Bank sees load-shedding, factionalism impeding strong fixed-investment recovery in 2021

A leading bank economist expects fixed investment in South Africa to remain muted in 2021, weighed down by ongoing power shortages, political uncertainty and the Covid-19 pandemic. Standard Bank chief economist Goolam Ballim forecasts that investment levels will pick up in 2022, however, spurred by a recovery in global economic growth, as well as a rise in consumer confidence as the health and economic impacts of the pandemic taper in line with mass vaccination campaigns.