It is wonderful that top South African business leaders are speaking out on the merits of stepping up investment in the South African economy.

First the country had Brian Joffe, who created the huge Bidvest group before leaving that in good hands and turning his attention to Long4Life, and now we have Discovery founder and CEO Adrian Gore crediting South Africa with the success of his globally galloping Vitality membership and the launching of the world’s first ‘behavioural’ bank in Johannesburg last Wednesday.

Discovery has already been a splash hit in the medical aid field and South African business should pay attention to Gore’s firm contention that South Africa is a platform that can support strong business thrusts.

These are Gore’s words about South Africa: “The issue is the power of our country, the power of patriotism. I really believe and know that my success is because of the country, not despite it.”

The firmness of this positive thinking, coupled with the steps being taken on the political front, has all the ingredients to become the starting point for new scenario plans for businesses to follow.

Large mining companies are committing to ongoing investment. Anglo American has outlined its intention to invest R70-billion in the next five years. Vedanta is investing in a new zinc mine as this article is being written. New opportunity is being spotted by developing mining companies like Orion Minerals, which is reviving zinc and copper mining in the dormant Prieska area and tackling widespread exploration at the same time.

One can feel the momentum building and one hopes it will build up speed to take South Africa out of its recession and onto a high road of economic growth.

Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) last week did an excellent job of showing investment analysts that promising platinum demand could arise out of the fuel cell market.

One of the analysts, BMO Global Commodities Research, has noted that Amplats has done well to help investors to better understand the demand side of the platinum business in the key China end market, where platinum-using fuel cells are being celebrated as devices helping the world to get rid of its emissions curse.

“We found this a refreshing and novel approach, and one which we view as a good way of showing industry leadership,” BMO Global commented.

Amplats’ platinum-focused trip to China involved meetings and plant visits that have given the analysts the sense that there is clear government backing for the fuel cell industry as part of its wider low-emissions strategy, which, in turn, is already starting to drive interest and potential investment from the private and State sectors.

While targets are regional at present, the plan is for fleets of tens of thousands of fuel-cell-driven vehicles that protect Mother Nature.

The great opportunity for South Africa is to supply the platinum that is needed by China, which already controls the rest of the supply chain.