from DANIEL JONES in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
VICTORIA FALLS, (CAJ News) – ZIMBABWE is encouraging the mining sector, its biggest foreign currency earner, to list in the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX) in order to bolster the economy towards an upper middle-income status by 2030.
Listing on the United States currency-denominated VFEX would enable the companies to secure critical capitalisation for the expansion of their operations towards Vision 2030.
“Capacitating the mining industry requires adequate finding and this can be successfully unlocked if local mining operations ride on the newly established VFEX,” said Finance and Economic Development Minister, Prof. Mthuli Ncube.
“We are determined to support the achievements of the mining industry. Government established the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange and this is expected to increase the new bourse’s product range through the establishment of a regulated platform to list and trade small-scale mining companies,” he said.
Government targeted mining companies and financial institutions to list in the country’s prime destination, Victoria Falls.
VFEX, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE), was established last October to trade exclusively in foreign currency in the resort town as a strategic development to help the country lure foreign companies for investment and promoting business and leisure tourism.
SeedCo International is the only company that has so far listed on the VFEX.
ZSE has said it was engaged in the process of crafting a framework that will allow small-scale miners to easily list on VFEX.
The mining sector contributed 20 percent to Zimbabwe’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2019.
Other main contributors are tourism, agriculture and manufacturing.
– CAJ News