The first South African company, RH Bophelo Limited (RH Bophelo) has cross-listed on the Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE) on 1st June 2020. This follows an approval from the Capital Market Authority (CMA), the regulatory body of Rwanda's capital market industry. This marks the first cross listing on the local bourse by a company incorporated and listed outside the East African Community (EAC).
RH Bophelo incorporated in South Africa and listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) since July 2017, is an investment company whose principal activity is to invest in the healthcare in a manner that promotes access to quality healthcare services.
RH Bophelo’s strategy also aims at attracting viable returns whilst encouraging quality and cost-effective healthcare services and as a result, the Company is constantly looking at opportunities within the healthcare ecosystem with synergies that will deliver value to the lower and middle-income brackets.
The Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Rwanda Development Board, Zephanie Niyonkuru said that: “Rwanda is pleased to host this prestigious event at the time when we are slowly getting back to business amid the covid 19 pandemic aftermath. I would like to commend RHB for the decision they took to utilise this platform as a starting point in an effort to expand their business to East Africa and the rest of the continent. It shows once again that Rwanda’s strategic leadership position on the continent can prove to be an ideal destination to the rest of Africa no matter where you are coming from.”
Eric Bundugu, Ag. Executive Director of the Capital Market Authority (CMA) in Rwanda commenting on the cross-listing of RH Bophelo on the local stock market, said: “The cross-listing of RH Bophelo is a critical milestone in positioning Rwanda as an entryway for regional and international capital flows by developing a creative and diverse set of products that encourage investor confidence in issued products. This new development reconfirms Rwanda’s leading position towards maintaining itself as the leading investment choice destination and an international financial center of excellence by fostering cross-border trade and investments.”
RHB Chairman, John Oliphant said RHB was excited with its position as the first private equity from outside the region to be listed on the young market; a view also expressed by the Company’s Chief Executive Mr. Quinton Zunga.
“This is a very important occasion for us as we help open a new chapter for this country’s financial market. We believe this will now provide investment opportunities to thousands of Rwandese and other investors in the region willing to invest in the stock market since it now makes it convenient for them to invest in the company right here in Rwanda. We hope that investors share our vision of an East African business that is owned, managed and patronized by East Africans,” said Quinton.
“As a health care centered investment company, we want to make cross-listing part and parcel of our expansion strategy into various new markets to help us create requisite visibility, acceptance and buy-in for our brand by the locals.” he added.
Eric Bundugu added: “The Cross-Listing at the RSE was done by way of an introduction and as a result, no capital will be raised on the local stock market on the day of the RSE Listing. RH Bophelo confirmed that a specific capital raise targeting local, regional and foreign investors will follow in the near future.”
The Rwanda’s stock market has so far registered eight (8) listed companies including four (4) cross-listed companies from the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). RH Bophelo’s cross listing is the first one by a company incorporated and listed outside the East African Community (EAC) and will increase the total number of listed companies to the Rwandan stock market to nine (9).
The Capital Market Master Plan, a 10-year development strategy of Rwanda’s capital market industry, 2018 – 2028), sets out the steps which the Government of Rwanda (GoR) intends to undertake in order to be able to exploit the tools of capital market finance to unleash the full potential of the economy and to enable Rwanda to play its role as a financial hub within the economy of East Africa.
“The objective of the Rwandan Capital Market Master Plan is to make capital markets work for Rwanda. With the implementation of the Capital Market Master Plan in its high gears, the Capital Market Authority (CMA) continues to maintain a conducive legal and regulatory framework to promote market development while fostering investor protection in line with easing access to long-term and patient capital through the local stock market by local, regional and international private sector businesses” Bundugu added.