Categories: Stories

Zimbabwe business now scrambling for once “worthless” Zimbabwe dollar

Besides introducing the auction, the government also cracked down on Ecocash, the country’s biggest mobile money platform and accused it of creating $8.4 billion in phantom money.

This translates to just over US$102 800 at today’s rate but was double that in February using the black market rate at the time.

The government has, however, not been able to crack down on the Old Mutual Implied Rate although it barred Old Mutual from trading on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.

Old Mutual will be listed on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange which will trade in foreign currency and is part of the ZSE.

The OMIR is supposed to be the difference between the price of Old Mutual shares on the London Stock Exchange and the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange and is tradable, that is, it has virtually become a form of currency since the hyperinflation years.

Although it initially responded to activities on the foreign exchange auction, it started defying this on 25 August is at $130.98 today.

The Zimbabwe dollar is trading at $81.71 officially.

“The Old Mutual is not even trading so how they get an OMIR Rate is a mystery,” was all Cross could say.

 

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Charles Rukuni

The Insider is a political and business bulletin about Zimbabwe, edited by Charles Rukuni. Founded in 1990, it was a printed 12-page subscription only newsletter until 2003 when Zimbabwe's hyper-inflation made it impossible to continue printing.

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