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Viewing cable 09CAPETOWN57, EAST LONDON'S INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ZONE SPEEDS

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09CAPETOWN57 2009-03-13 15:18 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Consulate Cape Town
R 131518Z MAR 09
FM AMCONSUL CAPE TOWN
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 3004
INFO AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 
AMCONSUL DURBAN 
AMCONSUL JOHANNESBURG 
USDOC WASHDC
UNCLAS CAPE TOWN 000057 
 
 
PLEASE PASS TO AF/S, RUSH MARBURG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EIND EINV ETRD SA
SUBJECT: EAST LONDON'S INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ZONE SPEEDS 
AHEAD 
 
1.  Summary:  The East London Industrial Development Zone 
(ELIDZ), established in 2002, is a South African Government 
initiative to encourage export-driven growth and to diversify 
the mostly rural Eastern Cape economy.  Since its inception, 
the ELIDZ has grown quickly and now includes fourteen 
investors already operational in the zone.  Seven new ones 
will come on-line in April 2009.  The zone incorporates a 
cluster approach for locating investors in the zone, with 
many of the current plants located in the Automotive Supplier 
Park (ASP).  Another cluster, located near the ocean, is home 
to several seafarming projects.  Another future investor 
plans to implement a biofuels project that will include a 
rural development component.  ELIDZ officials expect to meet 
their medium-term goal of twenty-five investors located in 
the zone with a value of R2 billion (USD 200 million) by the 
end of the 2009/2010 financial year.  However, they 
acknowledged that the global economic downturn has had an 
impact on the zone's labor force.  ELIDZ officials welcome 
U.S. investors and seek to market the zone in the U.S. with 
export-oriented industries (i.e., manufacturing and 
information technology) to promote future investment when the 
global economy turns around.  End Summary. 
 
What is the IDZ? 
---------------- 
 
2.  ELIDZ Executive Manager Tembela Zweni, Business 
Development Manager Msokoli Ntombana and Marketing Specialist 
Ngoni Katsere met with Consulate Econoff to discuss business 
activity in the IDZ.  Zone literature points out that the 
South African Government established the ELIDZ in 2002 in an 
attempt to diversify the provincial economy and to attract 
both local and foreign investors.  The officials indicated 
that the zone, which is located on the outskirts of the 
Eastern Cape coastal city of East London, already has one 
hundred serviced sites that include complete water supply, 
electricity, information technology, logistics and security 
services.  The zone incorporates a "cluster approach" which 
locates investors in similar sectors within the same area of 
the zone.  Here the firms can access the aforementioned 
services and share costs, thus enabling them to focus more on 
their core businesses.  They do not have to worry about 
security, for example, because the zone already provides a 
high level of security services.  Executive manager Zweni 
also volunteered that the zone uses world-class 
infrastructure and affords easy access to transportation. 
The ELIDZ is six kilometers from the city harbor and only two 
kilometers from the airport. 
 
3.  The ELIDZ, like its sister IDZ in Port Elizabeth, is a 
(PTY) Ltd. private company.  Comment:  A PTY Ltd. company is 
similar to a limited liability company in the U.S.  End 
Comment.  Zweni volunteered that ELIDZ, though funded in part 
by the government, has an independent board of directors, 
which includes individuals from both the public and private 
sectors.  The board appoints the zone's CEO, whom the 
government then endorses.  The officials expressed confidence 
that they will reach their goal of twenty-five investors in 
the zone with an investment value of R2 billion (USD 200 
million) by the end of the 2009/10 financial year.  Zweni 
indicated that they had almost reached that goal already with 
several other projects in the pipeline. 
 
Who are the Investors? 
---------------------- 
 
4.  Business Development Manager Ntombana shared that the 
ELIDZ has twenty-one confirmed investors, fourteen of whom 
QELIDZ has twenty-one confirmed investors, fourteen of whom 
are already operating there.  Total investment, at this time, 
amounts to R1.1 billion (USD 110 million).  Most of the 
companies who are on the ground are manufacturers in the 
automotive, aquaculture, transport and logistics sectors. 
Auto parts companies supply various vehicle components for 
car companies Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen and General Motors 
(GM).  They deliver "just-in-time" products to the car 
companies which are then exported to other countries.  Zweni 
shared that some of the vehicle suppliers, such as 
"CarCoustics", provide car parts to GM Brazil.  Another auto 
parts company, Feltex, supplies Mercedes Benz, Volkwagen and 
GM with sun visors, carpeting and upholstery.  Two other 
companies, Seatek and Espadon Marine are involved in 
seafarming.  The following list provides the names of the 
companies operational in the zone and their particular type 
of business. 
 
