• Pfuma REIT has postponed its VFEX listing to 13 February 2026 due to administrative processes, despite having secured full subscription of its US$25 million private placement just days earlier
• The successful capital raise, highlights strong investor appetite for US-dollar, property-backed instruments amid subdued FDI flows
• The contrast between strong demand and a delayed listing highlights structural and execution challenges within Zimbabwe’s offshore capital markets rather than any loss of confidence in Pfuma

Harare - The Pfuma Fund Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) has delayed its listing on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX), pushing the expected debut from 4 February to 13 February 2026, as fund manager Arctic Blue Asset Management works to finalise outstanding administrative matters.

 On the surface, the postponement appears procedural. But set against developments from just a week earlier, it tells a more layered story about investor appetite, execution risk, and the evolving mechanics of Zimbabwe’s offshore capital markets.

On the 26^th of January 2026, Pfuma confirmed that it had achieved full subscription of its US$25 million private placement a notable outcome in an environment where foreign direct investment into Zimbabwe remains subdued and capital allocation increasingly selective.

The offer, which opened on 11 December 2025 and closed on 23 January 2026, attracted commitments equal to 100% of the units on offer at US$0.10 per unit, raising US$25.04 million against a US$25 million target.

When combined with seed assets injected by the promoter valued at US$22.1 million, Pfuma enters the market with an initial capitalisation of approximately US$47.1 million ahead of its VFEX listing.

However , the contrast is striking: a fully subscribed dollar-denominated private placement followed almost immediately by a delayed public listing. Rather  than signalling weakness, the sequence highlights a structural reality of Zimbabwe’s financial markets  capital appetite has outpaced market plumbing.

The private placement success is significant not just for its size, but for its timing. With offshore investors cautious, and local institutions increasingly conservative, raising US$25 million in fresh capital suggests strong confidence in Pfuma’s asset base, structure, and governance.

It also reinforces the growing appeal of property-backed, US-dollar instruments as stores of value amid persistent macroeconomic uncertainty.

In that context, the listing delay looks less like a confidence issue and more like a systems issue.

Since its launch in 2020, the exchange has positioned itself as Zimbabwe’s offshore-facing capital market  US-dollar denominated, internationally oriented, and designed to attract foreign participation without local currency risk.

For REITs in particular, VFEX offers alignment dollar rentals, dollar distributions, and a regulatory framework that speaks the language of institutional investors.

Pfuma’s private placement outcome suggests that this proposition resonates, at least with a core pool of capital willing to take structured exposure to Zimbabwean real assets.

While VFEX’s legal and regulatory architecture exists, execution remains sensitive to administrative coordination, settlement processes, and disclosure sequencing. Each new listing, especially one of scale, stress-tests the ecosystem.

REITs offer diversification, professional management, and partial insulation from policy shocks, while still anchoring returns in tangible assets. However, they also demand credibility: asset quality, tenant resilience, valuation discipline, and transparent income flows.

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