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Mugabe ready to seize foreign companies
President Robert Mugabe's government is preparing to seize majority shares in all of Zimbabwe's foreign-owned businesses and mines, a move that economists warn would be as damaging as the widespread land seizures in the country. Top of the list of companies expected to be targeted are London-listed mining groups such as Rio Tinto and Anglo American, though recent remarks by Zimbabwean ministers suggested banks such as Standard Chartered and Barclays could also be hit.

One minister said "imperialist companies" would be targeted as they had been operating with what the president described as a "sinister, regime-change agenda", according to reports.
Last night, a senior source at one British company with a presence in Zimbabwe said any such move would "confirm Mugabe as operating what is, to all intents and purposes, a terrorist regime".
More importantly, they're the only ones with any cash in Zim-bob-we. Especially the banks.
Mr Mugabe's cabinet has approved proposed legislation to force all foreign-owned companies to cede 51% of their shares to black Zimbabweans. The empowerment bill is going through a final drafting process before it is presented to parliament, said top government officials.

The Mugabe government has already drafted an amendment to the Mining Act, which requires all foreign-owned mines to have 51% of their shares owned by "indigenous" Zimbabweans. In both proposed bills it is widely understood that the new black Zimbabwean shareholders would have to be closely tied to Mr Mugabe's ruling party, Zanu-PF. Officials have said that if companies cannot find acceptable indigenous Zimbabweans then the government can make suggestions.
"How 'bout my good friend Charlie? He's always wanted to own a mine."
Economists warn the actions would severely hurt Zimbabwe's already battered economy, which is suffering 3,700% inflation, the world's highest. Zimbabwe's economy has shrunk by 50% since 1999, an unprecedented contraction in a country not at war, according to the World Bank. The seizure of majority stakes in businesses and mines would increase inefficiency, mismanagement and corruption, according to many business executives, who point to the disastrous land seizures.
No, reeeeeeeaaally?
Independent analysts say the new moves are simply the latest example of Mr Mugabe's plundering of the economy. "Mugabe operates on a patronage system and he is running out of farms to give away to his supporters," said the independent Harare economist John Robertson. "Now he is looking for new areas of the economy to hand over. If this legislation becomes law, it will be like legalising theft. It will be a death knell to many companies."
Posted by: Steve White 2007-05-28
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=189418