5 shortlisted for ZSE automated trading system installation tender

Published: 08 July 2013

FIVE firms have been shortlisted to undertake a project to install the Automated Trading System at the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE), the chief executive, Mr Alban Chirume has said. Last month, the bourse opened a tender seeking to recruit a consultant with appropriate experience and technical know-how to automate and computerise it.

In an interview Mr Chirume said 18 companies from Africa, Europe and Asia tendered to undertake the project.

"We have received tenders from local companies, South Africa, Zambia, Kenya, United Kingdom, Mauritius and Pakistan and we have shortlisted five," he said.

Mr Chirume said the shortlisted companies had since been asked to provide more details regarding their capacity to undertake the project.

Automation and computerisation of the ZSE is expected to improve daily trading from $1 million to between $5 million and $6 million.

Plans to automate the ZSE have been on the cards for years and Mr Chirume said he was confident that the project would now be implemented.

Another project that has been on the cards for years and will be implemented soon is the demutualisation of the bourse.

Demutualisation of the stock exchange entails turning the bourse from being a member-owed organisation into a company with shareholders and directors to improve corporate governance.

At the moment, the ZSE is run by stockbrockers who are responsible for all its operations.

The exercise has of late been hanging in the balance because of disagreements over the ownership structure of the ZSE between stockbrockers and Government.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti has said an understanding had been reached with the stockbroking community on the issue, putting to rest initial disagreements over the ownership structure of the bourse.

Stockbrockers had sought legal opinion over the ownership structure of the exchange.

The guideline of ownership of the ZSE will see Government getting 40 percent shares, its technical partner (30 percent), stockbrokers (20 percent) with the general public securing 10 percent.

Minister Biti has said the stockbroking community has let the process go ahead according to what had been set out by his ministry.

Once demutualised, the ZSE becomes fully exposed to market forces like any other business.

Globally, the first stock exchange to demutualise was the Stockholm Stock Exchange in 1993.

Today, all major stock exchanges around the world such as exchanges in India, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Germany, Australia, the United States of America, the United Kingdom are demutualised.
- chroncile