Foreigners Grab Their Chance to Exit Zimbabwe’s Stock Market
- Hard-currency auctions allow for divestments, dividend payouts
- ‘Pent-up demand’ from investors to get out, says ZSE CEO
Photographer: Jekesai Njikizana/AFP via Getty Images
This article is for subscribers only.
Foreign investors who had been stuck with their holdings in Zimbabwe stocks because of hard-currency shortages have latched onto dollar auctions to exit the market and repatriate funds.
The government allowed stock trading to resume on Aug. 3 after a more than five-week halt, with the central bank also freeing up hard currency at weekly auctions to allow for dividend payments and divestments. Foreigners have since sold Z$4.2 billion ($52 million) worth of stocks, with buying amounting to just Z$120 million, according to data provided Wednesday by the exchange.