South Africa Eases Restrictions on Companies Investing in Africa

South Africa’s government said it will relax restrictions on companies doing business in the rest of Africa to encourage trade and investment with a region that’s expected to grow more than 6 percent this year.

“Foreign assets owned by South African firms are an important source of income and reduce our vulnerability to future domestic downturns,” Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said in his budget speech in Cape Town today. The government is taking steps to create “a simplified tax and foreign exchange framework for companies that trade with Africa.”