Ramaphosa was in Malaysia to attend the 2025 ASEAN Business and Investors Summit
President Cyril Ramaphosa urged Southeast Asian countries to invest in South Africa, but admitted that corruption is an issue.
Ramaphosa was speaking at the 2025 ASEAN Business and Investors Summit in Malaysia on Saturday.
Joking that he could smell money in the room, he added that the “smell of money must follow me to South Africa”.
He touted South Africa as an ideal place for trade and investment.
He said it is the gateway to Africa and the continent’s most industrialised country.
“What we want to do is industrialise further and build strong firms,” Ramaphosa said.
‘Corruption is rife’
The president, however, admitted that corruption is a problem.
Speaking about ethical and developmental governments, he said South Africa needs to deal with corruption.
“Corruption is rife, not only in government, but also in the private sector.”
“We found that a number of companies were involved with people in government to do wrong things.
“We’re dealing with that. We’re dealing with criminality and enforcing the rule of law.”
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WATCH: Ramaphosa’s press conference with Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim
G20 Summit
Ramaphosa thanked Malaysia for agreeing to participate at the G20 Summit in Johannesburg in November.
“[It] will help solidify our relations at a trade and investment level,” he said.
He added that ministers from the two countries will discuss defence, trade and industry, and agriculture.
“We need to upgrade the trade between our two countries. Where we are trading now, the level is just too low.”
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