Zimbabwe’s private sector and the government have embarked on an investment drive in the UK as the country emerges from international isolation and seeks to revive its ailing economy.
The Zimbabwe Capital Markets Conference aims to woo international investors after years of economic sanctions and restrictions by the likes of the EU and the US, and comes ahead of the UK-African Investment Summit in April 2024 that will be hosted by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
SA currently is Zimbabwe’s biggest source of imports, which amounted to $3.31bn in 2022, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Exports to SA were valued at $243.4m, while total trade was $3.55bn.
Led by finance minister Mthuli Ncube, the delegation will make presentations at the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on Thursday and at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre on Friday.
The conference is jointly organised by Financial Markets Indaba; Bard Santner Markets, a financial intermediary specialising in asset management, corporate finance and wealth management; and the Zimbabwe government.
“The true story needs to be told about the potential of the country,” Bard Santner Markets CEO Senziwani Sikhosana told Business Day from London on Thursday.
“Politics aside, there is a story to be told. We said let’s come to the centre of world capital, which is London, and have a discussion about Zimbabwe’s potential as an investment destination.
“We have manufacturing, tourism and mining. Zimbabwe has one of the largest lithium reserves in the world. Platinum, lithium: the whole world is looking for those minerals.”
In addition, the country’s Victoria Falls Stock Exchange is US dollar-based, “so we are saying to the UK market: ‘Come and take exposure.’ We will be marketing the stock exchange and the country as a whole during this two-day conference. We are saying to the capital world: ‘Come in, let’s discuss.’ That’s the long and short of the conference”.
Several top Zimbabwean officials will be at the LSE session. They include Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe financial markets director Azvinandawa Saburi; Victoria Falls Stock Exchange CEO Justin Bgoni; Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe CEO Anymore Taruvinga; and Tom Attenborough, head of international business development, primary markets, at the LSE
Other speakers include Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency CEO Tafadzwa Chinhamo and Zimbabwe’s ambassador the UK, Christian Katsande.
Katsande and Ncube will address Friday’s session.
The conference will highlight the Zimbabwean government’s efforts to encourage investment from abroad, including legislative and regulatory changes to address bottlenecks; the development of a broad investor base; and the need for government to reach out to “diaspora by infusing confidence in investment markets in Zimbabwe”, according to the conference documents.
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