Cement company lists on Rwanda Stock Exchange

Published by: Andrew Mizner   at 06/08/2020

Cimerwa is the 10^th company to list on the Rwanda Stock Exchange, opening up shares previously owned by the government and other domestic investors, to a wider market.

Rwandan cement manufacturer Cimerwa has become the 10^th company to list on the Main Investment Market of the Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE).

On 3 August, more than 700 million shares were listed at RWF 120 each (USD 0.13). Of those, the 49% which were previously owned by Rwandan investors were made available for trading. The 51% majority of shares are owned by Pretoria Portland Cement Company, headquartered in South Africa.

The government of Rwanda had owned 16%, with another 20% owned by the Rwanda Social Security Board and 11% by the Rwanda Investment Group.

Cimerwa chairman Regis Rugemanshuro explained the listing in a statement: “The timing is right. This transaction will create opportunities for the private investors, and the government will become a neutral player in a sector whose potential is yet to be fully exploited. There could not be a better avenue of achieving this objective than listing at the RSE. With Rwanda having about 57kg per capita cement consumption annually, we have just but only scratched the surface on the huge long-term potential in the cement industry.”

Rwanda Development Board chief executive Clare Akamanzi said at the launch: “If you look at Rwanda’s economic recovery plan, we expect Cimerwa to play a big role both in terms of building the economy through the indirect contribution but also directly contributing to the rebuilding and reconstruction of our economy post Covid-19.”

RSE chief executive Pierre Celestin added that the listing would allow the company “to expose itself to the highest standards of good corporate governance, accountability and transparency that our country has been longing for”.

Cimerwa’s chief executive, Albert Sigei, commented that “the free float shares from the government are encouraging the drive towards private sector participation to build a strong capital market base.” he continued that the company was excited “to bring on board a wider pool of investors, including institutional and retail investors both in the region and internationally”.

Cimerwa has been contracted by the government to provide cement for the construction of school classrooms across the country as part of a school expansion project.

Rwanda has plans to develop a new international finance centre in Kigali, which have been backed by investors including CDC Group.

Earlier this year, the chief executive of the Private Sector Federation Rwanda called for wider support for the African Continental Free Trade Area and intra-African trade.