Reform capital markets, says Chinamasa

Published: 16 June 2014

THE capital markets need to be reformed to attract investors thereby resuscitating the productive sectors, Finance and Economic Development minister Patrick Chinamasa said on Friday.

Chinamasa said the reforms should create efficiency, innovative and access to information and raise investor confidence.

"As government, we appreciate the importance of an effective and efficient capital market in raising investor confidence and attracting investment. We need investment in order to resuscitate our productive sector and create jobs for our people," Chinamasa said.

"A harmonised regional securities market environment will help deepen regional financial integration, improve capital mobility within the region and attract both regional and international investors."

Chinamasa said despite factors that hold back investors, members should strive to address issues surrounding technology, access to information, data availability and harmonisation of rules.

Chinamasa, however, urged the Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) to continue complementing government in effectively managing the perceived country risk, providing access to information thereby reducing transaction costs and promoting regulatory effectiveness which compares favourably with other jurisdictions.

He added that through the conference inherent issues affecting the potential to attract investment should be addressed, namely poor corporate governance, lack of shareholder activism, unethical business practices, poor corporate reputation, failure of companies to embrace international best practices, poor corporate disclosure and accountability.

"These issues continue to make our markets less attractive resulting in investors turning to markets such as Johannesburg, Mauritius, Nairobi and Nigeria where corporate disclosure and governance practices are considered to be excellent," Chinamasa said in a speech read on his behalf at a sustainable investment forum.

Chinamasa said the demutualisation and automation of the ZSE were at an advanced stage, adding that there were efforts by government to create an enabling environment through provision of financial infrastructure.

". . . government has been reviewing the regulative legislation, the Securities Act, as well as synchronising our policies in order to ensure clarity and consistency", Chinamasa said.
- newsday

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