A digital copy of the BH24 (30 November 2015 edition). Zimbabwe's premier business news free sheet published by the Zimpapers Newspapers Group (1980) Limited and available every week day from 1530hrs to give a summary of the day's business news.

1. BH24 Reporter
HARARE -Finance and Eco-
nomic Development Minister
Patrick Chinamasa last week
presented a growth-oriented
Budget for 2016.
Under the current environ-
ment nobody expected mira-
cles on the size of the budget
but policy measures aimed at
creating an enabling environ-
ment for business.
The minister’s budget did jus-
tice in this regard.
And his theme “Building a
Conducive Environment that
Attracts Foreign Direct Invest-
ment” spelt all the intentions
of the Treasury boss.
There are a number of take
always from the 2016 National
Budget, but the most interest-
ing ones are:
First, re-affirmation to clear
debt in line with the Lima out-
come is a good move in the
right direction, which will help
to address the country’s risk
profile and help both Govern-
ment and private sector to
attract funding. It is impor-
tant to see the budget reaf-
firming this.
There a number of measures,
which were spelt out in the
budget aiming at supporting
agriculture which inter – alia
include direct subsidies to
agriculture particularly to cot-
ton sector, agro – value chain,
contract farming and mobili-
sation of funding to the tune
of $1 billion from the bank-
ing sector. In line with this,
the proposals by the budget
to provide security of land
tenure through the issuance
News Update as @ 1530 hours, Monday 30 November 2015
Feedback: bh24admin@zimpapers.co.zwEmail: bh24feedback@zimpapers.co.zw
ECONOMY 2016: Good times beckoning
Minister Patrick Chinamasa

2. 2 news
of tradable permits and trad-
able lease agreements will
help farmers to unlock finance
from the banks and take away
the burden from Government.
This is an excellent move.
Again, still on agriculture, the
call by the minister to oper-
ationalise the Commodity
Exchange, which was estab-
lished way back in 2011 is
again most welcome as it will
help to address three critical
challenges, which farmers are
facing, that is, access to infor-
mation, finance and markets.
The commodity exchange in
itself has a financing mecha-
nism as it provide platforms
for derivatives which can be
used to finance agriculture.
In addition, it provides ware-
house receipts which can be
used by farmers as collateral.
The budget eloquently spelt
out the need for business link-
ages and value chains which
are important measures aimed
at addressing national produc-
tivity, employment creation,
liquidity and improvement in
trade balances as the country
localise the foreign currency.
One of the worst enemies of
this country is lack of compet-
itiveness. As such, the minis-
ter laid out a number of meas-
ures which include:
Efforts towards cutting down
cost drivers such as regula-
tory cost like the ones from
the Environmental Manage-
ment Agency (EMA) and multi-
ple taxes in the mining sector
and establishment of one stop
border post.
It is even exciting to note
that there is expedition in the
establishment of the national
competitiveness commission
and operationalisation of the
findings of the national com-
petitiveness report which was
launched on 29 October 2015.
These twin moves will help to
consolidate efforts towards
raising national competitive-
ness.
The move to establish incu-
bation centres for SMEs and
formalisation of the informal
sector is a good since the
economy is now largely SME
and informal. What is more
refreshing is that the budget
went on to propose supporting
measures aimed at unlocking
potential in this sector.
These measures such as
establishment of SMEs indus-
trial parks, completion of
Indo-Zim Common Facility
Centres, establishment of
SME bank (SMEDCO capi-
talisation), entrepreneurial
skills upgrading, enhance-
ment market access through
business to business linkages
and trade promotion, coopera-
tives development, promotion
of value chains through SMEs
and development of the SMEs
formalisation strategy.
The budget was also very
clear on indigenisation. The
problem with indigenisation
in Zimbabwe is not the policy
itself, but how it is spelt out.
What is more damaging is not
the policy but inconsistency
pronouncement by officials
who have no mandate to do
so.
One of the roles of the national
budget is to set a positive
tone on the economy.
It was good to see Minister
Chinamasa clearly stating
the point that the minister
responsible for indigenisation
policy, that is, Honourable
Zhuwao will spell out before
Christmas a template for indi-
genisation which will put to
rest the long term problem of
Government officials singing
different hymns.
Lastly, it was also interest-
ing to note that all the pro-
nouncements in the budget
were structured in a manner
that seek to see the effective
implementation of the Ten
Point Plan which was outlined
by His Excellency, President
Robert Mugabe in his state of
the nation address in August..
This is important because it
helps implementation of the
policy and at the same time
re-inforce policy consist-
ency.●

