Business

HARARE – Former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai says government’s policy inconsistencies were hampering Zimbabwe’s prospects of economic turnaround as it remains an albatross in attracting foreign direct investment. Tsvangirai said the policy uncertainty and inconsistencies on key programmes such indigenisation and economic empowerment were not helping matters in bringing sanity and predictability, the two key…

HARARE – The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators in Zimbabwe (ICSAZ) has announced a special award category for financial institutions in this year’s Excellence in Corporate Governance Awards. An individual corporate governance award, the Governance Professional of the Year Award, will also be presented for the first time at the awards ceremony, which will…

HARARE – The Central African Building Society (CABS) has halted disbursement of youth empowerment loans due to a high default rate. The financial group was granting youths loans to fund projects under a $10 million Kurera-Ukondla Youth Empowerment Fund. “Disbursements were stopped as of May 2014 and will only be resumed after the Trustees come…

HARARE – Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa has pleaded with Zimbabwe’s external creditors to inject more capital into the country despite a $9,9 billion debt overhang. Chinamasa told journalists on Thursday the cash-strapped southern African country had no capacity to repay its debt due to a worsening economic environment. “We are engaging our creditors with a…

HARARE – Government has failed to provide the $20 million it pledged towards the Distressed and Marginalised Areas Fund (Dimaf), compelling hard-pressed industries to rely on private sector funding. Under the $40 million Fund, established in 2011, government was supposed to provide $20 million while Old Mutual’s CABS would avail the balance. On Wednesday, Industry…

HARARE – Listed diversified group FBC Holdings (FBCH) says it expects its loss-making roofing materials manufacturer Turnall Holdings (Turnall) to return to profitability by year end. John Mushayavanhu, FBCH’s chief executive, recently said Turnall’s performance was below expectation, prompting the group to change its business model from a credit sale approach to a cash sale…

HARARE – Quest Motors Manufacturing (Quest) says Zimbabwe must ban car imports. The group — with capacity to produce 105 cars per day and 100 buses monthly — said government should shift its policy towards promoting the local car manufacturing industry. This comes as approximately 80 percent of cars on Zimbabwe’s roads are imported. “It’s…

HARARE – State-owned Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ) targets to grow its asset base more than ten-fold from $87 million to $1 billion in the next four years. Willard Manungo, the bank’s chairperson, said the financial institution has crafted a new strategic plan to guide its business operations from 2013 to 2018. “The plan…

HARARE – Zimbabwe lacks comprehensive policies that govern the registration and operation of foreign firms, the Zimbabwe Investment Authority (ZIA) says. Richard Mbaiwa, the Authority’s chief executive, told a Foreign Affairs parliamentary portfolio committee yesterday that government must formulate policies that compel registration of start-up business, urgently realign laws to create a one stop investment…

HARARE – Essar Africa Holdings Limited (Essar) executives are expected in Zimbabwe this Friday to engage the Mines ministry over plans to establish a thermal power station in the country. The Indian steel giant, which acquired a 54 percent stake in Zimbabwe’s iron processor NewZim Steel – formerly Ziscosteel —in a $750 million deal, intends…