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January 10, 2005

KwaZulu Natal's industrial investment facilitator and the province's biggest industrial property holder have formed a strategic alliance to give greater impetus to investment and job creation.

The investment promotion agency, Trade and Investment KZN (TIKZN), and the Ithala Development Finance Corporation Limited (Ithala) have concluded a memorandum of understanding ensuring that the two organisations will work in tandem to promote increased evels of foreign and local investment in KwaZulu Natal.

The new business alliance will mean that Ithala - with an industrial property portfolio of about 1,1-million sq m of production space - will become TIKZN's first choice provider of premises and finance for both the foreign and local industrial investors it
secures through its inward investment marketing activities.

TIKZN's aim is to transform KwaZulu Natal into South Africa's premier investment destination and a leader in export trade.

For its part, a primary objective of Ithala is to facilitate private sector investment in the province, providing business premises, commercial shopping centres and tourism facilities as
a means of leveraging economic growth and stimulating the creation of more job opportunities.

Ithala's Chief Executive, Sipho Nyembezi, says: "Both organisations are working towards the same goals. We therefore view it as beneficial to KZN to harness the power of a synergistic working relationship in promoting the province as a first-choice investment destination, where investors enjoy a seamless supply of services from TIKZN's packaging of investment opportunities and provision of assistance to individual investors, through to Ithala's industrial property development, letting and sales, and corporate finance and insurance services for industrialists."

TIKZN's Chief Executive, Dr Moyo Ndwandwe, says: "Foreign and local investment in KwaZulu-Natal by enterprises across the business sector spectrum contributes markedly to both economic growth and, vitally, to reducing unemployment here, and it is therefore critically important for future growth that we utilise the individual strengths of TIKZN and Ithala to jointly increase the tempo of investment in KwaZulu-Natal - a province with the potential to become South Africa's next major economic hub."

For further information phone Michael Phillips on 031-907-8612.