BULAWAYO -- Zimbabwe has been ranked alongside war-torn Afghanistan as one of the high-risk places in the world for business investment, a categorisation that will surprise few people given President Robert Mugabes controversial policies over the past decade. (Pictured: President Robert Mugabe)A report released last Thursday by United States-based Dun and Bradstreet said various factors obtaining in Zimbabwe — and chief among them political uncertainty — were a turn-back to investors.
Dun and Bradstreet is a leading provider of credit information on businesses, corporations and governments across the world and investors often consult its reports before deciding where to place investments.
Zimbabwe and Afghanistan offer a high-risk environment for business investment. The two countries have high levels of economic, commercial, external and political uncertainty, Dun and Bradstreet chief executive Christine Christian said.
Australia is ranked as the safest place in the world for business investment, alongside Canada, Norway and Switzerland.
The US firms reports are utilised by many major banks, insurance and finance companies and are endorsed by the European Union as the primary identification system for international business assessment and validation throughout the world.
Zimbabwes negative ranking highlights the immensely difficult task the countrys fragile power-sharing government faces in its bid to woo back foreign investors to help resuscitate an economy in freefall for the past 10 years.
The Harare government says it requires US$10 billion to revive the economy. But rich Western nations with capacity to finance Zimbabwes economic reconstruction have said they will not immediately help until they are convinced Mugabe is committed to genuinely share power with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
Post published in: News