The Capital Markets Advisory Council (CMAC) has today organized a credit rating workshop aimed at providing investors with information on the credit quality and volatility of securities listed on the Rwandan bourse.

The workshop also intends to define the financial strength of borrowers and their capacity to meet their financial obligations.

In an earlier interview with Business Times, the Deputy Executive of CMAC, Olivier Kamanzi said that: "The credit rating system is very important for Rwanda capital markets because it provides market confidence among Rwandan and foreign investors.”

The workshop also seeks to get a credit rating system established in Rwanda hence providing rating services which include providing opinion on the general creditworthiness of a borrower with respect to a particular debt security or other financial obligations. 

The event is expected to attract more than 100 private Rwandan companies including Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), government agencies and Kigali city.

With the new system in place, it is expected that investors can make informed decisions and understand risks and opportunities associated with various investment environments and classes of securities in which they choose to invest.

According Kamanzi, currently there is no company in Rwanda that is rated and in the region, there is only one credit rating institution (global credit rating) based in Kenya.

The rating system can be for both short and long term with both countries and corporate being rated for sovereign credit rating and bond rating respectively.

CMAC says that the project is purely a private sector initiative. However, any one planning to open a credit rating agency must be licensed by the capital market regulator.

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