UAE and Zimbabwe; made a pact leading to gold exchange in Victoria Falls

In Zimbabwe, the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX) and the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX) have signed a memorandum of understanding that could lead to the creation of a gold market. Justin Bgoni, chief executive officer of the VFEX, said Zimbabwe intends to start the exchange in order to create a reference market where miners will be offered reasonable pricing. “It is a holistic approach to the needs of gold miners,” Bgoni said in response to queries from Bloomberg. “They raise capital and we make it easy for them to sell.”

Zimbabwe smuggles out more than $1.5 billion in gold every year, with most going to Dubai, according to a report by the research group International Crisis Group last year. A metals market could make it easier to sell the metal lawfully and on a local basis. A future stock exchange may also trade in other commodities, if it is built. There is an “ultimate aim of establishing an international commodities exchange in Zimbabwe”, the exchanges said in a statement.

A second African country, Zimbabwe, has expressed interest in forming a partnership with the DGCX. To increase gold trading between Sudan and Dubai, the Dubai-based exchange inked a memorandum of understanding earlier this year with the Financial Markets Regulatory Authority of Sudan (FMRA).