Commercial Bank issues first bond

Commercial Bank of Rwanda (BCR) has issued a five year corporate bond. The bank has collected over Frw2.7b from the bond this month. David Kuwana, BCR’s managing director, said the bond which carries a nine per cent interest rate—paid every six months—attracted investment from several insurance companies. BCR is the first private company to issue a financial product on the Rwandan stock exchange. The stock exchange will be officially launched on January 31. Robert Mathu, executive director of Capital Markets Advisory Council, a body created to foresee the establishment of capital markets in the country, was upbeat about the development of a capital market. “It is a strong boost to the economy because it will relieve pressure from the money market since funds will be channelled to more productive activities.” BCR’s bond comes a week after the National Bank of Rwanda (BNR) issued treasury bonds worth Frw20b to support the development of the stock exchange in the country this year. “The central bank has acted as a benchmark to the private sector because when you look at the interest rates of BCR bond and BNR bond, there’s a difference of one percent,” Mathu said.Ends