News and developments on African capital markets, includes: African securities, African stock exchanges/stock markets, African equities, African bonds, African private equity/venture capital, and African social impact investment
Tanzanians are to be able to invest in the gems that bear their country’s name, tanzanite. Richland Resources Ltd, listed on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market says that it plans listing at the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange by April, according to local press reports.
The number of investors from other East African countries opening trading accounts at Kenya’s Nairobi Stock Exchange is still very small, but has grown more consistently in the last 2 years than other categories of investors.
The Securities Commission of Zimbabwe (www.seczim.co.zw) has declined to grant the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (www.zse.co.zw – under maintenance), an operating licence, according to local media, and is challenging the exchange to provide a business plan.
“Africa reminds me of China back in 1999. If you missed China then, don’t do that (miss Africa) now,” is how Plamen Monovski, chief investment officer at Russia’s Renaissance Asset Managers, describes prospects for Africa. “It’s the last place in the world that is due for that rapid change and advancement.”
Share prices on the Tunisian Stock Exchange have been moving ahead all November, starting with a positive reaction to the meeting between Rachid Ghannouchi, leader of the Islamist Ennahda party and stock market executives only days after the election and moving forward as the politics progressed well.
The Namibian government issued a debut US$500 million, 10-year Eurobond on 27 October and got a price of 5.75%, taking advantage of a lull in the capital markets turmoil.
Caravan Capital Management, an investment fund based in the USA, aims to invest up to $90 million in African equity frontier markets. The fund has invested in 36 countries considered as frontier markets.
Interest in share offers is high on the Rwanda Stock Exchange, after shares of Bank of Kigali (BK) rose 52% to RWF190 in their first day of trading on 1 September.
A company has been engaged to switch the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange to electronic trading and Cabinet has discussed this and setting up a Central Securities Depository by year-end.
Morocco’s Casablanca Stock Exchange is offering grants to small and medium enterprises to encourage them to raise capital. The first listing of 2011 was 8.7x over-subscribed.