Shareholders of Crystal Telecom have now become direct shareholders of MTN Rwanda following the listing of the telco on the Rwanda Stock Exchange. A total of 1,350,886,600 ordinary shares were registered with the RSE at an initial listing price of Rwf269 per ordinary share. At the time of suspension of trading of CTL shares late last month, the price per share stood at Rwf 190. The total market capitalization of MTN Rwanda (MTN Rwandacell Plc) is Rwf 363,388,495,400, making it one of the top firms in the country. The long journey to yesterday’s development commenced in 2015 MTN Rwanda’s single local shareholder, Crystal Ventures floated its shares to the public for listing and trading on the RSE. CTL held 20 per cent of the telco. The development comes at a time when the RSE is marking 10 years during which it has come off age to have some impact in the local market. Over the years, 10 listed companies in 2021 up from 1 company in 2011, a total of Rwf 1.15 trillion was raised, equities and bonds valued at Rwf 239 billion and Rwf 79.19 billion or USD 80.6 million were traded in the secondary market. Going forward, the development is likely to see more companies both locally and internationally take interest to list. The development which comes at a time when the exchange is marking 10 years of existence is a clear indicator that firms valued in millions of dollars have an opportunity to raise capital through the stock market as opposed to loans. With East African Community Exchanges currently in a process of linking to ease trade across the region, listed firms will have traders and investors from across the bloc. This should also serve as proof of possibility for public utility companies which are increasingly being urged to consider listing to allow sharing the general public share in the growth which they often drive to create.
