Industrial Index loses again

Four counters traded in the positive. These were gold producer, Rio Zimbabwe Limited, insurance entity, Fidelity Insurance Limited, usually a mediocre performer, Edgars Limited, the clothing seller, Zimbabwe Newspapers, the country’s largest but government-controlled newspaper entity, and blue-chip banking group, Barclays Bank. Barclays was recently threatened by President Robert Mugabe for not dishing out some of its wealth to indigenous Zimbabweans.

The ZSE said five counters traded at a loss for the period under review, including Hwange Colliery and the wealthy Meikles Africa Limited (MAL) whose majority shareholder, John Moxon, recently returned to Zimbabwe after fleeing the country worried that he would be arrested by the Mugabe regime for alleged “externalisation”. The bourse said Bindura Nickel Corporation Limited (Bindura), asbestos firm Turnall Limited, and Dairibord Zimbabwe Holdings Limited (DZHL), traded in the negative.

Rio was up by $0.10, Fidelity by $0.05, Edgars also up by $0.03, Zimpapers by $0.01, and Barclays by $0.01. Coal mining concern, WCCL nose-dived by $0.02, MAL also down by $0.02, Bindura by $1.01, asbestos producer Turnall down by $0.09, and milk producer DZHL also down by $0.05 for the week under review. The ZSE said the Mining Index, on the other hand, retreated 5.13 points to close at 234.77 points as all but one counter traded in the negative territory. This was a 2.14 percentage change for the week.

Zimbabwe’s mining industry has been severely affected by the new Indigenisation Act recently passed by Parliament. It took a further knock when Indigenisation Minister, Saviour Kasukuwere, recently told investors that he would also grab mining houses because they were not declaring their dividends and wealth locally. Under the new Act all foreign-owned firms are now required by law to cede 51 percent of their stake to indigenous Zimbabweans.