Reuters
#Commodities News
Clement Uwiringiyimana
Rwanda’s Bank of Kigali plans to raise $60 million-$100 million by next year to expand its business and could list shares on an overseas bourse as part of the plan, its chief executive officer said.
Diane Karusisi told Reuters that Rwanda’s biggest bank was considering a listing on the Johannesburg, Nairobi or London stock exchanges.
“If we cross-list, a portion of this $60 million to $100 million will be issued in other exchange market but most probably we will issue rights here locally,” Karusisi said on Sunday.
“We want to raise the capital to grow the bank,” she said, without providing more details.
The bank will announce its final decisions on the capital raising before the end of this year, she said.
Selling shares to a strategic investor was also an option. “All options are still open,” she said.
Morocco’s Banque Centrale Populaire SA has been linked with taking a stake in the Rwandan bank, according to previous Moroccan press reports.
Karusisi said Bank of Kigali’s first-half pretax profit rose 5.6 percent to 16.7 billion francs ($20.2 million), driven by a 16 percent increase in lending.
The bank, founded 51 years ago, operates 79 outlets and an insurance business. Its shares were listed on the Rwandan stock exchange in 2011. ($1 = 826.1100 Rwandan francs) (Reporting by Clement Uwiringiyimana; Writing by Duncan Miriri; Editing by George Obulutsa and Susan Fenton)
