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| - Zimbabwe's stock exchange resumes trading next week, a month after it was ordered to temporarily halt business as authorities scrambled to protect the country's currency, Finance Minister announced Tuesday. Minister Mthuli Ncube said a probe into the operations of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) had been completed, allowing the resumption of trading on August 3. In a statement, Ncube said investigations by the country's financial intelligence unit had established that some listed entities, had "acted out of line" with rules and best trading practices. The minister however said, some internationally-listed stocks, including insurance giant Old Mutual, would remain suspended on the local bourse after the company was fingered in allegedly improper activities. "In particular, the Old Mutual Implied Rate, (OMIR) was observed to be the key driver of parallel market pricing behaviour, with many market players in the real economy using this highly visible rate as a benchmark for forward pricing and costing of goods and services, as well as determination of foreign exchange rates in the market," said the minister. On June 29, the government took the dramatic move to shut the stock exchange and limit mobile money payments. Government spokesman Nick Mangwana alleged that mobile-phone money transfer systems were "conspiring with the help of the ZSE "in illicit activities that are sabotaging the economy". fj-sn/jh
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