Business

HARARE – Australian Stock Exchange-listed Zimbabwe Platinum Mines Limited (Zimplats) insists it will not pay the $17 million invoice levied by Brainworks Capital (Brainworks). This comes as the platinum group metals producer in February rejected Brainworks’ bill for financial advisory services offered in the crafting of the miner’s $971 million indigenisation deal. “Zimplats has no…

HARARE – The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) has terminated the listing of Barbican Holdings Limited (Barbican), TZI Limited (TZI) and Red Star Holdings (Red Star). “The terminations were ratified by the Board and as such, these companies will no longer appear on the official list of the ZSE,” the bourse said. Barbican was suspended in…

HARARE – Aim-listed Botswana Diamonds (BD) says it has shelved plans to establish a mining venture in Zimbabwe after it lost its targeted Marange diamond claims to the Chinese. The junior gem miner said it is opting for Mozambique instead. John Teeling, BD’s chairperson, said Harare frustrated the group’s efforts to secure a concession in…

HARARE – Plans to unbundle troubled State-owned power utility Zesa Holdings (Zesa) are forging ahead with government establishing a company solely responsible for electricity transmission, the National Grid Services Company (NGSC). NGSC, 100 percent  government-owned, will inherit Zesa’s ‘legacy’ debt. Zesa has a debt of about $500 million accrued over the years due to a…

HARARE – Embattled Interfin Banking Corporation (IBC) is courting Russian investors to inject fresh capital in a bid to resuscitate its banking unit — Interfin Bank, businessdaily has established. One of the Interfin’s shareholders confirmed the financial services group — currently under curatorship — is in talks with investors, but could not reveal their identity….

HARARE – Barclays Zimbabwe managing director George Guvamatanga says Zimbabwean professionals living in the Diaspora should contribute to the embattled country’s economic turnaround. Guvamatanga, also the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe president, said while Zimbabweans continued to nurse hyperinflation hangover, “…friends from the Far East are seeing opportunities that we locals are not seeing.” “This has…

HARARE – The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) says peaceful elections are key to business and in consolidating economic gains realised in the past few years. Zimbabwe is expected to hold watershed elections — in which President Robert Mugabe squares off Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai — this year. Traditionally, the country’s polls have been violent,…

HARARE – Zesa Holdings (Zesa) says it is failing to pay for electricity imports and maintain its power stations due to increasing consumer bills payment default. The utility said its power distribution subsidiary Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company ZETDC) — owed over $792 million by both commercial and domestic consumers — will resort to…

HARARE – Zimbabwe’s unemployment rate remains very high at more than 70 percent with less than 900 000 people formally employed out of a 13 million population, a leading economist has said. John Robertson told businessdaily that unless Zimbabwe takes austerity measures to address political and economic problems that continue to dog its economy, the…

HARARE – London-listed junior resources miner Mwana Africa Limited (Mwana) has dispatched the first nickel concentrate shipment from its Zimbabwe-based Trojan Nickel (Trojan) mine. Trojan — put under care and maintenance in 2008 due to viability challenges — restarted operations last year. The timing of the shipment was in line with previous guidance where Mwana…