LIVINGSTONE MARUFU
Zimbabwe is at advanced levels of concluding various credit lines worth $880 million from regional and international banks as efforts to resolve the foreign currency shortages biting the economy intensify.
The development comes at a time the foreign currency crisis has manifested in foreign payment backlogs and depleted nostro accounts.
Though Afreximbank has been Zimbabwe’s biggest benefactor since the turn of the century, other financial institutions from countries such as United Kingdom and Germany are reviving credit lines following the change in the country’s presidency.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), which is the facilitator of all the credit lines expects the facilities to be drawn down before year end.
RBZ governor John Mangudya told Business Times in an interview last week that the central bank had successfully negotiated fresh credit lines to deal with disequilibrium in the foreign exchange supply.
“In addition to funds from the Afreximbank $500 million facility, we shall also be drawing down from other facilities that include $250 million from Germcorp of UK, $100 million from CDC and $30 million from Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa,” Mangudya said.
He said the parallel market for forex reflected the mismatch between the supply and demand for foreign currency adding that an increase in foreign exchange receipts would keep parallel market rates under check.
Credit lines are expected to meet critical obligations such as external payments for raw materials or key industrial equipment and machinery, as well as fuel and medicine among others.
In addition to these facilities, the RBZ is also in the market scouting for lines of credit from Germany.
