The Chronicle
Business Reporter
FINANCIAL Securities Exchange Limited (Finsec) has started work on the first phase of its plans to introduce derivatives, as the financial technology solutions provider steps up efforts to increase capital markets products in the country.
Finsec general manager, Mr Garikayi Munema, said being a new product to the Zimbabwean capital markets, derivatives will be introduced for traders on the domestic securities market in phases.
The first phase involves preparing the market for the new product through holding masterclasses with market participants and potential investors to equip them with knowledge on how derivatives work, potential risks as well as how investors can derive value from their investments.
The masterclasses are being done in partnership with the Harare Institute of Technology (HIT) and Investment Professionals Association of Zimbabwe (Ipaz). “We are beginning to hold masterclasses for derivatives. This phase is scheduled to run for eight weeks, with one class every week. This is to prepare the market ahead of the actual introduction,” he said in an interview. The first is set online for tomorrow.
Derivatives are financial instruments that are created and derive their value from underlying assets such as gold or a group of assets. The most common underlying assets for derivatives are stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies, interest rates and market indexes.
According to Investopedia, the common derivatives include options, futures contracts, forwards and swaps.
For the Zimbabwe market, Mr Munema indicated they were looking at futures and options.
These, he said, will derive their value from equities listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE). While a market can have derivatives backed by commodities such as agricultural products, more still needs to be done to educate the Zimbabwe market on the basics before expanding to other assets. Plans are underway to expand into agriculture commodities as well as minerals such as gold.
