CHINESE firms now largely dominate Zimbabwe’s cement industry, with six operating locally compared to just two domestic producers, highlighting Beijing’s expanding influence in the country’s strategic sectors beyond mining.
China dominates Zimbabwe’s lithium industry via Sinomine Resource Group, Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, and Suzhou TA&A Ultra Clean Technology. Sinomine runs Bikita Minerals, Huayou oversees Arcadia Mine, and TA&A is invested in Premier African Minerals, consolidating Beijing’s grip on the sector.
China’s footprint extends into Zimbabwe’s plastics and consumer goods markets, where low-cost electrical products—often perceived as lower quality—flood the sector.
PPC Zimbabwe managing director Ndima Rawana revealed the dominance of Chinese firms in the cement industry during the parent company’s Capital Markets Day on Wednesday in South Africa.
South African cement maker PPC Limited is PPC Zimbabwe’s parent company.
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“People are extremely important. They are an integral part of this turnaround (the Zimbabwe strategy). This cannot happen without people, it also cannot happen without good leadership. We need skilled people.
“And, I must say, in Zimbabwe, we have a problem that is similar to South Africa, but I think South Africa is in a better space, and I am going to explain that a bit,” he said.
“Cement skills in Zimbabwe… So, there are about eight players in Zimbabwe, at the moment.
“Six of them are Chinese, and two of them are PPC and a local player, Khayah (Khayah Cement Limited), a former Lafarge asset. If you look at that market, it is very difficult to fill a position if I have not developed people within.”
However, he said one of PPC Zimbabwe’s responsibilities was now to identify talent and develop its own people.
“In Zimbabwe, you do not go around and pick up skills in the market because the Chinese players have their Chinese people working in there,” Rawana said.
As part of its competitiveness strategy, PPC entered into a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement with Chinese firm Sinoma Overseas Development Corporation in 2024. The partnership aims to improve operational efficiencies, modernise technologies, reduce production costs, accelerate the transition to alternative non-fossil fuels, and expand capacities across PPC operations in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Botswana.
Sinoma is a premier international engineering subsidiary of Sinoma International Engineering Co Ltd, established in 1988 and headquartered in Beijing.
Sinoma has been in Zimbabwe for the past two months to reassess PPC Zimbabwe and identify opportunities for PPC Limited.
“Our partnership with Sinoma that we announced almost two years ago is not only about, you know, the assessments of the assets, but also about the
operations.
“So, what we have been doing with Sinoma in South Africa has not only been the asset evaluation, but also how Sinoma could support us in terms of the operations themselves,” PPC chief executive officer Matias Cardarelli said.
“This is what we started to do two months ago in Zimbabwe. The Sinoma team is already on site and has produced the first assessment of our operations and opportunities in Zimbabwe. Ultimately, it will result in a positive asset analysis in Zimbabwe.”
The analysis is expected to reveal PPC Zimbabwe’s true value to the group.
“I do not have the numbers in mind now, but of course, here I can tell you that we are very optimistic about the opportunities we have with this partnership in Zimbabwe, like the ones that have been brought already in South Africa,” Cardarelli said.
“Probably, I can say the opportunities in Zimbabwe are bigger than the ones we are getting here in South Africa.” newsda
