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CAPTAINS of industry have welcomed the scheduled visit of Chinese billionaire, William Ding to Bulawayo to explore investment opportunities in the property sector in the city, saying it will result in the Asian business mogul exploring other investment opportunities. Mr Ding is set to address the 2015 Local Government Economic Development Forum at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair grounds. The conference which will run from 15 to 17 December this year, is expected to come up with strategies on how to localise and implement post 2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The Chinese billionaire ranked number 10 on the Forbes China Rich list published this year with an estimated fortune of $8,2 billion, is the chairperson of Net Ease, a leading online game company in China.
Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries president Mr Busisa Moyo applauded the visit by William to explore possible investment areas in the city stating that it shows that the Asian country was convinced that Zimbabwe was a perfect investment destination.
“It is a positive move that leads us to implementing a lot of things like goals discussed in the current Forum on China Africa Co-operation summit. We are also getting into the implementation of trade and investment projects between China and Zimbabwe. Bulawayo should be ready and come up with big ideas that will result in the creation of employment and revival of the industry in the city,” Mr Moyo said.
He said the anticipated move by Ding to invest in the property sector should be warmly received by the country’s construction industry players as it was poised to boost their businesses.
“This will bring down stream benefits in the construction industry. We encourage the construction industry to come up with big ideas. We need all the foreign investments whether indirect or direct that we may get in Bulawayo. So we encourage businesspeople to come up with huge ideas and projects that will bring positive change to the city,” said Moyo.
Matabeleland chapter CZI president Mr Walter Chigwada said though the visiting Ding had interests in the property sector, the city would present him with more investment opportunities in other sectors.
“We are offering William a platform to invest in a place where there is good service delivery and opportunities to invest in other sectors. It is a welcome development to show what the city and region can offer. We have a local authority that is pro-active.
“While he will be looking at the property sector, Bulawayo has more to offer. We are looking at Matabeleland region as a whole and there are investment opportunities in sectors like tourism, mining and leather industry,” he said.
“Bulawayo has an advantage because of its proximity to strategic neighbouring countries. Anyone who comes to invest in the city will find transport infrastructure like road and rail. We are very connected to other countries. To any investor Bulawayo is a gateway to the rest of the southern Africa region,” said Mr Chigwada.
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