The Zimbabwe government said Wednesday it had short-li sted six companies, most of them from outside the country, to take over the nation’s huge loss-making iron and steel company.
The government owns a majority stake in the Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (Zis co), but wants to off-load this to an investor willing to revive the company’s operations and take over its huge debt of US$300 million.
Industry Minister Welshman Ncube said six bidders, most of them from South Afric a, had been selected and the winner would be announced shortly.
Zisco, which has shut down operations due to lack of capital and other difficult ies, is the first company to be earmarked for privatisation by the country’s new coalition government.
The government wants to raise US$8 billion to revive Zimbabwe’s shattered econom y.
“The government will only come up with a winner after a technical team tasked to look into Zisco has presented its findings. The technical team is expected to submit the results of its findings before the end of the month,” Ncube said.
Among the bidders are Arcelor Mittal and Murray and Roberts, both of South Afric a, and steel companies from India.
