History
The first stock exchange in Zimbabwe opened its doors shortly after the arrival of the Pioneer Column in Bulawayo in 1896. However, it only operated for about six years. Other stock exchanges were established in Gwelo (Gweru) and Umtali (Mutare). The Mutare Exchange, also opened in 1896, thrived on the success of local mining, but with the realisation that deposits in the area were not extensive, activity declined and it closed in 1924. After World War II a new exchange was founded in Bulawayo by Alfred Mulock Bentley and dealing started in January 1946.
A second floor was opened in Salisbury (Harare) in December 1951 and trading between the two centres took place by telephone. Traders continued working by telephone until it was decided that legislation should be enacted to govern the rights and obligations of the members of the exchange and the general investing public.
The Rhodesia Stock Exchange Act reached the statute book in January 1974. The members of the exchange continued to trade as before and for legal reasons it became necessary to create a new exchange coincidental with the passing of the legislation. The exchange dates from the passing of the act in 1974, and is operated and regulated in accordance with the act and its amendments, including 1996's Zimbabwe Stock Exchange Act: Chapter 24:18.
On achieving independence from Britain in 1980, the exchange changed its name from the Rhodesia to the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.
With the decline of the Zimbabwean economy, hyperinflation rendered the Zimbabwean dollar useless and the US-Dollar was adopted as the legal tender for trading on the exchange in February 2009.
As of March 2009, trade has been very thin, with very few foreign investors willing to risk trading on the market. Most stocks trade in the US-cent range, with at least 26 different stocks not trading at all.
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