Omega Ukama 
THE Bankers Association of Zimbabwe (BAZ) has called on authorities to review debt listing requirements on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX), saying current rules are burdensome.
The US dollar-denominated market was launched in 2020 in a bid to promote foreign investment, which has been waning. Apart from securities such as stocks, the market also allows corporates to list debt securities to raise short-term cash to fund peak US dollar financing requirements.
“The current VFEX guidelines to list corporate paper are onerous, mirroring requirements for primary listing of equities,” BAZ said in its recent submissions to the Treasury.
“There is a need for more streamlined requirements and a maximum 90-day process for vetting and listing of corporate debt securities to encourage placements and trade on the VFEX.”
The market currently has only four listings, but its principals are confident that more are on the way.
Chief executive Justin Bgoni says there could be as many as three more listings this year.
Mining companies are expected to drive new listings, taking advantage of the bourse’s incentives to meet their capital demands.
Three of the four listings on the exchange, which offers an array of incentives, particularly for exporting companies, are of companies in the resources sector ― Padenga Holdings, Bindura Nickel Corporation and gold producer Caledonia Mining Corporation.
“We expected more listings during the beginning of the year but things in Zimbabwe take time. So, the people who had plans in this regard will do it during the second half,” Bgoni told The Financial Gazette recently.
“The mining sector is still going to be strong, so probably half of them will come from that sector.
“Then there is also a lot of interest in the ETFs, different ones, commodities ones. So, we expect some commodity-backed ETFs to come through and we still want to find a way of getting Nedbank, Old Mutual and PPC back on to the market. Hopefully we will find a way,” Bgoni said.
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