RSS 2.0 FeedNov 2009 Vol 14, Business , Financial and Property Indaba
Chinese firm eyes US$8b investment in Zimbabwe
A Chinese firm Thursday announced a US$8 billion investment package in various sectors in Zimbabwe, by far the largest single investment in the country.
China Sonangol, in which Angola also has shareholding, said it would target gold, oil and gas exploration and build platinum refining plants under the proposed investment in Zimbabwe.
It signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the government over the proposed investment, which will include housing development.
Zimbabwe is one of Africa's top gold producers but under-investment and political and economic instability in the last 10 years had badly hamstrung the industry.
It also has significant gas deposits, but these remain largely untapped.
But the country has the world's second largest reserves of platinum which also remain largely unexploited.
In the oil sector, an American company found negligible reserves in the 1980s, but experts believe the country had deposits that have not yet been discovered.
