The Sunday Mail
Stakeholders in the financial services markets will next month converge in Sandton, South Africa, for the fifth annual Financial Markets Indaba (FMI) that seeks to foster economic activity through partnerships.
Fund managers, South African Based Development Finance Institutions (FDIs), investment boutiques and other technical partners will hold the FMI on the 1st of March at the Hilton Hotel.
“The conference seeks to draw committed Zimbabwe based infrastructure and mining project developers, advisory firms, operators and corporates with an interest of establishing funding and strategic partners based in South Africa,” said FMI organiser Mr Patrick Muzondo.
The one-day event is part of a series of conferences held in the three strategic cities to Zimbabwe’s capital markets — Harare, Johannesburg and London — which hosted last year’s conference.
“In addition to traditional panel discussions on core investment themes, this year’s Johannesburg Summit is hosting exclusive round-tables where developers and credible capital seekers will have direct engagement with selected potential investors and technical partners with an interest for Zimbabwe,” he said.
This year’s summit edition will have three round-tables discussing renewable energy investment in Zimbabwe, mining investment and infrastructure with emphasis on transport and logistics, real estate as well as water infrastructure.
These panel discussions are meant to promote investment partnerships.
Zimbabwe has suffered low investor confidence due to perceived risk emanating from negative media reports.
Government has, however, through the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC), spearheaded a raft of reforms under the rapid results initiative (RRI) to improve the ease of doing business, attract investment and ultimately grow the economy. The FMI summit therefore also comes at a time the country is courting investment in different sectors of the economy as it seeks to generate both domestic and foreign direct investment.
Since change in the country’s administration, there has been positive sentiment which is expected to translate into tangible investments with Government emphasising that Zimbabwe is open for business.
The summit will therefore compliment efforts being made to attract investment in various sectors of the economy and promote the country as a safe investment destination.
In light of this, speakers will also interrogate topics such as de-risking investments in resource based projects in Zimbabwe, beyond the dollar — managing currency risk in investments as well as investment vehicles for infrastructure assets in Zimbabwe.
“The conference is a platform to connect with intermediaries who can facilitate funding and business relationships with potential clients and investors,” said Mr Muzondo.
The FMI is co-hosted by Emergent Capital Management and Thomson Reuters and the last four conferences have hosted over 127 speakers.
