Foreign creditors unconvinced with lending to Zim networks

Douglas Mboweni, chief executive officer of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, said offshore bankers still perceived Zimbabwe's risk as high, and were shunning direct credit support to domestic telecommunications players, forcing them to rely on parent companies outside the country.

“We have convinced creditors that there is no risk of waking up one day with no network,” Mboweni told a parliamentary committee.

He said the question of the multi-currency, which could be ditched for a Zimbabwe currency, was not one they could answer with certainty.

Zimbabwe allowed the use of the US dollar and the South African rand in February last year, abandoning its own currency which had been ravaged by runaway inflation.

Econet has ramped up subscriber numbers from about 600 000 to 3 million with the help of South Africa-based shareholder, Econet Wireless International, while Telecel Zimbabwe has received support from Orascom Telecom. State-owned NetOne is courting MTN for capitalisation.