Published: 14 June 2018

MORE than 50 business executives from companies in Bulawayo will tomorrow converge in the city for a roundtable meeting to discuss financial market distortions and prospects of currency reform.

The event, which is expected to be graced by Finance and Economic Planning Minister Patrick Chinamasa, is being organised by CEO Africa Roundtable.

Programmes and communications officer, Ms Valeria Mupunga, said the event would focus on proffering solutions to challenges caused by financial market distortions.

"We are expecting approximately 50 chief executive officers and senior executives from different companies based in Bulawayo. We will be discussing financial market distortions as well as prospects of currency reform," she said.

"We want to look at the causes of financial market distortions and what can be done to remove these distortions."

Minister Chinamasa will be among the top speakers who include Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor Dr John Mangudya, Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce past president Mr Obert Sibanda, Dendairy chief executive officer Mr Daryl Coetzee and Star Distributors chief executive officer Mr Golden Muoni.

Ms Mupunga said similar meetings would also be conducted in other cities such as Gweru and Mutare as well as the major towns in the country as financial market distortions are affecting the whole country.

Zimbabwe has been experiencing financial market distortions since the beginning of the cash crisis, which saw RBZ in 2016 introducing bond notes to improve foreign currency generation by exporters. The Central Bank has reiterated that the surrogate currency is pegged at 1:1 with the United States dollar.

However, some unscrupulous businesses and individuals are creating illegal exchange rates between the greenback and the bond notes and thus engendering price distortions.

In January, Minister Chinamasa said the Government had no plans to phase out bond notes until economic fundamentals were appropriate for the transition from the use of multiple currencies.

He is on record as saying the Government is making efforts to ensure that economic fundamentals are met in the medium term.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) introduced the notes on November 28 in 2016 as an export incentive meant to boost foreign currency generation.

Egypt-based Afreximbank has a $200 million facility backing bond notes in circulation, while bond coins are backed by a $50 million facility, again from the financial institution.
- the herald

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