Victoria Falls — Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube says the government is exploring new strategies that promote value addition in different sectors of the economy.
He said these strategies would help in revitalising the local industrial value chain.
Ncube was speaking at the official opening of the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX) and the listing of Caledonia Mining Corporation on the same bourse Thursday by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
“It was just five months ago when we convened here celebrating the listing of Padenga Holdings, and I am delighted to witness the growth of VFEX in terms of both new listings and strategic partnerships,” he said.
“Ordinarily, a listing takes any time from six months to 18 months and VFEX is only a year old, but the exchange has already witnessed three listings since it was established last year.
“Such milestones are indeed commendable and this shows the response to the incentives that the government has put in place to support capital markets.
The other listed company on VFEX is SeedCo International.
Padenga Holdings and SeedCo International recently held a joint workshop to explore modalities of setting up a commodities exchange as part of expanding VFEX’s operations.
Ncube said a commodities exchange would help to provide a market for Zimbabwe’s minerals and also provide a mechanism for risk management through derivative products such as commodity futures contracts.
“We applaud Caledonia shareholders and management for having confidence in our efforts and making the step to list on VFEX. This is definitely not just a sign of confidence in our policies as government, but a significant statement signifying that investors are supportive of our aspirations as a country.
“A public listing is also a way for investors to empower local citizens by providing them an opportunity to invest and therefore participate in the growth of the listed company.
“Our institutional investors also benefit from having a wider pool of securities to invest in,” Ncube added.