South Africa's smooth formation of a new coalition government after May's elections has boosted investor confidence, leading to a surge in the value of the rand and the stock market, according to Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana.
"The markets were looking for stability and the formation of the government of national unity in a very short period gave that stability," Godongwana said, speaking on the sidelines of the New Development Bank’s annual general meeting in Cape Town.
He added, "This meant that the rand and South African equities benefited from this political stability created in a very short time." The official highlighted the importance of political stability in boosting investor confidence.
The rand has gained a significant 3.7% against the US dollar since the announcement of the new cabinet on June 29, outperforming other African currencies. The FTSE/JSE All Share Index has also seen a robust 6.6% increase over the same period.