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Zimbabwe’s Black Market, Where the Dollar Trades Against Itself

HARARE, Zimbabwe, Capital Markets in Africa: In Zimbabwe — the country that once suffered 500 billion percent inflation — one dollar may now cost you as much as $1.07. A shortage of banknotes is resulting in a new black market more than seven years after Zimbabwe abolished its own money, the Zimbabwean dollar, and adopted the greenback and other foreign currencies to avoid exactly that sort of unofficial trading. The cash crunch has intensified in…

Zimbabwe Threatens to Scrap Bank Licenses Over Export Rules

Posted on by The Editorial Team

HARARE, Zimbabwe, Capital Markets in Africa: Zimbabwe’s central bank threatened to cancel the licenses of banks and foreign-currency dealers found to have violated new exchange-control regulations aimed at easing a dollar shortage. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe last week sent a directive changing the way banks and other authorized foreign-currency dealers are required to handle export earnings, adding measures aimed at encouraging companies to export their products through an incentive payment, according to a copy of the circular obtained…

Zimbabwe Scraps Plan to Swap Dollar Earnings to Rand, Euros

Posted on by The Editorial Team

HARARE, Zimbabwe, Capital Markets in Africa: Zimbabwe’s central bank abandoned a plan to convert half of its export earnings into South African rand and euros as it explores ways to ease a shortage of dollars. In a statement on Tuesday, the institution said it will now require 50 percent of export earnings to be transferred to a Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe account. The central bank will then immediately credit the same amount, plus a 5 percent “export…

`Zombie’ Money Printed by Zimbabwe Draws Scorn From Critics

Posted on by The Editorial Team

Harare, Zimbabwe, Capital Markets in Africa — A new currency printed by Zimbabwe’s central bank to ease a cash shortage has drawn scorn from critics attacking it as signaling a return to the hated local dollar, abandoned seven years ago as inflation spiraled to 500 billion percent. The central bank will distribute units with face values ranging from two to 20 dollars, pegged to the U.S. currency, Governor John Mangudya said Wednesday, describing them as “bond notes”…

Zimbabwe Audits Companies on Meeting Black Ownership Targets

Posted on by The Editorial Team

Harare, Zimbabwe, Capital Markets in Africa — Zimbabwean government began an audit to examine whether foreign and white-owned companies are complying with the law, which required companies to sell or cede 51 percent ownership to black Zimbabweans. “We’re now in the process of checking which companies are in full compliance of our indigenization policy and will come up with a database of these companies,” Mathias Tongofa, the deputy indigenization and empowerment minister, told lawmakers late…

Zimbabwe orders foreign firms to Sell Shares to Black by April 1

Posted on by The Editorial Team

Harare, Zimbabwe, Capital Markets in Africa — Zimbabwe will shut down foreign-owned companies on April 1 if they don’t comply with a law that requires them to sell or cede 51 percent of their shares to black Zimbabweans, Indigenization Minister Patrick Zhuwao said. The Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act was passed in 2010 under President Robert Mugabe’s black empowerment drive but implementation has been slow. “Comply by that date or close shop, comply by that date…

African Development Bank speeds US$16 million relief for water and sanitation in Zimbabwe

Posted on by The Editorial Team

Harare, Zimbabwe, Capital Markets in Africa — The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) fast-tracked a grant of US $16-million on Wednesday, September 30, to help clean up the poorest suburbs of the Zimbabwean capital. The first stage of the project will concentrate on removing the raw sewage currently spilled into residential areas and securing the water supply for the most vulnerable areas of Greater Harare, home to 2 million people. Decades of neglect have paid…

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