Established in 1940, the State-owned Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) provides something of a mirror image of South Africa’s recent economic and industrial past, as well as the prominent role played by the minerals and energy complex within that history.
Its funding has supported ‘old economy’ and energy-hungry mainstays, such as miners and steelmakers, fertiliser and aluminium manufacturers, and even an unlikely coal-to-fuels success story.
Now, CEO Geoffrey Qhena has been directed to increasingly turn to green industries to replenish the development finance institution’s (DFI’s) listed and unlisted asset base, which remains a key source of income, as well as its balance sheet stability.
