Chengetedzai clears securities lending hurdle
STAFF WRITER
The Chengetedzai Depository Company (CDC) has completed testing of its Securities Lending and Borrowing (SLB) platform and is now awaiting the first live transaction, Business Times can report.
The development represents a key milestone in efforts to deepen liquidity on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE), broaden the range of investment products available to investors and enhance overall market efficiency.
Securities Lending and Borrowing is a market mechanism that allows investors to temporarily lend shares or bonds to borrowers in exchange for collateral and a lending fee. The arrangement enables lenders to generate additional income from idle portfolios, while borrowers can use the securities to facilitate short-selling, hedge investment risks or meet settlement obligations.
CDC Operations Manager Takunda Muneni said the platform had successfully completed end-to-end testing and was now technically ready to process transactions once participating parties finalise the necessary contractual agreements.
“We have completed the end-to-end testing and are now awaiting the first transaction. We have received enquiries and expressions of interest, but transactions are governed by contractual agreements between the borrower, typically a stockbroker, and the lender, who is the investor,” Muneni said.
Earlier this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe (SecZim) admitted the CDC Securities Lending and Borrowing platform into its regulatory sandbox, allowing it to undergo live testing under regulatory supervision ahead of a full commercial rollout.
The sandbox programme, which commenced on March 12, 2025, was initially approved for six months, during which SecZim monitored the platform’s performance, compliance and investor protection safeguards before its introduction to the broader market.
A regulatory sandbox provides a controlled environment in which innovative capital market products, services and financial technologies can be tested under regulatory oversight before being fully launched into the market.
