Chronicle Editor
Sikhulekelani Moyo, [email protected]
THE need to develop the bond market in Zimbabwe has seen Victoria Fall Stock Exchange (VFEX) organising a two-day workshop meant to bring together experts to discuss how they can establish the sector.
The two-day Fixed Income Conference, is ending today in Bulawayo where representatives from the private and public sectors are engaging to come up with solutions to the challenges which are affecting the proper establishment of the bond market.
The bond market is the collective name given to all trades and issues of debt securities and includes corporate, government, and municipal bonds.
In an interview on the sidelines of the conference, VFEX chief executive officer Mr Justin Bgoni said other countries are developing their economies through utilisation of the Bond Market which at this point is not available in Zimbabwe.
He said the Government needs to borrow funds from the Bond Market for infrastructure development and other things as well as the private sector needs the Bond Market to get funding for their operations.
“If you see other countries surrounding us, they use the Bond Market to develop their countries. The Government comes to the Bond Market to borrow money for infrastructure and budget purposes and the private sector also comes to the Bond Market to raise money to build factories and other things that make companies grow.
“We don’t have that in Zimbabwe at the moment and we are sitting here with people who are experts in the industry to say what can we do to come up with this market?” said Mr Bgoni.
“So, the first people to talk was the Government, they spoke about their need for this type of market and what they thought the barriers were and possible solutions.
“The other part we have talked about is there is an opportunity to raise money through green bonds so we have one of the top experts in Africa from FSD who is talking to us on how we can utilise that market.”
FSD senior specialist on capital markets Mr Vimal Parmar said Africa has a lot of green economy the Government can take advantage of and attract investments.
He said more than 50 percent of the land in Africa is arable which can be utilised for agriculture.
Mr Parmar also said Zimbabwe can also invest in renewable energy and carbon credits to attract funds.
FSD Africa is a non-profit company funded by UK aid that works to build and strengthen financial markets across sub-Saharan Africa. It focuses on capital markets, digital innovation, risk and resilience, and new growth areas such as carbon markets and nature.
“Africa should use its natural capital to sustain its economy,” he said.
He also said the private sector plays a critical role in the projects in different economies.
@SikhulekelaniM1
Online Reporter