Yes, the economy will grow again for the second successive year but pundits believe the growth would have been double-digit had government not scared foreign investors. Government in March struck by announcing the indigenisation regulations under the empowerment legislation which says that locals should have a controlling shareholding in all foreign-owned companies valued at over US$500 000 in five years. The repercussions were catastrophic with prospective investors putting investments on hold. The Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries called off its proposed US$1, 5 million investment in the agricultural sector in Zimbabwe. Finnfund, Finland’s development financial institution, said it would offer lines of credit but was most unlikely to do equity investments in Zimbabwe until the risks associated with the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Regulations were removed.On the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) investors’ hands were burnt and US$900 million in shareholders’ value was lost as market fretted over the proposed “nationalisation” of foreign-owned companies.Foreigner investors — the largest players on the bourse — took flight leaving locals who were starved of cash. The stock exchange is an indicator of the performance of any economy and when it sneezes, every sector catches cold. The year had promised to be a better one more so after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) restored Zimbabwe’s voting rights which it had stripped in 2003 following the country’s failure to settle its arrears. The restoration of the rights came after intensive lobbying by Harare for Washington to lift the ban after the country said it was keen to embrace reforms. However, the restoration of the voting rights did not mean that the country could access IMF funds until it cleared its US$140 million arrears under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust.Reforms at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) began during the course of the year with the appointment of a credible board to provide policy formulation. Treasury has already allocated RBZ US$7 million to resume its lender-of-last-resort function, nearly two years the bank having had to operate without that function. The stakeholders are working on the security to be used in the transactions in the absence of Treasury Bills. Government will assume the over US$1,3 billion RBZ debt while the bank’s non-core assets will be housed in a Special Purpose Vehicle to be disposed of to pay the bank’s creditors. The three year listing drought on ZSE ended in November when Padenga Holdings joined the bourse.Canadian-based resource firm Whetstone Minerals is seeking a secondary listing on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.Kingdom Financial Holdings (KFHL) is working on a pre-listing statement and will join ZSE in the first quarter of 2011. KFHL will return after a successful demerger from Meikles Limited which closed the chapter on the feud between Nigel Chanakira and John Moxon.Corporate action on ZSE has been low with only two reverse listings in 2010: TN Holdings and Interfin Financial Services. Finance minister Tendai Biti had in January said at least four parastatals would join the bourse but later admitted in October that the listing would not happen due to “phobia in government of the word privatisation”. There is a glimmer of hope that government wants to end its stranglehold on parastatals after selling its controlling stake in Ziscosteel to Essar Holdings. The troubled steelmaker has been crying out for shareholder with deep pockets as government is broke. Yet the controversy surrounding the choosing of the suitor will cast doubt on government’s seriousness to attract investors. President Robert Mugabe had prior to that thrown out the two bidders for the steelmaker — Jindhal Steel of India and ArcelorMittal (South Africa) — because they were too big.On the banking sector, African Century snapped up nearly a third of NMBZ Holdings after underwriting its US$10 million capital raising initiative. According to James Mushore, NMBZ boss, the coming in of African Century will open the doors to international capital. Pan-African bank, Ecobank, snapped up 70% in Premier Finance Group, the holding company of Premier Bank a move that is set to attract other players on the local financial sector. The entry of Ecobank early last month bolstered confidence in the sector after NDH had surrendered its banking licence citing failure to meet RBZ minimum capital requirements.RBZ re-licenced Trust, Barbican and Royal after unbundling the Zimbabwe Allied Banking Group. Time Bank was also licenced to resume banking operations. After months of haggling over how to clear the country’s debt which is over US$6 billion, the parties in the inclusive government finally agreed on a hybrid model that uses resources pledging and traditional methods such as Heavily Indebted Poor Country initiative.Mutumwa Mawere was despecified; had warrant of arrest cancelled enabling the businessman to resume fight to reclaim seized SMM Holdings. RioZim in May announced a mega US$40 million cash call for working capital requirements, the largest capital raising initiative by a listed company on ZSE.
