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SI 142 wreaks changes on Cassava shareholding

Business
Smartech Zimbabwe Limited (CSZL) says debentures held by the company’s local shareholders will be valued in the local currency in line with recent monetary policy developments.

Smartech Zimbabwe Limited (CSZL) says debentures held by the company’s local shareholders will be valued in the local currency in line with recent monetary policy developments.

BY MISHMA CHAKANYUKA

In a statement accompanying the company’s financial results, chairperson Tracy Mpofu said debentures held by locals were converted to the local currency prior to the monetary policy of February, 2019, but debentures held by foreign shareholders were not affected.

“According to the legal advice received by the board, debentures held by local members were converted into RTGS dollars at US$1: ZWL1 immediately prior to February 22, 2019 in accordance with Statutory Instrument 33 of 2019” Mpofu said.

“As at June 21, 2019, being the last practicable date prior to the publication of these financial results, US$1 was trading at ZWL6.3 on the interbank market. On the other hand, the value of debentures held by foreign shareholders, including Econet Global Limited, who paid for their debentures offshore in US dollars, are not affected.”

Revenue for the period was ZW$173 million and profit after tax amounted to ZWL$9,3 million.

The company’s total liabilities amounted to ZWL$1,5 million during the period under review.

Mpofu said in the four months under review, 9.8 million people were using the group’s mobile money platform to transact, representing almost 90% of Zimbabwe’s adult population, while Steward Bank boasts of 1.3 million bank accounts; 37% of Zimbabwe’s banked population.

Mpofu said CSZL’s property and equipment was revalued as the change in functional currency resulted in the replacement value of assets being grossly understated.

She said the group was focused on driving the financial inclusion agenda and increasing access to financial services among the excluded segments.

“We will continue to deploy solutions that are available through multiple channels. The business is on a drive to scale-up and leverage on artificial intelligence and machine learning, big data, block-chain, chatbots and social media banking and payments to reduce operational costs and improve customer experience. Customer convenience is the backbone of our success” Mpofu said.

“Reflecting on this, research and development is a key component of our strategy, as we continuously innovate around providing total solutions to our customers. We believe there are opportunities for growth, in spite of the current macro-economic challenges and will, therefore, continue to make a concerted effort to turn these challenges into success stories.”