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Mukudzei Chingwere Herald Reporter

Visiting United Arab Emirates (UAE) billionaire investor, Mr Shaji Ul Mulk, says he has been impressed by opportunities in Zimbabwe and has committed to invest over a billion US dollars in various sectors.

He made the remarks after meeting President Mnangangwa at State House yesterday, where he made business commitments after assessing the areas he was interested in, since his arrival last week.

Mr Mulk, says Zimbabwe is on the cusp of industrialisation and development which could see the influx of international capital and he is here to catch the fat worms ahead of competition.

The billionaire chairs a diverse club of wealthy businesspersons with members from the United States of America, Europe, India among other countries and was here to scout for opportunities.

Mr Mulk and his colleagues were charmed by the compelling investment case presented by President Mnangagwa when he visited UAE last month for the Expo Dubai 2020.

President Mnangagwa said he met wealthy entrepreneurs when he visited Dubai, adding that eight more members of the club were expected in Zimbabwe next month.

He said Mr Mulk brought 10 borehole drilling rigs, which have already started operations with Chitungwiza and Binga being immediate beneficiaries.

“During the Dubai Expo, I had the opportunity of meeting this group and had dinner with them.

“After my presentation of opportunities available in Zimbabwe, they were interested and they asked their chairman to come here,” said President Mnangagwa.

“He has been able to look at various projects in the country and has now confirmed the implementation of a few projects which were agreed upon, which we estimate will be about a billion US dollars.

“In May, another team of eight of his colleagues is going to come to look at other areas,” said President Mnangagwa.

Mr Mulk has been convinced with what he has seen since arrival in the country last week and has committed to invest in areas such as information technology, health, real estate, sport and entertainment, among others.

The investment case put forward by President Mnangagwa, “for the investment in Zimbabwe was so compelling and convincing that all of us thought we should go and see,” said Mr Mulk.

“You have the world’s largest natural wonder. You have people who are educated. You have a country which is safe and economically stable.

“I have lived in Dubai for 42 years, so I have seen Dubai change from being a complete desert to one of the wonders of the world in my view”, so with this experience he is convinced Zimbabwe can match or even surpass the transformation of Dubai.

Mr Mulk was charmed by local workmanship that he feels “Zimbabwe (has the potential to be) as close to or better than what Dubai is today.”

In a statement, the company said Mulk Holdings’ subsidiary sports management company T Ten Global Sports is awarded rights to own and execute various formats of cricket leagues including T10 & T20 cricket leagues in Zimbabwe.

The company will launch “Mulk e-health app which will provide world class health services from the comfort of your home and reach every corner of Zimbabwe – launch can be in September 2022.”

In real estate, they intend to build a “Block Chain City which will attract thousands of companies in the space of BlockChain in the land allotted by Your Excellency in Harare next to the Parliament.”

Another project is the Victoria falls sports and entertainment City, “we propose to set up a dedicated company named ZIM MULK SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY.” The company will be based in the resort city.

The investor also intends to fund the digital integration of Zimbabwe, after “the Ministry of Home Affairs has designed and approved digital integration of various services like the Traffic Control Systems, Smart Gates at Airports and various other services in Zimbabwe”.