{THE Russian government is keen to facilitate technical support and lines of credit through the country\u2019s banking system to support the revival of industry, a Cabinet Minister has said.}<\/p>\n
Industry and Commerce Minister Cde Mike Bimha told a fully packed business breakfast meeting organised by Chronicle in Bulawayo in the morning that the Russian delegation that was in the country for a business agreed to enter into joint ventures with local firms.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe delegation came for the joint commission was led by the Minister of Industry and Trade from the Russian Federation. We had a fruitful discussion with them and they indicated their willingness to look at two things; one the establishment of credit lines for Zimbabwe between their banks in Russia and our banks here (Zimbabwe), which will then facilitate the funding of on lending to the productive sectors,\u201d said Cde Bimha.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe other issue was their keen interest in joint venture partnerships.\u201d<\/p>\n
The visit by the Russian government officials and business delegation, said Cde Bimha, culminated in a joint permanent commission.<\/p>\n
He said the Russians were seeking strategic partnerships in areas such as food industry, clothing and textile, and edible oil sectors, which are critical to the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-economic Transformation (Zim-Asset), a the government\u2019s new economic blue-print.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would like to reconfigure the Industrial Development Corporation so that it opens a new window specifically to fund industry, mobilising resources and directing those resources to industry,\u201d Cde Bimha added.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re also in negotiations with a company from South Africa that has strong links with PTA Bank\u2026 and we\u2019re re almost getting to sign an MoU again with this particular company to mobilise resources for onward lending to local companies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Industry and Commerce Minister Mike Bimha<\/p>\n
Following the liberalisation of the economy in February 2009, the country has been going through a number of challenges that include lack of foreign direct investment, competition from cheap imports and liquidity shortages to support the industrial drive and economic development to competitive levels.<\/p>\n
The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) has said the manufacturing sector requires about $8 billion to stimulate robust productivity to competitive levels.<\/p>\n
As a result of the prevailing economic challenges, capacity utilisation in the manufacturing sector has remained low.<\/p>\n
Last year, capacity utilisation in the manufacturing industry was at 39,6 percent declining from 44,6 percent in 2012.<\/p>\n
Agencies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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