THE Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) will engage European countries next month in a bid to attract the much-needed foreign direct investment (FDI) to stimulate economic growth.
By Victoria Mtomba Business Reporter
In a statement last week CZI president Charles Msipa said the private sector would visit the EU countries between January 26 and 31.
“The visit is aimed at promoting investment by European Union investors. We are committed to the success of Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim Asset) which has identified FDI as an important aspect of resource mobilisation to support the economic growth objectives of Zim Asset,” said Msipa.
“It is important that the European investors and businesses are actively encouraged and engaged so that they consider investing in as many sectors of the economy as possible.”
Zim Asset is an economic blueprint formulated by Zanu PF that is expected to guide the country’s economy for the next five years.
The key drivers of growth in the five-year period have been identified as mining, agriculture and infrastructure.
Zimbabwe has failed to attract more than $500 million FDI since 2009 while other countries such as Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia have attracted foreign investment running into billions of dollars. The manufacturing sector requires at least $2 billion for recapitalisation, but it has failed over the past five years to attract significant capital inflows.
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According to the 2013 CZI manufacturing survey only 40% of the companies surveyed had carried out capital investment to upgrade equipment and machinery. Only 5% of the money came as FDI.
The manufacturing sector continues to reel under a plethora of challenges including low demand, antiquated machinery, power and water shortages, high cost of doing business and competition from imports.
