Xinhua ZIMBABWE’S 2021 tobacco marketing season opened on Wednesday with hopes that the country will surpass last year’s figures. The highest opening price was 4.30 U.S. dollars per kg, up from 4 dollars last year. According to estimates, about 200 million kg of tobacco will be sold this season, as compared to 180 million kg
By Alois Vinga RESERVE Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has relaxed the payment modalities for tobacco farmers in a development which will see the growers retaining their foreign currency portion as free funds. The development marks a major climb down from last year’s arrangements where tobacco farmers were paid half their earnings through their Zimbabwe dollar
By Alois Vinga RESERVE Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) bidding rates have sustained stable margins since the platform’s inception, indicating the possibility of long-term exchange rate stability. Launched in June last year, most companies have hailed the platform for achieving pricing predictability and slowing down both monthly and yearly inflation from a high of 837 %
By Alois Vinga THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has seen foreign currency demand increase on the foreign exchange auction amid a significant rise in allotments which reached US$35.7 million this week. A trading update released at the close of the FX39/2021 auction shows that a total of 644 bids were received on both the
Natural Gas News Summary THE agreement provides the Australian explorer the right to enter into a 25-year production licence following the exploration periods. Sydney-listed Invictus Energy has signed a petroleum exploration development and production agreement with Zimbabwe for the Cabora Bassa gas project, it said on March 29. The agreement was signed by Invictus’ 80% subsidiary, Geo
By Staff Reporter AN INTERNATIONAL engineering and management services provider, Penspen, has been awarded a contract by Zimbabwe’s National Oil and Infrastructure Company (NOIC) to upgrade the Feruka-Harare pipeline. Under the ten-month contract, Penspen will support NOIC’s efforts to enhance its operational efficiency of the pipeline to meet increasing petroleum products demand. The 208km-long Feruka-Harare
By Alois Vinga ZIMBABWE’S internet and data penetration rate increased by 0.4% amid a decline in other traditional forms of communication, the sector’s regulator has reported. Presenting the 2020 annual report, Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) director general, Gift Machengete attributed the surge to new Covid-19 induced working patterns. “Active internet and
By Alois Vinga THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) foreign exchange auction has become the major source of foreign currency for big companies, allotting US$35.2 million this week. A trading update released at the close of the FX37/2021 states that a total 292 bids were accepted on the main auction while 229 bids were accepted
Creamer Media AIM-LISTED Premier African Minerals has been granted an exclusive prospecting order (EPO) over an area that encompasses the Zulu lithium and tantalum claims in the Fort Rixon district of Zimbabwe for a period of three years. “I am deeply appreciative of the Zimbabwe government for the granting of this substantial EPO and Premier will reciprocate
By Staff Reporter A LEADING investment company director has said houses for rental in urban areas, especially Harare are now very expensive to lease and this will adversely affect economic growth and stability. Noel Mavura, the founder of an investment firm, African Investment Hub, in a statement Friday, urged the Estate Agents Council of Zimbabwe
By Staff Reporter THE Tobacco Farmers Union of Zimbabwe (ToFUZ) has hailed authorities for agreeing to increase the foreign currency retention cap from 50% to 60 % ahead of the 2021 tobacco selling season. Also among the measures introduced by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and the Agriculture ministry, there shall be no compulsory liquidation
By James Muonwa, Mashonaland West Correspondent BOTH commercial and subsistence farmers can enhance agricultural output on farms in the wake of new technologies at their disposal to boost productivity and profitability, an agriculture expert has said. Agricultural Technical Extension Services (Agritex) acting director, Stancilae Tapererwa said there was need for farmers to adapt to emerging
By Anna Chibamu WITH less than a month before tobacco auction floors open for 2021 selling season, legislators have demanded that government announces the producer price for the golden leaf. In the last few years, tobacco farmers have been deprived of their hard-earned money after poor prices were offered by buyers during the sale of
By Alois Vinga RESERVE Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) foreign exchange auction bidding rates being offered by traders this week continued to navigate within stable margins as total allotments to industry reached US$37 million. A trading update released at the close of business Tuesday showed that at the main auction platform, the highest bid rate offered
By Alois Vinga ZIMBABWE’s processed food sector has recorded 17.9 % export growth amid calls by the country’s export development agency, ZimTrade for local players to take advantage of abundant opportunities in the segment. The country already enjoys favourable trade and or political relations with most of the top importers of the products and this
By Business Reporter A GROUP of leading entrepreneurs have come together to create a business platform to support UK-based Zimbabwean business people. The Zimbabwe UK Business Chamber (ZUKBC) will be launched this Saturday, 27 February 2021, and it is a non-profit and apolitical, membership-based organization. According to ZUKBC chairperson Kennedy Mwedziwendira, the organization will play
Xinhua THE Zimbabwe tourism sector is seeking for its members to be prioritized in the first phase of the Covid-19 vaccination program that is underway in the country. “As much as the port entry people have been included over and above health workers, I feel that the people going through those ports of entry spend
By Robert Tapfumaneyi THE government has approved amendments to the Insurance Bill 2020, which seeks to repeal the Insurance Act and introduce best practices in Zimbabwe’s insurance sector. This, according to the insurance sector, will play an important role in socio-economic development. Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa confirmed the development Tuesday during the post-Cabinet media brief.
By Alois Vinga AFRICA’s leading independent non-bank financial services group, Imara Capital has accused a major shareholder of elbowing out local investors and acquiring a controlling stock for far below the real value of stock held by SeedCo at the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE). The seed manufacturing giant, SeedCo International Limited (SCIL) recently acquired 78%
By Staff Reporter THE Tobacco Farmers Union of Zimbabwe (ToFUZ) has written to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) demanding assurances farmers would be spared from perennial payment hurdles and other logistical inconveniences when sales on the golden leaf return later this year. In a correspondence covering a broad range of issues affecting his
