Author: Vishnu Padayachee, Imraan Valodia.

Conventional economic and risk-based considerations do not explain the surge of Malaysian investments in South Africa. Rather, political considerations such as Malaysia's history of support for the anti-apartheid struggle, and more specially a strong perception by party political and business elites in both countries that they share a common challenge of economically empowering their historically disadvantaged majority populations, have played a role in directing Malaysian business interests in post-apartheid South Africa.