HARARE – Zimbabwe’s 2014 budget targets are in doubt on the back of a weaker economic outlook, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said. The global financier said the hard-pressed southern African nation faced rising wage pressures while it also has over expectation of the minerals sector performance. In its annual Article IV consultation report,…
HARARE – Zimbabwe is crafting laws that allow financial institutions to manage the construction of homes as part of efforts to bring transparency and accountability in housing cooperatives. Local Government minister Ignatious Chombo said government also wanted the banks to take over the servicing of stands. “A reliable and sustainable financing system is critical to…
HARARE – South African construction company Group Five International (Group 5) says it expects to complete the $200 million road rehabilitation project in Zimbabwe by December this year. The group told Zimbabwe’s Parliament that it had so far completed about 200km of the road between Plumtree and Shangani. “We are targeting to have completed the…
HARARE – Southern Africa-focused investment group Cambria Africa Plc (Cambria) has filed a $10 million lawsuit against Lonrho in the United Kingdom High Court over alleged mismanagement and fraudulent misrepresentation in contracts. Cambria — formerly Lonzim — said it seeks to rescind a $2,7m settlement it received from Lonrho in July last year and institute…
HARARE – The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) was depressed in the first half of 2014, with the benchmark industrial index retreating 7.7 percent to 186.56 points in June from 200 points in January. According to stockbroking firm Lynton-Edwards, the leading individual contributor to the 63-member bourse’s turnover during the half year was beverages maker Delta…
HARARE – Econet Wireless (Econet) – Zimbabwe’s largest mobile network operator – plans to grow its contract subscriber base by 21 percent during its financial year ending February 2015. Currently, the telecoms firm has around 70 000 contract subscribers. Its chief commercial and customer services officer Stanley Henning said their contract line base was well…
HARARE – The Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) is considering undertaking feasibility studies to ascertain the viability of open cast oxide ore mining at its Zvishavane-based Sabi Gold Mine at an undisclosed cost. “The mine also has got oxide ore which can be mined by open pit and is also amenable to heap leaching and…
HARARE – Zimbabwe’s dairy industry is losing nearly $100 000 in potential revenue annually due to excessive power outages currently rocking the country, a recent study has revealed. According to the Zimbabwe Economic Policy Analysis and Research Unit (Zeparu) report on Agro-Industries/Food and Beverages Value Chain, the country has been producing around 50 million litres…
HARARE – A leading South African bank says it is difficult to fund diamond mining ventures in Zimbabwe because of the high political risk and uncertainty in the country. Rand Merchant Bank (RMB)’s business development director Henk De Hoop said he believed this view was not exclusive to his institution, but that any credible bank…
HARARE – The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe said banks’ lending portfolio continue to be skewed towards consumptive lending at the expense of productive sectors of the economy. In its Banking Sector Report for the quarter ended March 31, 2014, the central bank noted that consumption lending has overtaken productive sector loans since January this year…
