German firms eye ZSE listing

German firms eye ZSE listing
Published: 23 July 2018
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa says Zimbabwe is expecting German firms to list on the local bourse following a recent engagement visit by Treasury officials.

Mnangagwa told delegates at the launch of Escrow Group's online capital market trading platform, C-Trade, that Treasury had engaged several German companies who were willing to come and operate in Zimbabwe.

"(Finance Minister Patrick) Chinamasa was recently in Germany where investors promised to come back and operate locally. They even promised listings in view of the new dispensation and our ease of doing business reforms," he said.

Mnangagwa pointed out that his administration was willing to operate transparently and abide by the rule of law.

"What we have done is assure investors that we are implementing a concerted anti-corruption drive and other efforts to indicate that indeed, we are open for business, so today as we witness the launch of this ground-breaking stock trading platform, we do so in full knowledge that the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange will be getting additional listings in the near future," the president said.

Last month, a 14-member German delegation met Mnangagwa and showed interest in investing in Zimbabwe, State media reported.

Germany has been one of Zimbabwe's important partners since independence.

A number of German companies came into the country in the 1980s and 1990s.

The country's local envoy, Thorsten Hutter, recently told a local weekly that German firms were willing to invest in Zimbabwe after the July 30 elections.

"Of course, development cooperation is only one aspect of bilateral cooperation. We still have some companies here and we try to assist and support them.

"The biggest company that is still here is DHL and then we have some German companies that work with local partners and distributors, for instance Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and BMW," he said.

German-African Business Association manager for customer relations and publications, Michael Monnerjahn, was also quoted by a local weekly saying that German companies were waiting for a good political landscape before fully committing to Zimbabwe.

"There are no special challenges, especially for German companies. For all investors - local and international companies - great topics regarding investments are: rule of law, political stability, transparency, good governance, no chance for corruption," he said.

German investments, Monnerjahn said, would not flood into Zimbabwe overnight, as investors would first seek to scope out the country before committing any investments.

"First of all, German companies will have a strong interest to establish business relations.

"This will start with trade; after that we will see investments. It will take some years," he said

Monnerjahn said investors were watching Zimbabwe's elections with keen interest and the outcome of the polls would help them make comprehensive investment decisions.
- fingaz
Tags: ZSE,

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