Econet’s share surge puts ZSE back in bull territory
LIVINGSTONE MARUFU
Econet Wireless’ share price surge has lifted the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) to its highest market capitalisation so far this year, following the telecoms giant’s dividend declaration on September 1, 2025.
Prior to the announcement, Econet shares were trading at 452c.
By the start of this week, the counter had climbed to 500c per share, a rally that pushed the ZSE market cap to its strongest level in 2025.
Morgan & Co investment analyst, Tafara Mtutu, told Business Times that Econet’s movement was the game changer.
“Econet paid a dividend of US$33m during the first quarter and second quarter with a significant amount paid on September 1, 2025. This latest dividend payment had an enormous impact on the market cap and general stocks performance on the ZSE,” he said.
The market, which had remained largely stagnant since January, only started to gain momentum in August on the back of Econet’s performance. This effectively positioned the telecoms counter as the driver of the latest bull run, outpacing bearish pressures and igniting renewed investor sentiment in September.
As a result, ZSE investors gained ZWG4.32bn over the past 66 days to September 5, with market capitalisation rising to ZWG65.29bn from ZWG60.97bn on June 30, 2025. The rally was underpinned by strong performances in consumer goods, food and agriculture, and technology stocks, despite persistent tight liquidity in the market.
However, industrial, mining and financial services counters remained in negative territory.
Mtutu said that between the end of June and mid-August, the ZSE All Share Index added 2.6% to reach 213 points.
“And what’s been driving that is, from a sectoral perspective, we’ve seen the consumer goods sector increasing by 5.3%, the food and agriculture sector going up by 19.2%, and then the TMT sector gaining 17.7%,” he said.
He added that these three sectors outweighed declines in the industrials and financial services indices. BAT Zimbabwe, for instance, posted a 12% year-to-date gain, while Seed Co Limited powered the agriculture sector with a 42% surge since the start of the year. Econet itself has jumped 43% year-to-date, leading the technology, media and telecoms (TMT) sector.
The recent rally marked a turnaround from the first half of the year, when the ZSE was weighed down by tight monetary policy measures from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ).
In his Mid-Term Monetary Policy Statement, RBZ governor Dr John Mushayavanhu acknowledged the impact of the policy stance.
“The ZSE exhibited bearish sentiments during the first half of 2025, reflecting continued market correction following the tightening of monetary policy during the fourth quarter of 2024. In this regard, the All Share, Top 10, and Top 15 indices declined to close at 197.23 points, 194.14 points and 197.63 points, respectively. Similarly, the resource index declined from 235.38 points as at end December 2024, to close at 145.40 points.
In line with developments on the local bourse, market capitalisation declined from ZWG66.2bn in December 2024 to ZWG60.97bn as at June 2025,” Dr Mushayavanhu said.
With dividends and sectoral gains breathing fresh life into the market, the big question now is whether the upward trajectory can be sustained in the coming months.
