• Old Mutual plans to migrate its suspended secondary listing from the ZSE to VFEX, subject to regulatory approval
• The proposed move would restore trading for Zimbabwean shareholders after a suspension dating back to June 2020
• The transaction reinforces the separation of Zimbabwe’s equity market into a USD platform for larger issuers and a ZiG platform for domestically focused companies

Harare - Old Mutual has resolved to pursue the migration of its suspended secondary listing from the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange to the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange after concluding that the USD denominated bourse has developed sufficient scale and liquidity to support the move according to latest circular.

The board has approved the proposed migration after concluding that VFEX has developed sufficient scale and liquidity to operate as a viable alternative trading platform. Completion remains subject to VFEX approval, the required regulatory dispensations and Government support for the process. Old Mutual will announce the commencement date only after all conditions have been fulfilled.

The distinction is important, Old Mutual has not resumed trading and its migration has not been completed. The company has selected VFEX as its preferred solution to the suspension and started the regulatory process required to delist the secondary counter from the ZSE and relist it on the USD denominated exchange.

Old Mutual shares have remained suspended in Zimbabwe since June 2020, when Government halted trading on the ZSE over concerns surrounding implied exchange rates derived from fungible counters. The wider market reopened in August 2020, while Old Mutual remained suspended. The group has since engaged Government, regulators and exchange operators over the resumption of ZSE trading or an alternative market solution.

Approval of the migration would return Zimbabwean shareholders to an active domestic market. Investors would regain the ability to buy and sell shares, receive dividends and participate in corporate actions through VFEX. Trading would be quoted and settled in United States dollars on a T plus two settlement cycle.

The opening price would be determined entirely through the matching of bids and offers on the first trading day. VFEX would suspend its usual price movement limit during that opening session, with the normal twenty percent daily limit applying from the second day.

That opening auction would carry substantial valuation risk. Old Mutual continued trading on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and other markets throughout the Zimbabwe suspension, leaving local shareholders without a domestic price reference for six years. The first VFEX price would absorb restored liquidity, USD settlement, Zimbabwean demand and the depth of the local investor base.

The company has warned that the VFEX price may have no direct relationship with its last ZSE quotation or prevailing prices on Johannesburg and its other exchanges. The company has also cautioned that listing approval would not guarantee sufficient liquidity for shareholders to execute transactions at their preferred prices.

The stronger market story sits in Old Mutual’s reason for selecting VFEX. The board concluded that the exchange had accumulated enough scale and liquidity to support a major cross listed financial services group. Average annual turnover per issuer increased from US$0.3 million in 2021 to US$7 million in 2025, representing growth of more than twenty three times.

Average annual securities traded per issuer rose from 1.3 million in 2021 to 96.1 million in 2025, above the ZSE average of 67.7 million during the same year. VFEX also expanded from one listed counter in 2020 to nineteen listed instruments, including fifteen issuers on the main equity board.

Old Mutual’s figures place VFEX inside a self reinforcing market cycle. Recognised issuers attract institutional orders. Higher institutional participation deepens turnover and improves price formation. Stronger liquidity lowers execution risk and gives other companies greater confidence to migrate or list directly.

The company would strengthen that cycle by adding a regional financial services group with listings in Johannesburg, London, Namibia and Malawi. Its arrival would also widen the VFEX sector mix beyond the mining, consumer, agriculture, telecommunications and property counters that have driven the exchange’s growth.

The broader migration pattern already extends across several sectors. TSL shareholders approved a proposed VFEX migration after management argued that a company earning more than 97 percent of revenue in United States dollars required dollar based price discovery. Innscor Africa, National Foods, Simbisa Brands, Padenga Holdings, Axia Corporation and First Capital Bank have also moved from the ZSE to VFEX.

Econet followed a different route. Shareholders approved the voluntary termination of its ZSE listing before the group separated infrastructure assets into Econet InfraCo, which listed on VFEX with an initial valuation of about US$1 billion. Econet had accounted for roughly one third of ZSE market capitalisation before its departure, making the transaction the largest single reduction in the domestic exchange’s scale.

