Conservatives advise on CMAC

The Rwanda Capital Market Advisory Council (CMAC) needs market makers to create liquidity on the Rwanda Over the Counter Market, said British Conservative Party members last Saturday. A team of six conservatives advised CMAC that there is a need to build confidence in investors if Rwanda is to have a vibrant capital market that can bring about development of the finance sector, an economic development criterion. They suggested that this could be created by putting in place applicable infrastructure such as rules, a legal framework and adequate disclosure requirements for listing securities. The Conservatives explained how a market maker, a dealer firm that accepts the risk of holding a certain number of securities in order to ease trading, might be one way to develop the financial sector. Ben Gimson, a member of the British delegation, explained that more commercial banks in the market can help build confidence. “Therefore, commitment to market making is required.” Cooperatives commended for steady food productionAs a food crisis raises global concern, Commerce Minister Monique Nsanzabaganwa commended Rwandan food cooperatives for their paramount role in ensuring steady food production in the country, last Sunday at the first ever International Cooperative Day. The aim of the day was to increase awareness about cooperatives, promote their successes and ideals of international solidarity, economic efficiency, equality, and world peace. Vincent Karega, State Minister for Trade and Investment, said agriculture was a very important component of national development. “Food cooperatives’ role in this economy contributes to Vision 2020 as they employ locals, pool available resources together and cooperate out of poverty.” In 2005, the government used cooperatives as a priority to eradicate poverty by setting up the Co-operative Task Force and a national cooperatives promotion policy. Currently, 65 per cent of the 2,300 cooperatives are agricultural-based while the balance lies in crafts. Sugarless Coca Cola out soonBrasseries Et Limonaderies (Bralirwa) plans to introduce Coke Zero for customers sensitive to sugared beverages for health reasons. Door Platenga, Bralirwa Managing Director, said Coca Cola Zero, a sugar-free variation of Coca-Cola, will be on the Kigali market soon. Real estate investments expected to boomThe Rwanda Investment and Export Promotion Agency (Riepa) expects the real estate investment sector to grow following the intervention of Amani Holdings, a mortgage brokerage firm. According to Charles Haba, the firm’s General Manager, Amani Holdings offers specialised services for real estate promotion such as advocacy, advisory, property management and consultancy. The firm helps people with financial constraints to acquire houses by negotiating with financial institutions. Francis Gatare, the Director General of Riepa, said the expertise of Amani Holdings is a plus to the sector and expects it to have a cluster development. He added that the country is currently growing its potential for real estate investment and has attracted investors such as Dubai World, the United Arab Emirates investment arm, Global Village Investments, DN International and the government pension body, the Social Security Fund. Jackie Mutesi, the DN International Sales and Marketing Manager, said working closely with Amani Holdings has increased their business. Because the country needs more than 25,000 units annually to address the housing shortage countrywide, the Rwandan government formulated an urbanisation and town development policy in 2006 taking into consideration the anticipated objectives for national development in Vision 2020. Simtel to define ATMs responsibilities Simtel, Rwanda’s National Inter-bank network for electronic payment system, is to sign a service level agreement (SLA) with commercial banks, defining their services and responsibilities to Automated Teller Machine (ATM) users. ATM usage in Rwanda was introduced in 2004 but since then users have complained about the high level of unreliability of these machines and inadequate distribution of the ATMs. Rogers Mnyampenda, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Simtel, said that once the agreement is signed, banks will be liable for any errors once the bank cards are issued. “It is the responsibility of banks to fill with enough money and monitor the functioning since they now have monitoring equipments,” he explained. However Hannington Namara, BCR’s head of corporate banking, argued that Simtel shouldn’t shift the blame to commercial banks since machines are monitored and replenished in time. Simtel is planning to import 30 ATM machines from South Africa to satisfy the increasing demand of modern banking services and begin making the cards in Rwanda this October in order to slash the three months time it takes to acquire the ATM cards. Ends