Online Reporter
Nelson Gahadza
Business Reporter
The listing of Old Mutual on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX) has delivered a significant boost to market liquidity and turnover, with the counter quickly establishing itself as one of the most actively traded names on the bourse, despite a broader retreat in the exchange’s benchmark index.
According to the IH Securities August 2026 Monthly Snapshot, the counter’s immediate trading activity has underscored its role as a major new source of turnover.
Within weeks of its listing, Old Mutual recorded US$1.89 million worth of shares changing hands, ranking third among the exchange’s largest value contributors, behind Padenga (US$2.79 million) and Caledonia (US$2.55 million).
In volume terms, the counter saw 2.17 million shares traded, placing it third behind Econet Infraco’s 6.65 million shares and Seed Co International’s 3.72 million shares.
IH Securities said the immediate and substantial trading activity demonstrated pent-up demand for United States dollar-denominated securities and reinforced the VFEX’s position 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 turnover generated in its first month alone points to the depth of liquidity that such listings can unlock.”
The listing comes as the 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 VFEX All Share Index, which fell 1.75 percent to close at 258.90, showed that the surge in overall market value had not been matched by broad-based price appreciation.
“Although the index decline is a reminder that broader price performance remains soft and liquidity is still concentrated in a handful of counters, the Old Mutual entry has added a new, high-quality layer of turnover to the market,” IH Securities noted.
During the month under review, Seed Co International was the strongest performer on VFEX, gaining 27.32 percent, followed by Zimplow, which rose 11.55 percent, and FCB, which advanced 6.91 percent.
Those gains were offset by declines in Eagle REIT (down 16.86 percent), TSL (down 13.79 percent), and First Mutual Gold ETF (down 13.53 percent). NedBank Zimbabwe and Padenga declined 11.53 percent and 10.64 percent, respectively.
The performance of the VFEX contrasted with developments on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE), which also closed the month weaker, although the pullback was relatively modest.
ZSE market capitalisation eased 0.87 percent to ZiG105.19 billion, leaving the market 13.41 percent higher year-to-date. The All-Share Index fell 0.71 percent to 477.39, while the Top 10 Index declined 1.39 percent to 480.09.
Trading on the ZSE was dominated by a major block transaction in CBZ involving the Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF), which recorded ZiG2.67 billion in value traded. At approximately US$100 million, the transaction dwarfed other activity on the ZSE and accounted for most of the month’s turnover, underscoring the continued concentration of liquidity in large block trades.
IH Securities characterised August as a pause in the ZSE’s 2026 rally rather than a reversal, with heavyweight weakness pulling the indices lower while retail-driven buying supported smaller counters, ETFs and real estate investment trusts.
Meanwhile, the broader economic environment remained relatively stable – the ZiG maintained its value against the US dollar, with the interbank rate closing at US$1.67 compared with ZiG26.68 at the end of July.
Annual ZiG inflation eased to 2.9 percent from 3.2 percent in July, while month-on-month ZiG inflation remained at 0.1 percent. USD month-on-month inflation fell to zero from 0.3 percent.
