Market regulators in Zimbabwe have given approval for a new bourse in the country. The US dollar -backed exchange will be located in the resort town of Victoria Falls. This is another innovative plan of the government to attract investors into the country despite a scarcity of foreign exchange.
The Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX) is owned by the Harare based Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) and licensed by the countries Securities and Exchange Commission. The Commission also gives guidelines on the listing of companies and membership requirements.
On the issue of membership, Zimbabwe’s Treasury Ministry says initial target firms with foreign listings so have foreign exchange capabilities such as mining companies and conglomerates. Initial examples are PPC Zimbabwe, Old Mutial, SeedCo. Trading on these three, have been suspended on ZSE.
The government intends to grant tax holidays to companies listed on the bourse to further encourage them to list on the VFEX.
