Browsing: zimbabwe

A street in Zimbabwe at night. Zimbabwe’s power cuts are sounding the death knell for the struggling economy. www.theexchange.africa

Given that South Africa is experiencing similar power generation problems, Robertson believes that if Zimbabwe does not overcome its power difficulties, this will impede economic growth in 2021.

The mining and industrial industries will almost certainly curtail output.

Tax and export income will decline, as will employment growth. This is unfortunate because Zimbabwe wouldn’t be going through all this pain if it had started constructing new power plants earlier.…

A coal engine at the Hwange Colliery mines. The giant company could have powered Zimbabwe and the larger Southern Africa region. www.theexchange.africa

The company, given the first resources boom and the second one currently being enjoyed, should be awash with cash. Instead, the company is heavily indebted to the tune of between US$70 million and US$160 million which it attempted to expunge unsuccessfully through a rights issue in 2015.

The company has been limping along financially for years. In 2019 it was reported that its liabilities exceeded assets by US$19 million. This development made it doubtful that the company could carry on as a going concern after having been placed under judicial management.

The recent interim financial results presented by the company offer some consolation to investors who have been suffering for long.…

Zimbabwe is cracking down on individuals it terms illegal forex traders. www.theexchange.africa

This means that these individuals would not be able to access financial services from the banks for a period of up to two years. The matter is still unfolding, and further developments will be advised in due course.
Zimbabwe, after attaining the highest inflation record in world history and especially for a country that was not involved in an armed conflict, took the decision to demonetize its defunct currency in favour of a basket of foreign currencies led by the United States dollar.
After a period of relative economic stability, the country took the decision to reintroduce the Zimbabwe dollar initially as a surrogate currency known as the Zimbabwe bond note. This was a response by the monetary authorities to a shortage of foreign currency and bank notes. …

L Sithole To Dollarize Or Not To Dollarize 01
  • Zimbabwe did not have a parallel market for foreign exchange in the years running from 2009 to around 2016.
  • Zimbabwe is heavily reliant on imported products and expends more foreign currency than it can afford.
  • Demand pressure has contributed to the fall of the Zimbabwe dollar resulting in general inflation.

To dollarize or not to dollarize?

This question has robbed monetary authorities of sleep as the Zimbabwe dollar falls precipitously on the parallel market.

Zimbabwe did not have a parallel market for foreign exchange in the years running from 2009 to around 2016.

It all began with the introduction of a surrogate currency that was fallaciously pegged at par with the United States dollar. The authorities initially posited that the surrogate currency was supported by a loan facility extended by the Africa Export-Import Bank (Afrexim Bank).

This loan it was said underscored the parity of the currency. It did not …

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  • Zimbabwe used the Covid-19 opportunity to re-engineer its investment to rise to the occasion.
  • The country was able to utilise its local abilities and opportunities.
  • Zimbabwe’s local industrial sector also witnessed a renewed investment and growth.

Africa suffered major economic impacts as a result of Covid-19. Or is it? Well, most of these impacts are largely a consequence of the preventive measures adopted by the respective African governments to curtail the spread of coronavirus.

Key measures adopted by most countries to curtail the spread include the closing of their frontiers and partial or complete lockdowns of economies which among other things, have seen the temporary closure of businesses, schools and social services.

First, being the last region to register COVID-19 cases, Africa was already experiencing the consequences mainly through its trade links with the European union (EU), United States of America (USA) and China, resulting in
dwindling markets for African …

 

The government of Zimbabwe through its ministry of mines and mineral development expressed its intent to create and develop a US$12 billion mining industry by 2023. This is not a far-fetched goal. It is feasible especially since this number is approximately the same amount that one large global mining company, Rio Tinto, earned as profits in the six months to June this year. The mining industry in Zimbabwe is estimated to be worth in the region US$4 billion. 

The southern African country can achieve this in two years provided it meets certain conditions precedent for the growth of the mining sector. Natural resources are available in vast commercial quantities, and they are diverse. The US Department of Commerce through its International Trade Administration (ITA) division described the sector as “the best prospect industry” for the nation. 

There is great potential in the mining sector that can be harnessed for

IT leaders accelerate cyber security

Liquids Intelligent Technologies has reported that over 90 percent of IT decision makers across South Africa, Kenya and Zimbabwe have accelerated their Cyber Security due to the substantial emergence of digital ways of working. 

The study established some of the main concerns about Cyber Security threats and the most significant impacts of digital breaches on an organisational level.

A critical insight from the research suggests that 79 percent of businesses from all three countries attribute an increase in Cyber Security threats to the advent of remote working.

Data breaches like data extortion, data leakage and data disclosure constitute almost 71% of the cyber-attacks for Kenyan businesses, and over 70% of South African and Zimbabwean organisations consider email attacks like Phishing the most prominent digital threats.

The participants from the research also indicated an increased consumption of Cloud-based services this year, with the numbers being as high as 96% in South …

www.theexchange.africa

Numerous advantages and benefits have been proffered to explain the motives individuals have for moving their assets offshore and investing in jurisdictions other than their home countries. Standard Bank reckons that offshore investment aids in capitalizing on circumstances outside the country providing a buffer against our markets, our inflation spikes and exchange rate fluctuations.  

Essentially, offshore investment serves as a hedge against the volatility and harsh economic fundamentals in the local economy. Zimbabwe as a case in point has suffered from perennial poor economic performance for the greater part of the last two decades. The economic phase that characterized this period included compulsory expropriation of productive farmland, the expropriation of hard currency funds that were never returned, of individuals and organizations by the government to fund its operations, hyperinflation and a generally depressed economy.…

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Zimbabwean banks sitting on billions in hard currency but they are wary of lending it.[Photo/Newealth]

The banks themselves have little confidence in each other which is demonstrated by the absence of a real interbank lending market.

Perhaps most striking is the high degree of regulatory risk. Regulatory risk is one where a change in laws and regulations will materially impact a security, business, sector, or market. A change in laws or regulations made by the government or a regulatory body can increase the costs of operating a business, reduce the attractiveness of an investment, or change the competitive landscape in each business sector. In extreme cases, such changes can destroy a company's business model.…

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hazard 6

Zimbabwe represents an exciting new frontier, with recent exploration activities leading to strong indications of significant oil and gas prospects.

The Southern African country which borders Mozambique to the east, Zambia to the north and South Africa to the south has no proven hydrocarbon reserves yet, instead deriving its energy primarily from hydropower and coal, along with petroleum imports from neighboring countries.

However, with the promise of potential prospects in the Muzarabani Basin which borders Zimbabwe and Mozambique the country is sitting on the verge of a hydrocarbon boom, set to be unlocked through foreign capital, technology and expertise. As Zimbabwe prioritizes the expansion of its energy sector and invites global stakeholders to explore its uncharted territory, the four day African Energy Week (AEW) 2021 in Cape Town in November will serve as the official platform whereby Zimbabwe will showcase its potential to prospective investors.

African Energy Week (AEW) 2021 …