Zimbabwe to sell bonds to expats
• Diaspora will be able to invest in the production of gold and tobacco
Zimbabwe’s central bank plans to sell bonds for citizens outside the country to invest in gold and tobacco output.
Zimbabwe’s central bank plans to sell bonds for citizens outside the country to invest in gold and tobacco output as it also introduces banking rules to encourage money flows and exports.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe would provide the market with more information on the diaspora bonds “in due course”, the Harare-based regulator said in a February 13 circular to banks obtained by Bloomberg. The nation was once the world’s second-biggest exporter of top-grade tobacco.
Lenders must give exporters access to all foreign currency they get from selling goods within 14 days of the funds being deposited, the bank said.
Small, noncorporate exporters shipping more than $2,000 of goods no longer needed to fill in certain forms, making business easier, the bank said, without saying what the prior, lower threshold was.
The new policies and plans come three months after Robert Mugabe was toppled as president after 37 years in power and replaced by his former deputy, Emmerson Mnangagwa.
The new president has been on a drive to revive the economy and attract investment.
The new administration will allow white farmers to apply for 99-year leases on land, compared with five years previously, and has pledged to compensate them for improvements to land that was seized.
The nation abandoned the Zimbabwe dollar in February 2009 after an economic collapse sent inflation surging to about 500-billion percent, according to the IMF. This resulted in the central bank printing banknotes with a face value of Z$100-trillion. A crippling shortage of cash led to the introduction of so-called bond notes in 2016. The government says these are equal to the dollar, but they are not accepted by foreign suppliers.
BUSINESS PROMOTION
The bank is introducing other initiatives to promote business, having opened a dedicated desk to facilitate investment proposals by Zimbabweans in the diaspora to speed up consideration of the plans. It is also offering a 7% tax-free savings bond.
To ensure property sales are settled locally, banks must ensure all foreign currency proceeds from the sales are available to the beneficiary for use. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s exchange control department will consider exceptions to the policy on an individual basis.
Lenders have to provide the central bank with plans on how they will work to boost exports.
All authorised dealers must furnish the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s exchange control unit with strategies by March 2, outlining “measurable objectives” such as growth in the number of registered exporting entities and export value per bank”, it said.
THE BANK ... HAS OPENED A DEDICATED DESK TO FACILITATE INVESTMENT PROPOSALS BY ZIMBABWEANS