Tinashe Makichi
HARARE – Liberation Mining is set to become the first commodity trading firm to list on the Financial Securities Exchange (Finsec), its chief executive Peter Mutsinya has said.
Finsec is licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe as a n Alternative Trading Platform. Finsec’s role is to harnesses and facilitate electronic trading of a wide variety of securities thereby formalising marginalised market segments and bringing all alternative trading activities on to a central and organised market place.
Mutsinya told yesterday told Business Times the commodities trading firm would be involved in the trading of about 10 minerals including ferrochrome, nickel, copper, tantalite and coal.
“Liberation wants to introduce mineral trading on Finsec. The plan will involve the trading of 10 minerals including nickel, tantalite and copper among others,” Mutsinya said.
Finsec began trading on December 1 2016 following the successful listing of Old Mutual Zimbabwe Limited B Class shares that were issued as part of Old Mutual’s response to the Indigenisation Act.
It recorded a total turnover of $1,2 million in November last year, the highest since its inception as investors were seeking diversification and embraced the platform.
Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe became the second to list on the alternative trading platform, after listing its infrastructure bonds, which were issued to support power supply and infrastructure projects for the subsidiaries of the Zesa Holdings.
Microfinance company, Untu, became the third listing on the alternative trading platform.
Mutsinya said Liberation Coal Mining was billed to be the largest coal producer in the next four years in Africa with a target output of 15 million tonnes. The largest producer currently does 11 million tonnes.
He said coal mining and selling was not going to be the main business of the company going into the future but the main thrust would be on coal to liquid conversion.
“By 2030 the mining and selling of coal is coming to an end and it’s no longer going to be a viable business not just in terms of business economics but in terms of industrialisation of a nation.
“The best way to go is to move away from that. Right at the end we will have the process of agglomeration. Gas extraction is the industry that will make Zimbabwe the Switzerland of Africa way more than other mining sectors even diamonds,” Mutsinya said.
Liberation Mining together with its joint venture Russian partner is in advanced negotiations with a Korean firm in a billion-dollar coal to liquid and gas to liquid conversion deal.
