Zimbabwe’s Indigenisation Minister Francis Nhema has said the government will not necessarily insist on a 51% stake from all foreign companies operating in Zimbabwe. Nhema was quoted by The Herald saying: “if you are going into sections of the service industry like banks, manufacturing and others where there is no resource to begin with then you cannot say 51% is mine”. He did however say foreign-owned companies that were exploiting the country’s natural resources would be immediately compelled to cede a 51% stake. Nhema’s stance on banks will be welcome news to foreign-owned companies such as Barclays, Standard Chartered, Standard Bank’s Stanbic, Ecobank and Nedbank-owned MBCA. These banks were the subject of indigenisation threats by former minister Saviour Kasukuwere. Nhema was speaking at a two-day indigenisation and empowerment conference organised by Zanu-PF in Harare this week.
