THE Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) says it has not yet received the proposal by Econet Wireless for a loan to automate the stock exchange which is currently using a manual trading system.
Report by Victoria Mtomba
Last week the telecommunications company said it was willing to extend a “no strings attached loan” to the ZSE to buy an electronic trading platform that allows immediate and transparent settlement, as in other countries such as South Africa and Kenya.
Econet Wireless said there was need for an urgent reform of the share trading system on the local bourse, saying the current system is “subject to abuse and perpetuates an elitist old boys’ club” which should not be part of modern Zimbabwe.
“It is time for the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange to become more accessible to ordinary people, and a proper vehicle for mobilising capital for companies,” said the company.
ZSE acting chief executive officer Martin Matanda said Econet was the second largest entity on the bourse and there could be conflict of interest.
“The ZSE board has not received an offer from Econet. We have only heard about the offer through the Press. Until such a time when the offer has been made then we will be able to comment,” Matanda said. Securities Commission of Zimbabwe (Sec) chairperson Willia Bonyongwe told NewsDay recently that the ZSE board was working flat out to automate soon.
“We expect it by mid-year notwithstanding the shareholder disputes. To us, automation and demutualisation are separate issues,” Bonyongwe.
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She added that automation would bring transparency and vibrancy to the market. Bonyongwe said many investors currently are not confident with the ZSE due to corporate governance issues that were experienced by shareholders. She said few listed companies have reasonable capacity and production.
If Zimbabwe automates it will join other African countries such as Botswana, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, Zambia and Mauritius who have already adopted the technology.
