SA "not too small" to be BRICS member

The country is "not too small" to be a member of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and lately South Africa) grouping, according to Dr Martyn Davies, CEO of consultancy Frontier Advisory.

Image: Frontier Advisory

Frontier Advisory CEO Martyn Davies

"SA has the corporate muscle to compete with other economies in BRICS," Davies said.

"We punch above our weight and yes, SA is a relatively small economy but look at the multinational corporations we've spawned such as SABMiller, Anglo American and Sasol amongst others.

"So when it comes to multinational corporations, we may even be ahead of other members of the grouping," Davies added.

President Jacob Zuma - as well as other members of government - will on April 14 attend the BRICS summit at the Chinese resort of Sanya on the island off Hainan.

While warning that SA should not expect too much from the BRICS summit, Investment Solutions economist Chris Hart said that the grouping "could evolve into something significant over time for the country".

It would help open links and focus people's minds in terms of business opportunities, he added. "I strongly believe that our economic relationships with India and Brazil are way below what they could be."

Last week, International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, said that SA, as the newest member of BRICS, was "quite honoured and elated" to have been invited to join "this very, very, important global grouping".

"We believe we belong in BRICS because to complete the grouping they needed a country on the African continent and we thought we were the right candidate."