Zimbabwe economy

Policymakers and business leaders in Zimbabwe seem to share the opinion that past policies are still appropriate for the New Normal economy of the post-Global Financial Crisis world.

 

Since dollarization, investment has averaged only 17% of GDP. For the economy to grow at the targeted (ZIM-ASSET) 6% to 7% rate, investment of at least 30% of GDP needed.

 

China, the US, the Euro area and many others have to undergo – often painful –rebalancing. Zimbabwe is no exception, especially after the meltdown of the “Lost decade” (1998-2008).

 

For the immediate future the economy will continue in muddle-through mode, as growth will be lack-lustre – 3% to 4%.

 

Financial sector will restructure as banks consolidate, hence fewer banks and asset managers.

 

Read more http://bit.ly/1tqVISg

 

A republication of a presentation by Professor Tony Hawkins, Economist and Professor, University of Zimbabwe.

 

Thought to you by TheBehaviourReport.com

 

 

Zimbabwe will soon run out of money: Baz

 Zimbabwe will soon run out of money: Baz - DailyNews Live

 

HARARE - Bankers Association of Zimbabwe (Baz) has warned that Zimbabwe will soon run out of money to sustain imports.

 

Joseph Mverecha, Agribank divisional director, speaking on behalf of Baz president Sam Malaba at the Gweru Agricultural Show business conference last week, said Zimbabwe's depressed economic performance was ominous.

 

"The trade deficit that we are experiencing, sooner or later, we will run

out of money to finance it," Mverecha said.

 

He said since 2010, Zimbabwe's import bill had ballooned from $1,5 billion to about $6 billion in 2014.

 

"Since dollarisation, our current account has drastically increased and at

some stage we will fail to pay for those imports," Mverecha said. He

predicted that the country would witness a decline in imports soon.

 

The influx of imports into the economy has been met by insignificant

exports which are largely in raw form, hence noncompetitive on the

international market.

 

Imports in Zimbabwe increased to $528,18 million in June of 2014 from

$510 million in May of 2014.

 

Mverecha said Zimbabwe needed fresh money to shore up the economy.

 

"We need fresh capital into the economy," he said.

 

Zimbabwe has failed to attract the much-needed foreign direct investment (FDI) due to a cocktail of government policies hostile to investors, chief among them the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act, which requires foreign firms to cede 51 percent to locals.

 

Targeted sanctions against some political leaders in Zimbabwe were actually hurting ordinary people

In a rare one-on-one stage interview he held with US president Barack Obama, Zimbabwean technology entrepreneur, Takunda Chingonzo, told Obama that the supposedly targeted sanctions against some political leaders in Zimbabwe were actually hurting ordinary people.Chingonzo said technology entrepreneurs looking to get technology or funding from US-based companies often hit a brick wall because of the sanctions."In our work, we got to a point where we needed to import a bit of technology from the United States. And so we were engaging in conversation with these US based businesses, and the response we got time and time again was that unfortunately we cannot do business with you because you are from Zimbabwe. I was shocked. This doesn't make sense," explained Chingonzo to Obama.In response, Obama said that the US is facing the challenge of balancing helping the people of Zimbabwe with what he termed "repeated violation of basic democratic practices and human rights" in the country. Obama agreed with Chingonzo that what was was needed were initiatives that enhance as opposed to retard the progress of the Zimbabwean people.The US president then suggested that projects be explored by Zimbabwean entrepreneurs together with the US to ensure Zimbabweans are not affected.He was adamant, however, that the US is set on sending the strong message about good governance in Zimbabwe.Chingonzo is in the US on the Young African Leaders programme. The founder of wireless internet startup, Saisai, had the one-on-one with Obama on stage yesterday at the US-Africa Leaders Summit in the US. - See more at: http://bulawayo24.com/index-id-business-sc-economy-byo-51797.html#sthash.vjF2Xz5d.dpuf

THE Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) industrial index declined

THE Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) industrial index declined by 6,9% to 188,08 points in July from the December figures as the bourse took a battering from the slow performance of the economy, latest statistics have shown.
VICTORIA MTOMBA
BUSINESS REPORTER
The industrial index was at 202,12 points on December 31.
Market capitalisation for the local bourse declined by $203 129 to $5 billion from $5,2 billion in December 2013.
This means that $203 129 in shareholder value was lost on the stock market.
Market capitalisation is the total value of the issued shares of a publicly traded company.
During the month of July the stock market indices increased due to the performance of stocks of Econet, Seed Co and Bindura Nickel Corporation.
The industrial index increased to 188,08 points up from 186,57 points in June while the mining index increased to 95,00 points in July up from 61,32 points in June.
Turnover value for the bourse increased to $28,5 million in July from $25,2 million in June.
Turnover volume for the ZSE increased to 322 407 141 shares during the month of July compared to 178 469 676 shares in June.
EFE Research said Hippo, OK and SeedCo were the top risers as Hippo recovered 3,3% to 62 cents while OK Zimbabwe and SeedCo were up 5,82% and 1,27% to
18 cents and 80cents respectively.
MMC Capital said the industrial index rose in July because there was a period during the month when demand at the market increased because of the demand of Delta, Econet and OK share prices.
The mining index increased to 95,00 points due to the strong performance of Bindura Nickel Corporation share price which has been on a growth trajectory since June this year.
In May, the turnover value decreased by 31% to $35,9 million compared to $51 million in April. The turnover volume was down to 235 704 129 shares from
429 086 166 shares.
The performance of the ZSE is a mirror of what is happening in the economy. The economy is weighed down by liquidity constraints and low investor confidence.
This has forced Finance and Economic Development minister Patrick Chinamasa to revise downwards the growth projections to 3% from 6,1% earlier projected.

