According to an announcement today, 3 July, the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange says it did not launch electronic trading today as planned and the launch has been delayed indefinitely. The ZSE says: “Erring on the side of caution, it was decided to resolve a technical issue to ensure a seamless completion of the settlement processes. Further updates on ‘go live’ will be issued by the ZSE in due course.”
The ZSE has been trading securities using “callover” sessions since 1896 and had announced yesterday it was ready to launch online trading today through a new automated trading system (“ATS”) installed by InfoTech. It says it had opted for a close coupling model between the ATS as the front end of the trading cycle and the central securities depository (“CSD”), which has a mandate for settlement of both scrip and cash.