Eight legal essentials. Zero surprises.
Chinese firms entering South Africa need more than general Africa theory — they need a sharper route to confident, compliant decisions. The Standard 8 equips senior executives with practical tools on company law, B-BBEE, tax, labour, immigration, licensing, dispute resolution and constitutional compliance. Participants leave with a South Africa entry checklist, a B-BBEE decision tree, a labour and immigration red-flag sheet and a dispute-prevention roadmap — reducing costly non-compliance from day one.
Join us for a twelve-hour course, held over four days at UCT.
When and where?
26 to 29 October 2026, 9:00 to 12:00 SAST
This course will be held at the University of Cape Town - exact details will be sent to registered participants a few days before the course.
Course outline
South Africa is one of Africa’s most regulated investment environments. Chinese and other foreign investors routinely underestimate the compliance burden — from company registration and B-BBEE obligations to labour law, immigration, tax, sector-specific licensing and dispute resolution. The consequences of poor preparation are expensive and time-consuming. The Standard 8 is a premium executive readiness programme designed to shorten the distance between investment interest and confident execution.
Module 1 — Company Registration and Directors
• CIPC registration process and MOI requirements
• Local vs foreign director; executive vs non-executive roles
• Director duties, liabilities and King IV governance guidelines
• Appointment of auditors and company secretary
Module 2 — Tax Law, Exchange Control and Profit Repatriation
• Corporate income tax (27%), PAYE, VAT, UIF and Skills Development Levy
• Small Business Corporation preferential tax treatment
• Lawful repatriation of capital, service fees, royalties and dividends
• SARS registration and compliance obligations
Module 3 — B-BBEE and Localisation
• What B-BBEE is and how it is scored
• Fronting risks, joint venture structuring and equity equivalents for multinationals
• When B-BBEE compliance is commercially critical vs when it is not
• Practical B-BBEE decision tree for foreign investors
Module 4 — Litigation and Dispute Resolution
• Civil litigation, arbitration, mediation and commercial mediation
• Enforcement of court orders and arbitral awards
• Cost and timeline realities of South African litigation
• Practical dispute-prevention tools for commercial agreements
Module 5 — Labour Law, Unions and Immigration
• Basic Conditions of Employment Act: leave, working hours, minimum wage
• Dismissal procedures, union relations and CCMA processes
• Immigration pathways for managers and technical staff
• Labour and immigration red-flag dashboard
Module 6 — Licences and Permits
• Regulated industries: mining, pharmaceuticals, liquor, energy and more
• Where and how to apply for sector-specific licences and permits
• Risk of trading without regulatory approval
Module 7 — SEZs, Incentives and Manufacturing Expansion
• Available Special Economic Zones and industrial incentives
• How to qualify and apply for government investment incentives
• Using South Africa as a SADC and AfCFTA platform
Module 8 — General Compliance: Constitution, Courts and Police
• South Africa's constitutional democracy and Bill of Rights in commercial practice
• Role of the courts and police in commercial disputes
• Human rights provisions that affect commercial agreements
Participant outputs
• South Africa entry and compliance checklist
• B-BBEE decision tree
• Labour, immigration and licensing red-flag sheet
• Dispute-prevention and mediation pathway guide
• Key contacts for regulatory approvals and government incentives
Who will benefit from this course?
Chinese and other foreign direct investors entering, localising or scaling operations in South Africa, SADC and selected AfCFTA value chains.
Specifically:
• China HQ executives requiring Africa expansion clarity without costly missteps
• Local country managers exposed to labour, compliance, partner and escalation risk
• Legal and compliance heads needing a practical South Africa playbook
• Investment funds and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) with SA portfolio exposure
Institutional buyers and sponsors:
• Chinese and South African Chambers of Commerce
• Foreign law firms, audit and tax firms, banks
• Special Economic Zones and investment promotion agencies
• Economic advisory consulting firms and private equity
Presenters
Tebogo K Mphuti is a practicing attorney with over 26 years of experience since admission to the South African roll of attorneys. He is Chairman of Lantai Partners Johannesburg, a global law firm with offices in Europe, South America and Asia, headquartered in Beijing. His career spans corporate and commercial law, banking (including a senior role at ABN AMRO, a European global merchant bank), and public sector leadership as a Deputy Director General. Tebogo has deep expertise in corporate governance, company law, tax, B-BBEE compliance and cross-border investment structuring. He brings both the practical experience of advising Chinese firms entering South Africa and the institutional knowledge of how South Africa's regulatory environment actually operates.
Tebogo Lefifi holds a PhD in commercial law from University of Cape Town. LLM in Chinese business law from Hong Kong Open University and is a doctoral candidate in the Centre for Comparative Law in Africa (CCLA) at UCT. She holds a BCom from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and has also completed postgraduate certificates and courses in finance and economics. She spent a decade studying Chinese business, language and law in China. During this time, she worked with universities, corporations and government departments advising on research and regulatory environment in China. She was a chief representative for various organisations in China including the official South African national brand agency 'Brand South Africa' and Stellenbosch University's Centre for Chinese Studies thinktank. She is the executive director of Sino-Afric@Work, an Africa-China advisory company, and serves on advisory boards of various China-Africa businesses and initiatives. She co-founded an applied thinktank, Sino-Africa Centre of Excellence (SACE), which published and carried out the China Business Perception Index in various countries in Africa. She has served on various China-Africa advisory boards. She is a member of the China-Africa Wildlife Conservation Council (CAWCC), an Aspen Institute and Africa Wildlife Foundation initiative.
How much?
R15,880 per person
Certificate
A digital certificate of attendance from UCT will be issued to those who attend the full course.
Please note that the digital certificate can only be viewed on a secure portal. It cannot be downloaded or printed. You will have the option of ordering a hard copy of the certificate at your own cost, including the cost of the courier fee. More information is available here.
No certificate will be issued without the full course fee having been received. Please allow up to three weeks after the end of the course for certificates to be processed.
How to sign up
Complete and submit the registration form. You will then be given the payment information. Please note that registrations will not be accepted until payment has been made.
A few days before the course starts you will be sent the venue details.
Registrations close three days before the course starts.
Download the brochure.
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