Online Reporter
Nelson Gahadza
Business Reporter
The Victoria Falls Stock Exchange 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 on August 12, 2026, 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 an attractive 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.
“Though the index decline is a reminder that broader price performance remains soft and liquidity is still concentrated in a handful of counters,” IH Securities said.
According to IH Securities, 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.
The gains were offset by declines in Eagle REIT, which fell 16,86 percent, TSL, down 13,79 percent and First Mutual Gold ETF, which lost 13,53 percent. Nedbank Zimbabwe and Padenga declined 11,53 percent and 10,64 percent, respectively.
IH Securities in the report said 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.
It said 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 as weakness in heavyweight counters weighed on the broader market.
During the month under review, ZSE Holdings was the best-performing stock, surging 114,81 percent in nominal terms, while Willdale gained 40 percent and Cass Saddle ETF rose 34,66 percent. IH said trading on the ZSE was dominated by a major block transaction in CBZ involving the Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF).
CBZ recorded ZiG2,67 billion in value traded, with ZiG2,58 billion of that amount arising from a single transaction involving 62,3 million shares at ZiG39,99. The transaction saw PSPF acquire an 11,91 percent stake, taking its holding in the banking group to 21,67 percent.
IH Securities said the transaction was the defining event of the month and pointed to growing domestic pension-fund appetite for listed financial institutions.
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.
The brokerage described 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.
According to IH Securities, the broader economic environment remained relatively stable during the month. 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 also 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.
