The Coega Development Corporation (CDC) is ending the year with positive feedback from its investors.

In a statement on Wednesday, the CDC said the recent Investor Perception Survey shows that 83% of its operational investors indicated that the Coega Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is a suitable location for their business, while 91.6% stated that they would encourage other businesses to locate their operations in the Coega SEZ.

Located in Africa’s leading Special Economic Zone and the preferred investment destination, in the City of Gqeberha, the survey found that 91.7% investors indicated that their businesses’ key performance indicators have improved since moving to the Coega SEZ.

In addition, investors perceive Coega as a suitable location that is secure, close to clients and the deep-water Port of Ngqura.

The CDC’s in-house research consultants conducted the investor perception survey from 14 – 30 September 2021.

“Feedback from investors was overwhelmingly positive, noting only minor areas for improvement. The investor confidence illustrated by the survey supports Coega’s good performance results released in November 2021,” the CDC said.

Performance results show that the CDC exceeded its revenue generation target by 13% (target: R450 million vs actual: R508.7 million), and growth in client portfolio of external services by 165% (target: R2 billion vs actual: R5.3 billion).

The CDC also achieved a “clean audit” opinion from the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA), despite challenges stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The positive feedback from investors demonstrates that the SEZ programme is working. SEZs are geographically designated areas of a country set aside for specifically targeted economic activities, supported through special arrangements (that may include laws) and systems that are often different from those that apply in the rest of the country,” the CDC said.

The 2014/15 – 2016/17 Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) identifies SEZs as key contributors to economic development.

“They are growth engines towards government’s strategic objectives of industrialisation, regional development, and employment creation,” the CDC said.

More information on the CDC’s performance can be found on the CDC’s Integrated Annual Report 2020/21 on www.coega.co.za > document library > CDC annual reports.

Source: South African Government News Agency