10 services you can now enjoy in Zimbabwe thanks to PayPal

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By   William Chui
June 19th, 2014

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PayPal’s opening up of its services to Zimbabwe this past week has created a lot of excitement in the market. Many entrepreneurs see this as a godsend and I can just see them smiling all the way FROM the bank (after going to deposit their funds to start transacting using the payment gateway). But there may be some of you who are wondering what all the excitement is about. Why is everyone (well at least those online) excited about being able to PAY other people and NOT SELL their goods and service? I penned an article yesterday of why I felt that PayPal wouldn’t be a hit just yet here in Zimbabwe and how local payment solutions were better poised to service the Zimbabwean market. Well, there are still sections of the populace that may want to know what they can pay with PayPal now that it has opened up. Let me first break down to how it works. As PayPal is a payment gateway, it accepts various payment providers through their system (an option that many suppliers would prefer), including VISA and MasterCard. If any website used PayPal to process their payments, even though you have a VISA (for example), because Zimbabwean cards were not recognised by PayPal your card would be rejected and essentially your transaction would fail. This created a stumbling block for many-an-entrepreneur that needed to buy services and products online. Well, PayPal has finally recognised that we exist and have been gracious enough to open their platform to us (someone give these guys a Bells). With this comes a host of opportunities, and I hope to list at least 10 services that you can now enjoy as a Zimbo.

1. WhatsApp subscriptions: For those of you that have been having sleepless nights over how you can pay your WhatsApp subscription and are tired of downloading and using it for FREE, the day has finally come. WhatsApp have been lenient on us and continually extend our expiry date for their service every year. No, it is not because Econet and/or Telecel (or whatever mobile network you’re on) paid for you as some people believe! One of the challenges that the Facebook owned instant messaging app has is how to collect money from developing nations. The coming of PayPal is a step in getting you to pay that $1 per year. C’mon guys, rejoice with me!
2. eBay: From the amount of comments and feedback from my last post on the issue, eBay should be a happy lot. It seems everyone was waiting for PayPal so that they can start buying stuff from the American website. Hokoyo ZimBay. If you didn’t know, PayPal is a wholly owned subsidiary of eBay (arguably the biggest consumer to consumer marketplace, a.k.a. classifieds) and now we can buy goods through their website. (Anybody do a transaction yet? Please advise of the logistics so that we all can start enjoying)
3. Skype: If you need to communicate cost efficiently then Skype is your answer. Internet connection allowing you can stay in touch with friends and relatives all over the world with your Skype Credit. PayPal now affords us this opportunity.
4. DropBox: For those of you that are always on the go and need to store information in the cloud, enter DropBox. The cloud storage service offers a limited amount of storage for FREE but for just $9.99 you can get access to 100GB extra!
5. Fiverr: My love and flirtation with Fiverr dates back over two years, where I have been using it ever since. For just $5 you can get an app made, Facebook login plug-in developed, even hire a “fake girlfriend” to make that somebody on Facebook jealous. Now that we can make payments there are so many freelance services that we can get for less than the price of the lowest DStv package (hey, wait, just about anything is lower than that!)
6. WordPress: For those of you who like to churn out websites on the fly and use WordPress for quick to market solutions, now you can buy your favourite templates easily. The world of themes and templates, plugins included are estimated to be a $25m industry, so believe me there is some value in them.
7. GoDaddy: For those of you that are more interested in .com websites (I’d recommend .co.zw instead, get them from Name) he is one of the industry leaders that will aide you in getting online quickly.
8. Udemy: if you haven’t visited Udemy, then what are you waiting for? This has got to be one of THE BEST learning resources online, though it might have a few FREE courses that will help you to further your career; the paid content is off the chain! (N.B. Econet offer this website along with over 50+ other FREE websites through their Econet Zero service, though I have been unable to access it). The courses that are available are widespread and very relevant to what is needed in today’s app market, e.g. Apple Swift Programming
9. iTunes: For the iEnthusiasts (all your iDevices) here is an easier way for you to now buy your Apple iTunes Store products at cost. Say good bye to middlemen who we visited at certain stores locally and bought iTunes credit at a premium (I know, you can thank me later).
10. Market Motive: I have saved the best for last. My passion is in Social Media Marketing and this is one of the world leaders when it comes to online learning. Teaching you topics such as SEO, PPC, Social Media and Content Marketing, you can get yourself a worldwide recognised certificate all from the comfort of your desktop…

If you are interested in more information on what services you can use with your PayPal account, be sure to check out their Store Directory. Comment - just watch out that servicesyou may be able to pay for may not deliver to Zimbabwe.

