<a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Pretoria_Portland_Cement_Limited">Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC) Company Limited</a>, South Africa’s largest cement maker, is reportedly considering selling its Zimbabwe business for about $200 million.
A sale will help the company, founded in 1892, to focus on its South African operations, according to <a href="https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/ppc-weighs-sale-of-zimbabwe-unit-2023-02-07">Engineering News</a>.
Sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said discussions are at an early stage. 
Pricing negotiations are said to be ongoing, and there is no guarantee that a deal will go ahead. 
In responses to questions by Bloomberg, the company said:
<blockquote>
PPC regularly receives unsolicited approaches for various parts of its businesses, including PPC Zimbabwe.
PPC’s board has a duty to assess any such approaches on their respective merits.
</blockquote>
The PPC unit in Zimbabwe has attracted interest from a local company involved in road construction and home building, sources said.
PPC manages to conduct about 80% of its sales in US dollars, driven by demand for its products in mining, residential construction and government-funded infrastructure projects, according to the company’s trading statement.
Demand for the construction material is expected to expand to 1.6 million tons this year, an increase of about 60% from 2017, according to PPC. 
The alleged plan to sell the Zimbabwean unit comes as some overseas investors are fleeing Zimbabwe as it grapples with a currency crisis and the effects of US sanctions on many of the nation’s politicians and business people.
Holcim sold its business in the Southern African nation last year to a local firm.
A number of banks including Barclays and <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/5-investors-make-bids-to-acquire-standard-chartered-bank-zimbabwe/">Standard Chartered are also leaving</a> Zimbabwe. 
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h2>

Pindula News

PPC Reportedly Considering Selling Its Zimbabwe Business

Five potential investors, including local and regional firms, have made their bids to acquire Standard Chartered Bank Zimbabwe (StanChart), the oldest financial institution in the nation.
On April 14 of 2022, the London-headquartered <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/standard-chartered-bank-group-selling-selling-its-zimbabwean-subsidiary/">bank stated that it would withdraw</a> from Angola, Cameroon, the Gambia, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Jordan, and Lebanon in the Middle East.
According to reports, the company is completely leaving these markets because StanChart accounted for only 1% of its 2021 revenue.
Bill Winters, the chief executive of Standard Bank, stated in April of last year that the financial institution was streamlining its operations while also narrowing its emphasis on the most significant chances for growth.
StanChart’s departure ends a 130-year presence in Zimbabwe.
According to the Independent, five investors have since submitted their bids and the list has since been reduced to three.
Banks which made bids:
<blockquote>
i). CBZ Holdings and 
ii). FBC Holdings 
iii). FNB of South Africa 
iv). South African bank Nedbank through its shareholder, Old Mutual Zimbabwe, 
v). A consortium representing Zimbabwean entrepreneurs (names supplied) is also on the list of bidders.
</blockquote>
StanChart Zimbabwe spokesperson Lillian Hapanyengwi said the process to identify potential buyers is ongoing.
Another source, however, said the finalisation of the transaction could be delayed by the upcoming general elections but confirmed bids from the five bidders.
This is not the first time that an international financial institution has exited the Zimbabwean market. 
On June 2, 2017, Barclays announced the sale of its outpost in Zimbabwe to Malawi-listed lender First Merchant Bank, a continuation of the bank’s exit from Africa.
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h2>

Barclays Bank Zimbabwe Latest News

Latest Jobs