By Kingsley Jassi:
The Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE) has recorded its highest-ever trading performance in 2024, with the transaction value reaching K125 billion from 1.2 billion shares traded.
This represents a 62.3 percent increase in transaction value compared to the K77 billion realised from trading 612 million shares at the end of 2023.
It also reflects a 96 percent increase in the number of shares traded on the market compared to the previous year. Market records show that total market capitalisation surged by 53.2 percent to K9.18 trillion, up from K5.99 trillion at the end of 2023.
Furthermore, the number of transactions soared to 14,471, surpassing the previous year’s record of 10,736. This performance is despite the macroeconomic challenges that prevailed in the economy, including high inflation and a weak Kwacha over the past year.
In addition, the Exchange registered a 55.06 percent return on investment, outpacing inflation and ranking second in Africa after Uganda’s 56.17 percent in local currency terms. In dollar terms, Malawi maintained second position with 55.03 percent returns, behind Kenya’s 62.89 percent.
The market also demonstrated its depth when Blantyre Hotels Plc successfully raised K62.4 billion through a rights offer.
Additionally, 44 government bonds worth K3.18 trillion were listed during the year.
MSE Chief Operating Officer Kelline Kondowe said the performance represents a big leap from 2020 when annual trades averaged 3,000.
Looking ahead, Kondowe said MSE plans to attract more listings while introducing new products, including Exchange Traded Funds, a project being developed with the Reserve Bank of Malawi.
“This is incredible. This is the result of the increased awareness of the stock market that we have been fostering over the years. We are also looking forward to bringing new products to the market.
“Currently, we are working with the Reserve Bank of Malawi on a project to introduce Exchange Traded Funds. We will also be graduating the first cohort of the Mzinga incubation programme, which is a capacity-building initiative for SMEs to enhance their readiness to list,” Kondowe said.
Minority Shareholders Association of Listed Companies Executive Secretary Frank Harawa attributed the performance to strong corporate results, particularly from banking stocks.
“There were a lot of gains registered by most counters and this was because many companies, especially the banks, posted very good results,” Harawa said.
The Exchange has meanwhile launched guidelines for the issuance of sustainable bonds and introduced environmental, social and corporate governance reporting requirements for listed companies.
It also plans to launch a mobile trading platform to improve market accessibility as it seeks to attract more retail investors.
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