3. BH243

4. ByTawandaMusarurwa
HARARE-Zimbabwe’s insurance regula-
tor,theInsuranceandPensionsCommis-
sion (IPEC) will soon appoint a substan-
tivechiefexecutiveofficer.
Introducing the IPEC's new board mem-
bers this morning, Finance and Economic
Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa
said the delay in appointing a new CEO
fortheregulatorhadbeendelayedbythe
needtorestructureitsboard.
"It (the new IPEC board) will have a
working mandate to appoint a substan-
tive chief executive officer. We have had
an acting, whom I have been extending
her tenure every three months because
I didn't think it was my responsibility to
appointasubstantiveCEO,"saidMinister
Chinamasa.
The new six-member board is chaired
by ex-AfrAsia CEO Mrs Lynn Mukonowe-
shuro.
The other members are Mr George
Mazhude, who is board vice chairperson,
Finance and Economic Development
secretary Mr Willard Manungo, Mrs Anna
Mashingaidze, Abedinico Ncube and Mr
TafadzwanasheZinyoro.
Although there is improved stability and
confidence in the insurance and pension
sector, it has largely remained depressed
due to low economic activity and legacy
issues emanating from the conversion of
insurance and pension policies from the
ZimbabwedollartotheUnitedStatesdol-
larvalues,amongotherissues.
According to Minister Chinamasa, some
of the key issues that the IPEC board
must consider include: finalisation of
amendments to pensions and insurance
regulations, introduction of interface
information technology (IT) system, the
CommissionofInquiry,theInsuranceand
Pension Study and compliance with Pre-
scribedAssetRequirement.
Healsosaidtherewasneedfortheboard
to focus on review of minimum capital
requirementsaswellasestablishingeffec-
tive co-existence between the National
Social Security Authority (NSSA) and pri-
vateoccupationalpensionschemes.
IPEC is the commission governing insur-
ance and pensions in Zimbabwe, which
emerged from the enactment of the
Insurance and Pensions Commission Act
ofZimbabwe.
Meanwhile Minister Chinamasa said the
billsfortheinsuranceandpensionsectors
should be ready for submitting to Parlia-
mentduringthefirstquarterofnextyear.
"My Ministry is currently finalising the
draft bills for the insurance and pension
industry , taking into account stakehold-
er'sinputs.
"The bills include the Insurance and Pen-
sion Commission Bill, Pensions and Prov-
ident Funds Bill, and the Insurance Bill. It
is anticipated that the bills would be pre-
sentedtoParliamentinthefirstquarterof
2016,"hesaid.
Among other things, the bills seek to bar
shareholderswithsignificantshareholding
from holding executive positions in insur-
ance companies and revise individual
shareholdingthreshold.●
4 news
New substantive CEO for IPEC

5. 5 news
$75m tranche in 2016 for NetOne expansion project
Chinese investors urged to focus on value addition
By Funny Hudzerema
HARARE -Government has urged
Chinese investors to invest in the
value addition of raw materials.
The move is meant to assist
Zimbabwe in reducing the trade
imbalance, Minister of Industry
and Commerce Mike Bimha has
said.
“Currently, Zimbabwe is experi-
encing a negative and high trade
deficit with China due to the con-
tinued export of raw and semi-pro-
cessed goods, while we import fin-
ished products from China.
"In this regard I call upon the Chi-
nese business community present
to participate in the value addition
of Zimbabwe’s vast raw materi-
als through partnerships in order
to promote technology and skills
transfer," he said during a Zimba-
bwe-China Economic Cooperation
Forum this morning.
The Zimbabwe-China Economic
Cooperation Forum comes ahead
of a visit by Chinese President
Xi Jinping who is expected in the
country tomorrow on a two-day
State visit.
Zimbabwe and China have strong
bi-lateral ties, and China is cur-
rently Zimbabwe's biggest trad-
ing partner with trade statistics
between the two countries peak-
ing at nearly $1,2 billion between
January and November last year
compared to $1,1 billion in 2013.
Minister Bimha added that Chi-
nese investors should invest in the
country insofar as it also allows
them to enjoy benefits from other
trade blocks which Zimbabwe is a
party to.
"Zimbabwe is also a member
of regional economic groupings
namely SADC, COMESA and is
also actively involved in the nego-
tiations for the Tripartite Free
Trade Area, which will create a
free Trade Area for countries in
the SADC, COMESA and the East
African Community (EAC).
“This therefore gives companies
investing in Zimbabwe a large
market to supply its products,
since COMESA countries have a
total population of 650 million
people and a GDP totaling $170
billion while the Tripartite member
states have a total of 650 million
people with a total GDP of $1 tril-
lion,” he said.●
BH24 Reporter
HARARE -Government says $75,5
million will be disbursed for the
on-going second phase of the
NetOne expansion project.
The State-owned telecoms operator
NetOne is currently implementing
Phase II of the National Network
Broadband project funded from a
$218,9 million loan from China Exim
Bank.In the 2016 National Budget,
Finance and Economic Development
Minister Patrick Chinamasa outlined
that a significant portion of the China
Exim Bank loan facility had been uti-
lised.
"Cumulative disbursements towards
the project now stand at $118,1 mil-
lion, with $52,4 million having been
disbursed as at 30 September 2015.
Equipment worth $98,3 million has
been delivered and installed coun-
trywide," he said.
"In 2016, it is expected that $75,5
million will be disbursed for further
works."
The three-year project, which is
expected to be completed in 2016,
will see NetOne providing LTE ser-
vices to its customers across Zim-
babwe, resulting in wider broadband
use in the country.
Statistics from the International Tel-
ecommunications Union show that in
2013, Zimbabwe's fixed broadband
penetration stood at 0,7 percent,
while the mobile broadband pene-
tration rate was at 38 percent.●

