Econet Wireless Zimbabwe has appointed former chief operating officer, Fayaz King, as the new chief executive officer of its infrastructure company, Econet InfraCo. Mr King, a distinguished executive and business leader who left the company in 2019 to take up a post as an Assistant Secretary General at the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), will assume the role with effect from 1 March, 2026. Econet InfraCo is set to list on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX) at the end of March, when shareholders approve a migration of parent company, Econet Wireless from the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) to an Over-the-Counter platform on the VFEX.
In a circular published to shareholders last week, the company revealed , for the first time, that Econet InfraCo, which has until now operated as a division within Econet, generates revenues of almost $150 million and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) of more than $50 million. Its strong financial position is a key reason independent experts have set its value at US$1billion. Analysts have also observed the similarities of Econet Infraco’s business model with a real estate business because its operations involve the leasing of towers, power, land and buildings.
Its income is in US dollars, making it perfect for the VFEX. It is understood that during the hyper-inflationary period Econet used real estate investments as a way to hedge its balance sheet. It currently has a strong real estate portfolio of land and buildings across the country which now form part of the infrastructure company.
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It can now freely develop these properties or dispose of them as it sees fit. Econet Infraco has already announced plans to build an Industrial Park on a 300-hactare piece of land that the company has been holding near Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare.
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