STEPHEN CRANSTON: How Brexit affects SA
I don’t think the UK can operate as a self-contained economic bloc — it is not China and it is certainly not the US
The UK will always be a key financial centre for SA, and a favourite place to expand, as the likes of Famous Brands, Bidvest and Old Mutual have proved. And it is a second home to an estimated 300,000 South Africans — maybe more. All but the most diehard policy nerds will find the Brexit negotiations quite tedious, but they will have an effect on Africa. And there has been a breakthrough in the past few days, with the UK and EU agreeing on the divorce bill. The UK is still by some measures one of the world’s seven largest economies — large emerging economies are made to look bigger than they are by a manipulation known as purchasing power parity. But I don’t think the UK can operate as a self-contained economic bloc — it is not China and it is certainly not the US. I remember, from my schooldays in London, the first referendum on what was then called the Common Market, back in 1975. The "yes" vote (by what were later called the "remainers") won by almost exactly two to one. It was q...
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