Corporate Zimbabwe’s survival tactics
As Zimbabwe’s economy teeters, crisis-hit banks are forced to find new ways to keep going as they struggle to overcome the hard currency crunch
Retailers and banks in Zimbabwe are battling for survival. In the face of an economy in crisis, they’re adopting new measures to stay afloat: switching banking partnerships, signing new cash supply deals and hiking prices to cover rising costs. And SA companies have not been spared the headwinds. The country’s banks — which include local affiliates of Standard Bank and Nedbank — are scrambling for new sources of hard currency after SA banks terminated their cash supply arrangements. According to sources in the banking sector, some institutions are striking deals with export-driven companies such as mining firms to access hard currency from their nostro accounts. They’re also relying on the small inflows from businesses that are paid in forex. It’s a universal problem, says Palmer Mugavha, spokesperson for Stanbic Zimbabwe. "All banks are facing the same challenges," he says. The currency crunch has also left ordinary Zimbabweans who earn foreign currency in a bind. They’re strugglin...
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