CAPE TOWN When compared to Johannesburg, Cape Town is on an equal footing as a business location, and ranks "fairly well" when benchmarked internationally, according to the preliminary findings of
a survey commissioned by the Cape Town Partnership (CTP).
The survey, which was undertaken by CTP and the Unilever Institute for Strategic Marketing at the
University of Cape Town, compared the metro areas of Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban with cities
in North America, Asia Pacific, and Latin America.
The study was based on an annual global research project conducted by Fortune and Arthur Andersen,
and included interviews with 180 SA CEO's.
It found that Cape Town is on a par with Buenos Aires, ranked as Latin America's top business
location.
The key strengths of SA's major cities were competitively priced skilled labour, low office rentals,
and high per capita spending on education.
However, crime in the country is still one of the greatest impediments to attracting foreign
investment.
Qualitative research, based on interviews with CEO's, found that Cape Town was marginally better
placed to attract and retain managers and professionals. Johannesburg was regarded as having better
IT and telecommunications infrastructure, and ranked higher in terms of research and innovation
activity.