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Foreign direct investment is given high priority to mobilise huge resources that are required to develop the different sectors of the economy, Industry and Commerce Dr Sekai Nzenza said at the opening of the inaugural Zimbabwe Institutional Investor Forum which MN Capital held in Harare on Wednesday.
Investors, including those in the insurance and pensions business are attending the two-day indaba, which is running under the theme “Rethinking Investment Returns in the New Normal – Investing for Impact”.
In remarks read on her behalf, Dr Nzenza said Government had taken steps to attract investment through the engagement and re-engagement policy while also pursuing economic policies aimed at increasing foreign direct investment.
“I am glad that this forum was conceptualised and designed for the institutional investment community. This sector is very important to us as a Government. What we know for sure is that institutional investors have greater influence and impact on the market in companies they invest in.
“Furthermore, we also know as a Government that institutional investors do professional research and are known to improve and promote management applicability. As Government, we take pride in forming strategic partnerships with the private sector, especially doing everything possible to make sure that the course of capital is manageable for both our small and medium enterprises and large corporates in an effort to drive economic transformation,” she said.
Zimbabwe is endowed with abundant natural resources which could be leveraged on in order to realise the vision of attaining a prosperous and empowered upper middle-class economy by 2030.
“In order to attain this, the Government has put in place a mid-term economic blueprint, the National Development Strategy 1, which is covering the period 2021 -2025. The intention is to commit resources towards building the capacity of key institutions that play a critical role in providing an enabling environment for private sector investment,” she said.
The national economic blueprint also recognizes that investment in value addition transformed the country’s economic structure from one highly dependent on the exports of raw and agricultural materials to an economy trading in high value processed goods.
Dr Nzenza said in addition to complementing government efforts, the forum would go a long way in opening new avenues in the quest to attain national aspirations.
MN Capital Group Chief operations officer Nhlakanipho Mkhwanazi said Zimbabwe was well resourced and deserved to be at the international business stage to negotiate deals from a position of power and not as a beggar.
The Second Republic through the policy of ‘Zimbabwe is open for business’ had created an enabling environment for businesses to operate in the country which should be taken advantage of.
—New Ziana
Online Reporter