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Full Engineering News report
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| More tourists but less money spent - 31/08/2007 |
Although there were more tourists than ever before visiting South Africa in the past financial year, the amount of money they spent fell by R16bn, from R60.7bn to R44.7bn. According to a report on the iafrica.com site, disclosing this in his annual report to Parliament, tabled on Friday, the chairperson of South African Tourism, Jabu Mabuza, also warned that the opportunity to grow and sustain the tourism market offered by the 2010 World Cup may well slip us by.
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| Tourism to contribute 12% to GDP by 2010 – 22/08/2007 |
The tourism industry is to make up about 12% of the country’s GDP by the time the 2010 World Cup comes around, says the CE of SA Tourism. Speaking at the launch of Tourism Month and the relaunch of the Sho’t Left Campaign held in Qunu, Moeketsi Mosola said tourism’s contribution to the GDP was expected to increase dramatically. According to a report on the allAfrica.com site, the 2007 campaign will be communicated through television, radio and print adverts, with the first appearing in late August of this year. Mosola commented on the media reports of fears that SA would not be able to handle the influx of people in 2010, saying on a monthly basis the country already deals with 650 000 travellers.
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Full allAfrica.com report
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| Money streaming in for 2010 - 12/08/2007 |
Money is pouring in for the 2010 World Cup as the country anticipates an economic kick from hosting the world’s largest sporting event. With government providing billions of rands to upgrade infrastructure and depressed inner-city areas, there are indications that the private sector is following suit, particularly in Gauteng. According to a Mail & Guardian Online report, experts say it is difficult to quantify the amount of private sector money, as there appear to be few researchers keeping track of investments. It is also difficult to tell if investments are specifically related to 2010, or would have happened anyway, given trends for inner-city regeneration and higher economic growth. It appears that the World Cup has provided a springboard for other projects.
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Full Mail & Guardian Online report
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| Money streaming in for 2010 - 12/08/2007 |
Money is pouring in for the 2010 World Cup as the country anticipates an economic kick from hosting the world’s largest sporting event. With government providing billions of rands to upgrade infrastructure and depressed inner-city areas, there are indications that the private sector is following suit, particularly in Gauteng. According to a Mail & Guardian Online report, experts say it is difficult to quantify the amount of private sector money, as there appear to be few researchers keeping track of investments. It is also difficult to tell if investments are specifically related to 2010, or would have happened anyway, given trends for inner-city regeneration and higher economic growth. It appears that the World Cup has provided a springboard for other projects.
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Full Mail & Guardian Online report
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