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Lovemore Zigara, Midlands Correspondent
THE Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) says it has found it difficult to find suitors for some of its troubled subsidiaries, which it had intended to dispose since the beginning of the year.
The corporation intends to dispose of Allied Insurance, Almin Metal, Amtec, Deven Engineering, G&W Industrial minerals, Surface Investments, Stone Holdings and Zimbabwe Grain Bag among others, to third parties.
IDC general manager Mike Ndudzo yesterday said the corporation had not found any buyers with the “right strategic intent and capacity” to take over the companies.
“The process has been painstakingly slow because you get people who express interest but when it comes to the proof of funding it becomes an issue.
“We’ll keep managing the companies but the process (to dispose) would not be as quick as we had envisaged,” said Ndudzo. “There are very few buyers with the right strategic intent and capacity to take over those companies. We’re not just interested in buyers who will come to asset-strip but buyers who will run and grow those operations after taking over from us.”
The IDC boss said in the meantime the corporation will find short term measures to keep the investments running.
“In the short term we’ve to find measures to keep those companies running. We’ve engaged creditors and other lenders to allow the companies breathing space to turnaround. There’s no short cut to that,” he said.
IDC had intended to use funds from the disposal of its shareholding to restructure its debt and use the funds generated as seed capital to fund new projects.
Subsidiaries of IDC have also suffered the same fate of the majority of local industry which have largely been blamed on lack of working capital, high interest rates from financial institutions as well as antiquated equipment.
derick.khumalo