Bill passes to take over foreign firms

Zimbabwe’s parliament passed a bill giving local owners majority control of foreign-owned companies, including mines and banks, threatening to drive the fragile economy deeper into crisis.

President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party, which controls parliament, pushed through the legislation after the opposition Movement for Democratic Change walked out in protest.

Mugabe’s government says the bill is part of its drive to empower the country’s poor. Analysts fear the move could sound the death knell for an economy in recession and damaged by foreign investors fleeing.