6. BH24
TAA:DI251386-Y22Laz DI324241-D15
6

7. HARARE - Thin trading was
the order of the day as the
local bourse opened the
week lower at 117.55, 0.09
points (or 0,08 percent)
worse off from Friday.
A couple of heavyweight
losses pulled down the main-
stream industrial index.
Seed manufacturer SeedCo
lost $0,0099 to settle at
$0,8700 and giant insurer
Old Mutual declined $0,0009
to close at $2,1100.
No counter traded in the pos-
itive territory and six coun-
ters remained unchanged at
previous closing prices.
Barclays, CBZ, Econet,
Simbisa, Padenga and Zimre
Holdings closed at $0,0432,
$0,1000, $0,1800, $0,1550,
$0,0750 and $0,0122 in
that order.
The mining index was
steady at 22.33 as Bind-
ura, Falgold, Hwange and
RioZim all maintained previ-
ous price levels at $0,0130,
$0,0050, $0,0340 and
0,1040, respectively.
- BH24 Reporter ●
ZSE7
Thin trading haunts market on opening

8. BH248

9. Movers CHANGE Today Price USc SHAKERS Change TODAY Price USc
SeedCo -1.12 87.00
Old Mutual -0.04 211.00
Index Previous Today Move Change
Industrial 117.64 117.55 -0.09 points -0.08%
Mining 22.33 22.33 0.00 0.00%
9 zse tables
ZSE
Indices
Stock Exchange
Previous

10. BH2410

11. 11 DIARY OF EVENTS
The black arrow indicate level of load shedding across the country.
POWER GENERATION STATS
Gen Station
30 November 15
Energy
(Megawatts)
Hwange 389 MW
Kariba 468 MW
Harare 30 MW
Munyati 0 MW
Bulawayo 23 MW
Imports 0 MW
Total 861 MW
•1 December 2015 - The 33rd Annual General Meeting of the Members of Radar Holdings
Limited; Place; The Board Room, 6TH FLOOR, Tanganyika House, 23 Third Street, Harare; Time:
15:00
THE BH24 DIARY

12. Johannesburg -The South
African rand was flat against
the dollar early on Monday,
but traders and analysts said
it could turn weaker if the
October trade deficit came in
bigger than expected later in
the session.
The JSE securities exchange's
Top-40 futures index was
down 0.26 percent, suggesting
the bourse would get off to a
slightly soft start at 0700 GMT.
By 0645 GMT the rand traded
at 14.4115 versus the dollar,
hardly changed from Friday's
close of 14.4025.
The rand barely moved after
a central bank report at 0600
GMT showed growth in private
sector credit demand in South
Africa quickened to 8.87 per-
cent in October on the year,
from 8.39 percent in Septem-
ber. - Reuters
Investors awaited more data
from the revenue service
at 1200 GMT, which could
weigh on the rand. Econo-
mists surveyed in a Reuters
poll expected a widening to
4.9 billion rand in the October
trade deficit, after an 890 mil-
lion rand gap in September.
"A wider than consensus defi-
cit print today could be rand
negative if it raises concerns
about a continued widening in
South Africa’s current account
deficit," Barclays Africa said in
a market note.
Government bonds weakened
in early trade, with the yield
for debt due in 2026 rising 2.5
basis points to 8.585 percent
from Friday's close
- Reuters●
JOHANNESBURG - South African
fashion retailer Truworths Interna-
tional said on Monday it has entered
into an agreement to buy an 88.9
percent stake in Britain's Office
Retail Group for 5.5 billion rand
($382 million).The British retailer's
management will retain an 11.1 per-
cent stake in Office. Truworths has
the option to buy that stake within
3 to 5 years, it said in a statement.
Office, a footwear retailer with 150
stores, would be Truworths' first
foray into Europe. Shares in Tru-
worths traded down 0.8 percent at
95.25 rand by 0740 GMT, while the
Johannesburg Securities Exchange's
All Share index was flat.- Reuters●
regioNAL News12
Rand stable, could weaken on trade data
S.A's Truworths to buy major-
ity stake in Office Retail Group

