The recent downgrade of the country’s sovereign credit rating, as well as increased uncertainty, may impact negatively on both FDI as well as investment by the household sector. BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  The export performance of domestic companies continues to deteriorate. Latest estimates by the SARB show that the country’s global exports have declined over the past 50 years.
Some of the factors contributing to this trend in recent times are: (i)  The decline in the contribution of gold mining sector to growth and the decline in the role of gold globally;  (ii)  Binding constraints related to infrastructure bottlenecks;  (iii)  Skills shortages and mismatch;  (iv)  The dominance of low-cost production bases which are export oriented in many emerging market economies; and  (v)  Sluggish growth in SA’s key trading partners.