eBusiness Weekly
Fradreck Gorwe
Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE)-listed contracting group which provides services in civil engineering, residential and commercial housing, roads and earthworks, structural steel fabrication and property development across the Southern African region, Masimba Holdings Limited, rose as a dedicated and resilient entity.
Masimba soldiered on to be a ZSE (then Rhodesia Stock Exchange) listing as early as 1974 when other companies were still on race to join the crucial list.
The contracting group came into existence earlier in 1950 trading as Roberts Construction. The first significant step to growth was the awarding of Victoria Falls Hydro-Electric Power contract that was followed by the company’s registration as a property development company in 1951.
Fourteen years later, the then Roberts Construction gave birth to its elder subsidiary Promat. The now Proplastics company was established to manufacture and supply plastic pipe systems. This aided the holding Roberts Construction to grow steadily as Promat lessened expenditure on plastic materials for construction works.
In 1974, Roberts Construction sought to boost capital through an Initial Public Offering (IPO). This first release of stock for purchase by the public brought positive rewards and the company re-branded and listed on the Rhodesia Stock Exchange as Murray and Roberts (Rhodesia) Limited. With significant growth aided by the listing and subsequent capital enhancement, Murray and Roberts (Rhodesia) further re-branded to International Holdings Limited in 1980.
In 1997, after remarkable growth, International Holdings Limited re-branded by reverting to Murray and Roberts but now with “Zimbabwe” Limited substituting “Rhodesia” Limited. Murray and Roberts South Africa anchored the company with 65 percent shareholding which it reduced to 46,5 percent in 1997.
Zumbani capital bought the 46.5 percent shareholding from the South African division in 2012. The name Masimba Holdings Limited came into being when Murray and Roberts (Zimbabwe) Limited re-branded in 2013.
The pipe systems manufacturing unit was unbundled through a dividend in-specie in 2015 and listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange as Proplastics Limited.
The Holding company is currently a hub of world-class subsidiaries and brands. The subsidiaries’ operations complement the Holding’ construction projects. One such subsidiary, Masimba Properties, services, develops and build properties on the strength of the Group’s balance sheet. Provision of excellent service in steelworks is done through the complementing efforts of another subsidiary, Fabrication.
Reinforcing Steel Contractors Zimbabwe (RSCZ), another complementing subsidiary, provides services like cutting and bending, and steel fixing. Steel products include reinforcement steel, mesh wire, steel trusses and others.
Masimba Holdings’ recent works include the construction of Eastgate Market Shopping Mall in Harare CBD, Housing units for PPC Zimbabwe in Ruwa and more recently Sawanga Shopping Mall in Victoria Falls for Zimre Properties. In 2018 Masimba Holdings made history through certification to the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System which was further authenticated by a SHEQ performance recognition award at the NSSA and Health at Work event on 5 October 2018. SHEQ is an acronym for Safety, Health, Environment, and Quality.