13. Most-active iron ore futures in Sin-
gapore sank below $40 a metric ton
for the first time on concern that the
economic slowdown in China will cut
demand as supplies from the largest
miners climb.
The SGX AsiaClear contract for Jan-
uary fell 2.6 percent to $39.74 a ton
at 2:38 p.m. in Singapore, heading
for the lowest close since trading
started in April 2013. On the Dalian
Commodity Exchange, futures for
May delivery sank as much as 3.1
percent to 293 yuan ($45.81) a ton,
a record low.
The raw material has been pum-
meled since the start of 2014 as
surging supplies from low-cost pro-
ducers including BHP Billiton Ltd.
and Rio Tinto Group in Australia and
Brazil’s Vale SA combine with falter-
ing demand in China to spur a glut.
Losses in Singapore and Dalian could
presage a drop in the benchmark
price for spot ore in Qingdao, which
will be updated later in the day. The
latest sign of new supply came from
Australia, with a vessel waiting off-
shore on Monday to load the first
cargo from Gina Rinehart’s Roy Hill
mine.
“Supply continues to rise while port
inventories are starting to climb,
weighing on iron ore prices,” analysts
at Maike Futures Co. said in a note
on Monday. “The overseas producers
are still profitable and are greatly
reducing costs.”
Steel Production
The top miners are betting that
higher output will enable them to cut
unit costs and defend market share
while smaller rivals shut. Mills in
China, contending with overcapacity
and depressed margins, will cut steel
production by almost 3 percent next
year, according to the China Iron &
Steel Association.Ore with 62 per-
cent content delivered to Qingdao
rose 1.2 percent to $44.50 a dry
ton on Friday, according to Metal
Bulletin Ltd. The price bottomed at
$43.89 on Nov. 24, a record for daily
price data dating back to May 2009.
Rinehart’s $10 billion operation,
which targets annual production
of 55 million tons, missed an initial
deadline to begin shipments earlier
this year. The Capesize carrier Anan-
gel Explorer, anchored offshore, will
be loaded with the first cargo from
the mine, Roy Hill Holdings Pty. con-
firmed in an e-mail.
While Citigroup Inc. has forecast the
mine’s new supply will contribute to
a further slump, the producer has
said almost 90 percent of its output
is under long-term contracts and
that it won’t pressure prices. Aus-
tralia & New Zealand Banking Group
Ltd. said it’s the pace at which the
project comes on stream that will
determine the impact.
Inventories at ports in China have
expanded in six of the past seven
weeks to the highest level since May.
Holdings rose 1.8 percent to 87.65
million tons last week, according to
Shanghai Steelhome Information
Technology Co.
Miners’ shares dropped in Sydney.
BHP, which is also facing the fallout
from a burst mine dam in Brazil,
shed 3.6 percent to A$18.09, the
lowest close since 2005. Rio lost 0.7
percent, retreating for a seventh day,
as Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. fell
4.9 percent. The trio are Australia’s
biggest shippers. - Bloomberg●
internatioNAL News13
Iron ore sinks below $40 for the first time

