Incentives for the manufacturing sector: what South Africa can learn from Malaysia and Singapore

Abstract

The expansion of the manufacturing sector is one of the South African government’s focus areas for economic growth and employment creation. The research on which this article is based identified additional incentives, applicable to the manufacturing sector, which the South African government could introduce to encourage investors to choose the South African manufacturing sector as a desired investment destination. The incentives provided to manufacturing companies by the governments of Malaysia and Singapore and those provided by the South African government are compared in order to examine the similarities and differences between these incentives. In the light of these findings, recommendations are made for additional incentives in South Africa to promote investment in South African manufacturing companies and reduce some of the barriers that prevent local and foreign investment in the country.