Johannesburg is home to more than 80 percent of the 603 U.S. companies doing business in South Africa, and is attracting interest from companies seeking to move non-core operations offshore. In November 2004, JP Morgan Investor Services began outsourcing high-end services such as portfolio administration to a Johannesburg-based company. That same month, Fujitsu opened a call center in Johannesburg in hopes of winning outsourcing contracts.

Business and Economic Outlook
Since the end of apartheid in 1994, South Africa’s economic and political conditions have stabilized. The government shored up public finances, quelled inflation and lowered interest rates. Liberalization of trade regulations has introduced competitive pressures from abroad. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), these developments have fueled an average annual post-apartheid GDP growth rate of 2.7 percent. The IMF forecasts a 3.3 percent GDP growth rate in 2005, citing positive trends in retail sales, manufacturing and services, along with increased consumer and business confidence.

A recent survey by Deloitte found that most local investors are optimistic about the country’s near-term economic prospects. Fifty percent of 250 private equity professionals surveyed in the first quarter of this year expect the overall economic conditions to improve; 38 percent expect the current climate to persist. Deloitte’s survey revealed that most general managers expect their investment returns to exceed the performance of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.