Rwanda Stock Exchange Limited (RSE) is a Rwandan Stock Exchange and was incorporated on 7 October 2005. The Stock Exchange was demutualized from the start as it was registered as a company limited by shares. The company was officially launched on 31 January 2011.

History

The exchange's doors opened for trading on 31 January 2011. That day coincided with the first day of trading in the stock of Rwanda's only brewery, Bralirwa, which trades under the symbol BLR. The Rwanda Stock Exchange replaced the Rwanda Over The Counter Exchange that had been in operation since January 2008, with two companies listed, namely

Kenya Commercial Bank Group KCB Group Limited, also known as the KCB Group, is a financial services Bank holding company, holding company based in the African Great Lakes region. The Group's headquarters are in Nairobi, Kenya, with its subsidiaries being KCB Bank Kenya Limit ...

(KCB) listed on 18 June 2009 and National Media Group (NMG) listed on 2 November 2010.

Expansion

Having successfully launched Bralirwa as its pioneer

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...

(IPO), RSE's second IPO was Bank of Kigali, launched on 31 June 2011. On 14 April 2015, Crystal Ventures announced its intention to have an initial public offering (IPO) on the Rwanda Stock Exchange of its wholly owned subsidiary, Crystal Telecom. Crystal Telecom holds a 20% stake in MTN Rwanda, the country's largest telecoms company. In February 2011, the National Bank of Rwanda, the country's

Central Bank A central bank, reserve bank, national bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the monetary policy of a country or monetary union. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central bank possesses a monopoly on increasing the mo ...

, contracted Central Depository and Settlement Corporation (CDSC), a

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

n company, to serve the Rwanda Stock Exchange for one year and to train Rwandan staff until Rwanda can start and operate its own securities registry. On 7 December 2012, RSE launched the ''Rwanda Stock Exchange Share Index'' (RSESI), an independently calculated, rules-based, market capitalization weighted performance benchmark for Rwanda Stock Exchange's equities.

The future

, the RSE trades five listed local and

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

n companies and also carries out trading of three government and one corporate fixed income instruments. The exchange, which is open five days a week, is a member of the African Stock Exchanges Association. The RSE operates in close association with the Nairobi Stock Exchange in

, the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange in

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

and the

Uganda Securities Exchange The Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) is the principal stock exchange of Uganda. It was founded in June 1997. The USE is operated under the jurisdiction of Uganda's Capital Markets Authority, which in turn reports to the Bank of Uganda, Uganda's ...

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

. There are plans to integrate the four stock exchanges to form a single East African bourse. In January 2016

The EastAfrican ''The EastAfrican'' is a weekly newspaper published in Kenya since 7 November 1994, by the Nation Media Group, which also publishes Kenya's national ''Daily Nation''. The ''EastAfrican'' also circulates in the other countries of the African Grea ...

reported that three IPOs were in the pipeline.

Market listing

' * ''

'' and ''

Nation Media Group Nation Media Group (NMG), formerly known as East African Newspapers (Nation Series) Ltd, is an East African media group based in Kenya and listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. It is owned by Aga Khan IV. History NMG was founded in 1959 by A ...

'' are primarily listed Nairobi Stock Exchange. They are crosslisted on the Rwanda Stock Exchange, the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange and on the

. * '' Uchumi Supermarkets'' is primarily listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange and is crosslisted on the Rwanda Stock Exchange and starting in 2014, on the

and the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange. * '' Equity Group Holdings Limited'' is primarily listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange (2006). It is crosslisted on the

(2009) and on the Rwanda Stock Exchange (2015). *RH Bophelo is cross-listed on the exchange with

Johannesburg Stock Exchange JSE Limited (previously the JSE Securities Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange) is the largest stock exchange in Africa. It is located in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, after it moved from downtown Johannesburg in 2000. In 2003 ...

in June 2020. It is the first company not from East Africa to be cross listed on the exchange.

References

External links