SA May Grant Zimbabwe $100 Million Loan_THE Development Bank of Southern Africa Ltd., a state-owned lender, may provide a $100 million short-term loan to Zimbabwe to help upgrade infrastructure in the country.

“We are holding due diligence negotiations with the Zimbabweans on two different packages, one a short-term loan of $100 million,” Sam Muradzikwa, the lender’s chief economist, said in a phone interview today from Johannesburg. “Their long- term needs are still being assessed.”

Zimbabwe, ruled by President Robert Mugabe since 1980, has been in recession for the past decade. The southern African nation is seeking loans from foreign creditors to help rebuild decaying infrastructure including water-supply facilities and power plants.

Talks with the Development Bank have focused on improving Zimbabwe’s erratic electricity supply, introducing a third- generation telephone service and rebuilding and widening the country’s main highway to neighboring South Africa, Muradzikwa said.--bloomberg