INDUSTRIAL Development Corporation (IDC) Chief Investments Officer Muchindu Kasongola says the purchase of 49 per cent shares in Chinese owned manufacturing Company Marcopolo was arrived at following a thorough evaluation process which revealed that the company was profitable from the onset. And Kasongola says the amount of time Marcopolo had been in operation was not a huge benchmark in deciding whether to invest as the company had completed four profitable financial years prior. Meanwhile, Kasongola says it was unnecessary for IDC to employ a licenced broker to manage the transaction. Last week, a News Diggers investigation revealed that IDC, National Pensions Scheme (NAPSA) and The Workers Compensation Fund Control Board paid two Chinese investors Zhang Lingling and Huang Yaochi $48.8 million as a consideration for the purchase of a minority stake in Marcopolo.