The epic misrule of Robert Mugabe wiped around two-thirds off Zimbabwe's GDP. But earlier this year the opposition MDC, led by Morgan Tsvangirai, entered into a power-sharing deal with Mugabe. So now "the economy is coming back from the dead", says Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in The Daily Telegraph. For investors this could be "the ultimate turnaround story".
Hyperinflation ended when everyone stopped accepting the worthless Zimbabwe dollar and it was replaced by the US dollar. Civil servants could be paid again, which meant schools and hospitals could re-open.
The MDC has also started to lift exchange controls and "plans to privatise chunks of the economy", says Evans-Pritchard. The IMF has pencilled in GDP growth of 3% this year.
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Still, the recovery is built on "shaky foundations", says AllAfrica.com. "Delinquent behaviour" by Mugabe's Zanu PF continues. Investors with a risk appetite can punt on Zimbabwe with Aim-listed LonZim (LZM), an investment firm that also deals in hotels, pharmaceutical distribution and electronic payment services.
