AN ASSET management company with offices in Harare reckons that European investors remain interested in Zimbabwe as an investment destination because of the promise of a relatively rapid turnaround in the economy once the politics return to normal.
John Legat, the Harare-based chief executive of Imara Asset Management, part of the Botswana-registered Imara financial services group, reported on positive feedback from presentations in investment conferences in London and Munich.
Legat said that there was a good deal of discussion about the Imara theory that parallels existed between Brazil in the 1980s and Zimbabwe today.
"Despite the country’s problems, international investors have still made impressive gains in Zimbabwe at a time when returns in many developed markets have been disappointing," Legat said. "One internationally focused fund with a strong stake in Zimbabwean equities last year made gains of 18% in US dollar terms with an 84% gain over three years."
He said Zimbabwe still had a robust and relatively sophisticated equity market - with values at bargain basement levels. Seventy-nine companies are listed on the Zimbabwe stock exchange versus 54 in Kenya.
The Imara presentations also pointed out that a wealth of natural resources and tourist infrastructure offer ready-made building blocks for rapid economic revival, given the necessary policy adjustments.
"Zimbabwe is not being written off," Legat said. "It is being carefully scrutinised by private and institutional investors in major European centres."
READER OPINIONS
kudzai • knjiti@yahoo.com Subject: the Zimbabwean economy Tue, 19 Feb 2008 15:32:40 • honestly speaking,regardless of the inflation, zim still has a lot of potential to recuperate from the current economic slumber. Taking the zim stock exchange for example,its still firm and competitive despite the heinous inflation and is still one of the best in Africa. Zimbabwe boasts of one of the highest literacy rates in Africa.We the Zim people instead of blaming the current leadership should shun corruption as a practice and work to rebuilding our shattered economy. Remember when the zim dollar used to be one on one with the pound! All this can return only if we as a people stop corrupt practices like trading in fuel and rands on the black market. It pains me as a patriotic son of zim to see things going the way they are now but above all i still have hope,long live zimbabwe
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