Six new counters are expected to list on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) this year despite liquidity constraints that have seen market capitalisation plunging to US$3 billion last year from US$4,3 billion, an official has said.
ZSE CE Alban Chirume this week said six new listings could come on board this year.
A listing drought on the bourse ended last year when Proplastics and Simbisa Brands were added on the ZSE register through unbundlings.
Micro-finance institution, GetBucks, became the first counter to list on the ZSE this year through an initial public offering. The company registered an undersubscribed capital raising initiative due to liquidity constraints.
"We are working to facilitate gazetting of the listings rules for the main board, debt market and ZEEM (Zimbabwe Emerging Enterprising Market)," Chirume said.
"We are expecting six new listings this year with three of those being from the equities market and three from the debt market."
The ZSE proposed to set US$250 000 as the minimum share capital for companies intending to list on the country's planned secondary bourse, ZEEM.
Chirume said accountability and efficiency on the local bourse is expected to improve after the ZSE joined the United Nation's Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative as a partner exchange, becoming the eighth African exchange to do so.
"Having been started in 2009, the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative affords exchanges a forum to learn from each other on how transparency can be achieved through collaborating with capital markets' stakeholders on environmental, social and governance matters as well as foster sustainable investment. The ZSE is hopeful these initiatives will benefit the market before the end of 2016," he said.
Now with 61 active counters, the ZSE at its peak had 79. Over 10 counters have delisted from the ZSE in the past six years. Counters that have been struck off the ZSE register include African Banking Corporation, Astra Holdings, Pelhams, Trust, Tractive Power, Interfresh Holdings and PG Holdings, among others.
The renewed interest to list on the ZSE comes at a time market turnover and value of shares on the ZSE is declining.
Market turnover of US$228,6 million in 2015 was recorded, down from US$452,9 million for the year-ended December 31 2014 after institutional and individual investors reduced their exposure to the equities market.
Interest in the ZSE's blue-chips - Delta, Econet, Innscor, Old Mutual and Seed Co - has been on the wane.
Heavyweight counters lost significant value of their share prices only reducing the appeal of the ZSE as selling pressure mounted on investors.
