IDBZ goes to the market seeking $1.75 bln

The Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ) has gone to the market seeking $1,75 billion that the financial institution says will be used to strengthen its lending capacity.

The bank has so far raised $820 million through a rights offer.
The development financial institution, which is seeking to bolster its lendingcapacity, guided by the 2021-2023 Work Programme under the Theme: “Transforming and Retooling towards a DFI of Scale,” last month got shareholder approval to raise the capital through a rights offer.

IDBZ head of resource mobilisation, Willing Zvirevo, said the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) have since contributed to the capital call.

“We held an Extraordinary General Meeting of Members of the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ) on Tuesday 12 October 2021 and shareholders approved the Rights Offer and they have already started to pay towards the capital call with as of today, $0,930 billion is expected from other shareholders,” he said.

According to the group’s 2020 annual report, Government was the largest shareholder in IDBZ, followed by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. Other shareholders are Fidelity Life Assurance Company of Zimbabwe Ltd, Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation Limited (Finnfund), African Development Bank (AfDB), German Investments & Development
Company (DEG) and the European Investments Bank (EIB), in that order.

At the EGM, it was resolved that the directors of IDBZ be authorised to raise approximately $1,750,032,954 by offering 11,270,902 ordinary shares at a subscription price of $155,27 per share in IDBZ’s authorised and unissued ordinary share capital to existing holders of IDBZ’s ordinary shares, and to issue and allot such shares as may be subscribed to
pursuant to the Rights Offer to shareholders who would have followed their rights.

The IDBZ was established in 2005 as a successor organisation to the Zimbabwe Development Bank (“ZDB”), and is governed in terms of an Act of Parliament, the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe Act [Chapter 24:14].

The bank was set up and charged with an expanded mandate mainly focusing on infrastructure development and finance and it is regulated by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development.

During the interim period to 30 June 2021, the bank managed to raise an equivalent of US$3,6 million for project implementation and a further $100 million was received from the Government towards the Bank’s capitalisation.

The bank also approved private sector projects worth $144 million while applications worth more than $1 billion in respect of energy, mining and irrigation projects were being considered for funding.

IDBZ noted that despite inflationary pressures and work disruptions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the bank achieved notable progress on on-going projects.

Zvirevo said the Bulawayo student accommodation complex project that was targeted for completion by October this year was delayed due to disruptions caused by the Covid 19 pandemic.
   
“We had targeted completion by October this year, but there were delays during the first half of the year as business and construction activities were restricted due to Covid 19. We are now expecting completion by the first quarter of 2022,” he said.

At the Sumben Housing Project Phase I in Harare, progress had reached 54 percent during the half year period.
The bank noted that notwithstanding limited availability of project preparation funding, project preparatory work continued in the first half of 2021 for projects that includes Lupane Students Accommodation Complex Project (Lupane, Victoria Ranch Housing Project (Masvingo), Chinhoyi University of Technology Student Accommodation Project (Chinhoyi), Bindura University of Science Education Student Accommodation Project (Bindura), Catholic University of Zimbabwe Student Accommodation (Harare) and Getjenge Housing Project (Plumtree).

Others are Fernhill Special Economic Zone Project (Gemmology Centre, Mutare), Spitzkop Housing Project (Gwanda); Kanyemba Lodge Project (Kanyemba), Waneka Housing Project Phase 3 (Harare), Odzani Mini-Hydro Project (Mutasa) and Gutu Solar Project (Gutu).-eBusiness Weekly