buying a business or investments

[obinwanne]

hello people, actually im a foreigner in south africa, but lets say i have an amount of $50,000 which is about R350K - R370K, what would be the best advice if i want to invest all in south africa.? Help needed please and this is serious/

[Chatmaster]

It probably depends on your current financial status so in other words how diverse is your financial portfolio already.

If you do not have a diverse investment portfolio you will probably have to look at investing your money with less risk. Investing in a business especially in South Africa can be very risky and 350k is not a lot of money to start a business or buy an existing business with.

If you are willing and able to deal with the financial risks then I would say there are plenty of opportunities in the country as it seems like the country is growing rapidly and will do so for some time to come.

[Dave A]

There was quite a good discussion on investment options here.

[flaker]

i did click on Dave's "discussion on investments options". there has been discussion on property investment. i've never been able to fathom this & am not sure if i asked this same thing in another forum. if one buys a flat for investment purposes and forks out money each month from his own pocket, as the rental received does not cover the levy+ interest on bond payments, can the investor then claim this loss against his taxable income? i've been told no & don't agree.

if one reverses the situation where the rent received is higher than the expense (interest + levy etc ), this profit has to be declared for tax purposes. i know this to be true.

[Dave A]

Flaker, this might be a ring fencing issue. If someone doesn't clear up your question here, try asking again in the tax forum.
If it is a ring fencing problem, the solution would be to have the property held in a company where taxable losses can be carried over and claimed back in subsequent financial years