The capital market in Rwanda took another step forward with the listing on 22 January of a new Rwf2.5 billion (US$4.4 mln) two-year Treasury bond on the Rwanda Over The Counter (ROTC) exchange. According to the issuer, the National Bank of Rwanda (BNR), the bond has a 9.5% coupon rate.
BNR’s publicist Mr. William Gatete was reported in East African Business Week (www.busiweek.com) as saying that bond was oversubscribed by Rwf1 bln ($1.7 mln).
The ROTC, regulated and run by the Rwanda Capital Markets Advisory Council (www.cmac.org.rw) has been in operation for nearly 2 years and has traded less than $0.9 mln worth of treasury bonds in 57 deals, according to the report. It adds that a Commercial Bank of Rwanda (BCR) bond has traded $1.1m worth in only three transactions since 2008.
One listed treasury bond recently expired and another is due to expire soon. After that the ROTC will two listed treasury bonds, a ten-year BCR bond worth Rwf5 bln ($8.8mln) and cross-listed shares of the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB). The total value of bonds listed is now Rwf17.7 bln ($31.2 mln).
Mr. Pierre Celestin Rwabukumba, operations manager of CMAC, was reported as saying that, since 2008, the bond price has been fluctuating between Rwf98.5 ($0.17) and Rwf102.75 ($0.18).