The embattled Botswana Development Corporation is to raise P1 billion excess cash through the listing of a bond before the end of the year aimed at potentially big projects that the organisation is eyeing, a top official has confirmed.
BDC is one of the companies that are trying to jump to the challenge as the country emerges from the worst industrial action in living memory.
Firestone Diamonds, managed a secondary listing on the Botswana Stock Exchange on Monday, Letlole La Rona will list today while Botswana Diamonds is expected to come as early as next week. 
Mortgage outfit Botswana Building Society (BBS) will seek to raise P 2 billion bond programme by third quarter of the year.
Head of Product Development at BDC, Rob Boyd, said BDC has already issued out a tender seeking corporate advisor who could help with the structuring of the deal.
“We are looking at┬áraising P 1 billion┬áthrough a bond,”┬áhe said, adding that will be done at one time.
“The whole idea is to have money that we can draw from whenever we need it,” he added.
The government’s investment arm stated in its last annual report that key among its priorities for the year┬áwill be to pursue┬ásome new large scale investments.
The 40-year-old organisation is involved in a wide range of investment activities that include agriculture, financial services, hospitality and tourism, manufacturing and property development, among others.
The move to float P1 billion come at a time when its existing P 200 million bond is expected to mature by this year.
Further, it comes at a time when its second┬á Strategic Plan ÔÇö┬á now┬á given┬á rhetoric of pulling the country out of recession ÔÇö is┬á about to come to┬á an end.
The organisation is punching the air over the implementation of the Strategic Plan. 
“The year under review is the third year of the four year Strategic Plan and the Corporation is well on track in meeting its goals as set out in the Strategic Plan.
“Whilst the Corporation’s Strategic Plan forecasted profit before tax of P89.4 million, and a 6.6 percent return on shareholders’ funds, the results actually achieved are P227.6 million and 19.7 percent respectively,” the company said in its annual report.
It said the implementation of the Strategic Plan actions continue to be implemented and in the last fiscal year it saw the Corporation listing its shares in Cresta Marakanelo by offering 75 percent of the shares to the public.
It said it has also embarked on a major property divestment exercise, which will see the majority of its commercial, industrial and hotel property portfolio bundled into a special purpose vehicle, which the organisation is due to list on the Botswana Stock Exchange today.
