🎧 Capital Markets Africa Weekly News Roundup, 13th October 2023

Welcome to the Capital Markets Africa weekly news roundup. Your source for the latest happenings across the listed African equities space.

We kick things off in Zimbabwe where CBZ Holdings, one of the country's largest financial businesses, has announced an interim dividend payout to shareholders of US$3 million. This comes off the back of stellar half-year results announced back in June when the company recorded a half-year profit of over 540 billion Zimbabwean dollars, about a billion US dollars. The company has interests in banking, insurance, wealth management, and real estate across Zimbabwe.

Group Chairman Marc Holtzman said back in June that although the country had experienced significant exchange rate depreciation between April and June, steps by the government and the central bank brought some much-needed normalcy to the market.

In September, CBZ increased its shareholding in First Mutual Holdings Limited, a leading Zimbabwean financial services firm, from 1.9% to almost 37%, making it the largest shareholder in that business.

CBZ's share price is up over 1,000% from a year ago.

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Now to Nigeria where Ghanaian fintech company SecondSTAX has partnered with the Nigerian Exchange Limited to enable institutional investors from across Africa to directly invest into Nigeria’s capital markets.

Earlier this year, SecondSTAX was appointed technology partner on the African Exchanges Linkage Project, an initiative of the African Securities Exchanges Association and the African Development Bank. It aims to integrate all capital markets across Africa to enable more seamless investment flows for both bond and equities trading. 

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To Zambia where the board of the country’s only listed real estate company has shared its plans to convert the business to a real estate investment trust (or 'REIT'). If approved by the regulator, Real Estate Investments Zambia Plc will become Zambia's first REIT.

REITs are companies that own, operate, or finance income-producing properties. For investors, the main attraction of REITs is that they provide a steady income stream without the burden of having to buy or manage a physical asset. We cover this story in more detail on our website.

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And finally, to the just ended AFSIC investment conference in London where there was strong representation from Ethiopia.

In recent years, the Ethiopian government has instituted a series  of pro-business reforms which are intended to attract private investment into the economy. A key part of this strategy is the planned creation of the country’s first ever stock exchange, the Ethiopian Securities Exchange, through which the government plans to sell stakes in some of the country's most important companies.

One of the organisation’s that's heavily involved in this process is the state sovereign wealth fund Ethiopian Investment Holdings. I spoke with its CEO Abdurahman Eid at the AFSIC conference.

Join us again next Friday on the Capital Markets Africa Weekly News Roundup!

© Capital Markets Africa, 2023

Founded by journalist Chipo Muwowo, Capital Markets Africa aims to raise the profile of African listed companies. Whether you're a retail or institutional investor, based in Africa or outside, we want you to be better educated about the investment opportunity set and the broader African equities market ecosystem. Subscribe today!