[miningmx.com] — Zimbabwe is inviting fresh bids for the takeover of state steel-maker Zisco, a minister said on Wednesday, after rejecting earlier offers from South Africa’s ArcelorMittal and Jindal Steel and Power of India.
A power-sharing government formed by bitter rivals, President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai last year has sought to attract foreign investors in a bid to raise at least $10bn needed to fix the economy.
The government has identified cash-starved Zisco, once a major foreign currency earner, with capacity to produce 1 million tonnes of steel per year, as the first state-owned enterprise to be disposed of in a bid to revive its operations.
“The ministry wishes to advise interested parties that bids for a strategic partner for Zisco are now open,” Industry and Commerce Minister Welshman Ncube said in a statement.
