‘Company closures subside’

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AFTER a number of tough years, there are indications that the business environment in Zimbabwe is improving, with a new survey showing that company closures have markedly come down since 2018, while new registrations have gone up significantly.
The peak of company failures in the country was during the post-hyperinflationary era of 2008-9, when over 4 500 companies closed, leaving more than 55 000 without jobs, according to the Finance ministry.

Hundreds more have failed since then as the environment has remained “difficult”, but the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce’s inaugural State of Industry and Commerce Survey — launched yesterday — found that the number of companies de-registering from Zimra has been declining since the third quarter of 2018.