Botswana Stock Exchange Unveils Growth Plans

The Botswana Stock Exchange (BSEL) has announced plans to increase its equity and bond listings.

The 20-year-old exchange is currently the third largest bourse by capitalisation on the African continent and is 80 per cent owned by the state. 

The plans aim for an increase in listed entities from 34 to 45 and the bonds from 49 to 50 by 2021.

Central to the plans for growth is a publicity and financial literacy campaign, encouraging participating among potential listees and investors. The campaign is supported by a London Stock Exchange-installed automated trading system and a state of the art Central Securities Depository. 

Earlier this year the BSEL CEO Thapelo Tsheole stated ambitions to reduce government shareholding in the institution to below 50 per cent and plans to list its stock within two years in a bid to improve governance and transparency. 

However, recent figures point to falling yields on the bourse, with the Domestic Companies Index (DCI) capitalisation falling from US$4.7 billion in 2015 to US$3.9 billion in 2018.