South African healthcare company RH Bophelo (RHB) earlier this week, cross-listed on the Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE) as the company seeks to expand it’s ventures into East Africa.
This is the first cross-listing on Rwanda’s bourse by a company incorporated and listed outside the East African region. RHB is primarily listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE).
RH Bophelo which is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) is an investment company investing in healthcare.
The cross-listing which took effect on Monday 1st June, has since received approval from the Capital Market Authority -Rwanda bringing the number of companies on the Rwandan stock market to 9.
The cross-listing at the RSE was in the form of introduction and not with the intention to raise capital on the local stock market on the day of the Listing through an Initial Public Offer (I.P.O).
RHB Chairman, Mr. 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.
“Kigali offers RH Bophelo the exposure that comes with Rwanda being at the epicentre of East Africa and a leader on the African continent. Rwanda proves to be a jurisdiction in which RH Bophelo can unlock capital and the RSE Listing will facilitate this as well as acting as an initial springboard into the rest of Africa, starting with East Africa,” RHB C.E.O
While this is not the first cross-listing the country has seen as there are a number of Kenyan firms trading on RSE, KIFC’s existence promotes such investment opportunities within Rwanda’s financial sector
Eric Bundugu, Acting Executive Director of the Capital Market Authority Rwanda said that the cross-listing of RH Bophelo on the local stock market is a 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.
