Some ZSE stocks primed for good performance

HARARE - Some stocks on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange are primed for good performance in 2021 despite the adverse impacts of Covid-19 pandemic.

With the country implementing a national lockdown to curtail the spread of the Covid -19 pandemic, the script is almost likely to be the same as 2020 where Covid-19 dominated the narrative across the globe with depressed economic performance.

Already, the non-essential service providers, for instance clothing retailers like Truworths, Edgars and Axia’s TV Sales and Home have lost out on January sales that will have a knock on effect on their figures for the current quarter and eventually full year performance.

However, essential service providers allowed to operate have better chances of offsetting the economic volatility

in 2021.The country’s biggest retail group, OK Zimbabwe’s outlets are operating albeit at reduced trading hours. Grocery stores are operating until 3pm in line with lockdown requirements.

As economies all over continue implementing lockdowns and limiting physical interaction, information and communication technology (ICT) becomes crucial which will be an advantage for service providers like Econet. The telecoms giant has already shown that despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, this is also an opportunity to innovate. “While managing the risks, we are also alive to the opportunities presented by Covid-19, particularly the accelerated need for digitalisation across all business sectors.

“Our past investment in resilient network infrastructure has positioned us to be the digital connectivity partner of choice. We continue to enable our customers to work and learn from home whilst observing social distancing etiquette. “The next few years will be pivotal to our transformation from a communications service provider to a digital service provider,” said company secretary Charles Banda in a trading update for the quarter to November 30, 2020. – THE HERALD, Zimbabwe.