14. By Kizito Sikuka
Agriculture has been identified by
Africa as a priority development area in
the China-Africa strategic partnership.
The agricultural sector is regarded as
an engine for socio-economic develop-
ment in most African countries.
According to the African Union (AU),
agriculture accounts for about one-
third of the continent’s Gross Domestic
Product (GDP), and more than two-
thirds of its citizens rely directly on the
sector for their livelihood.
Cognisant of the important role of agri-
culture in the development agenda,
Africa is redoubling its efforts to invest
more in the sector and boost produc-
tion.
However, the task of transforming
agriculture is generally not an easy
one. Similar to the struggle for inde-
pendence, the agricultural drive also
requires much more efforts from within
Africa as well as outside, particularly
from those that have successfully
transformed their agricultural sector.
One country that has managed to
record impressive progress in the agri-
cultural sector is China. Other notable
countries in this regard include Argen-
tine, Brazil, India and Tanzania.
From struggling to feed its growing
population, China now ranks among
the leaders in worldwide farm output,
although accounting for less than 10
percent of arable land worldwide.
On the other hand, Africa continues to
experience some challenges in improv-
ing its agricultural sector, yet the con-
tinent is endowed with fertile soils, a
favourable climate and affluent water
basin.
So what are the lessons and opportu-
nities for development between China
and Africa as the latter has clearly
demonstrated to the rest of the world
that socio-economic development is
possible through agricultural develop-
ment.
One opportunity lies in knowledge and
technology transfer and sharing, which
is explicitly outlined in the Forum on
China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC)
launched in 2000 and in each three-
year plan ever since, where the two
sides have agreed to work together
in boosting agricultural production in
Africa and ensuring food security for its
citizens.
For example, China pledged to train
agricultural technicians and manage-
ment personnel as well as build agri-
cultural technology demonstration cen-
tres in Africa, and had done so in many
countries.
This commitment is based on the fact
that China has achieved an impressive
agricultural growth from investment
in agriculture research including the
development of high-yielding, well-
adapted lowland seed varieties, as well
as appropriate fertilizer application,
and farming machinery to boost pro-
duction.
14 analysis14 analysis
Agriculture a priority area in China-Africa relations

15. 15 analysis15 analysis
In this regard, Africa should up-scale
the use of research in agriculture and
not rely on cultivating more land and
mobilising a larger labour force to
increase production.
So far, at least 15 agricultural tech-
nology demonstration centres built by
China are operational in African coun-
tries, in Benin, Cameroon, Democratic
Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Liberia,
Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique,
United Republic of Tanzania, Togo,
Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia
and Zimbabwe. Five more centres are
expected to be built in countries such
as Mali.
Theagriculturaltechnologydemonstra-
tion centre in Zimbabwe has trained
more than 3,000 farmers since it
started operations in 2012.
Another important area for China-Af-
rica cooperation in the agricultural sec-
tor is infrastructure development, par-
ticularly irrigation, transport network
and storage facilities.
Noting that the country had limited
land for agriculture, China embarked
on a massive drive to ensure that it
maximises the little land it had for
greater output by embracing the use
of irrigation.
This is in contrast with Africa where
less than 10 percent of the arable land
is under irrigation yet the continent is
home to more than half of the world’s
arable land.
As a result of the irrigation drive, China
is able to conduct its farming activ-
ities all year around. It will be critical
for Africa to also embrace and heavily
invest in irrigation development, and
not heavily rely on climatic conditions,
because lower precipitation would
mean lower yield.
Africa has the capacity to increase its
irrigation uptake as the continent is
hugely endowed with watercourses
such as the seven major river systems
ofCongo,Limpopo,Niger,Nile,Orange,
Senegal and Zambezi.
Investment in road and rail upgrades
will ensure that agricultural produce
moves smoothly from one place to
another, while establishment of more
storage facilities will allow farmers to
store their harvest for use in poor sea-
sons.
According to the UN Food and Agricul-
ture Organisation post-harvest crop
losses are estimated to be as high as
40 percent in Africa, so storage is a
challenge to be resolved.
In addition to infrastructure develop-
ment, agricultural cooperation between
China and Africa should target small-
holder farmers, who are the majority.
With clear agricultural policies such as
access to inputs including seeds and
fertilizer, as well as credit facilities and
extension services, smallholder farm-
ers have the capacity to increase pro-
duction, as has been the case in China.
Access to extension services is also
critical for planning purposes, espe-
cially when farmers want to diversify
into new crops or livestock.
Another important lesson from Chinese
agricultural development is that China
was aware that agricultural policy
implementations come at a cost.
Therefore, they were patient with
their policies noting that agricultural
development should first be aimed at
achieving food security before achiev-
ing socio-economic development.
As a result, agricultural development
was an incremental learning process,
meaning that any policy was first
implemented on a smaller scale, and
only when it was successful was it then
replicated in other areas as opposed to
implementing unproven methods on a
larger scale.
Furthermore, significant agricultural
reforms in China were deeply rooted
in fully implementing all agreed poli-
cies, and the task for African countries
is to transform its initiatives into actual
implementation.
These initiatives include the African
Union’s Comprehensive Africa Agri-
culture Development Programme
(CAADP), which encourages countries
to reach a higher path of economic
growth through agriculture-led devel-
opment by allocating at least 10 per-
cent of their national budgets to the
agricultural sector each year. - Sardc.
net ●
*This article from the Southern
African Research and Documen-
tation Centre (SARDC) through
its Institute for China-Africa Stud-
ies in Southern Africa, is part of a
series exploring the dimensions of
China Africa relations in advance
of the FOCAC Summit to be held in
Johannesburg in early December.