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NewsDay

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Olivine company to regain its former glory

Business
SURFACE Wilmar expects to introduce more products at Olivine and make the company regain its former glory by year-end.

SURFACE Wilmar expects to introduce more products at Olivine and make the company regain its former glory by year-end.

BY BUSINESS REPORTER

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Company chairman Somani Narotam said the firm has so far injected $15 million since it took control of over 49,3% stake of the company from AICO in October 2015.

“We expect to turnaround the company by end of 2016 into a profitable entity. Olivine and its products will regain its former glory by end of 2017,” he said.

Narotam said the company was managed wrongly for the past 10 years and had lost the work culture.

He said the company should produce margarine, soap and toilet soap during the first phase of the revival of the company and produce baked beans, tomato ketchup in the second phase.

Olivine Industries has been struggling to get suitable suitors since 2011 and had 78 suitors who failed to strike a deal. Olivine Industries have an installed capacity of 900 000 litres per month.

Olivine is one of the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) former subsidiaries that managed to get a suitor. Other IDC subsidiaries such as Willowvale Motor Industries are still to secure suitors.

Zimbabwe has been struggling to attract investors with prospective foreign investors adopting a wait and see attitude as they view the country as a risky investment destination due to unfavourable policies such as the indigenisation plan. The plan stipulates that at least 51% of all business with a net asset value of $500 000 or more and operating in Zimbabwe should be in the hands of locals.

In 2015, Zimbabwe recorded a decline in foreign direct investment of $421 million from $545 million in 2014.