Minister Ncube to headline London Zim capital markets conference 

Enacy Mapakame Business Reporter

Finance and Economic Development Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube, is next month expected to headline the Zimbabwe Capital Markets conference in London which seeks to showcase the opportunities and broaden the country’s capital markets.

The conference will be hosted by Financial Markets Indaba (FMI) in conjunction with the Zimbabwe Embassy in United Kingdom on 20 April at the London Stock Exchange and 21 April at the Queen Elizabeth 11 Conference Centre.

Among the key topics to be discussed are strengthening local capital markets; from diversifying currencies, to facilitating foreign investments and transitioning to an emerging market economy as well as case studies on how companies benefited from listing.

“The aim of the Zimbabwe Capital Markets Conference is to highlight and recognise the important role played by capital markets in economic development and preservation and growth of households’ savings, as well as to focus on opportunities available in different sectors outlining the opportunities for diaspora, international investors, companies/firms to allocate capital in different asset classes.

“The conference serves as an opportunity to inform the diaspora and demystify complexities and myths that surround participating in financial and capital markets and in turn encourages individuals from all walks of life to invest on the local markets including stock exchanges,” said FMI managing director Mr Patrick Muzondo.

Capital markets in Africa are composed mainly of stock exchanges and bond markets. Securities markets are non-negligible complements to bank financing on the continent, with bond issuances mostly done by governments and only fewer big corporations listed on the domestic stock exchanges.

Nevertheless, capital markets play an important role in complementing bank financing on the continent. For the many African countries seeking to attract much more investment, the issue of strengthening capital markets is critically important.

“Stock markets therefore are able to positively influence economic growth through encouraging savings amongst individuals and providing avenues for firm financing,” said Mr Muzondo.

The number of stock exchanges on the continent has grown from five in 1989 to 28 today, with stock markets growing continuously in the number of shares listed and the traded volume.

In Zimbabwe, the main bourse, the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE), is the backbone of the country’s capital markets with a history dating back as far as 1896. 

It is one of the oldest and highly diversified exchanges in Africa given listings spanning all key sectors of the economy.

The sector continues to grow and evolve although there is consensus amongst capital markets players that the sector currently has an untapped potential contribution to economic growth.

The recent establishment of the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX), is one of the many initiatives Government is pursuing to stabilise the economy and attract foreign direct investments. The VFEX is a financial offshore centre that trades in foreign currency and is earmarked for the special economic zone in Victoria Falls.

There is growing activity on the VFEX with a number of companies showing interest to list on the foreign currency-denominated bourse to seek to take advantage of offshore settlement options which allow investors to efficiently repatriate their dividends.

It is expected the VFEX will emerge as a competitive global platform to raise capital, and this will transform the country’s tourism capital into an attractive Offshore Financial Services Centre.

Financial Markets Indaba (FMI) is a series of interactive investment related forums and conferences convened in Johannesburg, London, Harare and virtually.

FMI is based in Johannesburg with a presence in Harare and London, and has hosted more than 50 investor events including with our sister publication Business Weekly in the last seven years as well as webinar events.

Its aim is to mobilise investment through convincing diaspora, leading global institutional investors, corporate leaders, industry experts and its team of analysts to explore sector and market trends and identify significant investment opportunities.