THE government is inviting fresh bids for the takeover of the Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (ZISCO), a minister said on Wednesday, after rejecting earlier offers from South Africa's ArcelorMittal and Jindal Steel and Power of India.

A power-sharing government formed by bitter rivals, President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara last year has sought to attract foreign investors in a bid to raise at least $10 billion needed to fix the economy.

The government has identified cash-starved ZISCO, once a major foreign currency earner, with capacity to produce 1 million tonnes of steel per year, as the first state-owned enterprise to be disposed of in a bid to revive its operations.

"The ministry wishes to advise interested parties that bids for a strategic partner for ZISCO are now open," Industry and Commerce Minister Welshman Ncube said in a statement.