The ZSE started in 2022 the way it ended in 2021. Month on month the exchange as a whole gained 12.05%. The exchange continues to provide good returns for investors though not all months are the same. Some good news from the ETFs in particular while the VFEX remained largely flat in the month. There were some losers on the market as well with a few notable highlights.

Gainers

The ZSE had a good month overall with 27 gainers on the mainboard and Old Mutual Zimbabwe Limited posting an impressive 30% gain in January 2022. King of the bunch was ZECO which despite being in trouble has started to trade a little more frequently though still very low volumes. The industrial company gained 316.67% in the month. NMBZ shot up by 61.45% while perpetual gainer Simbisa continued to receive positive sentiment to its expansion plan and gained 46.35% Medtech B (28%) and resurgent Star Africa (26.45%) also made notable gains. Building material manufacturer Turnall pushed up 21.51% in January to surprisingly make the top 10 gainers.

Counter

% change

1

Zeco

316.67%

2

NMBZ

61.45%

3

Simbisa

46.35%

4

Axia

44.41%

5

Cassava

33.49%

6

OMZIL (Finsec)

30.00%

7

Innscor

28.82%

8

Medtech B

28.00%

9

Star Africa

26.45%

10

Turnall

21.51%

Losers

24 companies lost ground on the ZSE in January 2021. Chief amongst among them was Medtech which continues to compound shareholders misery. Troubled Getbucks ceded   18.04% as plans for raising additional capital are not clear yet. Insurance giant ZimRe closes out the bottom 10 losers dropping 9.16%. CAFCA recorded no price movement for January 2022.

Counter

% change

1

Medtech A

-34.00%

2

Fidelity

-23.98%

3

Masimba

-18.05%

4

Getbucks

-18.04%

5

GBH

-17.11%

6

Mash

-14.94%

7

FBC

-11.38%

8

NTS

-11.11%

9

FMP

-10.26%

10

ZHL

-9.16%

VFEX

Over to the West of Zimbabwe, there wasn’t a lot of action. SeedCo International gained 1.46%. Extractive company Bindura shed 9.09%. The other 2 listings registered no movement in January. The VFEX was also dealt a minor blow with the Herald reporting that Old Mutual and PPC who have resisted the VFEX for the best part of a year and a half are involved in discussions to re-join the ZSE.

Indices and ETFs

The top 10 index did most of the heavy lifting gaining 14.77%. It is responsible for the All Share Index movement of 11.62%. Medium caps only managed a gain of 4.05% while the Small-Cap index fell 5.23% in January. As a result, the Old Mutual Top 10 ETF (OMTT) put on a massive 72.17% in the month. The Morgan & Co Multi-sector ETF (MCMS) performed well in its maiden month gaining 39.48%.

Change

All Share Index

11.62%

Top 10

14.77%

Medium Cap

4.05%

Small-Cap

-5.23%

OMTT

72.17%

MCMS

39.48%

The influx of new domestic investors thanks to the easing of the process has certainly impacted the capital markets positively. We can reasonably expect this to continue going forward. Unless something drastic happens the signs suggest another good period for those who choose to invest, on average at least.