5 firms to be listed on EGM before year-end

By Felix Andrew

DSE Chief Executive Officer, Moremi Marwa

 

The Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) through its Enterprise Growth Market (EGM) plans to list between three and five companies under the market before end of this year, the management has confirmed.


Speaking last week in Dar es Salam, the DSE Chief Executive Officer Moremi Marwa said they have already received three applications from companies intending to list at the alternative market.

“We are finalising the process for the Mwanza Community Bank. We hope that other applicants will join before end of this year,” he said.

Marwa told business reporters that Tanzania is doing a good job in development of the EGM market compared to others in the region.

“Our neighbour Kenya has listed only one company despite the fact that their market has existed for over fifteen years, compared to ours which is only four months old, with one listed company namely Maendeleo Bank,” he stated.
However, he said the level of awareness of the stock market among Tanzanians increased slightly last year.

“We have witnessed many ordinary people taking part in the stock related matters compared with the past few years. This is a clear indication that the industry is growing,” he said.

He also urged the private sector to use the stock market in raising capital for economic expansion.

In Tanzania, the government is the major user of the stock market (98 percent) compared with other countries where the private sector takes a lead.

Citing the United States, he said the government raises 30 percent of its capital from the stock market, just as does the private sector, followed by mortgages and others.

“The private sector is the engine of economic growth. They have to take opportunity of the market to raise capital for development,” he said.

The EGM segment is designed to enable startup of small and medium enterprises that cannot meet the requirements of the Main Investment Market Segment (MIMS) of the DSE to access the capital markets for raising capital, diversification and for other corporate reasons.

The market will exist in conjunction with, and complement the existing MIMS at the exchange.

The establishment of the EGM is a result of recommendations of a study conducted by the CMSA on the appropriate structure for Tanzania in an effort to develop and strengthen the capital markets.

For his part, the Controller and Auditor General Ludovick Utoh, urged journalists to continue educating public on the role of the stock market, so as to improve knowledge and participants.

“You have to play your role in informing the public on the performance of the stock market in a simple language so that they become aware of what is going on within the industry,” he said.

He said competent financial reporters would enable investors to make good decisions when they want to invest.

He appealed to other organisations like the Bank of Tanzania and Capital Markets and Securities Authority (CMSA) to organise training for business reporters which would enable them report more accurately and effectively. 

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN