The establishment of a branch of a foreign company is subject to approval by the Minister provided he/she does not deem it contrary to the public interest. 'Public interest' is not defined in the legislation.
241  Requirements as to foreign companies
(1) Subject to subsection (16), every foreign company which intends to establish a place of business in Zimbabwe shall submit to the Minister—
(a)  a copy, duly certified to be a true copy of the original by a director residing in Zimbabwe or by a notary public, of its constitutive documents and, if the instrument is in a foreign language, a certified translation thereof;
(b)  a list in the prescribed form of its directors resident or who will upon the establishment of the place of business be resident in Zimbabwe containing in respect of each director similar particulars to those required by section 217 ("Register of directors and secretaries") to be contained in the register of directors and secretaries referred to in that section;
(c)  if the foreign company is the subsidiary of another company or companies, the name or names of such holding company or companies as the case may be.
(2) Unless the Minister is of the opinion that it would not be in the public interest to do so, he or she shall issue a certificate, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, authorising the foreign company to establish a place of business in Zimbabwe.[...]" (COMPANIES AND OTHER BUSINESS ENTITIES ACT [CHAPTER 24:31], 2019)
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"2. Interpretation
In this Act—
"Agency" or "ZIDA" means the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency established by section 3; [...]
"foreign investor" means a natural or juristic person domiciled outside Zimbabwe, who seeks to make, is making or has made an investment in Zimbabwe pursuant to this Act;
"foreign investment" is a direct or indirect investment made by a foreign investor, other than any foreign portfolio investment;
[...]
Part III – Investor guarantees and non-discriminatory treatment
11. Conformity to law of investments
All investments must be established in accordance with, and shall be subject to, the laws of Zimbabwe.
12. Freedom of Investment
Foreign investors may invest in, and reinvest profits of such investments into, any and all sectors of the economy of Zimbabwe, and in the same form and under the same conditions as defined for Zimbabweans under the applicable laws and regulations of Zimbabwe. (This section is subject only to the reservation of certain classes of business in favour of Zimbabwean citizens contained in the First Schedule to the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act [Chapter 14:13].)
13. Non-discrimination between domestic and foreign investors
(1) The Agency shall accord to foreign investors and their investments, treatment no less favourable than that it accords, in like circumstances, to domestic investors with respect to the establishment, acquisition, expansion, management, conduct, operation and sale or other disposition of their investments.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to—
(a) the existing non-conforming measures as set out in section 3 and 3A of the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act [Chapter 14:33], the Land Commission Act [Chapter 20:29], and the Legal Practitioners Act [Chapter 27:07];
(b) an amendment to a non-conforming measure set out in the First Schedule to the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act [Chapter 14:13], to the extent that the amendment does not decrease the conformity of the measure, as it existed immediately before the amendment.[...]" (Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency Act [Chapter 14:37], 2019).
COMPANIES AND OTHER BUSINESS ENTITIES ACT [CHAPTER 24:31], 2019
Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency Act [Chapter 14:37], 2019
[<a href="https://www.dpcorp.co.zw/assets/companies-and-other-business-entities-act.pdf">Act</a>],[<a href="https://zimlii.org/akn/zw/act/2019/10/eng@2020-02-07">Act</a>]