THE Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) recorded a turnover of just $105 yesterday after only one counter was traded, the lowest level in seven years.
BY VICTORIA MTOMBA
Barclays was the only counter that traded, after 6 995 shares were snapped up at a price of $0,0150 per share .
Performance of a stock exchange is a mirror image of the state of the economy and is used by foreign investors to gauge the health of an economy.
When the bourse converted to the multicurrency regime in February 2009, the turnover was $30 on the first day of trading.
An analyst told NewsDay yesterday that foreign investors were struggling to repatriate their money. Foreign investors are the main driver of ZSE trade.
“The market is dominated by foreigners and money is taking long to go and foreigners are unwilling to sell their shares when they know that they will not be able to get their money,” the analyst said.
The analyst said a priority list established by the central bank was making it difficult for stock market investors to get their dividend payouts, as they were not considered a priority. This, analysts say, will frustrate foreign investors on the bourse.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
On Monday, the market recorded a turnover of close to $14 000 signalling tough times ahead.
Turnover from the ZSE for the past 10 days has been less than a million dollars when a day’s threshold is supposed to be a million dollars.
In 2015, turnover was $250 million, with ZSE chief executive, Alban Chirume saying the bourse was expecting a 4% drop in turnover this year due to weak fundamentals and perceived country risk by foreign investors.
Performance of counters on the local bourse has been depressed due to the economic headwinds that are unfavourable for the growth of trade.
In the first half of the year, foreign investors drove ZSE with trades by foreigners accounting for 63% of the total trades during the period. In the same period in 2015, foreign trades accounted for 51% of the trades.
The total value of trades was $89,29 million in the first half of the year down from $137,73 million recorded in the same period in 2015.
