The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange will list itself on the trading board on 9 July. The self-listing is of the holding company Zimbabwe Stock Exchange Holdings Limited (ZSEHL) is to be by introduction, meaning that the existing shares are listed and no new shares issued.
The restructure of ZSE Limited (ZSE) was approved by directors last September and by shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on 8 October 2024. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SECZim) approved the listing on 9 June 2025.
In the restructure both ZSE and Victoria Falls Stock Exchange Limited (VFEX) became subsidiaries of ZSEHL.
According to the prelisting statement, issued on 25 June 2025, the 102.7 million ZSEHL shares will be listed on the main board of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. The financial and joint tax advisor is EY (Ernst & Young Associates) , the sponsoring broker MMC Capital and legal and joint tax advisor is Kantor and Immerman Legal Practitioners.
The VFEX, founded in 2020, operates in the Victoria Falls International Financial Services Centre (VFIFSC) and offers capital raising and share trading in USD.
The ZSE was founded in 1894. From 14 April 2025, it advanced the settlement cycle from T+3 (settlement three days after trade date) to T+2, an international standard.
The pre-listing statement summarizes the ZSE business: “ZSE Limited is a licensed securities exchange providing an avenue for capital raising anchored on a multi-asset class trading platform. ZSE Limited offers a broad range of products and services comprising equities, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), depository receipts (DRs), real estate investment trusts (REITs), fixed-income securities, data and training services, geared towards addressing investors’ needs,” ZSEHL said. ZSE has subsidiary companies ZSE Training Limited and Zimbabwe Receivables Marketplace Limited, which is currently dormant.
The ZSE is regulated by SECZim, while VFIFSC took over regulation of VFEX on 25 March 2025. VFEX also offers a depository, VFEX Direct for retail investors to buy and sell, and VFEX Mineral Commodities Trading Platform, whose rules were gazetted in 2024 and will be brought into operation in partnership with Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe.
ZSEHL’s top five shareholders at 18 June were:
- Government – 32%
- FBC Securities (Private) Limited – 10.26%
- IH Securities (Pvt) Limited – 8.79%
- John Richard Legat – 3.73%
- Mark Tunmer – 2.26%.
Nine stockbroking firms (out of a total of 23) each have 1.77% of the shares.
In a pre-listing statement, the holding company described the rationale for the listing:
- To access more appropriate risk-adjusted capital (debt and equity)
- To unlock shareholder value
- To strengthen and enhance the visibility of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange and the VFEX brands to the public and private sectors, leading to new business opportunities through increased confidence in the ZSE main board and ZSE Holdings’ future prospects
- To further strengthen the corporate governance and reporting structures of the company by adhering to the rigors of a listing.
Zimbabwe will be following the JSE, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam and Nigerian stock exchanges in self-listing on their own exchange.
According to an article in the Zimbabwe Mail, “Typically, exchanges globally often generate revenue from listing fees, trading commissions and market data services. However, in Zimbabwe’s challenging economic climate, where trading activity has been hampered by currency volatility, capital controls and shifting investor sentiment, these traditional income streams may not be growing fast enough to fund future ambitions or maintain competitiveness.
“Revenue for ZSEHL was down last year at ZiG 142.29 million, from the prior year’s ZiG 147.58 million. For ZSEHL, the drop in revenue and a 29% rise in operating expenses (ZWG 147.1 m in the financial statements) contributed to a 98% drop in profit after tax to ZiG 1.05 million in 2024 from the prior year.
“Consequently, ZSEHL’s liquidity position registered a decline, with ZSEHL having ZiG 1.59 to every ZiG of short-term debt last year, down from the prior year’s ZiG 1.98.”
The two exchanges offer apps known as ZSE Direct and VFEX Direct so that traders can get “seamless market access from anywhere”. They are also busy with marketing to encourage more listings. In April, CEO Justin Bgoni was reported in Zimbabwe Independent saying that regulatory reforms, investment in technology, awareness and education, diversification of listings, and foreign investment policies would help the exchange to grow: “(We need to) encourage more companies to list on the ZSE, particularly in sectors such as technology, agriculture, and renewable energy. This could also include targeted incentives for small and medium enterprises to access capital markets.”
The report said that the capital markets have been under pressure from a liquidity crunch and stringent regulatory frameworks. The ZSE reported a total market turnover of ZiG 973m during the first quarter of 2025, down 6.5% the fourth quarter of 2024. Market capitalization of the listed shares was ZiG 64bn, down 5.3% from the previous quarter. Participation by foreign investors stayed at 15.4%.
According to the newsletter of SECZim (issue 2 of 2025), market turnover was US$35.8m on the ZSE and US$58.5m on the VFEX with foreign participation of only 3.3% on the VFEX. National Foods Limited and Old Mutual Top Ten Exchange-traded Fund delisted during the quarter as voluntary terminations. Total institutional funds under management at 31 March 2025 were ZWG 93.4bn, up 3.6% from the previous quarter. Of these 61% (US$2.1bn) were denominated in US dollars. Funds continued to move investments out of the stock market (from 40.5% in Q3 2024 to 29.4% at end of Q1 2025) and into property (48.4% of the total) and money market (8.9%).
Critical governance challenges around self-listing
A post on LinkedIn by African Financials Investor Relations highlights the challenges
“Three critical regulatory considerations come into play:
- Conflict of Interest
You can’t regulate yourself without raising eyebrows. Independent oversight is non-negotiable. That means clear structural separation between the exchange’s commercial operations and its regulatory function. - Market Integrity
Perception matters. If the exchange bends the rules for itself, trust erodes. Disclosure must be exact. Compliance must be public. And scrutiny must be equal—no exceptions. - Governance & Investor Protection
Investors need confidence in independent boards, fair treatment, and strong protections. Anything less risks undermining the entire market ecosystem.
Self-listing is not wrong. But doing it without world-class regulatory firewalls? That’s a “No-go Zone”. Thankfully this self-listing path is well trodden in African markets and so the concept and the governance aspects around it are familiar and tried and tested.”
Note: ZiG is the local abbreviation for the Zimbabwe Gold currency, which has international code ZWG. The currency was introduced on 8 April 2024. On 31 March, the official exchange rate was ZWG 26.8 = US$1.
Photo: Tom Minney, African Capital Markets News.
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