Addressing a poorly timed investment conference in the capital, Harare, in March, Mr Kasukuwere said that the government would set up a sovereign wealth fund to hold controlling stakes in all mining companies, and that this would be funded from mining exports, although it was not clear whether he meant that this revenue would be used to pay for the mining company's shares. Since the government is technically insolvent, estimated to owe nearly US$6bn to foreign creditors as well as US$100m to local suppliers, there is little credibility to his pledge that the shares will be paid for. He also backtracked on earlier suggestions by the finance minister that alluvial diamond miners would be nationalised. The five firms mining diamonds in Chiadzwa-Marange include: Anjin Zimbabwe, which is run by Chinese interests; Mbada Diamonds, which is owned by a Mugabe ally; and another operation that is run by the Zimbabwe National Army. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that they should be excluded from nationalisation, although the decision does underscore the party-political nature of the legislation. In this environment, the publication of the new regulations is certain to lead to considerable debate, and Mr Mugabe and ZANU-PF can be expected to show increasing impatience with companies that appear to the authorities to be trying to undermine the indigenisation process. This increasing antagonism, combined with inevitable delays in resolving outstanding indigenisation issues, threatens to slow levels of activity in the mining sector.