Seed-Co shelves move from ZSE to VFEX

Audrey Galawu

Seed-Co Limited once again dropped its plan to migrate from the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange to the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange.

In a statement, Seed-Co Limited said the suspension is unfixed.

“Shareholders of Seed-Co Limited and the investing public are advised that the Board has resolved to suspend indefinitely the proposal to migrate the Company’s listing from the ZSE to the VFEX.

“Accordingly, the cautionary announcement made in January is hereby withdrawn. Shareholders and the investing public are hereby advised that the company will remain listed on the Main Board of the ZSE,” reads the statement.

Seed-Co had announced earlier in January that the company was moving to VFEX.

The central bank blocked the company’s first planned merger with VFEX-listed Seed Co International that would have seen the creation of one company listed on the Stock Exchange.

Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Insurance and Pensions Apex Council said it is assessing the impact of increased migration of companies from the ZSE to the VFEX.

The council said it is concerned at the industry’s ability to continue participating as the majority of its business is in Zimbabwe dollars.

Last year, companies like Simbisa Brands, Innscor Africa, Axia Corporation and National Foods Limited also migrated to VFEX.

In 2021, Padenga and Bindura Nickel Corporation also migrated to the dollar-denominated bourse, citing that it enables shareholders to realise the US dollar value of their holdings as compared to the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, where local currency returns are subject to inflation.

Companies moving to VFEX are lured by the incentives that were introduced by the government to attract listings.

The VFEX has tax incentives that allow investors to retain more of their returns.