HARARE – Distressed paper and stationery maker Art Corporation Limited (Art) is pursuing options to restructure and reduce its $8,4 million debt. “The initiatives include working with our bankers to restructure the current short-term debt into long-term, and reduction in cost of debt,” said the group’s chairperson Passmore Matupire yesterday, adding that they were also…
HARARE – Listed diversified group Starafrica Corporation Limited (Starafrica)’s losses ballooned to $5,2 million in the half year to September 2013 from $4,8 million incurred in prior comparable period. The group has been trading in the red for the past four years. Its chairperson, Joe Mutizwa, said the company was upgrading its Gold Star Sugar…
HARARE – Econet Wireless Zimbabwe (Econet) says its banking subsidiary, Steward Bank, is sound and will not be affected by the prevailing liquidity crisis. Douglas Mboweni, Econet’s chief executive, yesterday said since taking over the financial institution — formerly known as TN Bank ? the group had implemented tough restructuring measures. “We brought in experts…
HARARE – China Africa Sunlight Energy (Caseco) — a joint venture between Chinese Shandong Taishan Sunlight Investment Company and Zimbabwe’s Oldstone Investments — plans a $2 billion investment in the country over the next 12 years. The Asian group is currently finalising a $1,3 billion loan from Export-Import Bank of China that will see commencement…
HARARE – Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa — expected to present the 2014 budget today — must cut down on “unnecessary” government expenditure and direct funds towards economic revival as well as attract foreign capital, analysts say. The budget presentation, which had been postponed from the traditional month of November, comes as fiscal indiscipline has been…
HARARE – Former Finance minister Tendai Biti says government’s decision to award civil servants bonuses at a time the country is hard pressed will further strain the deteriorating economy. He said with government’s wage bill totalling close to $300 million, civil servants’ salaries for the months of November and December meant a cash injection of…
HARARE – CBZ Bank Limited (CBZ) has secured a $120 million credit facility from a top European bank, businessdaily can reveal. The money, which is expected to go a long way in easing the current liquidity crunch, was obtained with the help of its partners, including Sakunda Holdings (Private) Limited (Sakunda). “The timing could not…
HARARE – Zimbabwe’s year-on-year inflation declined to 0,54 percent in November from 0,59 percent recorded previous month despite the liquidity crisis in the country. Inflation in this year’s forecast is expected to close at around 3,9 percent and predicted to decline further as the country’s economy slows down and local prices track the declining value…
HARARE – ZB Financial Holdings (ZBFH) says a delay in Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) approval is stalling plans to merge its banking arm and mortgage lender, ZB Building Society (ZBBS). The group intends to combine ZB Bank and ZBBS as part of strategies to comply with the central bank’s revised minimum capital requirements and…
HARARE – Hospitality concern African Sun Limited (ASL) may delist from the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) after private equity group Brainworks Capital (Brainworks) increased its shareholding beyond the bourse’s prescribed threshold. Last month, Brainworks — through its subsidiary Lengrah Investments — increased its shareholding in ASL from 32 percent to 45 percent following a special…
