Cape Town - The City of Cape Town still has the highest possible level of credit quality from ratings agency Moody's within the national context, Wesgro said in the wake of the downgrade by S&P of the country's foreign currency debt to "junk status".
S&P cited political and policy instability as the key motivation for the downgrade.
Cape Town was ranked 21st for its foreign direct investment (FDI) strategy by fDi Intelligence’s Global Cities of the Future 2016/17 and is the only African city listed in this category. Sectors with a competitive advantage for attracting global FDI are real estate, non-automotive transport and food and tobacco.
Wesgro, the official tourism, trade and investment promotion agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape, said it is working to keep trade and investment in the Cape following the downgrade and will remind existing and potential investors "that politics and policy within our province remain stable".
READ: Junk downgrade highlights risks to economy - report
“In light of this downgrade, we will redouble our efforts to present the Cape as Africa’s trade and investment springboard by embarking on over 70 tourism, trade and investment promotion missions over the next financial year to land even more investment,” said Wesgro CEO Tim Harris.
In the second half of this year Wesgro will open the Cape Investor Centre, a new one-stop shop where large investors can easily complete local, provincial and national regulatory processes in a single location facilitated by Wesgro.
A recent Wesgro survey examined the perspective and experience of companies that have recently invested in the Cape. Three quarters of companies surveyed had a positive perception of Cape Town as a base to do business in Africa. They noted the city's sophisticated infrastructure as a draw card.
Of the companies that intended to expand into Africa, a quarter indicated they would opt to run their African regional headquarters in Cape Town.
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