Slump in ZSE turnover at forecast

Business
BY OUR STAFF TURNOVER on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) is set to retreat to around US$100 million in the second quarter of the year due to reduced financial reporting to stimulate trade, according to a report by a brokerage firm.

Turnover ended the first quarter of the year at US$116 million, US$4 million up from US$110 million recorded in the last quarter of 2010. Most listed companies have financial years which run up to December 31 and they publish their year-end results during the first quarter, a move which stimulates activity on ZSE.“Turnover in the second quarter is usually depressed due to the fact that there is little financial reporting done to stimulate trading. “As such we expect turnover to retreat to around $100 million in the second quarter,” MMC Capital said in its review of the first quarter of 2011. While turnover had increased in the first quarter, the proportion of foreign investor turnover however fell from 64% to 41% during the same period under review. This can be attributed to the gazetting of the amended empowerment regulations to speed up the takeover of foreign-owned companies by locals. Foreign investors are the major participants on the ZSE due to the liquidity constraints which have made locals spectators on the bourse. MMC said the gazetting of the sector specific indigenisation regulations sparked “another bout of foreign investor pessimism on the country with foreign buying on the ZSE in March having fallen to US$8, 5 million from US$25, 1 million in February 2011”.