Rwandans now have more opportunities and products to invest in at the Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE) following the listing of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) bond on the bourse’s secondary market yesterday.

The firm’s first deal was worth Rwf11.6m and was brokered by CDH Capital. 

The bond, part of the institution’s Africa debt expansion programme, was issued in May and raised Rwf15b (about $22m) from domestic and international investors.

IFC executive vice-president Jin-Yong Cai said the ‘Umuganda’ bond will expand access to finance for Rwandan businesses, while strengthening the capital markets.

"The Umuganda bond underscores the partnership between IFC, investors, the Ministry of Finance, the central bank and Rwanda’s Capital Markets Authority,” he said as he rang the first bell to launch the bond trading at the local bourse.

The bond appealed to a broad range of investors looking to diversify their portfolios.

The order book was oversubscribed by 2.19 times. 

Orders were received from Rwandan pension funds, international and domestic asset managers, insurance companies and banks. It was issued at par and priced with a yield of 12.25 per cent per year.

"This bond complements the government’s quarterly, risk-free Treasury bond issuance programme by acting as a benchmark for other issuers in the RSE,” said Celestin Rwabukumba, chief executive officer of the RSE.

He said with the IFC’s good reputation and confidence in the domestic capital markets, more non-resident issuers and investors will be attracted to the market, adding to its product diversity.

The listing makes the bond the second corporate bond on the bourse. There was previously only a 10-year I&M Bank bond worth Rwf10b issued in 2010.

There are also three other government bonds on the exchange with the Rwf12.5b treasury bond issued in February to raise funds for infrastructure projects and boost activity on bourse being the most recent to trade on the secondary market.

Olivier Muneza, a broker at MBEA Brokerage Services, told The New Times yesterday that the IFC bond will help raise more public awareness of the products of the stock market on the secondary market, and the stock exchange in general.

He said, the market being a few years old, more people were learning about its benefits and investment opportunities.

Amb. Claver Gatete, Minister for Finance, said the IFC supports Rwanda’s private sector by working with the government on investment climate reforms in sectors such as infrastructure, manufacturing and agriculture.