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Sandra Maziwisa
Business Reporter
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) says it allotted as much as $1,9 billion through the auction for the year to December 2021. A consolidated statement released by the central bank last Thursday showed the auction system had contributed US$1, 9 billion toward foreign exchange payments for the period January 2021 to December 2021.
Of the total auction amount, US$1,6 billion was allotted to 2 037 beneficiaries under the main foreign exchange auction while 5 288 beneficiaries under the Small Medium Enterprises ( SME’s) foreign Exchange Auction got US$326 million.
The RBZ said since the inception of the Foreign Exchange Auction System on June 23, 2020, to the end of December 2021, an amount of US$2,6 billion was allotted to key sectors of the economy with US$2,2 billion being allotted through the Main Auction and US$358 million through the SMEs Auction.
“The bulk of the funds allotted in 2021 (62 percent) went towards payment for raw materials (US$777,2 million) and machinery and equipment (US$444,9 million) and US$749,2 million, representing 38 percent of the total allotments, going towards payment for consumables, pharmaceuticals and other needs of the economy,” said governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Dr John Mangudya.
In a schedule showing total foreign exchange payments for the period January 1 to December 27 by source of funding the central bank revealed that the bulk of the funds were allotted in September with a total amount of US$678,4 million followed by February with US$665,8 million.
According to the statement over 7 300 companies benefited from the auction system since the platform’s formation last year.
Varun Beverages Zimbabwe emerged as the biggest beneficiary after it got an allotment amounting to US$19 million. The beverage manufacturer was declared a special economic zone and since then they have been working on expanding, putting a plant worth more than 23 million which is set to improve their reach in the country. Varun Beverages is the second-largest franchise bottler of PepsiCo with a presence in many Asian and African countries.
Blue Ribbon Ltd was the second-biggest beneficiary after it got US$18 million. Other beneficiaries were United Refineries which got US$17,6 million, CanGrow Trading US$13,6 million, Willowton Group Zimbabwe US$12,3 million, and Olivine Industries US$10,8 million.
Meanwhile, total foreign exchange payments from the country amounted to US$6,7 billion with foreign currency accounts (FCAs) contributing US$4,4 billion, foreign exchange auction system (US$1,9 million); the interbank market (US$309 million).
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