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South Africa hosts two-day Zimbabwe investment summit
By Siyabonga Sithole for IOL
This past week, South Africa hosted the Zimbabwe Investment Summit which took place at the Radisson Hotel in Kempton Park on Thursday and Friday.
The two-day economic drive was meant to highlight economic opportunities and potential partnerships that exist between the two neighbouring countries.
Opening the summit held under the theme: Diversify and Thrive: Exploring Investment Opportunities in Zimbabwe on Thursday, Zimbabwe’s Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, Professor Mthuli Ncube indicated that his country is open for business after the country adopted a new currency, ZiG backed by the gold reserves.
He said the country wants to make the currency fully-convertible and functional as it continues to circulate in the country’s economy with other currencies.
“This is a structured currency which is a way of pegging a specific currency with a currency basket backed by a bundle, and is generally given to a currency when you want the level of the exchange rate is determined by the market… assets,” he said.
“The new currency is circulating with other currencies in Zimbabwe… at launch, the reserve asset holdings were a total of 285 and currency circulation was equivalent to 90 million US dollars which means we had more than three times the amount of the reserves that are required.”
Day two of the summit took place at the same venue with throngs of guests, including academics, government representatives and business representatives taking part in various discussions on how to strengthen economic relations between the two countries.
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) latest World Investment Report, Zimbabwe’s foreign direct investment (FDI) has grown more than five times over the past two decades.
In a statement, South African businessman and Chairman of African Chrome Fields (ACF), which is one of the country’s leading trading partners with Zimababwe, Zunaid Moti revealed that there are many economic opportunities available to South Africans in Zimbabwe. Moti also took part in the discussions during the summit.
“Zimbabwe’s economy is ripe for growth and expansion, with a wealth of untapped potential and significant competitive advantages, including a rich commodities sector. Investors who enter now stand to benefit enormously over the next few decades,” he said.
The minister added that the country wants to ensure that the currency is not made to fail by market manipulators, which is why, it is important for the government of his country to ensure the currency is as fool-proof as is possible.
On Friday, Zimbabwean Mining Deputy Minister Polite Kambamura said the country is working hard to overcome some of its challenges including infrastructure, productively as the country possesses enough skilled human capital which is why the country has embarked on a serious investment drive to ensure the country meets its developmental needs.