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ENVOY: Hong Kong can unlock Zimbabwe’s mining potential as an investment platform
BY scmp.com
Zimbabwe’s top diplomat in Hong Kong is seeking an agreement between InvestHK and his country’s own investment body as he looks to tap the city’s financial resources to further develop the African nation’s mining sector.
In an exclusive interview with the Post, Consul General Ellias Mutamba said he had been pursuing more business and student exchanges in Hong Kong as he felt there was a lack of knowledge about Zimbabwe in the city.
Mutamba also played down concerns about instability in his country, emphasising efforts by the Zimbabwe government to combat corruption.
The career diplomat, on his first stint in Asia, also said he enjoyed a “cordial” relationship with Hong Kong officials since he was posted to the city in 2022.
That relationship was built on Zimbabwe’s strong bilateral relations with China dating back to his country’s independence in 1980, Mutamba said.
In September, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for the creation of a “five-star ironclad” cooperation framework with Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.
Mutamba said that this year he met both Chief Executive John Lee and Cui Jianchun, commissioner for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong, and they all agreed to “continue strengthening the direct relationship” between Zimbabwe and the city.
While Lee’s push to expand Hong Kong’s economic partners has included trips to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and most recently Latin America, he has yet to visit Africa.
Mutamba encouraged the city to partner with African countries, highlighting the continent’s “vast investment opportunities,” as well as abundant resources and young population.
Citing Hong Kong’s role as a “superconnector,” Mutamba said the city could serve as a “platform” to draw investment and “value-addition” into Zimbabwean industries such as mining, energy, and agriculture.
“We have got the natural resources, and Hong Kong has the financing,” Mutamba said.
Mutamba said he had been working to facilitate negotiations for an agreement between InvestHK, Hong Kong’s investment promotion agency, and the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency.
Establishing an agreement between the two investment bodies would provide investors with “protection” and “confidence,” he said.
Often dubbed “the world’s next lithium valley,” Zimbabwe is believed to hold Africa’s largest reserves of the mineral crucial to the manufacturing of electric vehicle batteries, and ranks fifth globally in lithium deposits by some estimates, according to the Africa Policy Research Institute.
It is also host to as many as 60 other valuable minerals including gold, platinum, coal and diamonds.
According to the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe, the country’s mining industry generated around US$5.6 billion in revenue in 2022, and was projected to grow by 10.4 per cent last year.
Beijing has long backed Zimbabwe, but the landlocked African nation has struggled to secure investment owing to years of political instability and economic mismanagement, including a military coup d’etat that ousted long-time president Robert Mugabe in 2017.
The country ranked 149 out of 180 jurisdictions in Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perception Index.
Addressing investors’ concerns, Mutamba said his country had taken measures in recent years to clamp down on corruption, and that the general situation these days was “stable” and “peaceful.”
“There is nothing to worry about,” he said.
There are currently only about 200 Zimbabwean nationals living in Hong Kong, Mutamba said, and there were no businesses from his country operating in the city.
Hong Kong imported about US$171 million in goods from the country last year, of which around 70 per cent were categorised as “salt, sulphur, earth, stone, plaster, lime, and cement”, according to figures from the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade.
Mutamba said the main challenge he was facing in building ties was the lack of knowledge about his country in Hong Kong. Many people he has interacted with regarded Africa as a single country, when in reality it is a continent home to 54 sovereign states, he said.
“So we are busy trying to educate people,” he said. “Whenever we get a chance, we talk about Zimbabwe and what Zimbabwe can offer.”
He highlighted the consulate’s participation in a number of events hosted by the city this year, including the 3rd Belt and Road National Arts and Culture Expo in May, and the 2nd International Cultural, Tourism, and Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition in June.
To boost tourism and people-to-people exchanges, he said he had recently invited eight of the city’s tourism operators to take part in an industry expo in his country.
He said he was also working with one of Hong Kong’s tourism operators to organise a group tour of his country for local secondary school students, which was expected to take place sometime in the first quarter of 2025.
He said he had also been trying to persuade airlines to provide more direct routes between Hong Kong and Zimbabwe.
A check by the Post showed most travellers would be required to transfer at least twice to visit the country’s capital, Harare, while Cathay Pacific offered direct flights to neighbouring South Africa.
Boosting flight connectivity between Zimbabwe and Hong Kong would enhance trade and tourism, Mutamba said.
LIGHTER SIDE
What surprised you most about Hong Kong when you first arrived in 2022?
You know, it’s my first time visiting Asia. Basically, I’m just impressed by the way things [work] here. Even the transport system is very, very efficient. I like the peace and tranquillity that prevails in this environment. I feel at home when I’m here. There is a lot of hospitality.
Do you enjoy any of the local cuisine?
Actually I enjoyed quite an array of cuisine here, both Chinese and Cantonese. You know, there is a difference. Previously, when I was in Zimbabwe, I used to visit some Chinese restaurants. So when I came here, it was not something that [bothered] me, because I was used to it. The only thing I am not used to is using chopsticks.
What is your favourite pastime activity to do in the city?
I stay in the New Territories, in Sai Kung, so I do a lot of hiking, if not every week, as long as it’s not raining. There is [a mountain] near my house. It’s quite steep and I enjoy that one. I go for an hour, or two hours. That’s actually my favourite thing, which I think if I went home I would miss.