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Africa's richest man bets on Zim opportunities

Harare – Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, will invest in a new cement plant in Zimbabwe as part of a plan to seek opportunities in the southern African country, he said from Zimbabwe's capital on Monday.

Zimbabwe, cash-strapped and in urgent need of foreign direct investment to grow the economy and offset a worsening economic situation, is apparently softening its stance on foreign investors.

Last week, President Robert Mugabe wooed global investors after years of championing the indigenisation policy that seeks to compel foreign investors to give away 51% shareholding into the hands of black Zimbabweans.

But on Monday, Dangote, the Nigerian billionaire with a fortune estimated at about $17bn, jetted into Zimbabwe. He held several high profile meetings with government officials – including Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi and Mines Minister Walter Chidakwa – and announced that he was investing in a cement plant.

“We want to set up an integrated cement plant here that will be bigger than all the plants that we have,” Dangote said after his meeting with Mnangawa, who is being touted as potential successor to Mugabe after the dismissal of former vice president Joice Mujuru last year.

Analysts say foreign investors are also being discouraged by political uncertainty. Mugabe has not publicly spoken about his succession plans, plunging his ruling Zanu-PF party into divisive succession battles.

Dangote said the cement plant would “translate to 1.5 million tonnes of cement” to guarantee cement availability in the region. Dangote Cement is already a significant producer on the continent and will compete with PPC and Lafarge in Southern Africa.

Experts have predicted an infrastructure development boom in Southern Africa. This could have attracted Dangote’s interest in the region, especially with housing backlogs and other infrastructure still lagging behind in most African countries.

The meeting with Mnangagwa discussed areas that Dangote is interested in investing in, as well as Zimbabwe’s expectations and requirements. Dangote was due to meet Zimbabwean business executives on Monday afternoon to understand the business climate in the country, sources with knowledge of his itinerary said.

“In the afternoon, he will have discussions with business executives. As an investor, he wants to hear from the people on the ground what the prospects are and what the problems are,” said one of the sources.

Dangote had earlier said that government bureaucracy could slow down his investment into the Zimbabwean cement plant. He did not mention how much the new cement plant – which also comes on the back of PPC Zimbabwe setting up a new plant in Harare – would cost him.

“If we get it this year, we will start construction by first quarter next year. We will move in very fast (but) it all depends with the government,” he told journalists after meeting the Zimbabwean vice president.

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