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SA furniture manufacturer invests $100m in Zim

27 Apr, 2014 - 00:04 0 Views

The Sunday News

Roberta Katunga Sunday News Reporter
SOUTH African office furniture and accessories manufacturers and distributors, Krost Office Products has launched a $100 million project in partnership with a Bulawayo entrepreneur to form Krost Office Zimbabwe, becoming one of the success stories of the linkages created through Zimbabwe and South African trade missions.

Krost Office Products South Africa official Mr Brendan Baker told Sunday Business during last week’s Zimbabwe International Trade Fair that his company had formed a partnership with Mr Alex Mpande, investing logistically and financially $100 million that will be spread over 10 years.

“We met Mr Mpande six months ago when we came to Zimbabwe with the Department of Trade and Industry delegation led by Deputy Minister (Elizabeth) Thabethe and decided to have him as our distributor here in Zimbabwe. He owns 100 percent Krost Office Products Zimbabwe and we are financing the business,” said Mr Baker.

He said the company was looking at setting up a manufacturing plant in Bulawayo as they believed it was still the industrial hub of Zimbabwe and with a lot of investments, industry in the city could be revived.

Mr Mpande said working with Krost was a great opportunity adding Bulawayo was his choice of an investment destination.

He added that with more joint ventures and investments the city would reclaim its former glory.

“As businesspeople it is our mandate to drive the economy of the country and do everything in our power to ensure that Bulawayo becomes the industrial hub it was. This city is not dead as people like to say,” said Mr Mpande.

The deal is part of the trade missions between Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Pak afro textiles Zone South Africa, Mr Mark Rubin said there were a lot of investment opportunities available in Zimbabwe with Bulawayo and Harare being the ideal destinations.

The company is into textile manufacturing.
Mr Rubin said he was interested in investing in the textiles industry and was looking for partners to market and distribute the company’s products.

“We are teaming up with locals and in a way creating employment for those who will market and distribute our products. Zimbabwe is an ideal investment destination and as textile manufacturers we definitely want to expand and invest in partnerships,” he said.

South Africa Ambassador to Zimbabwe Vusi Mavimbela said the purpose of the trade missions between the two countries was to build partnerships and he said the Department of Trade and Industry was encouraging South African companies to work towards building factories in Zimbabwe to expand.

“There are South African companies that have already set up offices in Harare where they found distributors for their products but we are also urging them to invest in manufacturing plants. South Africa is one of the biggest investors in Zimbabwe and the fact that there are already established partnerships shows that the trade missions are bearing fruit,” said Ambassador Mavimbela.

He said small and medium companies should not remain small but grow and it was the duty of Government to create an enabling environment for them.

He said regional integration was of paramount importance and South Africa was keen to build ties with other countries on the continent.

A Department of Trade and Industry representative said they were looking at increasing exports with Zimbabwe and form joint ventures.

He said international exhibitions such as the ZITF were ideal platforms to network and create linkages.

He said South Africa was not only encouraging exports into Zimbabwe but imports from Zimbabwe to South Africa to strengthen the relationship between the two countries.

Thirty one South African companies exhibited at the 55th edition of the Trade Fair which ran under the theme “New ideas to new heights.”

 

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