Government supports online forex traders

THE Government is ready to support the Forex Traders' Association of Zimbabwe (Fotraz) through the establishment of a Special Economic Zone. Industry and Commerce Deputy Minister Raj Modi said this at the launch of Fotraz in Bulawayo on Saturday.

A Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is a designated geographical region that operates under special economic regulations that are different from other areas in the same country.
The concept is meant to offer special conditions and incentives to enhance international competitiveness as well as bolstering industrial growth and development.

"I have been following the Forex Trading School Africa story for some months, and the Government recognises the role the school is playing especially in training our youths on how to trade and earn a living from online trading."

Online currency trading is the world's largest market generating over $7 trillion a day while in London alone, over $2,7 trillion is exchanged through the virtual platform. On account of the above statistics, it means the sector is an industry that has vast benefits that can cascade to other downstream sectors of the economy.

"It is also good to have an association as this will allow the traders to work together with one vision and one goal.

"This is a good thing and Government will support you," Dep Min Modi said.

"We need to identify and support new forms of commerce. Trading is a big industry and we want to see it developed in a sustainable way.

"As Government, we encourage you to work together with tertiary institutions to develop the online currency trading degree or diploma.

"We will also assist you with the setting up of a Special Economic Zone for trading here in Bulawayo."

He said Government through his ministry would also work with Fotraz to develop strategies that will see the association tapping into the continent's Free Trade Area. Speaking at the same occasion, Fotraz vice president Mr John Mutemasango said although his organisation was still fledgling, it has a big vision to support the country's socio-economic transformation agenda.

"One thing that l would like all of us to know is online currency trading is a profession just like any other profession . . . as forex trading school, apart from the technical skills of manoeuvring around the markets that we equip you with, we teach you skills such as risk management and handling emotions that you can apply elsewhere.

"As Fotraz, our main goal is to help Government in crafting legislation which looks into issues of taxation.

"The reality is every other trader in the rest of the world has been taxed for whatever amount of money they have generated and we are saying to our legislators, let's come up with a legislation which will look into some of these issues," he said.

Mr Mutemasango said the idea of the forex trading school was to equip potential online currency traders with skills to generate income using Information Communication Technologies to foster economic sustenance.

Lloyd Capital managing director Mr Bekithemba Nkomo, who is also the immediate past chairman of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) Company, said: "This market (online currency trading market) is now a $7 trillion transaction market a day. "If you really try and picture that into the big scheme of things from the Zimbabwean perspective, this is where corporates need to see this as an opportunity. "The school here needs support from the corporates to be able to teach the youths how to trade."

Forex Trading School Africa was established in 2016 and since its inception, the institution has trained over 5 000 traders in Zimbabwe.