Zimbabwe’s central bank says it intends to expand its footprint in the property market through its wholly owned subsidiary Homelink to attract direct investment by Zimbabweans in the Diaspora as remittances to the country continue to grow.
Remittances from millions of non-resident Zimbabweans are a significant contributor to the country’s economy and last year reached $840 million surpassing Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) which amounted to $545 million.
Zimbabwe also received $409.5 million from the Diaspora in the first half of the year compared to $397.8 million last year for the same period and remittances are forecast to reach a $1 billion.
Speaking at a ground breaking ceremony for its Tynwald housing project in Harare yesterday central bank governor John Mangudya said sound property developments would attract direct investment from the foreign-based Zimbabweans.
“Cumulatively from 2009 to 2014 remittances amounted to $3.5 billion. There is a lot of money and these people want to go beyond remittances for food and school fees so we should create the investment opportunities for them,” he said.
The Tynwald project will see Homelink construct 180 low cost residential properties which are targetted for sale to the Diaspora market.
Mangudya said Homelink also has similar projects in the pipeline for Bulawayo, Mutare, Masvingo, Norton and Kadoma.- The Source
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