China remains Zimbabwe's top investor

HARARE - China remained Zimbabwe's undisputed largest investor during the first five months this year, accounting for 74 percent of the $134 million of the foreign direct investments pouring into the southern African country, the government's investment promotion agency said Tuesday.

Chinese businesses invested $81.2 million in the manufacturing sector, and another $16 million in mining between January and May 2013, according to Zimbabwe Investment Authority.

The other top investors to Zimbabwe were Mauritius, investing $11 million in mining and service sectors, and South Africa, injecting $7 million in mining.

Zimbabwe is recovering from the abyss of a decade-old economic meltdown characterized by the hyper-inflation in 2008. After the authorities abolished the worthless Zimbabwe dollar and adopted a wide range of currencies including the US dollar, foreign investments slowly began to trick in.

Last year, Zimbabwe Investment Authority approved $929 million of FDI, among which 72 percent were from China. Finance Minister Tendai Biti said last month that uncertainty around the general elections had been holding back the country's economic growth so far this year.