Parliament revisits Capital Markets Bill

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Economy will, this week, meet to revise and approve a bill that will regulate Capital Markets operations. The bill has been lying in Parliament for more than a year.In March 2007, a Prime Ministerial decree established the Capital Market Advisory Council (CMAC) to help set up and regulate the transitional process as the government put a stock market in place. The Director General of Communication and Outreach in Parliament, Augustin Habimana, explained to The New Times that the Committee has already discussed the bill several times, and that it will hold further debate before submitting it to the plenary session for approval. “What usually happens is that initially, the bill comes to the parliament, is reviewed and then its sent to the relevant Committee. So far, what I can tell you is that the Committee has met several government representatives, and several ideas have been exchanged in the process,” he said The Rwanda OTC market started with the Bond market. The equities market is now being activated with the listing of shares of public companies. The Capital Market Advisory Council says that seven members will operate in the Rwanda OTC market and are all grouped in three categories of membership of stockbrokers, dealers and sponsors. The stockbrokers buy and sell both in their own and on behalf of the investing public, dealers trade with their own funds while sponsors provide advisory services to companies looking to raise capital. Upon publication, the market laws will require a capital market regulator and a stock exchange. CMAC will become the official regulator, called the Capital Market Authority, and the Rwanda Over The Counter (OTC) market will be the Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE). Ends

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Parliament revisits Capital Markets Bill