Online Reporter
Nelson Gahadza
Business Reporter
THE Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX) market capitalisation nearly doubled to US$8,12 billion in August following the listing of Old Mutual, highlighting growing investor interest in large, hard-currency counters despite a retreat in the exchange’s benchmark index.
According to the IH Securities August 2026 Monthly Snapshot, VFEX market capitalisation increased 95,15 percent during the month, taking its year-to-date growth to 263,04 percent.
The sharp increase was largely driven by the addition of Old Mutual to the bourse rather than broad-based gains in share prices.
The VFEX All Share Index, in contrast, declined by 1,75 percent during the month to close at 258,90, pointing to softer underlying price performance even as the exchange’s overall value expanded substantially.
Old Mutual quickly emerged as a significant contributor to trading activity following its listing, with US$1,89 million worth of shares changing hands during the month.
According to IH, it ranked third among the exchange’s largest value contributors, behind Padenga, which recorded US$2,79 million and Caledonia at US$2,55 million.
In volume terms, Old Mutual recorded 2,17 million shares traded, ranking third behind Econet Infraco’s 6,65 million shares and Seed Co International’s 3,72 million.
IH Securities said the immediate trading activity demonstrated pent-up demand for quality United States dollar-denominated securities and strengthened the case for VFEX as the preferred market for large and dual-listed companies.
“In our view, the Old Mutual listing is a strong endorsement of the VFEX as the natural home for large, dual-listed and hard-currency counters,” the brokerage said.
The listing comes as VFEX continues to position itself as Zimbabwe’s principal US dollar-denominated equities market, with the exchange targeting further expansion in market capitalisation.
However, the brokerage cautioned that the decline in the All-Share Index showed that the surge in market value had not been matched by broad-based price appreciation.
