Zim holds maiden SMEs Forex auction

Ndakaziva Majaka

ZIMBABWE conducted its maiden foreign currency auction system for small to medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) on Thursday, with the weighted average rate coming in at 80,46.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) said the new auction will now run concurrently with the weekly Foreign Exchange Trading System which has been running every Tuesday since introduction in June.

In the auction results released end of day, the apex bank said a total of US$460 168 had been allotted with the highest bid for the day standing at 85 while the lowest came in at 75.

Bids worth US$460 168 were received as a total of 40 bids were accepted while seven were disqualified.

Raw materials received the highest allotment of US$178 518 while the paper and packaging sector got the lowest allotment of the day at US$40 193.

The new auction came as a welcome development as it is expected to cater for SMEs who, previously, could not raise the US$50 000 minimum bid required at the main auction.