Foreign players in the Zimbabwe platinum, diamond and aluminum business face forfeiture of their mining facilities as part of a government program aimed at nationalizing industries, according to Indiginization Minister Saviour Kasukuwere.
A government program aimed at forcing foreign companies to hand over 51 percent of their assets to local black investors seeks to bring $7 billion worth of companies and facilities into Zimbabwean control, with $1 billion already transferred.
And while banks will be compensated for their losses and other industries, such as telecommunications, will be allowed to cede smaller stakes, it appears the mining sector will be asked to surrender control gratis.
“When it comes to natural resources, Zimbabwe will not pay for her resources,” Kasukuwere said, according to a report by
Franz Wild for Bloomberg. “If they don’t want to follow the law, that’s their problem,” he added.
The minister confirmed non-compliant mine owners risk losing their licenses to operate in that country.
“We want to welcome investors, as long as it’s in partnership with our people,” he said. “It’s a logical economic plan that has been put forward by our party for Zimbabweans to achieve greater benefits from their resources. Forty-nine percent is a huge part of the cake.”
The government plans a new stock exchange where black shares in the locally-acquired businesses will be traded.
Companies affected by the plan may include Anglo American Platinum Ltd (
OTO:AGPPY,
Stock Forum), Standard Chartered Plc (
OTO:SCBFF,
Stock Forum), Aquarius Platinum Ltd (
OTO:AQPTY,
Stock Forum), Impala Platinum (
OTCQX:IMPUY,
Stock Forum), and Barclays (
NYSE:BXDB,
Stock Forum).
Robert Mugabe won the recent Presidential election in a landslide, a situation Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai called a "
huge farce," but which was verified by African Union observers as "free and credible."