SA banks more sound than the Swiss
Thématique :
sud afrique
Monday, 13 October 2008
The World Economic Forum ranked South Africa's banks the 15th most secure out of 134 countries in the 2008/09 Global Competitiveness Report.
South Africa's score of 6.54 (out of 7) in this sub index indicates that the country's banks are generally more healthy and have more sound balance sheets than the banks of countries such as Switzerland who ranked 16th, Germany (39th), the United States (40th) and the United Kingdom (44th).
"That is a very important accolade," Finance Minister Trevor Manuel told the Sunday Times adding that strict bank regulation was among measures that had built confidence in South Africa's financial system.
South Africa ranked 45th overall in the 2008/09 Global Competitiveness Report (GCR), dropping one rank lower when compared to last year's report.
The GCR's main competitiveness ranking is the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI).
The GCI is based on the 12 pillars of: institutions, infrastructure, macro-economic stability, health and primary education, higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labour market efficiency, financial market sophistication, technological readiness, market size, business sophistication and innovation.
The overall ranking was topped by the United States, followed by Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden and Singapore.
South Africa remained the highest ranking country in Sub Saharan Africa.
According to the Report one of SA's key strengths is the size of the economy where the country ranked 23rd overall in the market size category.
The country also receive good marks in other areas measured by the GCI, such as intellectual property protection (23rd), the quality of private institutions (25th) and goods (31st), as well as financial market efficiency (24th), business sophistication (33rd) and innovation (37th), states the report.
South Africa ranked particularly well in regulation of securities exchanges ranking 5th overall, ahead of countries such as Switzerland (6th), Germany (15th), United States (20th) and the United Kingdom (27th).
However, South Africa continues to face a number of obstacles to competitiveness, said the report. "For example, the labour market is ranked a low 88th for its lack of flexibility. Further, the country's innovative potential could be at risk with a university enrolment rate of only 15%, which places the country 93rd overall. "
"The poor security situation remains another important obstacle to doing business in South Africa. The greatest concern, however, remains the health of the workforce, ranked 129th out of 134 countries, due to high rates of communicable diseases and poor health indicators more generally," continued the report.
Business Unity South Africa's Raymond Parsons said the GCR was warning South Africa not to be complacent about its growth prospects.
He said the acceleration of real GDP growth in the past few years had done little to improve South Africa's ranking relative to other middle-income countries, as faster growth had until recently been a worldwide phenomenon.
"South Africa's growth rate still trails behind those of the most dynamic emerging economies," he said.
Parson said "extraordinary discipline and persistence" would be needed to defeat the cynics and improve South Africa's ranking in the next GCR. "Busa would like to see SA get back to the 35th ranking and then rise even higher in the years ahead."
The World Economic Forum ranked South Africa's banks the 15th most secure out of 134 countries in the 2008/09 Global Competitiveness Report.
South Africa's score of 6.54 (out of 7) in this sub index indicates that the country's banks are generally more healthy and have more sound balance sheets than the banks of countries such as Switzerland who ranked 16th, Germany (39th), the United States (40th) and the United Kingdom (44th).
"That is a very important accolade," Finance Minister Trevor Manuel told the Sunday Times adding that strict bank regulation was among measures that had built confidence in South Africa's financial system.
South Africa ranked 45th overall in the 2008/09 Global Competitiveness Report (GCR), dropping one rank lower when compared to last year's report.
The GCR's main competitiveness ranking is the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI).
The GCI is based on the 12 pillars of: institutions, infrastructure, macro-economic stability, health and primary education, higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labour market efficiency, financial market sophistication, technological readiness, market size, business sophistication and innovation.
The overall ranking was topped by the United States, followed by Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden and Singapore.
South Africa remained the highest ranking country in Sub Saharan Africa.
According to the Report one of SA's key strengths is the size of the economy where the country ranked 23rd overall in the market size category.
The country also receive good marks in other areas measured by the GCI, such as intellectual property protection (23rd), the quality of private institutions (25th) and goods (31st), as well as financial market efficiency (24th), business sophistication (33rd) and innovation (37th), states the report.
South Africa ranked particularly well in regulation of securities exchanges ranking 5th overall, ahead of countries such as Switzerland (6th), Germany (15th), United States (20th) and the United Kingdom (27th).
However, South Africa continues to face a number of obstacles to competitiveness, said the report. "For example, the labour market is ranked a low 88th for its lack of flexibility. Further, the country's innovative potential could be at risk with a university enrolment rate of only 15%, which places the country 93rd overall. "
"The poor security situation remains another important obstacle to doing business in South Africa. The greatest concern, however, remains the health of the workforce, ranked 129th out of 134 countries, due to high rates of communicable diseases and poor health indicators more generally," continued the report.
Business Unity South Africa's Raymond Parsons said the GCR was warning South Africa not to be complacent about its growth prospects.
He said the acceleration of real GDP growth in the past few years had done little to improve South Africa's ranking relative to other middle-income countries, as faster growth had until recently been a worldwide phenomenon.
"South Africa's growth rate still trails behind those of the most dynamic emerging economies," he said.
Parson said "extraordinary discipline and persistence" would be needed to defeat the cynics and improve South Africa's ranking in the next GCR. "Busa would like to see SA get back to the 35th ranking and then rise even higher in the years ahead."
