The much awaited Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX) is set to be launched later this month as ground work for the operationalization of the bourse is nearing completion, 263Chat Business can reveal.
The VFEX is a subsidiary of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) and will be see all its listings quoted in United State dollars in a bid to attract foreign investment into the country.
On October 8, the VFEX signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (“RBZ”) which provides the terms and conditions under which the RBZ will provide assistance to the settlement services for trades conducted on VFEX in foreign currency.
“The completion of the modalities on the clearing and settlement of transactions with RBZ is one of the final steps towards the launch of VFEX. VFEX is looking forward to a successful partnership with RBZ as it forges ahead with plans to officially launch before the end of October 2020,” said ZSE chief executive officer, Justin Bgoni.
He said details of the Administration of FCA accounts eligible to participate on VFEX will soon be published by RBZ, ahead of the official launch in coming days.
The VFEX has already received a lot of interest from various stakeholders such as security dealing companies, accounting firms, legal practitioners, investment advisors, banks, security custodians and investment management firms.
In August the ZSE announced that around 80 companies had expressed interest in the bourse.
“We wish to update the market on the stakeholders that responded to the call for expression of interest. The number of stakeholders that have expressed interest in different categories are as follows; securities dealers 18, sponsors 38, securities custodians six, securities transfer firms three, and investment management firms 15,” the ZSE said.
The VFEX is set to offer a fresh alternative for investments in foreign currency at a time investors felt the ZSE has been undervaluing their stocks owing to the depreciation of the local currency.
