Zimbabwe – 20 October 2015

Zimbabwe’s Mugabe warms to West as economy wobbles
Robert Mugabe’s anti-Western rhetoric has been conspicuous by its absence of late, a sign the 91-year-old leader has mellowed or realised that Zimbabwe may need financial help.
A year ago, the veteran turned to “old friend” China, but behind the official warmth Beijing made clear the days of blank cheques were over, forcing Harare to make repayments on US$1 billion (£648 million) of loans made over the previous five years.
Since then, the southern African nation’s economic plight has worsened and Mugabe said he may need the support of foreign creditors such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which he likened in 2006 to “the devil” and “a political monster”.
Channel News Asia

Germans eye energy sector
A GERMAN business delegation is in the country on a fact-finding mission as they seek to invest in the energy and infrastructure sectors, head of the delegation, Christoph Kannengiesser, said yesterday.
“We would want to learn the legal framework, how labour law markets work, (how) the business climate works here. Generally the situation is favourable for more growth,” he said.
Kannengiesser said the investment time frames would be determined by the sectors they would have selected.
News Day