eBusiness Weekly
Business Writer
Businessman Kalaa Mpinga, ousted by the Chinese shareholders he brought to save (then) Mwana Africa Plc, is planning to make a comeback on the Zimbabwean mining scene.
Mpinga was pushed out of Mwana Africa in 2015 through a hostile takeover by Chinese shareholder, China International Mining Group Corporation.
In an interview with the Business Weekly, Mpinga said Zimbabwe remains an attractive investment destination in which he is searching for further opportunities.
“It is not like I left Zimbabwe because I still have a business running in Zimbabwe and I can say my mind is still with Zimbabwe. I am still looking for further investment opportunities in Zimbabwe,” said Mpinga. He said the new political administration’s efforts to clarify investment policies would likely boost investor confidence.
“Since the coming in of the new political dispensation, a lot of investment opportunities have opened up and managed to bring more clarity to the investment climate and policies,” said Mpinga.
Since Mpinga’s departure, Asa Resource Plc (formerly Mwana Africa) has had its fair share of controversies involving the Chinese shareholders. The company has since been put under administration after allegedly misappropriating funds and breaching corporate governance procedures.
When ownership changed at the diversified group, there were development projects that were operational such as concentrator operations at group company Bindura Nickel Corporation, gold processing at another group company Freda Rebecca Gold mine, among others, which were halted.
Mpinga, who is a citizen of the Democratic Republic of Congo held a number of senior positions in different locations around the world in his career including working for Bechtel Corporation in San Francisco and Anglo American Corporation of South Africa from 1991.
In 1995 he joined the New Mining Division, responsible for exploration and the acquisition of resources in Africa. He was appointed a director of Anglo American Corporation in 1997.
He left the group in December 2001 to pursue business opportunities in mining, founding Mwana Africa Holdings (Proprietary) Limited, the forerunner of Mwana Africa, in 2003.