The cumulative movement altered the relative position of Zimbabwe’s two exchanges during 2026. VFEX market capitalisation moved above the ZSE despite carrying fewer listed equities. The change resulted from the arrival of larger USD valued companies on VFEX and the removal of heavyweight counters from the ZSE.

Old Mutual would therefore enter after the capital migration had already reached critical mass. During the six years spent pursuing a solution to its suspension, VFEX accumulated issuers, dollar liquidity, tax advantages and regulatory support. The proposed move follows a market structure that had already shifted toward USD assets and larger institutional issuers.

 Currency now sits at the centre of listing decisions. A stock exchange provides capital raising, liquidity and price discovery. Each function depends on the unit used to measure value. Companies earning revenue and holding assets in United States dollars face valuation friction where their shares trade in a domestic currency exposed to depreciation.

VFEX reduces that friction through United States dollar trading and settlement. Exporters and regionally exposed groups gain a pricing unit aligned with revenue, cash generation, asset values and dividend capacity. Institutional investors receive a clearer base for comparing Zimbabwean securities with regional and international investments.

The ZSE retains a broader issuer base, stronger domestic visibility and access to ZiG capital. Its role is moving toward locally focused businesses, smaller companies and issuers whose earnings remain tied to domestic demand. VFEX is consolidating blue chips, exporters and USD capital.

Zimbabwe is consequently developing two equity markets serving different currencies, issuer profiles and pools of investors. This structure gives companies and investors a choice between domestic currency and USD exposure. It also divides limited liquidity, research coverage, brokerage income and institutional capital across two platforms.

The pressure increases as larger and more actively traded companies concentrate on VFEX, leaving the ZSE with a greater number of thinly traded counters. The shrinking investable universe also affects pension funds, insurers and asset managers required to allocate capital to listed securities.

The ZSE has responded through lower entry thresholds, reduced compliance requirements and the Zimbabwe Entrepreneurship Exchange. These measures aim to attract smaller and growth stage businesses that remain dependent on bank lending and retained earnings.

Lower entry costs expand the potential listing pipeline. They do not resolve the loss of market depth created by heavyweight departures. Micro and small company listings increase breadth, while institutional investors also require larger counters, regular trading, strong research coverage and credible exit liquidity.

The ZSE therefore needs a defined capital allocation role. Companies serving the domestic economy require a market capable of raising ZiG capital, mobilising pension savings and financing expansion through primary issuance. Listing numbers alone will not restore relevance. The exchange requires new equity issuance, active secondary trading and a domestic currency framework that preserves price meaning across reporting periods.

VFEX carries its own liquidity constraint. Old Mutual’s preferred platform has recorded strong growth in average turnover and trading volumes, although activity remains concentrated in a limited group of counters. A higher market capitalisation does not automatically create the order depth required for large institutional transactions.

The first month of Old Mutual trading, should the migration receive approval, would establish whether the counter attracts sustained institutional demand or releases accumulated selling from shareholders unable to exit since 2020. Bid and offer spreads, daily turnover and the relationship between VFEX and Johannesburg prices would provide the clearest evidence of actual liquidity.

The streamlined migration procedure raises the probability of further moves. Joint practice notes issued by the ZSE and VFEX reduce documentation and administrative complexity for qualifying migrations. Old Mutual would not need a new prelisting statement or shareholder approval once the required VFEX rulings and dispensations are granted.

The market should now track VFEX approval, Government and regulatory clearance, the confirmed listing date, the opening price against Johannesburg, initial turnover and subsequent migration announcements. These outcomes will establish whether Old Mutual adds sustained market depth or simply becomes another large counter on an exchange where liquidity remains uneven.

Old Mutual’s proposed migration creates a possible route out of a six year trading suspension. It does not end that suspension until all approvals have been received and trading has formally commenced.

Its broader importance lies in the choice of solution. One of Africa’s largest financial services groups has concluded that VFEX now offers the scale, USD settlement and trading framework required to restore its Zimbabwean market. Approval would deepen the concentration of large issuers and institutional capital on the dollar exchange.

The remaining challenge sits with the ZSE. It must build a clear commercial purpose for ZiG capital and domestically focused businesses before further movement of blue chips, liquidity and price discovery reduces its influence over Zimbabwe’s allocation of listed equity capital.

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