ZIMBABWE SEEKS SOUTH AFRICAN BANK LOANS TO HELP EASE CRUNCH

Zimbabwe’s government is seeking lines of credit from South African banks to help ease a liquidity crunch that’s holding back growth in the southern African nation, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said.

Authorities are seeking loan facilities from private banks rather than financial aid to help overcome the crisis, Chinamasa said in an interview in the South African capital, Pretoria.

“We are looking for lines of credit by South African financial institutions to our commercial banks to enable lending for productive purposes,” he said.

Chinamasa is accompanying President Robert Mugabe, 91, on his first state visit to South Africa in 21 years to help strengthen economic and political ties with its biggest trading partner. Zimbabwe is facing a foreign-currency shortage, partly due to a lack of investment as the government’s so-called indigenization laws deter companies. The rules require foreign and white-owned companies to cede 51% stakes to black Zimbabweans or the government’s empowerment agency.

South African companies won’t be given concessions that allow them to avoid meeting the indigenization laws, Chinamasa said.

“We are treating all investors on an equal footing,” he said. “Whatever our law provides will apply for all investors, irrespective of where they are coming from.”

South Africa is one of the biggest investors in Zimbabwe and companies including Impala Platinum and Nedbank own units there. Zimbabwe’s imports from its bigger neighbor amounted to R24.8 billion ($2.1 billion) in 2014, while exports stood at R2 billion.

Bloomberg News