Business

HARARE – Agriculture-focused financial institution, Agribank, recorded a $1,8 million profit in the five months to May 2017 from $460 203 prior comparable period, buoyed by income from Treasury Bills (TBs), an official said. Agribank chief executive Sam Malaba yesterday told the institution’s shareholders that interest income from capitalisation TBs had contributed $753 014 to…

HARARE – Zimbabwe’s largest poultry producer, Irvine’s, said it has lost “significant amounts of money” to highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza — known as bird flu — which broke out in the country last month. The H5N8 strain has been detected in several countries in Europe, Africa and Asia over the past two years, its…

HARARE – The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange’s market capitalisation last week breached the $5 billion mark for the first time in nearly two years. The local bourse closed the week at $5 179 592 804 buoyed by gains in blue chip counters such as BAT, Delta, Innscor, SeedCo, Meikles and Colcom.  [GoogleAd] One of Africa’s leading…

HARARE – Zimbabwe attracted $319 million in foreign direct investment (FDI) last year compared to $421 million in 2015, the World Investment Report has shown. The annual report, compiled by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad), southern African country’s FDI has been on a sustained decline for the past five years. Foreign…

DURBAN – The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (Wan-ifra) outgoing president, Tomas Brune, said Africa’s economic growth is declining due to governments’ interference with media freedom. “While some countries on the continent have been recording impressive growth rates, media development and evolution still leaves a lot to be desired,” Brune told delegates at…

HARARE – Africa’s leading seed producer, SeedCo Limited (SeedCo), has declared a $10 million dividend after registering record-breaking $20,7 million profit for the year to March 31, 2017. The group’s chief executive, Morgan Nzwere, yesterday said SeedCo will pay out a double dividend to shareholders after the company performed above analysts’ expectations. “The board is…

HARARE – Zimbabwe is targeting to produce at least 70 million litres of milk this year up from 65 million litres last year due to import restrictions and a dairy revitalisation project. This comes as the government is targeting milk production to rise to between 97 million and 100 million litres per annum by 2019,…

HARARE – Diamond production in Zimbabwe fell 6 percent in the first quarter after government took possession of all diamond operations ostensibly because previous miners had robbed the country of its wealth. During the first quarter of 2017, total diamond output stood at 567 024 carats, 6 percent lower than 603 590 carats produced in…

HARARE – Zimbabwe’s largest sugar producer Hippo Valley Estates (Hippo Valley) has bounced back to profitability due to improved sales volumes. The local unit of South Africa’s Tongaat Hulett yesterday said its profit in the full year to March 2017 jumped to $7,7 million compared to a loss of $8,8 million in 2016. “The results…

HARARE – Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe has been selected as the second Best Bank in Zimbabwe for Financial Year 2016 in the Top Companies survey which is aimed at promoting best practices among local companies in the country. Stanbic was previously awarded Best Bank for two years in a row. The survey, sponsored by leading diversified…