UNCTAD launches World Investment Report

Professor Stephen Gelb of the Edge Institute in South Africa. 

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) launched its World Investment Report 2009 (WIR)Transnational Corporations (TNCs), Agricultural Production and Development, at the IDC recently. The report is an annual study of worldwide investment trends. According to the report, prospects for global foreign direct investment (FDI) remain gloomy as a result of the worsening financial and economic crisis. FDI inflows fell from about US$1.7 trillion in 2008 to below $1.2 trillion in 2009.  Recovery is expected to be slow in 2010, reaching no more than $1.4 trillion, but gathering momentum in 2011 to approach $1.8 trillion. Mr Kee Hwee Wee, Economic Affairs Officer, UNCTAD, gave an overview on the global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) trends, whilst Professor Stephen Gelb of the Edge Institute in South Africa delivered a presentation on FDI trends in South Africa and the rest of Africa. The full report is available on UNCTAD’s website at www.unctad.org

Ship spearheads technology workshop

The Strategic High Impact Projects (SHIP) SBU recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a top Taiwanese research centre that paves the way for the IDC to identify suitable technology that could be used to develop projects locally.

The agreement with the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) of Taiwan was signed at a workshop and technology demonstration, hosted by SHIP at the IDC, where ITRI presented an overview of a selected technology and intellectual property portfolio. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa and Matla Innovation (Pty) Ltd,

a company that aims to trade in technology between South Africa and Taiwan and to develop green field projects by utilising new technologies, are parties to the MoU.

Says Zanele Monnakgotla, head of SHIP: “The workshop was the culmination of a year-long deliberation between SHIP, ITRI, CSIR and Matla Innovation (Pty) Ltd, to structure a MoU through which the organisations will endeavour to explore the development of projects by utilising technologies and intellectual property available in ITRI and CSIR.”

Technical topics presented by ITRI included 3D Display functionality, Mini-Laptops and Digital Textbooks, Nano-materials, Photovoltaic Development and Business Outlook and Refuse Derived Fuel. 

Zanele Monnakgotla (head of SHIP), Mr Chia-Chao Wu (CIO, Matla Innovation), Ufikile Khumalo (DE: Resources Sector), Dr Yong-Chie Heng (General Director, International Business Centre, ITRI), Dr Thulani Dlamini (Interim CSIR Group Executive, Research and Development) and Retief Bruwer (senior project manager, SHIP).

The Deputy Minister of the Department of Science and Technology, Mr Derek Hanekom, also met the ITRI delegation.

“The MoU has paved the way for collaboration between the parties and for the IDC to mine the patent base of ITRI for the identification of suitable technology that could be used to develop projects for South Africa.  ITRI will be visited in due course for this purpose,” says Zanele.