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Executive Summary
This survey of the South African business environment outlines the major transformations the country has experienced since 1994. The economy has been restructured, which enhanced fiscal and monetary discipline as well as domestic and global competitiveness. The general business climate has been improved, but continued progress requires (1) prioritization of social issues such as HIV/AIDS, employment, and crime and (2) accelerated privatization, market reforms, and clarity about black economic empowerment. Such changes may stimulate inflation-rate reduction, foreign exchange stability, and an increase in foreign direct investment. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
From 1999 to 2003, TIBR published 18 articles covering various countries in its DBI series. The first article by Zoubir (1999) identified a number of vital topics around which practical advice was given to international busi ness people on the first important steps to take in order to "do business" in a foreign country. Of the 18 articles published, 15 largely addressed the same topics as those introduced by Zoubir in his study of the United Arab Emirates. The exceptions were DBI Vietnam, which focused on investment strategies for the venture capital industry, and DBI Mexico, which highlighted cultural perceptions.
In keeping with this metatrend, DBI South Africa (SA) will address the same issues that dominated the other articles in the series. Since the influence of environmental turbulencetransition and change-in the South African business environment has been a constant theme since 1994, this aspect will also be addressed (Morris, Marks, Allen, & Peery, 1996). SA has been in transition due to far-reaching domestic and global changes. Domestically, dramatic political and economic changes have occurred and remain an ongoing process. Politically, SA experienced a regime change as dramatic as the collapse of Communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe. A negotiated settlement brought an end to apartheid and racial oligarchy. In 1994, all South African citizens were permitted to vote for the country's first democratic government since the founding of the modern South African state in 1910. The new ANC (African National Congress) government launched an ambitious program of economic liberalization to transform an economy riddled by inefficiency and rigidity due to decades of international isolation and sanctions. Apart from domestic transitions, SA had to adjust to a rapidly changing international environment...