South Africa views the economic meltdown as an opportunity to find alternative strategies to grow its economy, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Thandi Tobias-Pokolo told the International Business Linkage Forum on Thursday.

Speaking in Johannesburg, she said that the economic downturn has an impact on the balance of payments of countries, as many would struggle to deal with current account deficits.

South Africa's current account deficit had widened to R163,7-billion in the first quarter, from R137,3-billion in the previous quarter, the Reserve Bank said on Thursday.

Tobias-Pokolo said that South Africa was looking to find alternatives to retrenchments, as thousands of people have lost their jobs, owing to the economic downturn.

She also said that South Africa would provide financing to industries in financial distress, but stressed that it would not be a "free-for-all situation" where all companies would receive bail-outs. It would focus on strategic industries and companies, which had a high impact on economic growth, she explained.

The State-owned Industrial Development Corporation indicated last week that it would set aside R6-billion over the next two years to support companies in financial distress as a direct result of the global economic crisis.

Tobias-Pokolo pointed out that South Africa's R787-billion infrastructure investment programme was central to the economy.

She said at the forum that the government welcomed the confidence and commitment that the global economy had shown to South Africa through investments.