Online Reporter
Tapiwanashe Mangwiro
THE Competition and Tariff Commission (CTC) reported a busy first quarter of 2025, following a productive 2024 during which it handled an uptick in both merger notifications and restrictive practice investigations.
Fourteen local merger decisions were finalised last year: ten were unconditionally approved, three conditionally approved, and one prohibited. The Commission noted that in 2024, despite policy uncertainty around the 2023 general election, overall merger activity held steady after three years of decline.
“Public interest considerations, including employment levels, were prominent in determining outcomes, while stakeholder representations played a critical role in informing the determination,” the report states.
Analysing the domicile of parties, the Commission found that 43 per cent of transactions were local-to-local, 36 per cent involved foreign and local parties, and 21 per cent were foreign-to-foreign. The Commission said, “This mix reflects both domestic economic priorities and the country’s integration into regional and global markets.”
This signals that local firms are consolidating to achieve economies of scale even as inbound and outward investment flows continue.
On the restrictive practices front, the CTC concluded five cases in 2024, up from three in 2023, across sectors as varied as soft drinks, fintech services, funeral services, education, agriculture, manufacturing, and distribution.
The rate of concluded investigations remained low, and the CTC explained, “Due to the lengthy nature of investigations which often require significant time to establish solid evidence on circumstances before reaching a conclusion.”
Notably, the Commission contributed market intelligence to regional probes under the COMESA Competition Commission, providing data on alleged anti-competitive conduct by The Coca-Cola Company and Yamaha Motors within the COMESA region.
Manufacturing and financial and insurance activities were joint leaders, each accounting for 22 per cent of merger approvals in 2024. The rise of consolidations in manufacturing reflects firms’ need for recapitalisation, operational efficiencies, and new production technologies.
Meanwhile, finance and insurance companies have pooled resources to bolster balance sheets and expand product offerings.
Other sectors also saw meaningful deal flow; wholesale and retail trade, together with construction, represented 14 per cent of mergers, tapping into Zimbabwe’s strategic location and infrastructure development thrust.
According to the report, “Some joint ventures resulted in job creation and FDI inflows thereby attracting much-needed capital into Zimbabwe, while others were driven by the need to avert company closures, preserving both competition and employment.”
Purchase considerations, the early-stage inquiries that may or may not lead to formal filings, declined in the period under review.
The Commission attributes this trend to “a cautious approach by prospective local and foreign investors and tight liquidity conditions in the local financial sector, which constrained availability of capital for large-scale acquisitions.”
Looking ahead, the CTC has set forth an ambitious agenda for 2025. “The Commission anticipates continued growth in merger activity and restrictive practice cases in 2025, bolstered by regional collaboration and enhanced stakeholder engagement through awareness initiatives and competition training,” the Commission declared.
In the current year, the CTC has outlined its four strategic priorities that will see the merger and acquisition environment being fair and effective.
“Streamlining internal processes and leveraging digital tools to ensure timely investigations and decisions and deepening data analysis capabilities to detect emerging anti-competitive conduct and inform policy development are our targets,” the Commission said.
“Additionally, intensifying enforcement actions against cartels and abuse of dominance, with particular focus on sectors critical to national economic recovery and working with industry stakeholders through training and public awareness campaigns to embed a culture of fair competition.”
In practice, these priorities will translate into more robust public-private dialogue, particularly through workshops on competition law for businesses, lawyers, and consumer groups, and tighter collaboration with regional counterparts via COMESA and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
The CTC’s dual focus on proactive enforcement and stakeholder outreach is designed to support Zimbabwe’s broader economic revitalisation plan. Through curbing anti-competitive practices and making mergers more transparent, the Commission aims to unlock efficiencies, attract foreign direct investment, and safeguard consumer welfare.
