Heinz sells Olivine stake for £3.4m

HARARE, ZIMBABWE: The Zimbabwean government has taken control of food company Olivine Industries after buying HJ Heinz's 49% stake in the business. It has paid US$6.8m (£3.4m) for the stake in the company - which makes cooking oils, fats and soap - putting it under the ownership of Cottco, the state-controlled cotton buying and processing enterprise. The government hopes the deal will help combat the country's economic crisis. Inflation in Zimbabwe has hit 7,600%, and the government wants to prohibit price rises and freeze public sector pay in a bid to keep it under control. Heinz was one of the first foreign businesses to invest in the country after it gained independence in 1980.



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