JOHANNESBURG, Dec. 13 (Xinhuanet) -- A shortage of skills is SouthAfrican companies' most pressing concern, but few invest in workertraining, a World Bank review of the country's investment climate revealed in Pretoria on Tuesday.

    Of the 803 mostly white-owned companies surveyed last year, thereport shows, 35 percent listed a lack of skills as their major problem.

    Firms paid a premium for skilled and educated workers, with managers' wages twice those in Poland and three times those in Brazil.

    However, less than half of skilled South African workers were trained through their firms, compared with 70 to 80 percent in China, Poland and Brazil.

    More than 80 percent of South African workers reported having no formal training, according to the report.

    "Overall, these results suggest that government programs designed to encourage training have not been successful," the review found. "Fewer firms have training programs than in other middle income countries."

    This was concerning given that all employers paid a skills levy,presidential adviser Goolam Aboobaker said. Sectoral education andtraining authorities were sitting with a "huge surplus".

    According to the review, companies were also concerned about volatile exchange rates, onerous labor regulations, and crime.

    World Bank country director Ritva Reinikka said South Africa's export sector needed specific attention. Much more had to be done "to see how South Africa can achieve a more competitive and stableexchange rate."

    The survey found the country's labor regulation rigid, with thehiring and firing of workers both costly and difficult.

    Crime cost firms about one percent of sales -- two-thirds in security costs, and the rest from direct losses.

    The figure was higher than in many middle-income countries, butlower than "in the very worst countries".

    These findings were "more favorable than we had thought", said trade and industry department policy head Ravi Naidoo. "Yes, crimeis a big problem, but in terms of doing business it isn't at such large cost."

    The survey went on to reveal that labor productivity in South Africa was high, but labor costs were also high.

    AIDS was a medium-term concern -- its impact on investment potentially driven by rising uncertainty about its affect on productivity, market size and profitability.

    Its greatest immediate impact appeared to be a rise in worker absenteeism.

    Few firms rated infrastructure, trade regulation, taxation, corruption or the court system as obstacles to investment.

    Most believed the courts were able to enforce property rights, and court cases appeared to be resolved relatively quickly.

    Losses through power outages were "modest", and the cost of power low by international standards.

    Tax rates were low and declining, and inflation moderate.

    Few firms reported having to pay bribes to obtain services or win government contracts, ports functioned relatively well, and access to finance did not appear to be a major problem for most enterprises.

    Questioning why a favorable climate had not resulted in more private sector investment in the past decade, the report suggestedthis might partly be a result of inadequate support for new marketentrants and the allocation of a significant share of investment funds to finance black economic empowerment (BEE) transactions.

    "In the main, these transactions relate to equity transfers andnot investments in the creation of new capital stock," the report found.

    Naidoo said many of the concerns identified were being targetedthrough the government's accelerated economic growth strategy. Theimpact of BEE on investment was an area requiring further analysis,he said. Enditem