In a speech at the South African Financial Sector Competitiveness Lekgotla, South Africa’s National Treasury set out a policy agenda to mobilise capital for investment and strengthen the competitiveness of the country’s financial markets, with a focus on infrastructure finance, SME access to funding, and market modernisation. The address highlighted the revision of Regulation 28 to facilitate pension fund investment in infrastructure, alongside the Infrastructure Fund backed by ZAR 100 billion in public finance intended to catalyse ZAR 500 billion in blended capital over a decade. New public-private partnership (PPP) regulations for national and provincial government published earlier in 2025 are due to take effect in June 2025 and are intended to reduce approvals for projects below ZAR 2 billion and make it easier for government to respond to unsolicited proposals, with municipal PPP regulations expected in the coming months. Measures also included expanding the budget facility for infrastructure to four evaluation windows and positioning it as a gateway for viability gap financing and related support, exploring infrastructure investment vehicles (including project bonds and securitised infrastructure debt), and work with the Financial Sector Conduct Authority to simplify listing requirements and reduce frictions in raising capital. On financial integrity, the speech reported that 20 of the 22 Financial Action Task Force action plan items linked to South Africa’s February 2023 greylisting are now addressed or largely addressed, with two items outstanding for the March to June 2025 reporting period and a planned exit from greylisting in October 2025. Next steps flagged included issuing municipal PPP regulations, completing the remaining FATF action plan items within the current reporting cycle, and finalising a regulatory framework for digital financial assets and stablecoins.
National Treasury (South Africa) 2025-06-02
South Africa’s National Treasury outlines infrastructure finance and capital market reforms and targets October 2025 exit from FATF greylisting
South Africa’s National Treasury outlined a policy agenda at the Financial Sector Competitiveness Lekgotla to enhance financial market competitiveness, focusing on infrastructure finance, SME funding access, and market modernisation. Key measures include revising Regulation 28 for pension fund infrastructure investment, new PPP regulations, and addressing Financial Action Task Force greylisting items. The Treasury also plans to finalize regulations for digital financial assets and stablecoins.