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Zimbabwe Plans Gold, Tobacco Diaspora Bonds as Bank Rules Change

  • Banks must give exporters access to funds within 14 days
  • Central bank sets up investment desk for diaspora investment
Zimbabwe’s tobacco market. 

Zimbabwe’s tobacco market. 

Photographer: Desmond Kwande/AFP/Getty Images

Zimbabwe’s central bank said it plans to sell bonds for citizens outside the country to invest in gold and tobacco output as it also introduces banking rules to encourage money flows and exports.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe will provide the market with more information on the diaspora bonds “in due course,” the Harare-based regulator said in a Feb. 13 circular to banks obtained by Bloomberg. The southern African nation was once the world’s second-biggest exporter of top-grade tobacco.