Rhodesian Government and the Colonial Development Corporation that the Chilanga Cement Company at Lusaka was established
in
order to make Northern Rhodesia independent of outside supplies of
cement, and Rhoanglo, in association with the 'Chartered' company and
the Premier Portland Cement Company (Rhodesia), subscribed some of the
capital required to expand production and to place this essential
industry in a sound position. The company has now completed its
programme and is supplying a great deal of the cement consumed on the
Copperbclt and has undertaken to supply cement to the Federal Power
Board for the Kariba Dam.55
When
the Commonwealth Development Finance Company was founded, the Anglo
American Corporation accepted an interest in it. Ernest Oppenheimer
told the shareholders in 1953 that
while
the purpose of the company will be to foster the development of
sterling areas resources, it will in no way attempt to supplant the
traditional machinery by which new projects are at present financed;
rather will the company supplement this machinery and try to fill such
gaps as exist in the sterling capital market. I believe that in this
way an important need will be met. ... I am greatly honoured that I
have been asked to join the board of the new company. . . .
The
contribution to the building up of the financial institutions of the
Rhodesias comprehended not only the creation of the Rhodesian
Development Corporation but also the establishment of a merchant bank,
Rhodesian Acceptances Limited.56
55 Chairman's review: 28th annual report of Rhodesian Anglo American (1957).
56 In his statement to the shareholders of Rhoanglo, accompanying the annual report for 1956, Ernest Oppenheimer said:
'The
Federal Treasury is developing avenues for the employment of short-term
funds in the Federation. The high interest rates obtaining in Great
Britain have not made this task easy, but, if full utilization is to be
made of funds which arise in the Federation, a realistic pattern of
interest rates must emerge and the avenue for short-term investments
must be increased. The establishment of the Bank of Rhodesia and
Nyasaland is a welcome step, as it will be able to render here the
services which we have come to expect from this type of institution in
other countries.
'As
part of the development of a sound money market in the Federation I
believe that it is essential to make available to commerce and industry
in Rhodesia the well-tried system of merchant banking, and we have,
therefore, made an important investment in Rhodesian Acceptances
Limited, which started business on 1 October. This company, which has
the support of one of the most important merchant banking institutions
in Britain, has as its main function the financing of transactions of
approved industrial and commercial establishments by granting credits
and by accepting and discounting first-class bills of exchange,
including acceptances by commercial banks and other recognized
financial institutions. It will finance the export of Rhodesian
manufactured goods, the import of goods to the Federation, and the
purchase of raw materials for local manufacturers.'
