Zimbabwe's second-largest gold producer to list on Victoria Falls Exchange

Caledonia Mining Corp, Zimbabwe's second-largest gold producer by volume, has begun the process for listing on the country's new bourse, which trades exclusively in U.S. dollars.

The listing planned for this year will be the first by a foreign-owned mining company on the Victoria Falls Exchange, or VFEX. It is contingent on market conditions and improved payments in U.S. dollars for gold produced at the Jersey-based mineral exploration and development company's Blanket gold mine in the southwest of the country, it said in a statement.

The company seeks to raise $3 million by the placing of depositary receipts that will be used for general corporate purposes, it said.

Caledonia has engaged IH Advisory Pvt Ltd., a Harare-based financial services group, as an adviser.

VFEX is offering a raft of incentives including a waiver on capital gains tax and the ability to repatriate funds from a country where foreign-exchange is in short supply to attract global capital. Since opening in October, the bourse has attracted two listings.

"I welcome the step towards a more liberal financial environment which is embodied in the proposed benefits attaching to a listing on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange," Steve Curtis, the chief executive officer at Caledonia, said Thursday in an emailed statement.