Zimbabwe’s biggest beer and soft drinks manufacturing company, Delta Corporation, Wednesday became the first company to reach a market capitalisation of US$1 billion.
The company, which is owned 40 percent by South Africa’s SABMiller, is the dominant producer of both beer and soft drinks in Zimbabwe, and exports to several countries in southern Africa.
The capitalisation accounts for 25 percent of the total value of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.
In second place was mobile phone operator Econet Wireless at US$815 million.
Delta Corporation is enjoying a boom in business due to the economic stability that is prevailing in Zimbabwe, after the government introduced a foreign-currency trading regime in 2009 in place of a worthless local currency.
It has also invested heavily since 2009 to expand production of both beer and soft drinks.
Last year, it modernised some of its plants at a cost of US$200 million.
The company is majority-owned by government investment entities.
