ZSE delists Cairns, Apex

By The NewsDay | Jul 17, 2013 | 2 Min read

THE Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) has with immediate effect delisted food processing company Cairns and industrial concern Apex Corporation, ZSE chief executive officer Alban Chirume has said.

Report by Acting Business Editor

This leaves 63 counters actively trading on the exchange.

Chirume told NewsDay yesterday that Cairns, which could soon court a new investor, had voluntarily delisted.

The food manufacturer was in December last year suspended from the local bourse after being placed under judicial management. Reggie Saruchera of Grant Thornton Camelsa was appointed judicial manager on November 28 2012.

“Apex and Cairns have been delisted. The delisting is effective as of today (yesterday). Apex delisting has to do with breaching continual obligations (ZSE listing rules) and Cairns have requested to be delisted because there are going to restructure outside the country, so basically they don’t require listing at the moment,” said Chirume.

The near collapse of Cairns last year signalled far-reaching turmoil in the country’s manufacturing sector.

Apex, which last month requested to be suspended from the ZSE, lurched into a going concern crisis after the introduction of multiple currencies in 2009.

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The company was also struggling to publish financial results, raising suspicions that it was facing a viability crisis. The ZSE interim board then resolved to suspend the company’s securities from being traded with effect from June 11 2013 for an initial period of 30 days, after which the suspension would be reviewed.

Capacity utilisation in Zimbabwe’s manufacturing sector has plunged to 44,2% from 57,2% recorded last year amid warnings by industry that a fresh crisis triggered by capital constraints was looming.

Official statistics show that nearly 75% of local manufacturing companies need new equipment and technology to operate efficiently.