Farai Mabeza, Senior Staff Writer 
THE Zimbabwe Insurance and Pension Apex Council (Zipac) says the continued suspension of trading in Old Mutual (OM) and PPC shares is hurting its members, which hold significant investments in the counters.
Fungibility of the two counters on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) was suspended in July 2019 by the government, which claimed speculation involving the counters was driving up inflation. This was followed by an outright ban on trade of the two counters which remains in place up to March, 2022.
Zipac chairperson, Musa Bako, last week told an interface meeting with Finance minister Mthuli Ncube, that the industry would like to see a speedy resolution of the matter.
“This is affecting our members who are heavily invested in these counters. Government saw it fit to put these measures and controls on these counters, but we are hoping the matter can be expedited and trading on these counters sees the light of day,” Bako said.
While the two counters have remained in limbo since the suspension, another company which was affected by the same measures, Seed Co International (SCIL) has since migrated to the US$-denominated Victoria Falls Stock Exchange.
Ncube said the same offer was on the table for OM and PPC as he emphasised that it was up to them to take up the VFEX option.
“For a start it is their own choice. We offered them trade (on VFEX). It is up to them to make a decision. We have that offer on the table,” Ncube said.
SCIL has been on VFEX since the market’s launch in October.
Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe (SECZ) recently released guidelines on the valuation of the two fungible stocks, to eliminate inconsistencies that had emerged among pension funds.
This came after the Insurance and Pensions Commission (Ipec) earlier this year raised a red flag over inconsistencies in valuations, pointing out that pension funds’ aggregate asset base declined by 24 percent between September and December 2020, mainly due to undervaluation of holdings in the suspended counters, “as most reporting entities were using prices as at suspension date”.
“While the suspension of some major counters on the ZSE has continued, the valuation of such counters has not been affecting the values recorded as such counters are now being valued using the Johannesburg Stock Exchange as a reference as per the SECZ directive, which was effective December 31, 2020,” Ipec said in a pensions industry report covering the first quarter of 2021.
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