mr. stals discusses the current economic situation and factors influencing monetary policy in south africa in 1999 address by the governor of the south african reserve bank, dr. c. stals, at an international conference arranged by abn amro bank and kagiso financial services, held in johannesburg, on 3 / 11 / 98. 1. domestic economy dominated by international developments during the past six months the south african economic scene was dominated by developments in the international financial markets. the east asian financial market crisis, which already started with pressures in thailand ’ s foreign exchange market in june 1997, took some time before it spread to other emerging markets outside of the east asian region, and also to the smaller industrial countries of the world. more recently, financial markets in major industrial countries also became contaminated. in the case of south africa, the contamination took place through the disinvestment of foreign funds from the south african bond exchange. during the first four months of 1998, non - residents increased their holdings of south african bonds by r16. 3 billion. during the next five months, from may to september 1998, they reduced their holdings of south african bonds by r22. 4 billion. this major switch was directly linked to a reassessment made by foreign investors during april / may 1998 of their investment positions, and the decision to reduce their exposure in fixed - interest bonds of the emerging market economies. it is interesting to note that non - residents continued to increase their investment in south african equities. after increasing their investment in south african shares acquired through the johannesburg stock exchange by r19. 4 billion in the first four months of 1998, they added a further r17. 3 billion during the following five months. the reversal in the investment trend on the bond exchange was, however, sufficient to change drastically the outlook for the south african economy, and some promising economic developments in the first quarter of this year were promptly aborted. 2. adverse financial developments lead the downward trend in the economy the sudden switch of foreign investors ’ sentiments had far - reaching effects in the south african financial markets : • • • the immediate effect of the withdrawal of investment funds from the bond exchange was a sudden and sharp increase in the yield on long - term bonds. the average monthly yield on long - term government bonds rose from 12. 9 per cent in april 1998 to 18. 3 per cent in september. the withdrawal of foreign investments created pressure in the foreign exchange market and the average effective exchange rate of the

francois groepe : the south african economy, policy mandates and international central bank cooperation address by mr francois groepe, deputy governor of the south african reserve bank, at the tenth annual international operational risk working group ( iorwg ) conference, cape town, 22 april 2015. * * * introduction good evening ladies and gentlemen. i wish to extend a warm and hearty african welcome to you and i hope that you will thoroughly enjoy tonight ’ s gala dinner. it is my privilege and honour to host this gala dinner on the occasion of the tenth annual international operational risk working group ( iorwg ) conference. i wish to personally thank the co - chairperson, ms donna brenner, for supporting the south african reserve bank ’ s ( sarb ) bid to host this important conference in this wonderful city. i, furthermore, wish to express my sincerest gratitude to all the delegates and their spouses, many who have travelled from abroad for gracing us with your presence and contributing to the debates and the discussions. the sarb has enjoyed a long and beneficial relationship with the iorwg and all its member central banks and it is my wish that this conference will further cement the strong and mutually beneficial bi - and multi - lateral relationships that have been built over many years. before we proceed with dinner, i would like to share with you some thoughts about the south african economy and our policy mandates and the importance of international cooperation among central banks. south africa and the global economy south africa is a small open economy with a population of 54 million and a gdp of some usd 350 billion. this equates to a gdp per capita of usd 5 900 and usd 12 100 on a purchasing power parity basis. the tertiary sector has expanded rapidly over the last decade or two and now accounts for nearly two thirds of the economy. one of the huge challenges the country faces is structural unemployment, which is around 24 per cent with youth unemployment as high as 50 per cent. in order for the country to keep unemployment levels stable, the economy needs to grow at approximately 3 per cent per annum. the country ’ s economic recovery after the global financial crisis was initially broadly in line with the global recovery with economic growth registering at 3, 0 per cent and 3, 2 per cent in 2010 and 2011, respectively. since 2011, the economic recovery has slowed with growth slowing to 2, 2 per cent and 1, 5 per cent in 2013 and 2014, respectively. growth for 2015 is projected at 2