     Carcoustics - heat shields exported 
 
     MC Synchro  - assembly of tyres and rims for Mercedes 
Benz South Africa (MBSA) 
 
     Feltex automotive trim - moulded carpets, sound 
insulators, sun visors for BMW, Toyota, Ford, Nissan and MBSA 
 
     Feltex Caravelle - loose lay carpet for MBSA, VW and 
Toyota 
 
     Feltex Fehrer - seat pads and head rests for VW, Toyota, 
Ford and MBSA 
 
     Feltex Futuris - tufted carpet for supply to Feltex Trim 
and Feltex Caravelle for MBSA 
 
     Foxtec-Ikhwezi - manufacturing of rear axel sub 
assemblies and castings for MBSA 
 
     Johnson Controls - dashboard and overhead liners for 
MBSA, VW, Ford and Nissan 
 
     Milltrans - Transport and logistics 
 
     Molan Pino - Polypropylene foam components for MBSA 
 
     Seatek - Abalone farming 
 
     TI Automotive - Brake and fuel pipes for MBSA, Toyota, 
BMW, Ford, VW and Delta 
 
     TI Automotive Fuel Systems - complete automotive fuel 
system for MBSA 
 
     UTI - Logistics 
 
5.  The officials further indicated that the ELIDZ is 
planning to diversify away from the automotive manufacturing 
subsector to other areas, such as energy, agroprocessing, 
construction and services.  For example, Matla Solar Energy, 
one of the newer investments, will invest R40 million (USD 4 
million) to produce solar water heaters.  Another investor, 
Espadon Marine will invest in seafarming technology, using 
recirculating systems.  Still another new investor, unnamed, 
plans to produce biofuels by raising canola on one million 
hectares in a poor rural area.  This project, which will 
promote rural development, envisages that forty percent of 
the resulting canola crop will be used to produce bio-diesel 
and sixty percent will go to fertilizer.  Since canola is 
primarily a winter crop, the rural community will be able to 
raise maize in the summer, thereby providing them with both 
"cash-crops" and "food crops."  Ntombana maintained that the 
two crops go well together and will help to get "buy-in" from 
the community and the government.  He expects the project to 
be finalized this year.  Comment:  South Africa currently 
plants about a total of 33,000 hectares of canola.  An 
agricultural economist maintains that increasing the planted 
area by a factor of thirty seems unrealistic, particularly if 
it is concentrated in only one province.  Similarly, maize is 
produced on only about 15,000 hectares in the Eastern Cape 
although an official from the Border Kei Chamber of Commerce 
asserts that far more could be grown here.  End Comment. 
 
Effects of the Global Economic Downturn 
--------------------------------------- 
 
6.  Zweni and Ntombana acknowledged that the downturn in the 
global economy had led to a drop in business but remained 
sanguine about the future.  They noted that before the 
downturn, there were about 1000 individuals employed in the 
ASP.  Now, there were 650 peopled employed there.  Ntombana 
maintained, however, that investors were still inquiring 
about the zone, and he anticipated ongoing growth.  One of 
the automotive parts suppliers said it was increasingly 
difficult to turn a profit but added that they were doing 
their best to continue doing business. 
 
7.  The three officials further mentioned that they were 
continuing to market the IDZ abroad in anticipation of the 
eventual turnaround in the global economy.  They noted that 
they would welcome U.S. investors to the zone and asked for a 
list of potentially interested U.S. companies and industrial 
associations, particularly in the manufacturing and 
information technology sectors.  They would like to create 
their own "road show" to present to interested firms.  Zweni 
Qtheir own "road show" to present to interested firms.  Zweni 
noted that the current economic downturn would not last 
forever and that they wanted to be ready for new investment 
when the global economy turns the corner. 
 
8.  Comment:  The IDZ is easily found - just a stone's throw 
from the East London airport.  The cluster approach of 
locating potential investors with shared services already 
provided is both attractive to potential investors and 
clever.  The officials there appeared sophisticated, 
professional and enthusiastic about the IDZ's potential. 
They are correct, however, to diversify the IDZ away from the 
automotive sector although this sector will continue to play 
a role here.  Diversification will be beneficial for the 
zone, the provincial economy and future employment.  What 
surprised an outside visitor was the officials' 
forward-looking perspective.  Seemingly undaunted by the 
global economic downturn, the ELIDZ officials talked about 
preparing for more investment when the downturn ends and 
discussed specific ways of achieving that goal.  This forward 
planning should bode well for the ELIDZ.  End Comment. 
 
 
MAYBERRY