Bank of Kigali Group Plc, yesterday, cross-listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), a move expected to increase the group’s liquidity and enable it to raise adequate capital.

The long-awaited cross-listing marks the entrance of the first Rwandan company in the Kenyan capital market, arguably the biggest in the region.

The cross-listing also means that buyers and sellers will now be able to place their orders on either side as the total float of shares are available to both markets on NSE and Rwanda Stock Exchange.

The lender’s trading on the Nairobi bourse debuted at 9:30am Kenyan time, (8:30am local time) on Friday. Bank of Kigali initial bids for the share were placed at Ksh31.1 per share as at 9:30am.

The bank’s Chief Executive, Diane Karusisi, reiterated that the move is intended to raise capital.

"The proceeds of the capital raise will go into financing our exciting growth strategy and ensure that our subsidiaries, particularly Bank of Kigali, are adequately capitalised,” she said at the opening of the trading day.

The cross-listing comes few days after BK Group had floated 222.22 million new shares through a rights issue in which current shareholders were eligible to buy one new share for every three they own.

Shareholders exercised 103.58 million rights out of the 222.22 million offered, with the balance of 118.64 million untaken rights, known as rump shares, sold mainly to qualified institutional investors (QII). 

According to BK Group, the total register of over 500 million shares  are available to be traded on both Exchanges, with 76.07 million allocated to new investors on the Nairobi bourse.

Nathalie Mpaka, the Chief Finance of Officer of Bank of Kigali, told The New Times from Nairobi that the decision to list across there will help them maximise the returns to the shareholders.

"I have no doubt that we will achieve this goal, especially due to our inspirational leaders,” she said.

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