Online Reporter
Tapiwanashe Mangwiro
Old Mutual Limited will commence trading on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX) on August 12, with investors set to determine the company’s opening share price through a market-driven price discovery process, following the migration of its secondary listing from the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE).
The insurer announced today (Tuesday) that all regulatory approvals for the migration had been secured, clearing the way for trading to begin next Wednesday.
In a statement, Old Mutual said the opening price will not be predetermined, but will instead be established by investor demand and supply.
“The initial price of Old Mutual ordinary shares at commencement of trade on the VFEX will be independently determined by the market via the submission and matching of bids and offers through the VFEX trading system (without the application of the VFEX’s usual trading price limits),” the company said.
The company added that “normal trading limits of 20 percent of the previous day’s closing price will be applied from commencement of trade on the second trading day.”
The market-led opening auction is expected to allow investors to establish a fair value for the counter after more than four years without trading in Zimbabwe.
Old Mutual said: “The migration has been approved and trading in Old Mutual’s shares on the VFEX will commence on Wednesday, August 12, 2026.”
The migration marks the return of one of Zimbabwe’s largest and most liquid counters to local trading, after it was suspended from the ZSE in June 2022.
The suspension followed Government’s concerns that fungible stocks, among them Old Mutual and PPC Zimbabwe, were being used to derive the Old Mutual Implied Rate (OMIR), an unofficial exchange rate that authorities said was fuelling speculation and exchange rate instability.
At the time, policymakers argued that price differences between the Zimbabwe-listed shares and their foreign counterparts were being exploited for arbitrage, undermining efforts to stabilise the local currency.
The suspensions formed part of wider measures aimed at restoring order in the foreign exchange market.
Old Mutual’s migration to the US dollar-denominated VFEX is expected to enhance price transparency while broadening investment opportunities for both local and international investors.
The opening auction will provide the first independently determined market valuation of the company’s shares in Zimbabwe since trading was halted, making the listing one of the most closely watched developments on the country’s capital markets this year.
