A large Dutch trade mission arrives in South Africa today under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister Annemarie Jorritsma. When the VOC, the world's first multinational, established its halfway refreshment station at the Cape on the long trade route between Europe and the Far East, it insisted that its executives never lose sight of the bottom line, and of the costs and risks involved in the Netherlands' first capital investment in this country. SA's economy contains all the sectors identified as most promising . . . Boelen will also join Jorritsma in meetings with her SA counterparts, including co-hosts Trade and Industry Minister Alec Erwin and Finance Minister Trevor Manuel.
Joint ventures are impossible with such a management culture.
We hear a lot of stories about crime. The secondary status of historical ties is further reflected by the Dutch government's vision of South Africa's potential for trade and investment. The value of South Africa's trade ranks eighth among these 24 countries, ahead of China and the United Arab Emirates but behind Korea and Taiwan. However, South Africa fares less well when it comes to Dutch investment. However, according to the SANetherlands Chamber of Commerce, this investment nevertheless ranks the Netherlands ninth on South Africa's list of countries providing foreign direct investment between 1994-1998, up from 13th two years previously.