State - owned Enterprises of South Africa - wikipedia State - owned Enterprises of South Africa In South Africa the Department of Public Enterprises is the shareholder representative of the South African Government with oversight responsibility for state - owned enterprises in key sectors. Some companies are not directly controlled by the Department of Public Enterprises, but by various other Departments. State - owned enterprises play a significant role in the South African economy. In key sectors such as electricity, transport ( air, rail, freight, and pipelines ), and telecommunications, SOEs play a lead role, often defined by law, although limited competition is allowed in some sectors ( i.e., telecommunications and air ). The government 's interest in these sectors often competes with and discourages foreign investment. The Department of Public Enterprises minister has publicly stated that South Africa 's SOEs should advance economic transformation, industrialization and import substitution. DPE has oversight responsibility in full or in part for six of the approximately 700 SOEs that exist at the national, provincial, and local levels : Alexkor ( diamonds ), Denel ( military equipment ), Eskom ( electricity generation ), South African Express Airways, South African Forestry Company ( SAFCOL ) ( forestry ), and Transnet ( transportation ). These six SOEs employ approximately 105,000 people. The SOEs share of the investment was 21 % while private enterprise contributed 63 % ( government spending made up the remainder of 16 % ). The IMF estimates that the debt of the SOEs would add 13.5 % to the overall national debt. Contents 1 History 2 List 3 See also 4 References History Many state - owned firms were established during the apartheid era to counter the impact of international sanctions against the country. The ANC government initially sold stakes in the companies, and lowered import tariffs. Those measures were reversed following opposition from COSATU and the South African Communist Party. By 2007, an alliance of unions and leftist factions within the ANC had unseated President Thabo Mbeki, replacing him with Jacob Zuma. The new ANC policy aimed at expanding the role of SOEs in the economy, following the example of China. Although in 2015 and 2016, senior government leaders discussed allowing private - sector investment into some of the more than 700 state - owned enterprises and recently released a report of a presidential review commission on SOE, which called for rationalization of SOEs, no concrete action has been taken on the topic yet. List Airports Company of South Africa ( ACSA ) -- Owner of major airports in South Africa Alexkor -- Mining sector ( diamond mining ) Armscor ( South Africa ) -- Defence sector ( arms procurement agency for the South African Defence Force ) Broadband Infraco -- Telecommunications sector ( long distance and international internet connectivity ) Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Central Energy Fund -- Energy development Denel -- Aerospace and Defence sector ( armaments manufacturer ) Development Bank of Southern Africa Eskom -- Energy sector ( national electricity utility ) National Parks Board -- Nature conservation PBMR -- Energy sector ( development of Pebble Bed Modular Reactor nuclear energy technology ) Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa PRASA -- Transport sector ( passenger railway services ) PetroSA -- National oil and gas company Post Office -- Postal sector Rand Water -- Water utility ( Most based in the northern region ) Sentech -- Telecommunications infrastructure South African Airways -- Transport sector ( international airline ) South African Broadcasting Corporation -- Telecommunications sector South African Bureau of Standards SA Express -- Transport sector ( regional and feeder airline ) South African Forestry Company -- Forestry sector ( manages forestry on state owned land ) South African National Roads Agency -- responsible for the maintenance and development of the national road network Transnet -- Transport and related infrastructure sector ( railways, harbours, oil / fuel pipelines and terminals ) Trans - Caledon Tunnel Authority -- Water transport authority The South African Government has a share in the following companies : Telkom SA -- Telecommunications sector ( national telephone network ( PSTN ) ) ( 39.8 % ) Vodacom -- Telecommunications sector ( cellular services ) ( 13.9 % ) Sasol -- Fuel sector ( oil, petroleum, gas and coal ) ( 27.3 % ) Various other smaller state - owned companies exist in South Africa. See also Minister of Public Enterprises Department of Public Enterprises References Jump up ^ `` State Owned Companies '', Department of Public Enterprises, Republic of South Africa. Retrieved 2017 - 01 - 28. ^ Jump up to : `` South Africa - State Owned Enterprises ''. US State Department 's Office of Investment Affairs. Retrieved 21 February 2018. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. ^ Jump up to : `` Commanding plights ''. The Economist. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2018. ^ Jump up to : `` Here is Government 's shareholding in South African telecoms companies '', mybroadband.co.za, 23 June 2015. Jump up ^ `` Major shareholders '', sasol.co.za. Retrieved 2017 - 01 - 28. State - owned enterprises of Africa Sovereign states Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde ( Cabo Verde ) Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea - Bissau Ivory Coast ( Côte d'Ivoire ) Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa South Sudan Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe States with limited recognition Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Somaliland Dependencies and other territories Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla ( Spain ) Madeira ( Portugal ) Mayotte / Réunion ( France ) Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha ( United Kingdom ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=State-owned_enterprises_of_South_Africa&oldid=826917598 '' Categories : Government - owned companies of South Africa Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 21 February 2018, at 18 : 35 ( UTC ). About Wikipedia

Question: how many state owned enterprises in south africa
Answer: approximately 700