Four firms face suspension as ZSE gets tough on defaulters

via Four firms face suspension as ZSE gets tough on defaulters 16 July  2014

FOUR companies listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) have two weeks to pay up listing fees or face suspension as the bourse gets tough on defaulters.

The companies, ART Holdings, Celsys Limited, Border Timbers Limited and RioZim Limited, have to pay up by July 29 or face suspension, ZSE chief executive officer Alban Chirume warned yesterday.

ART owes $2 000, Celsys $3 000, Border Timbers $13 294,25 while RioZim owes $5 000.

“In the event that the fees remain unsettled by 29 July 2014, the ZSE shall make an application for the suspension in the trading of the companies’ shares on the ZSE,” Chirume said.

Chirume said the fees were due in June 2013 and the companies have breached Section 3.67 of the ZSE Listing Requirements which states that a listed company should pay its annual fees as soon as they are due.

“Several unsuccessful attempts have been made to recover the above fees. Payment of annual sustenance fees is part of meeting continuing obligations to maintain a listing,” Chirume said.

Celsys is currently under suspension from trading on ZSE since 2012.

Activity on ZSE is mainly driven by counters such as Delta, Econet, Innscor, BAT, OK and Hippo, among others, amid concerns by financial analysts that the market lacks depth as the current list of actively traded counters was narrow by international standards.

The absence of market depth — the ability to sustain relatively large market orders without impacting the price of the security — militates against the luring of huge investments on the bourse.