The African Financials has said the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) paced the fastest during the month of December compared to its regional counterparts.
According to the sub-Sahara Africa Top 30 Companies report by African Financials, ZSE saw a 43% increase, followed by Ghana (31%) and Seychelles (18%).
The report says regional stock markets, excluding South Africa, increased on average by 4.5% in US dollar terms in December 2022.
The growth is attributed to strong earnings growth and overvalued stocks, according to The Herald. Reads part of the report:
The key markets in sub-Saharan Africa that have done well include Nigeria and internationally listed stocks, which make up about 35 percent of the top 30 companies.
Additionally, the telecoms and technology sector has also seen growth with new listings, including companies such as UAC foods in Nigeria, UAC cement in Nigeria, Orange Code d’Ivoire, and African Oil.
However, there are very few companies from South Central Africa, including Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Botswana, and Namibia, that have reached the critical level of market capitalisation of US$800 million.
The report notes that while the Zimbabwe dollar-denominated ZSE has faced challenges in 2022, listed companies reported positive earnings performances for the year driven by firm demand.
Companies like Delta reported increased volume performance for the nine months to December 31, 2022.