ZIDA anticipates exceeding the US$4bn FDI target

LIVINGSTONE MARUFU

The Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA) is optimistic  that it will surpass the US$4bn foreign direct investments (FDIs) target  by year-end after attracting investments worth US$3.979bn  in the first nine months of this year as a result  of efforts to make doing business easier.

Tafadzwa Chinamo, the CEO of ZIDA, yesterday told  Business Times that the goal could be accomplished.

“We have set FDIs targets of US$4bn for 2023 where we anticipated that an average of US$1bn worth of foreign investors foreign currency  inflows was going to come through on a quarterly basis but with a stellar performance during the third quarter we have reached our target. Certainly, we will surpass the US$4bn FDI target,” Chinamo said.

He stated that the industries that continue to draw the most investment are energy and mining.

In the third quarter, the mining industry had the most new licenses valued at US$411m while the energy sector attracted the highest projected investment of US$2,8 bn.

“You will see that the interest from foreigners to invest in Zimbabwe is still quite strong, they do demonstrate that in the third quarter.

“There were worries obviously that with the elections there might be a slowdown in investments but as you see from the numbers of the quarter and August we didn’t see much of a slowdown.

“Mining for us has been the key sector where investors have gone into,” Chinamo said.

He said the major foreign investors were coming  from China, the United Arab Emirates, India, Canada, South Africa and Pakistan.

According to Chinamo, 121 Chinese investors with investments totaling US$2,7bn were given new investment licenses. Five investors from the United Arab Emirates, whose investments were valued at US$498bn, came in second.

Approximately ten local investors with US$32,9m  in investments were granted licenses. These investors were followed by 17 investors from India with US$10,9m and three investors from Canada with US$4m.

About US$3,8m  in investments from two South African investors and US$1,7m  from two Pakistani investors were  also approved.

According to Chinamo, of the 180 new licenses that were issued in the third quarter, 99 were worth US$657m , 17 were worth US$36m , Mashonaland East  (US$246m), Mashonaland West (US$2.3bn), Manicaland (US$41m), Mashonaland Central 7 (US$9,8m), Masvingo Province five (US$38.8m), Matabeleland North five (US$51.5 m), Bulawayo five (US$6,3 m), and Matabeleland South three (US$9.9 m).

“The mood was that let’s wait and see these elections and then after that we see but the number of licences in the third quarter was 180, they are actually higher than the two quarters before that.

“Of those 180 when they come here and apply for licences there is a section on our form where we ask them how much their investments are going to be. Obviously at that point it’s an intention and might not necessarily be that but for us it’s an indication of the sizes of investments. The application process does also filter out where we think things are being exaggerated. It’s not a simple case of just filling out a form,”he said.

According to Chinamo, the energy sector had the highest  estimated investment value at licensing, with six new licenses being granted in the course of the quarter, totaling US$2.8 bn

With 86 new licenses granted and an estimated investment value of US$411.97m, the mining industry came in second.

Overall, the number of investor licenses issued by the Agency increased by 12.5% during the third quarter compared to the second quarter.

Despite its difficulties, he claimed that the nation saw positive investor interest in the majority of its sectors during the quarter.

According to Chinamo, the promotion of brand Zimbabwe  has seen a significant rise in inquiries, investor visits, pending and approved  investment projects .

“This surge in investor confidence is testament to the robustness of the country’s investment ecosystem and the efforts we have channelled towards informing the world of the bountiful investment opportunities and collective government thrust to continually improve and simplify the business environment,” Chinamo said.