China gives Zim reforms a thumbs up

Harare (New Ziana) – Reforms being pursued by the government to improve Zimbabwe’s investment climate are a step in the right direction and will produce desired results soon, Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe has said.

Since assuming office in 2017, President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government has pursued various strategies to increase investment inflows such as scrapping the indigenisation law, setting up the Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency and investing in a country re-branding and marketing drive through the ‘Zimbabwe is open for business’ mantra.

To add impetus to the investment agenda, Cabinet last year approved a National Investment Policy which outlines the country’s strategic investment options.

The policy also targets to increase the share of private sector investment in Zimbabwe to at least 25 percent of GDP by 2030, the year government has earmarked to have transformed the country into an upper- middle income economy.

In light of the reforms, Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe Guo Shaochun reckons the country has what it takes to attract increased global capital.

“Zimbabwe is now open for business, attracting foreign investment is critical for addressing the social and economic challenges facing this great nation,” he said.

“Openness, good governance, policy consistency and determination, all these are qualities international investors look for. I believe Zimbabwe will continue to send a good signal to investors and development partners.”

The renewed emphasis on the economy has resulted in an influx of investors expressing interest to invest in Zimbabwe from across the globe, including from countries that were previously hostile.

The government, in the meantime, continues to work on a host of reforms to make it easy and cheaper to invest and do business in the country by addressing issues such as corruption and streamlining investment procedures.

As a direct result of those efforts, Zimbabwe’s foreign investment inflows for 2018 rose to US$745 million, up from US$349 million the previous year.

The 2019 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) World Investment Report applauded efforts being made to lure investors, highlighting that Zimbabwe’s FDI inflows were emerging from an “extremely low basis.”
New Ziana