Company closures continue in Zimbabwe

Company closures continue in Zimbabwe by Tererai Karimakwenda 19 June 2014 |Reports of the rapid closure of companies in Zimbabwe have continued to make headlines as government fails to find a solution, with the latest news revealing that at least 10 companies are closing every month.According to the Financial Gazette newspaper, a senior official at the National Social Security Authority (NSSA) disclosed figures that suggest 60 companies had shut their doors so far this year. The total could be over 120 closures by year's end.The figures represent only statistics on the number of companies that stopped contributing to monthly pension funds due to closure. This means there could be even more companies closing that had not been paying into the fund, which is a crime under the law.In addition, mineral prices have declined significantly in the last two years and foreign investors are shunning Zimbabwe, following the seizure of several farms that were protected by bilateral agreements and confusion over government's indigenisation policy, which requires foreign firms to be owned by majority locals.Economist Tony Hawkins said indigenisation has created uncertainty and is deterring new investment, but the closures reflect a "deeper malaise"."This economy is no longer terribly competitive due to long periods of high inflation. We have a difficult infrastructural situation in terms of transport, water, and especially in terms of electricity, and we have an uncompetitive exchange rate linked to the dollar, which is too strong a currency for Zimbabwe," Hawkins explained.He added that government needs to follow through on some of the existing policies, such as the staff monitored programme of the International Monetary Fund and negotiating debt relief and debt restructuring. This would then allow government to finance the major infrastructural investment that they need to undertake.Hawkins said business leaders and politicians are so fixated on indigenisation that they have lost sight of all the other issues affecting the economy. - See more at: http://www.bulawayo24.com/index-id-business-sc-companies-byo-49298.html#sthash.UJANLPCY.dpuf

Paypal comes to Zimbabwe

Paypal comes to Zimbabwe by Staff reporter 16 June 2014 |
LONDON- PayPal is entering 10 new countries this week, including Zimbabwe, providing online payment alternatives for consumers via mobile phones or PCs in markets often blighted by financial fraud.Rupert Keeley, the executive in charge of the EMEA region of PayPal, the payments unit of eBay Inc, said in an interview on Monday the expansion would bring the number of countries it serves to 203.Starting on Tuesday, consumers in Nigeria, which has 60 million users and has Africa's largest population, along with nine other markets in sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America will be able to make payments through PayPal."PayPal has been going through a period of reinvention, refreshing many of its services to make them easier to use on mobile (phones), allowing us to expand into fast-developing markets," Keeley said.Once the services go live, customers in the 10 countries with access to the Web and a bank card authorized for Internet transactions will be able to register for a PayPal account and make payments to millions of sites worldwide.Initially, PayPal is only offering "send money" services for consumers to pay for goods and services at PayPal-enabled merchant sites while safeguarding their financial details. This is free to consumers and covered by fees it charges merchants."We think we can give our sellers selling into this market a great deal of reassurance," said Keeley, a former regional banking executive with Standard Chartered Plc and senior executive with payment card company Visa Inc.PayPal does not yet cover peer-to-peer transactions, which allow consumers to send money to other consumers. It has not yet enabled local merchants in the new markets to receive payments, nor is it offering other forms of banking services, he said.A 2013 survey of 200 UK ecommerce sites by Visa's CyberSource unit estimated that 1.26 percent of online orders are fraudulent and that 85 percent of merchants expected fraud to increase or remain static last year.CyberSource also estimated that suspicion of fraudulent transactions result in 8.2 percent of online orders in Latin America being rejected by merchants, compared with 5.5 percent in Europe and 2.7 percent in the United States and Canada.Such fraud can include ID theft, social engineering, phishing and automated harvesting of customer financial data via botnets, or networks of computers controlled by hackers.A total of 80 million Internet users stand to gain access to PayPal global services this week, including those in five European markets - Belarus, Macedonia, Moldova, Monaco and Montenegro, four in the African nations of Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, and Zimbabwe, as well as Paraguay. Internet usage figures are based on research by Euromonitor International.PayPal counts 148 million active accounts worldwide. .responsive-middle-article { width: 674px; height: 200px; } (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Last week, MasterCard Inc, the world's second-largest debit and credit card company, and a PayPal rival in payment processing, said it was working with the Nigerian government on a pilot to overlay payment technology on a new national identity card.PayPal has operated in 190 markets since 2007 and added three countries - Egypt, Georgia and Serbia last year. Roughly a quarter of the $52 billion in payment volumes PayPal reported in the first quarter of 2014 were for cross-border transactions. PayPal reported $1.8 billion in revenue during the period. Paypal Bank Source: newsday -