HARARE – The World Bank says Zimbabwe must strengthen its financial sector to curb systemic risk and avoid bank failures. Nadia Piffaretti, the institution’s local economist, last week told a Sapes Trust business conference that “given the current low level of domestic savings, high cost of doing business and high cost of capital, there is…
HARARE – Government is reviewing statutory instruments exempting tourism-related imports from paying customs duty. Tourism minister Walter Mzembi said the intention was to include other goods imported by tourism players in the duty exemption bracket. He said the review would see the inclusion of other related and non-related tourism goods despite statutory Instrument 172 and…
HARARE – Companies are increasingly failing to remit employees’ pension contributions due to mounting economic challenges, accumulating arrears of up to $170 million, the Insurance and Pensions Commission (Ipec) said. The regulator, in its report on the state of the pensions industry in the quarter to March 2014, said rather than remit the pension dues,…
HARARE – Zimbabwe has no funds to implement its five-year economic blueprint, the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (ZimAsset), Industry minister Mike Bimha has said. He said the private sector should help finance projects under the plan, expected to guide Zimbabwe’s economic plans and objectives until 2018. Bimha said government was facing a policy…
HARARE – French cement maker Lafarge has appointed Amal Tantawi as new chief executive of its Zimbabwean unit. She succeeds Jonathan Shoniwa who was elevated to executive chairman late last year, following Muchadeyi Masunda’s departure. Prior to her appointment, with effect from March 1, Tantawi was at Lafarge Pakistan Cement Limited. The Lafarge group, awaiting…
HARARE – Makaziwe Mandela, the eldest daughter of late South Africa’s first black president Nelson Mandela, has resigned from Steward Bank’s board. She was nominated to sit on the board in July 2012 after Strive Masiyiwa’s Econet Wireless Zimbabwe acquired a majority stake in the bank, formerly TN Bank. Steward Bank’s chairperson Oluwatomisin Fashina said…
HARARE – Indian firm Essar Africa Holdings Limited (Essar) plans to build a 600 megawatt (MW) thermal power plant in Zimbabwe. The plant is expected to boost power supply to iron processor, NewZim Steel, formerly Zisco Steel. This comes as Zimbabwe has concluded a $750 million takeover deal of Ziscosteel by Essar. The deal, under…
HARARE – Zimbabwe has realised $398 million from 124 million kg of flue-cured tobacco sold since the opening of the 2013 selling season mid-February. This indicates an eight percent increase from last season when a total 98 million kg worth $370 million were auctioned in the same period. This year’s tobacco prices are subdued due…
HARARE – Zimbabwe says it has finally concluded a $750 million takeover deal of its giant iron processor Ziscosteel — now NewZim Steel — by Indian firm Essar Africa Holdings Limited. The deal, under which Essar acquired a 54 percent stake in the Kadoma-based steel maker, was agreed to in November 2011, but stalled due…
HARARE – Chemco Holdings Limited (Chemco) has delisted from the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange as equities ended a nine day bullish trend, with the key industrial index shedding 0.43 percent to close at 176.93 points Thursday. This comes as Chemco shareholders recently approved the group’s plans to convert a debt owed to TSL Limited (TSL) into…
