In what appears to be a great year at the local stock market, its corporate leader, Thapelo Tsheole has taken over as the President of the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA).
Tsheole who travelled to Côte d’Ivoire this past week has thanked ASEA members for their resounding support and confidence in his leadership. He promised to lead ASEA to success by increasing the size of the market and introducing new initiatives that will develop African capital markets, according to a statement released by the BSE.
ASEA which comprises of six associate members and 28 full members serves 38 countries and has more than 1,100 companies listed on its member exchanges including the including the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE). Its total market capitalization has been capped at $2 trillion. The purpose of ASEA is to develop member exchanges and provide a platform for networking and cooperation on areas of mutual importance. The association also aims to unlock the potential of African capital markets, and enhance the development and global competitiveness of member exchanges.
It has been a great year for the local stock market exchange, marked by improved trades and gains in listed stocks. By the end of November 2022, the BSE’s Domestic Company Index (DCI), which tracks share price performance of the 24 listed companies on the domestic counter, is up by 8.8 percent, maintaining the upward trajectory that started last year.
The BSE’s latest performance report shows that its DCI grew by 1.9 percent in 2021, after six years of a downward spiral. The DCI fell by 11.3 percent in 2016, before recovering slightly in 2017 with a 5.8 percent loss but and continued to stumble over the years, with losses averaging 11 percent. In 2019, the DCI narrowed losses to 4.6 percent and while 2020 begun strongly for the BSE, it ended the challenging year with the index down by 8.2 percent.
The sustained upward trajectory in share price for some companies has been on the back of solid profits that are defying the economic headwinds, allowing the companies to give out bigger dividends to shareholders.
