Old Mutual invests US$30m into projects

INTEGRATED financial services group, Old Mutual Zimbabwe, has invested nearly US$30 million into different projects in the country this year, which expresses investment confidence in the economy.

The organisation is also deploying about 15 million Euro, which has been secured through the European Investment Bank.

Speaking after the recent official opening of The Palm River Hotel, a joint partnership between Old Mutual and Spencer’s Creek in Victoria Falls, Old Mutual group chief executive officer, Mr Samuel Matsekete, said the group’s equity investment and total lines of credit were around US$100 million each.

“If we look at our investments, which we call lending or pure loans, we have probably just over US$100 million and we have private investments alternative where we go into a project and fund directly for growth which is an area of focus,” he said.

“For this year alone, we have actually been distracted by Covid-19 but in the alternative investments we should close the year perhaps having invested more than US$30 million into projects.

“We consider ourselves fortunate to have struck an agreement with the European Investment Bank from which we accessed a line of credit, which is 15 million Euro,” he said.

Mr Matsekete said it was the first time that the European Investment Bank has come to the local market in 20 years and also the first time that the bank has established a direct line of credit with a private financial institution.

He said this shows that Zimbabwe is ready to receive more foreign direct investment and is also open to receiving financial lines of funding from institutions that have got scale and depth to support large projects. Mr Matsekete said the €15 million was for exporting organisations.

“We are ready to deploy the €15 million. Beneficiaries on our books include agro exporters, new ventures in farming and agriculture, mining value chain and tourism. This is one among a number of other lines of credit we have with development banks,“On our end of year outlook we project that we will do better than last year at revenue and profitability and historical costs and inflation.

“If we are closing this year at US$30 million, we should target to do better than that and we will demonstrate growth in real terms and this excites us because it’s for the benefit of our clients.”

Mr Matsekete said Old Mutual was chasing a number of funding partnerships to widen its portfolio and investments. – The Chronicle