An impression might have been created that ZSE has been abandoned by its technical partner for the smooth running of its Automated Trading System due to its failure to pay annual maintenance fees on time. This statement is intended to set the record straight in this regard.
It is true that the maintenance fees due to Infotech Financial Technologies for 2018 amounting to GBP 143 628.13 have not yet been remitted although Exchange Control approval was granted in July 2018. Appeals for an urgent allocation made through the 'LSE's bank have not yielded results on time. In the meantime, Infotech has assisted ZSE by renewing third party licences for the ZSE automated trading system databases and security systems out of its own pocket in anticipation of receipt of the annual fees from Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. As a result of the continued delays however the company was forced to take credit control measures to contain its costs and this resulted in the withdrawal of on line support, trouble shooting and out of hour's coverage.
In consideration of the impact of the technical issue reported in the media regarding the post trading reporting system challenges experienced on 14 and 15 November 2018, Infotech responded by fixing the problem on 16 November 2018 notwithstanding that payment is still outstanding due to the foreign currency crisis. On its part, Zimbabwe Stock Exchange is working closely with the authorities to clear this obligation.
For the record Zimbabwe Stock Exchange and Infotech Financial Technologies enjoy a close working relationship and are both committed to providing investors on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange with a reliable trading platform. Our record of a system uptime of 99.9% since in the implementation of the Capizar ATS in July 2015 confirms the success of this initiative and the benefits to investors and other stakeholders.
