Cape Town — Anglo American would spend about $6bn over three years on capital projects in SA, said Anglo American SA CE Lazarus Zim yesterday.

"The opportunities in SA are immense, so let us take advantage of them," he said.

Zim was addressing the annual Investing in African Mining conference at which delegates from all over the world meet to discuss mining opportunities in Africa.

Anglo American believed SA's target of a 6% growth rate was achievable but it needed to increase capital investment to 25% of gross domestic product, Zim said.

Parastatals and government had to invest to lay the foundation for the private sector to play a role. There were already signs of commitment on the part of government and it was important that there should be synergies between public spending on infrastructure and the private sector.

A good example was the investment in capacity by rail operator Spoornet, which would serve the needs of the iron ore and coal industries, he said.

To increase private sector investment, it was necessary to continue decreasing the cost of doing business, Zim said.

SA was benefiting from a low-inflation environment and business confidence was at a peak, as noted by President Thabo Mbeki in his recent state of the nation address.

Anglo was committed to "doing its bit", Zim said.

The company set a target last year of a total investment of R100bn in SA -- but had sur passed this with investment of R114bn.

The figure included not only capital investment in the mines but also the group's investment in empowerment projects and procurement.

Zim said Anglo American SA had facilitated R5,4bn of empowerment and enterprise development by this time last year and had spent R352m on procurement from black businesses.

It was important to continue to bring black businesses into the economic mainstream. Anglo planned to continue with this programme, Zim said.

Last year saw global political support for Africa, including discussions on debt cancellation and a doubling of aid. This year should be one of delivery and it was important that the continent move "from aid to trade".

The commodities cycle was strong and seemed likely to continue longer than previously expected. Africa stood to benefit from that cycle but needed to continue promoting investor-friendly policies and ensuring there was regulatory certainty and clarity.

The focus was now on imple mentation. There had been encouraging minerals rights conver sions but more were needed.