Walmart opens in Jozi

SIMULTANEOUSLY: SA BUSINESS OFFICIALLY HANDED OVER THE B20 TO THE US

- Suren Naidoo

PRAISE. The CEO of the US Chamber of Commerce lauded the SA team for 'putting on such a wonderful B20' and for the work done during the year. Picture: Moneyweb

(Moneyweb)

At 8am on Saturday, US retail giant Walmart officially opened its first Walmart-branded store in Africa at Johannesburg's Clearwater Mall.

It may be coincidental, but it happened in the very week that South Africa hosts the G20 Leaders' Summit, with the related B20 event concluding on a high note in Sandton, featuring a strong US presence.

Both the Walmart store opening and the B20 summit demonstrate how seriously US corporates take SA. And it comes despite US President Donald Trump's administration boycotting the main G20 summit and his attacks on SA since taking office.

SA business officially handed over the B20 to US organised business at the Sandton Convention Centre on Thursday, without any of the political drama that has played out in recent months between Washington and Pretoria.