Sovereign Trust (South Africa) Limited provides company formations in all major jurisdictions including BVI companies, company registration, tax advice, asset management and wealth protection.

About South Africa

Background: After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1806, many of the Dutch settlers (the Boers) trekked north to found their own republics. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) spurred wealth and immigration and intensified the subjugation of the native inhabitants. The Boers resisted British encroachments, but were defeated in the Boer War (1899 – 1902). The resulting Union of South Africa operated under a policy of Apartheid – the separate development of the races. The 1990s brought an end to Apartheid politically and ushered in black majority rule with the first democratic election in 1994.

Location: Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa.

Economy – overview: South Africa is a middle-income, developing country with an abundant supply of resources, well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors, a stock exchange that ranks 18th largest in the world, and a modern infrastructure supporting an efficient distribution of goods to major urban centres throughout the region. The Latest World Economic Forum Competitiveness report ranks South Africa’s JSE first out of 139 countries for its regulation of securities exchanges. However, growth has not been strong enough to cut into the high unemployment rate, and daunting economic problems remain. Other problems are crime, corruption and HIV/Aids. At the start of 2000, the then President, Thabo Mbeki, vowed to promote economic growth and foreign investment by replacing restrictive labour laws, stepping up the pace of privatization, and cutting unneeded governmental spending. Economic growth has been strong and the South African economy has developed into the most powerful in Africa. President Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma was sworn in as president of South Africa on the 9th of May 2009.