The Sunday News
Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
THE Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe (SecZim) has said the recently gazetted securities and exchange registration and licensing fees were more of realignment of fees in line with market developments.
SecZim
This comes at a time Government recently gazetted the Securities and Exchange (Registration, Licensing and Corporate Governance) (Amendment) Rules, 2022 (No 4). It comes as an amendment of the Securities (Registration, Licensing and Corporate Governance) Rules, 2010, published in Statutory Instrument 100 of 2010.
Under the new Statutory Instrument (SI) 104A of 2022, the initial registration of securities dealing firms fee has gone down 58 percent from US$8 000 to US$3 400. The renewal of securities dealing firm licenses has gone down 23 percent to US$2 300 from US$3 000 and securities dealers’ licenses renewal is now US$1 300 from US$1 500.
However, the securities exchange is now pegged at US$45 000 up from the US$10 000. The securities (transfer) licence, which cost US$2 000, will now cost US$4 500, while the securities (trustee) licence, which was US$1 000, now costs US$4 500, among others.
Responding to questions from Sunday News Business, SecZim chief executive officer (CEO), Mr Anymore Taruvinga said the changes to the fees was more of realignment of fees.
“There has been no increase as such but more of realignment of fees in line with market developments that include the multicurrency environment, high inflation, need for increased prudential and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulatory requirements and affordability by the players,” said Mr Taruvinga.
Anymore Taruvinga
He said a registration fee was a once off fee borne by an applicant seeking to enter a certain licence category and does not affect current players who only pay the annual fees. Mr Taruvinga said the application/registration fee was set to ensure cost recovery by the Commission as processing applications involves resources from officer level and all the way to the SecZim Commissioners who have to seat at committee and board level to review the application.
Meanwhile, in terms of SecZim developing a capital markets plan, he said: “The National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) provides for the establishment of a comprehensive financial sector development strategy which will be spearheaded by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. The Capital Market Development Plan will be part of the Financial Sector Development Strategy.”
Mr Taruvinga said the capital market development plan which will be adopted at the national level, will shape the direction of the country’s securities trading platforms. He said similar frameworks had been successfully implemented in countries such as Kenya and Nigeria.
“That way policymakers, market intermediaries, regulators and investors will have a shared vision that will help guide policy formulation and the overall direction we should take as a country,” he said.
Mr Taruvinga said capital markets were essential for the well-being of any economy and that growth in capital markets should be made a priority. He said as a Commission, there has been ongoing work to come up with the plan, however, this work was being funded by a technical partner who has since pulled out before the completion of the process.
“We are now reviving it; we feel it is necessary to guide us as a nation towards a common vision for the capital markets. We realise this as other sectors are progressing, mining for example there is a clear vision in terms of targets, the tobacco industry has its own, manufacturing has its development strategy, so we are developing a similar plan in the capital markets,” added Mr Taruvinga.
