China to Invest $2.8 Billion in Lithium and Energy in Zimbabwe

(Bloomberg) — Chinese companies were awarded licenses in the third quarter that could lead to $2.79 billion of investment in Zimbabwe, mostly in mining and energy as the government pushes to develop some of Africa’s biggest lithium deposits and to end power outages.

The planned investment, a tenfold increase on the $271 million pledged in the same period last year, dwarfs that of China’s closest rival, the United Arab Emirates, which won licenses to invest $498.5 million. The total value of investment licenses awarded was $3.41 billion.