Online Reporter
Nqobile Bhebhe , Zimpapers Business Hub
THE Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX) has been hailed as a resounding success, with its achievements in attracting listings and raising capital now setting the stage for Zimbabwe to establish a fully-fledged international financial centre.
VFEX chief executive officer, Mr Justin Bgoni, said the platform had outperformed most regional peers in terms of new listings and capital inflows, creating a strong case for scaling up Zimbabwe’s financial services ecosystem.
“Last week, we were hosting the Malawi Stock Exchange at our offices,” Mr Bgoni told delegates to the Zimbabwe Economic Development Conference in Bulawayo last week. “We were talking about new listings, you know us as Zimbabweans, we always complain how things are not going well, so we were saying it’s a tough year this year, we might get maybe four or six new listings, but it’s going to be a tough year.”
He added that while Zimbabweans may view such progress as modest, the reality across the continent paints a very different picture.
“The CEO of the Malawi Stock Exchange looked at me and said we have never had a listing since 2018 and I was checking with the ASIA which is the Association of Stock Exchanges to see how often do exchanges in Africa get new listings in total. The study that was done in 2021 notes about eight new listings happened in the whole of Africa which is about 30 or so exchanges.
“So the reason why we have been a success which we thought we were not having success but actually we are having success is because of what the Government did in terms of the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange.”
Since its establishment, VFEX has offered incentives such as tax breaks and foreign currency denominated trading, making it attractive to investors and companies alike.
This has seen several major companies, including multinational entities, choose the exchange as a preferred listing destination.
Mr Bgoni said the progress validates Government’s strategic approach to use the exchange as the nucleus of a bigger ambition, the creation of an international financial centre in Victoria Falls.
“There are many ways that you can do in terms of starting a new international financial centre but the way that the Government thought about it was to say let’s have an exchange first because normally what you have is you have the capital market as the core of the international financial centre.
“We are very happy with what we have seen so far in terms of new listings, in terms of capital raised. The exchange is now ripe to go to the next level where we can raise money for bigger projects that can help the country and the second argument that I am having is that it’s time now to create an international financial centre in Zimbabwe that has got banks, insurance companies and be able to generate even more development income into the country if you can move on to this.”
The success of VFEX in such a short period places Zimbabwe in a unique position to leverage its strategic location and growing financial markets to attract regional and global capital.
The proposed international financial centre would not only consolidate financial services under one roof but also boost confidence, deepen markets and drive development financing.
Bunjiwe Mkwananzi