Stocks soaked in red | Business Times

SAMANTHA MADE

The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE), once a go-to destination for companies seeking cheap funding, extended its losing streak into the first quarter of this year, with equities bleeding across the board and investor sentiment showing no signs of recovery, Business Times can report.

Key performance metrics across equities, Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) segments signaled a persistent downturn, driven by liquidity constraints, limited foreign participation, and subdued local appetite.

Official data obtained from the ZSE shows that total market capitalisation fell to ZWG 62.91bn, a 5.02% decline from ZWG 66.24bn at the end of Q4 2024.

On a year-on-year basis, the plunge was even steeper—down from ZWG 83.10bn recorded in November 2024—reflecting a sharp erosion of investor wealth.

The market remains heavily concentrated in a handful of dominant counters.

Zimbabwe’s biggest brewer, Delta Corporation, accounted for 32.32% of total market value, followed by Econet Wireless Zimbabwe (16.67%), FBC Holdings (8.02%), CBZ Holdings (5.82%), and First Mutual Holdings (3.73%).

“The market is dangerously narrow. The heavy reliance on a few blue chips underscores how fragile the broader investment landscape has become,” Fred Sibanda, an investment analyst, told Business Times.

Market turnover declined by 6.5% to ZWG 973.54m in Q1 2025, down from ZWG 1.041bn in the previous quarter.

“The top five traded companies during the period under review were Delta (ZWG 397m), Econet (ZWG 388m), NMB (ZWG 36m), OK Zimbabwe (ZWG 19m), and Seed Co (ZWG 17m). The total turnover for the top five companies contributed 90.39% of the equities turnover and 88.32% of the total market turnover for the period under review,” the ZSE said.

The All-Share Index closed the quarter at 205.25 points, down 5.67%, while the ZSE Top 10 Index—tracking the largest and most liquid stocks—shed 7.30% to finish at 199.52 points.

“This isn’t just a market correction—it’s a signal of structural malaise,” another investment analyst, who declined to be named observed.

“Unless there’s a clear macroeconomic direction and policy consistency, this trend could persist well into the second half of the year.”

The ZSE ETF Index also took a beating, dropping 7.65% to 454.24 points.

The delisting of the Old Mutual Top Ten ETF (OMTT) in January 2025 further dampened sentiment and thinned activity on the board. Turnover in the ETF segment plunged to just ZWG 273,284 from ZWG 8.14m in Q4 2024, while the volume of units traded dropped to 3.16m.

Total ETF market capitalisation stood at ZWG 111.09m at the end of the quarter.

In contrast, the REITs segment showed some resilience.

The two listed REITs—Tigere and Revitus—saw value traded rise 18.05% to ZWG 21.97m, up from ZWG 18.61m in Q4 2024. Unit volumes also improved, with 18.54m units traded, marking a 23.30% increase. Market capitalisation for REITs ended the quarter at ZWG 1.59bn.

Foreign investor participation remained relatively stable, inching up to 15.39% in Q1 from 15.33% in Q4 2024. Though the uptick was marginal, it points to continued offshore interest in high-quality, liquid counters.

The first quarter of 2025 delivered yet another blow to the ZSE. Declines in market capitalisation, turnover, and index performance across multiple segments highlight the sustained pressure on Zimbabwe’s capital markets.

As investor confidence wanes and liquidity dries up, the bourse’s recovery prospects remain closely tied to economic reforms, policy credibility, and improved capital flows.

For now, the market remains firmly in the red.

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